A Trip Up North

Updated for Pt. 2: I'm still a fan. The story continues and the choices now address not only the sex partners but some yes/no choices about whether/not some given events ever occur. If I wasn't clear before, let me say this: if you're looking for a game about cheating and betrayal, this series is not for you. If you expect to find a harem of virgins waiting for Rob to deflower them while they remain chaste with everyone else, this series is not for you. If you absolutely will lose your mind when someone other than Rob has freaky sex with Suzanne (in front of Rob), this series is not for you. Having said all that, if you're looking for an actual game where the player makes meaningful choices that influence what you do / do not see later in the game, you'll like this. It's a love story about a couple who explore new things with each other and who genuinely enjoy giving, receiving, and watching their partner give and receive pleasure. There's no jealousy, no treachery, no humiliation... ...just a really interesting story about sharing and swinging. Both the players and the NPCs look like real people with enough differences between characters (age, race, body composition, kinks, etc.) to make things interesting. What's more, if the player opts out of an event the text later in the game actually remembers your choice; instead of skipping scenes the player actually may avoid some scenes--they never happened and there is no dialogue later in the game referring to the avoided event (because it never happened). While this isn't the only developer I've scene who writes this way, it still is rare enough that when this occurs, it warrants positive mention. Well done, AA! In this update the Main Couple (MC) will check in with friends from earlier games in this series, will explore one of the swing club properties, will complete training and assessment, and will meet some interesting new NPCs. While the couple still is somewhat new to the lifestyle, it's interesting how they easily slip into the mentoring role for some folks less experienced than they are. I didn't feel that any of what I saw was forced or went against my prior decisions and I was allowed to pretty much freeze-out an NPC whom I loathed to the extent that Suzanne had very little (and only minor) interaction with him. I like that player choices influence how the couple react to NPCs in the game (i.e., the dialogue follows the player choices). We still have not met the main antagonist(s) yet, we added a new member to our inner circle of friends, and we learned more about one of the MC member's newly discovered fetishes. We saw enough material to keep us interested yet we know there is several more updates' worth of material to look forward to seeing. The developer is quite responsive and interacts often with his fans on his Patreon page (always a plus) and I can say this game series is one of only a few AVNs I've played where I don't find the nagging angst of that three-letter genre I loathe; after several hours of playtime across three different games, I still view the MC as a couple that loves and respects each other while supporting each other on their mutual path of discovery. I'm hooked on following this couple's story and look forward to seeing what they are up to in Pt. 3 (and Pt. 4 and...) Pt. 1: I love this developer's work and I'm a fan of the protagonist couple in this story; I'd call them the Main Couple vs. Main Character. This is a story-first AVN about swinging (really, these games DO exist!) that brings in some other story elements. Note: if you haven't played The 3 Panels and Holiday for 4 (in that order; same developer) I'd encourage you to stop and play those two games first. It's not a show-stopper if you start with this game but you'll miss out on background, character development, and some general ambience that enrich this story. Both of them are very good games and I'd expect the player will enjoy seeing how the author develops his technique with experience. Swinging and sharing will occur here and are unavoidable; having said that, the player has considerable choice in selecting the other partners in the events. Player choices influence this game heavily but not in the way you might expect; while the route is fairly kinetic the player chooses which NPCs go along for the ride for each event. The developer is improving his rendering ability but this still is a story-first product; players who focus on animations and such may not enjoy this product as much as I do. I very much am a story-first kinda guy and this developer's products fit the bill nicely. The developer continues his practice of putting believable NPCs in his games; the men are not all Chippendale dancers with circus penises and the women are not on break from the Swedish Bikini Team '26 tour. The author began adding some sounds (ladies' voices, etc.) and these additions add to the playing experience. There's a wide variety of sounds as you would expect in a game about so many different people. I rated this as a solid 5 but it's very early in development; I love what I see here. This game definitely sits high up on my watch list and I plan to return to update my review as more content releases.