My time spent with with this game has been really fun. I think the parts that stand out in my mind the most have to be the game’s tone and soundtrack. Tracks such as Snavl’s apartment and the beach help create a setting that is as bleak as it is hopeful. While the main level tracks help build a sense of light “erotic horror”, horror that is as tantalizing as it is unsettling. The fact that iterations of Snavl are captured while a new iteration is created to become the “present” Snavl also adds some spiciness to this erotic horror and can explain why many elements of the third level are the way they are in terms of just how intimate they are with Snavl specifically.

When it comes to art, I enjoy the broad range of fetishes this game explores, but above all I love the subtle variety of positions Snavl is seen in her apartment over the course of the story. This game is excellent at doing a lot with so little in terms of its art, both drawn and pixel based, to help elevate the tone and storytelling (though seeing body-suit changes on the sprite would have been nice unless this was added in 1.1 which i have not played yet).

The depth of the game’s mechanics also managed to surprise me as levels use past mechanics in different ways and even build upon each other to create more complex challenges. This is especially the case for the bounty missions as well as the second and third bosses in the game.

Where this game starts to disappoint is the plot, but this isn’t because I believe its badly structured or written. While there are still some sore spots in the writing such as Snavl feeling like a blank slate in the game’s first act, the main issue I have is more concerned with what the game is currently lacking.

Nothing in the plot is original, but it doesn’t have to be, especially since I believe the game arranges its narrative elements in an interesting manner. I really get behind the narrative idea that Core City is oppressive to the point where even love that is merely seperated across the distance of the city can feel like an insurmountable long distance relationship. Unless I missed it, I wish there was an in-game reason to help better explain this as it doesn’t make sense why Maggie and Snavl don’t just live together. Having Core City be segregated or districted based on species would be an interesting angle and can elevate other aspects of the story such as adding an additional element of danger to the meeting between Snavl and Avisu (i hope im remembering her name correctly).

But my biggest gripe is the execution of the Escape ending for the game. To me it feels like an ending that can’t commit to it being sequel bait or an actual conclusion to the story, falling short as a result of this indecision. If this were to be a true conclusion to what feels like a one-shot story I would have really liked it if the game came full circle with the first ending and show the two together many years later on a real beach in the escape ending. Perhaps with dialogue as the couple is finally free from core city and off to explore what remains of the world. I was really on the edge or my seat towards the end of the game and the escape ending felt like an anti-climax as a result, to a point where the fakeout had me baffled for a minute before the cutscene panned to Snavl and Maggie in the tent.

There is also some potential for some delightful wickedness for the capture ending such as Snavl and Maggie being bound up in the same room, forever close yet so far apart, though this is more of a miss opportunity that doesn’t really change the game much for me.

Overall I would give the game anywhere between an 8.5 to a 9 out of 10. This game could have just been another bargin bin porn game with little substance, but it really does go the extra mile to make the world feel lived-in, oppressive, intimate, unsettling, and most of all immersive. And despite having some negative feelings on how the story concludes, I would still recommend it to others as the game executes the rest of its ideas phenomenally for an RPGmaker game.