Concerning the Game Eternum:
Of VN Games, I've played my share. I've played what I consider to be really good ones, and really bad ones. And while generally speaking Haram/lovey dovey games aren't really my goto's or speed, this game is hands down one of the top 5 games I've played to date (I've played around 60+/- VN's). Eternum's not without flaws. There are scenes I'd like to see smoothed and or fleshed out. There are things I think could be done or handled better. But having recently (last 5 months) started to dabble in the world of creating a visual novel of my own, and now having a solid appreciation for the sheer amount of effort and money required to make these things, any criticisms I may have of Eternum V0.2 are to be understood from that context. Or more simply, the creator is doing an excellent job and one needs to keep in mind perspective. If you don't know what goes into making a visual novel, I suggest going ahead and jumping in. The tools you need are basically free up front. You can learn A LOT about making a VN without spending a dime. And you will quickly learn that making a VN of even the crappiest quality is not exactly easy. Making a Top Quality VN is,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, well lets just say you have to be a special kind of person to do this work. So while I have criticisms, I'm also acknowledging the incredible work that's been done on Eternum. It's certainly one of the top five VN's i've played.
I was not at all excited by the synopsis of this game when I ran into it months ago. In fact, the only reason I decided to give it a try is because SadCrab suggested it and I've found that if SadCrab suggests something, it's probably worth having a look at. And boy was I glad I did. The premise of this story is actually brilliant if you think about, because it could be epically huge. The creator could spend the rest of their lives making content for this if they wanted to. There's also the potential for hundreds of spin off stories in this universe. Being a once upon a time World of Warcraft addict, I'd love to see a story based in this universe seeing these or even different characters journeying through adventures while leveling up for example.
As it is, there were genuinely emotional moments in 0.2. It's not often that I'm emotionally impacted by VN's. It's not exactly a nonstop attack on your senses. But it doesn't need to be. There have been many what I would consider to be worthwhile VN's that didn't have an emotional impact on me whatsoever. In the case of Eternum, there were a few moments when I genuinely chuckled, and there were a few moments when I was genuinely empathetic to a character. I don't know if I can express how rare that is for me and one of these VN's. While emotional impact is not a prerequisite for me in any VN, moments like this certainly seperate "Good" VN's from "REALLY GREAT" VN's. While I'm typically more into the darker VN's that focus primarily on porn content, I was struck by how I was pulled into this story for,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, well, the story. I haven't felt that way about a VN since DMD. I binged this VN to the end of 0.2 and I was disappointed that there wasn't more. Frankly, I can't wait for 0.3.
If I have criticisms,,,, (I don't know if criticism is even the right word here but I'm at a loss), then it's down to how little x rated content there actually is. Given the nature of the story, I'm not suggesting that there should be LOADS MORE. But the x rated content is a bit sparse in my opinion and what you do have is sort of,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,well I guess I'd say that it leaves me wanting in the best cases. In the worst cases, the x rated content is sort of wonky in that it feels out of the blue or sort of forced in. Almost like the creator realized "holy crow it's been a while since we had any boobies so better stick some in here". It can be somewhat jarring in particular moments. In other cases its like a bit more chilli powder would really be appreciated.
In a weird way, the story is so good, the way the porn aspect is handled is almost awkward. No,,, I think it IS awkward. It's like have you ever been to a Tilted Kilt restaurant (google it if you don't have one in your area)? Nobody likes to see crazy sexy woman wearing next to nothing more than I do. But there is a time and a place. In fact, my experience at our local Tilted Kilt was so awkward that I never went back after the first visit. The poor girls are just trying to serve you a burger and fries and everyone is either too embarrassed to look (which is the whole damn point), or otherwise guilty of looking,,, (which is the whole damn point). As it turns out, I don't want a beautiful young scantily clad woman to serve me a burger and fries in the middle of the afternoon while TOTALLY objectifying her. Even a friggin total pervert like me has lines that I won't cross. I just felt bad for them and I felt ashamed for even being there in the first place. And that's sort of kind of sort of how I feel with Eternum. The x rated parts and the story seem to me to be a bit out of sync. Compare this with HBO's game of thrones (the good seasons). They blended porn with a great story and it WORKED! (until it didn't work). So an epic story and porn are not mutually exclusive. In fact, porn can when done well, elevate a story to new levels. Many would say that G.O.T the story was a great story (until it wasn't). Very few people would argue that the porn scenes were unwelcome in G.O.T and a detriment to the story. A great story with great supporting pornography? I'm all in. I feel like Eternum could use some help blending these two things a bit better. That of course is just one man's opinion.
And lastly on the criticism list, while I genuinely LOVE the Eternum story, I do feel like parts of it could be fleshed out a bit better. Parts of it feel a bit thin and bare. One of THEE BEST scenes in Eternum thus far was the whole Red Herring house Sequence. Just spectacular. Another scene worth mentioning was the sequence with Alex and her grandmother. I actually had to stop for a few minutes and compose myself. I mean to say, no VN has the right to have such an emotional impact. But the fact that it did, when I finally got back to the VN, I was like "Holy SHIT that was good". My paternal instincts were yanked on super hard for this pixelated bit of artwork. In that moment, I've rarely ever wanted to white knight someone so hard. Well Played sir, Well played. Juxtapose scenes like these against other scenes in the story though, and you will see what I mean about some feeling thin and bare. Once you set a bar height, it's obvious, sometimes painfully obvious, when other scenes fall well shy of that mark. See, this is genuinely a great story already, but with more work, the bits we have already could be even that much better. I recognise what I'm suggesting isn't just a trivial ask. Fleshing and rounding out the story we already have would require a significant additional investment of time. And I understand that every creator has to draw lines in the sand. But the story is so good, as a reader, you can't help but want to see the story reach 100% of it's potential. And right now (somewhat arbitrarily) I'm saying the story we have is only reaching like 80% of its potential.
Anyone that likes VN's of any description should give this VN its due. It's worth your time. It's easily one of the top 5 best VN's that I've read thus far and that's even given the fact that this flavor of adult VN isn't normally in my wheelhouse. I'm looking forward to following this project through to completion.