I don't want to play this game...
I'm looking at the archives and they scream "Unpack me, you bastard!!", but I can't. I can't because every time I played this game it left me with that feeling you have after watching a very good movie and you exit the theater almost forcefully, because you just want to watch it more and more, and I know that, by doing so, I'll be stranded in a Universe populated by strange people and beings, and I know I will love them, hate some of them, want to kick some in the butt, and the fact that I cannot become directly involved in the action makes me so... furious. :)
What a game.
WHAT. A. GAME.
The story is fabulous, it's almost like a movie script, and I wonder how many countless hours Berkili banged his/her head against the keyboard trying to answer to the question "OK, now what...?"
I said this before but I will repeat it, with the risk of being arrogant: I published few books, and only the people who struggle with writing a novel are capable to acknowledge the massive effort required to put together a coherent story.
Add to this the graphic, and you're in for a lot of work and for God knows how many things almost finished and deleted because of a small glitch... it's insane, trust me... sometimes you just want to throw the computer away on the window and hide under your sheet.
The characters are... DAMN.
I am very curious if Berkili makes a separate "character card", with all its traits, before actually writing the script, and I suspect so, because you cannot just create them on the fly. They are too realistic for that. Their actions and reactions, albeit sometimes unexpected, are so realistic and logic, that if you would meet them in person, there will be no difference.
Speaking of characters, Companion of Darkness, along with a handful of other AVNs, are doing a really great job by becoming somehing different than adult material. They are not "the pizza boy rings the bell, andt he mistress, being in heat, jumps him, banging him like there's no tomorrow" scripts. These AVNs I'm thinking about (which I will mention in their respective reviews) are some pieces of work which should be praised, because they are giving the player a whole life (and death) situation which is affecting the player's mind in some way. When you empathize with the characters, when you feel for them, when you, at some level, are entering their world, it closes the circle between the Dev and the player.
From the graphic point of view, what can I say, other than amazing.
Keep in mind that it is not enough to have a powerful machine for renders; you need to bring the renders to life though the D.o.F., through the lights, through the camera angles, and through a countless number of details which, if are not made right, they can compromise hours of work.
I remember, a few years ago, after making a whole house with garden and stuff for a customer, after 5 days of continuous render, 24/24, I only wanted to sleep for a whole day, then the customer called: "Umm... ya know... I wanted the door knobs made from satin aluminum, not glossy..." I was like "can somebody, PLEASE, shoot me? aanyone...??"
That's what I am talking about: if you make mistakes, no matter how small are they, you're screwed (if you really want the things to be good). Berkili is doing the things good. Very good.
I AM going to play this game. Again. Damn you... :D
Congratulations, Berkili. Lots of them, haha!