VN - Ren'Py - Astreon [Prologue] [NoGlory]

Overall: 3

I want to give it 3.5 or 4 stars for the effort put into making the animations at the beginning of the game, but unfortunately, I can't. I say this because at the beginning there is a lot of attention to detail in crafting both the sound design and the animation, whilst using renders captured in StudioNeo and HS2. Pretty neat trick! However, the renders (eg. scenes get to dark...maybe too dark) and pacing fall off after the flash back. Why are their eyes like that (Especially the granddaughter)? Also....HOLY the hairline on my MC after the time skip. It got pushed back into the North Pole!!

*Hopefully the dev takes these as positive criticisms and not as negative criticism and improve upon their product that shows some signs of potential.

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Writing: The complexity of choices presented seem too straightforward to be given to the player. Might as well remove them entirely. I keep saying this in my reviews so hopefully developers will take notice and understand the strength and importance of choice in VNs. VNs lack gameplay mechanics that are there to entertain and immerse their player into the world which are present in other genres like FPS, MOBAS, RPGs. VNs don't have the luxury of doing that. (Unless you're a god at Python or using Unity and other ENGINES). Otherwise, this might as well be another mindless VN where casual players like myself will find the skip unread text button on Ren'Py before immersing themselves into the plot. (I finished the game till the end before writing this review).

Pacing: It feels a bit rushed in my opinion, but others might like the straight to the point narrative, so I won't fault the developer for that.

Renders/Animation: At the start, great use of both video editing and HS2 Renders. Never seen it done in the recent games released using the engine.

Renders fall short after the time skip. Character design weird and awkward. Character's anatomy oddly proportioned, and shaders seem to be lacking on the characters.
- MC's tongue is too light.
- Lack of Shaders
- Scenes are too dark (Too much ambient occlusion (AO) .. probably developers lack experience in post-production tools)
- Hairstyle doesn't fit some (maybe most) the characters at all.
- Eyes are too emissive and have too much glow)
- Could list more but.... oh well

Nudity/Content: 1 scene (not a spoiler its already in the gallery)

Sound: Great!

Music seems to fit the universe, and I always appreciate when a developer cares about sound design in their game.

UI: Mediocre

Eh, the in the game HUD is really annoying, Thankfully the dev kept the option the reduce the opacity on it. Wish they also made it an option to turn off the backgrounds for the other Ren' Py buttons.

The Good:

1. Unique Storyline: The narrative is both original and immersive, exploring the fallout of technological advancement. The story of a former soldier torn between past guilt and the hope of restoring his family is deeply personal and emotionally engaging. The plot’s mix of global intrigue and personal stakes adds a fresh take to the genre.
   
   
2. Character Diversity: The character models are a highlight, with a broad range of diverse designs that add visual interest. The renders are enticing, drawing you into the world with high-quality graphics. Each character looks distinct, with varied backgrounds and appearances that reflect their unique roles in the story.
   
   
3. Visuals and Atmosphere: The overall graphical quality is impressive, with detailed environments and vibrant color schemes that fit the tone of each scene. The game’s atmosphere is enhanced by its strong visual presentation, which helps to immerse players in the dystopian future it depicts.
   
   
4. Music and Sound Design: The soundtrack is another strong point, setting the mood perfectly for both emotional and intense moments. The music heightens suspense when needed, and the ambient sounds complement the game’s darker, more mysterious tones. With some minor tweaks to balance ambient sounds, the audio could become a standout feature.

The "Need Improvements":

1. Dialogue Needs Refinement: While the dialogue has potential, it still requires polishing. The pacing of conversations often feels off, and there are moments when jokes fall flat, especially during serious or pivotal scenes. Characters’ speech can lack the emotional urgency that’s needed to drive the plot forward. More attention to the different personalities could improve immersion, such as using slang or casual tones for carefree characters, a wise, reflective tone for older or experienced characters, or even sarcastic or sharp dialogue for cynical ones. Currently, many characters speak in a similar style, which can make interactions feel repetitive or dull.
   
   
2. Main Character's Inconsistency: As a retired commander, the protagonist doesn’t always act in a way that reflects his military background. His strategic thinking and experience should come through more, especially in key scenes. For example, in a pivotal spaceship scene, limiting optional dialogue in favor of set responses that showcase his leadership skills or his character would be a better fit.
   
   
3. Aftermath of the Zombie Scene: While the zombie encounter itself is executed well, the issue lies in the aftermath. The protagonist remains reluctant to discuss the event with other characters, even though it likely holds significant implications for the lore. This silence feels out of place and undercuts the potential tension and narrative drive that could stem from such a major plot point.
   
   
4. Transition Between Scenes: While the animations themselves are smooth and well-done, there’s a noticeable issue with the transition between animated sequences and static scenes. The flow can feel jarring at times, breaking the immersion when moving between these elements. Smoother transitions would greatly enhance the visual flow of the game and keep players more engaged in the experience.
   
   
5. The "Sex" Scene: I can’t say too much about the sex scene since there’s only one so far. However, it’s pretty well done, but could benefit from more variation, such as different angles and more dialogue. Adding dirty talk could enhance the mood and intensity of the scene. I’m sure the developers will improve this aspect as the game develops, and I’m excited to see where they take it.

Final Thoughts
As it stands, Astreon is shaping up to be an exciting adult visual novel with a lot of promise. The story is strong, the visuals are impressive, and the soundtrack complements the tone well. However, the game could benefit from improved dialogue that better reflects character personalities, more consistent characterization of the protagonist, smoother transitions between scenes, and more emphasis on critical story elements, such as the aftermath of the zombie encounter. With these improvements, the game could stand out in a crowded genre.

Score: 5/5 (Prologue and still in development)

Overall Verdict:

• Pros: Engaging story, great graphics, diverse character models, excellent music.
  
  
• Cons: Choppy transitions between animation and static scenes, dialogue pacing issues, inconsistent protagonist actions, missed opportunity for narrative tension after key events.

While the game is still in its prologue phase and under development, I’m giving it a 5/5 for its potential. With further refinement and attention to player feedback, this could become an exceptional visual novel. I sincerely hope the developers take criticism and insights to heart, as it will only enhance the game's strengths and avoid the pitfalls of other games where developers ignore player feedback, leading to their downfall.

SInce it's early and a lot of the nuance is lost on me, I'll be uncharacteristically short in this review. I may edit it at a later time. Normally I avoid reviewing a game so early because I like to be comprehensive, but I have a really good feeling about this one.

Setting:
The story takes place in the near future, amidst a technological revolution related to exotic materials of alien origin. The main theme seems to be a mix between "first contact" and "progress too fast to contain" with heavy political undertones and rogue factions. It's a potent and volatile mix that is a bit hard to predict where it wants to go.

MC:
You play as a retired soldier, I assume in his late thirties to mid forties, with a bit of PTSD, former member of a spec ops unit that assassinated a high value terrorist. After a visit from his son, bearing cryptic news related to his supposedly deceased wife, his past comes to haunt him and with some help from his former comrades he springs back to action, unwittingly becoming part in a great scientific discovery and a deadly game by someone holding a grudge.

His link to the events is both his wife who was a pioneer in technology using the exotic materials and his participation in the assassination operation. He is quite out of his depth but so seem to be his allies too. All of them seem to pay for it by the end of the prologue which leaves us with a huge cliffhanger and enough ideas to speculate what is coming next.

MC is a well rounded character. There aren't too many interactions yet to know the full extend of his behaviors but we can observe that he has both flaws and strong points. He is sweet with his grandchild, decisive with trouble and depending on your choices, he knows how to have fun too. His flaws are related to anger and bitterness issues coming from the loss of his wife, which deeply affected his son. It's too early to know the full extend of his psyche and how the events of the cliffhanger will affect him going forward.

Other actors:
There is an assortment of various characters, which at this point look a bit too complex to analyse without the appropriate background information. I don't want to get too much into it. So far most of them seem compelling but there were a few things that threw me off. For example, the son's insistence on being cryptic seems to be completely unwarranted. Also there's a joke dead end related to a girl throwing a knife at you after a comment, which is obviously supposed to be over the top, but since the audience isn't yet familiar with the character it may create some misconceptions about her.


From a technical standpoint the game is top notch. Renders are amazing, animations are above average and quite common, it has appropriate music, UI is slick. I don't know if the dev is a team or a single person, but the quality, from the get go, shows both talent and experience.

I can't really find any technical flaw worth talking about at this point. Aside from a few typos, the only feedback I can give is:
1. The lore exposition video could use some subtitles.
2. The music could be a bit bolder. While it's appropriate, I found it a bit mild.
3. I get that the dev wanted to give choices for the player to avoid certain interactions, but I felt like the one about a cornered girl wasn't appropriate because the character ended up being MC's friend.
4. I found some scenes a bit too dark to see what is going on, had to turn up the brightness to the point that it kinda whitewashed everything. However this could be my monitor's issue.

Best of luck going forward.

Rollercoaster ride. This game balances all the emotions as seen until the prologue. The story is cool and keep you on the edge of your seat. Great cliffhanger btw!

Characters are fresh and have their own personalities. They don't seem boring and have something to offer to the story. The music selection is good for the AVN. However sometimes the music seems to vary in its volumes. Some scenes are loud, some scenes the music is dimmer.

English is not the first language here, still the English is well and understood. The scenes are well done. You can see a lot of efforts were put in the graphical aspects of the game.

All in alll great play. 10/10 would recommend

Review of Astreon prologue aka first release.

Graphics 5/5

Although the graphics engine is HS 2, the graphics quality is very high. The characters are well modeled, with great detail. The light, illumination and general aspect of the game are very dark, which sometimes causes slight visibility problems, increased by the use of ACES in color grading, but nothing serious. You see what you have to see, even if everything is so dark or brownish. The scarcity of light and abundance of darkness is a very used resource to play with lights and shadows, something that the developer does quite well. Post processing is abundant and adequate. In the game there are many graphic effects that are not HS 2 standard and that the developer has implemented in the game.

Music and sounds 4/5
There are, and also the choice is generally good and adequate.

Animations 5/5
Although there is only one sex scene, the animations are plentiful and tailor-made. Of great quality.

Gameplay 5/5
It's too early to tell if the game is really a visual novel or kinetic. At first it seems to be the former. The game is well programmed, without bugs and with screens and menus made by the author with lots of details. You can move from one scene to another without problems. The UI is quite neat, clean and moves from one element to another without problems, with plenty of custom elements. The game is well written and despite some slight errors here and there, the English is correct. The plot and the dialogue involve you in the game, with no superfluous or unnecessarily long scenes or text.

Plot 4/5
An Army veteran misses his missing wife, a great scientist who has disappeared under strange circumstances. Suddenly his adopted son has “found” a clue that could lead the MC to reunite with his wife. This clue leads him to get with other people in an alien ship that crashed millennia ago. Among other things that I won't say so as not to make more spoilers. The plot has some originality, and so far is well done. There are no holes or contradictions in the plot and so far everything is developing smoothly.

Characters 4/5
Graphically well modeled, and with correct personalities, with the exception of the General. From an old man with the name “General”, that being a military man you expect him to be a General, you don't expect a clown with a childish personality. If the developer wants to add humor, at least let it be humor and not a parody with ridiculous or ridiculed characters...

Final thoughts
Games made with HS 2 and Ren'Py are a box of surprises of varying quality. Often the quality is low, but fortunately this is not the case. The game is very interesting and of great quality. Very neat and polished at all levels. Highly recommended.