v0.12b: I made it to chapter 3 before putting the game down. Overall it feels oddly YA. Yeah, YA in a porn game. Stuff happens just because and the protagonist does the bare minimum of planning but things still work out (and then he has some sex). There are also quite a few "???" moments which could be explained away but aren't.
While stories will often start off well enough, TFTUV... doesn't. There's a cyborg spouting some cryptic nonsense then some cultists. I'm not a fan of this... literary device? Trope? Whatever; intro's out of the way, let's get started! Or not, because now the scene is the protagonist floating through space with a "I bet you're wondering how I got here." I am not. It would be one thing if he was in an unusual situation such as a pit which was slowing filling with venomous snakes, but it's incredibly common for people in sci-fi settings to find themselves floating through space with only their pressure suit for company. Maybe he was repairing the hull when a drive malfunction caused the ship to warp away. Maybe his ship got boarded by pirates and they spaced him because they didn't like his hair. Well, he's going to tell us how he got there so now the game can get started! Or not: time for character introductions. Yeah, this game has 3 intros.
Things don't get markedly better from there:
- The character introduction mentions that Lilly and MC have a poor relationship because... Lilly's dad dotes on her? How would that-- oh, I must have forgotten to install the incest patch. It's probably the kind of thing that doesn't come up for most users, but I'm never pleased to see devs put in the bare minimum to de-incest their games to pass Patreon's censors. There's even a line about how they're all definitely not related and Cam is an only child.
- The protagonist goes "Thim with a fucking h," which would be more amusing if everyone else had normal names, but instead said protagonist is named Camran. No, not Cameron, Camran.
- Our blaster-wielding heroes come across some obviously-hostile swordswomen who got the drop on the advance party. Instead of just shooting these antagonists one person charges them and gets stabbed. It could be explained away as the heroes being worried about stray shots or having the ladies be clad in beskar (or mithril or something), but instead there's just a stabbing and kidnapping and everyone is standing around like they're not adult cadets at a military academy.
- The characters are going to steal a ship to launch an ill-conceived rescue mission. One dude eavesdrops then runs off to sound the alarm. He gets knocked out... and they take him with them. Why? They don't even use him as a hostage when things immediately start getting hot.
- Speaking of stealing a ship, they steal a corvette. Even if you're not deep into sci-fi you probably realize that anything called a corvette isn't the kind of ship you use to take a half-dozen crew on a weeklong mission. It could be explained away as "We'll steal a fighter so that no one can catch us," but again, nothing is explained or justified; it just happens.
- Experimenting on any sentient life form is illegal... but (sex) slavery isn't. I'm not sure why (sex) slavery is even in this game. Maybe just to make it seem more "adult."
While stories will often start off well enough, TFTUV... doesn't. There's a cyborg spouting some cryptic nonsense then some cultists. I'm not a fan of this... literary device? Trope? Whatever; intro's out of the way, let's get started! Or not, because now the scene is the protagonist floating through space with a "I bet you're wondering how I got here." I am not. It would be one thing if he was in an unusual situation such as a pit which was slowing filling with venomous snakes, but it's incredibly common for people in sci-fi settings to find themselves floating through space with only their pressure suit for company. Maybe he was repairing the hull when a drive malfunction caused the ship to warp away. Maybe his ship got boarded by pirates and they spaced him because they didn't like his hair. Well, he's going to tell us how he got there so now the game can get started! Or not: time for character introductions. Yeah, this game has 3 intros.
Things don't get markedly better from there:
- The character introduction mentions that Lilly and MC have a poor relationship because... Lilly's dad dotes on her? How would that-- oh, I must have forgotten to install the incest patch. It's probably the kind of thing that doesn't come up for most users, but I'm never pleased to see devs put in the bare minimum to de-incest their games to pass Patreon's censors. There's even a line about how they're all definitely not related and Cam is an only child.
- The protagonist goes "Thim with a fucking h," which would be more amusing if everyone else had normal names, but instead said protagonist is named Camran. No, not Cameron, Camran.
- Our blaster-wielding heroes come across some obviously-hostile swordswomen who got the drop on the advance party. Instead of just shooting these antagonists one person charges them and gets stabbed. It could be explained away as the heroes being worried about stray shots or having the ladies be clad in beskar (or mithril or something), but instead there's just a stabbing and kidnapping and everyone is standing around like they're not adult cadets at a military academy.
- The characters are going to steal a ship to launch an ill-conceived rescue mission. One dude eavesdrops then runs off to sound the alarm. He gets knocked out... and they take him with them. Why? They don't even use him as a hostage when things immediately start getting hot.
- Speaking of stealing a ship, they steal a corvette. Even if you're not deep into sci-fi you probably realize that anything called a corvette isn't the kind of ship you use to take a half-dozen crew on a weeklong mission. It could be explained away as "We'll steal a fighter so that no one can catch us," but again, nothing is explained or justified; it just happens.
- Experimenting on any sentient life form is illegal... but (sex) slavery isn't. I'm not sure why (sex) slavery is even in this game. Maybe just to make it seem more "adult."