Post by clypsiphaya in Valorie's Life comments

Viewing post in Valorie's Life comments

On the surface, from screenshots and the description, this looks like an idea that has a lot of potential.

Then I actually downloaded it and tried it out. >.<

First off, the translation into English is horrid. The pronouns are constantly mixed up between masculine, feminine, and neutral - the protagonist calls Valorie an "it" at a couple of points, and regularly refers to her as he/him. Beyond that, the syntax is awkward at best, and downright confusing at worst.

Worse, though, is that all of the more lascivious options are available from the start, with warnings after the fact if we don't have the stats to actually do them yet. The game makes it clear in the first few moments that the end goal is having sex with your much younger, mentally unstable, grieving half-sister.

I don't know how this got in under itch.io's policies, but between the pronoun confusion, objectification, and explicit incest, the end result is creepy as hell - this game feels like someone took all the worst stereotypes of incel fantasies and stuffed them in a blender. I've played and enjoyed taboo stories that were done well - this is not one of them.

If you're an emotionally well-adjusted person with a shred of human empathy, find something else to play.

elJukee Games2 days ago

Thanks for the feedback.

It's a little strange to write several paragraphs acting shocked about themes that were already openly visible in the screenshots, tags, description and warnings before downloading the game. You literally acknowledge that the game “makes it clear from the beginning” what kind of story it is, so I'm not sure where the surprise is supposed to come from.

The criticism about the English translation is fair. The game was originally made by a non-native English speaker and some older dialogue definitely shows that. That's valid feedback.

But the whole “if you're emotionally balanced don't play this” speech is a bit dramatic considering you also openly admit you've played and enjoyed taboo stories before. At that point, it sounds less like moral concern and more like selective outrage because this particular game wasn't written to your taste.

Nobody was tricked into downloading it. The content was clearly labeled from the start. If the themes bothered you that much, the healthier option was probably to stop playing instead of forcing yourself through it just to write a morality manifesto afterward.

Have a nice day. Thanks for playing.

StallionSenpai2 days ago(+1)

Absolutely based response

ItchinGamer2 days ago(+1)

Just ignore those wannabe hypocrites. I enjoyed the game myself and thought it was nice. i hope you make more in the future!

clypsiphaya1 day ago (1 edit)

Nowhere in the tags ("Adult, Animation, Erotic, Hentai, NSFW, Ren'Py, Romance, Sandbox, Slice Of Life"), description, or screenshots does it mention the incestuous themes, mental instability, or grief issues. The only mention of the former is in the comments below - and your response implies that it's a translation error rather than a blood relation, comparing it to the Japanese habit of calling someone "onee-chan" (which is often used for friendships as well). Claiming, "you weren't tricked into downloading it" is provably, objectively incorrect - the content is not clearly labeled. The only thing resembling a warning is the mention of pop culture references at the end of this page's description.

That being said... I'll freely admit my overreaction was probably out of line; my apologies for the vitriol. And it's an easy fix with some content warnings in the description, visible before downloading - warn people about darker subjects like death, mental illness, and the implied dubcon/noncon in the screenshots (to say nothing of the aforementioned direct, blood-relation incest with the MC's half-sister). Blaming people for not hunting hard enough for said warnings, especially when they don't exist, isn't a good look.

For the record: everything I mentioned in my initial post came from the first few minutes of the game. I didn't "force myself through" anything. And the other games I've played with the aforementioned taboo themes mentioned them well in advance. You might want to consider doing the same, because beyond that initial shock, this game does look like it has a lot of potential.