Comrade Seduction

Review of Comrade Seduction - 0.0.1 This is the definition of an underrated game. As of this review, it's a 2/5. I almost passed on it but after giving it a try, the score isn't by any means a good representation of what's on offer here. Comrade Seduction (very to the point title) is a game set in a modern Soviet Union, one that either apparently didn't adopt or collapse under Gorbachev's Glasnost and Perestroika in the 80s and 90s, surviving into today's world. It has a sovietpunk aesthetic that's rarely seen in adult games so props to the author for branching into new territory. Story: 3/5 The story contents themselves are mixed. The big draws are the setting and the very well-done environmental design visuals that compliments it. There are moments that really do feel like you're experiencing the life of a man living in a Soviet dyst- rather, utopia, yes comrade. The plot is set in a world with comrades and partisans, the state and anti-state elements, one in which the characters are likely to get caught up in. It's a world where those who do not work are monitored and compiled into a social-parasite list and a world where the neighbors are listening through the walls for dissident talk. Enviable, right? The characters however need some work with the most flawed one being our protagonist himself. You can argue there is at least huge room for development and growth as the story progresses but currently he's grossly unlikable. He's an asshole, a terrible liar, is unwilling to work at a presumable state job in a factory after becoming an adult instead living off his mother at home browsing Soviet 4chan, and is shocked, confused and outraged when the totalitarian Soviet superstate he lives under catches him using what is basically a VPN to bypass their information censorship after he's been doing it for five months. This is the same guy that blushes at the sight of an attractive woman making eye contact with him while sitting on the bus and at some point mocked the same state's surveillance capabilities which also makes him look a plain idiot to add, and for all this? He is forced to work in a professional toilet cleaner job by the end of the current version. H ow can a paranoid world where citizens report on one another to the state and are indoctrinated from childhood, one that forces dissents into penal labor, produce our protagonist? Again, there's significant room for growth over time but he feels slightly childish, egotistical and hollow currently. The rest of the cast so far have had limited time for development but Katya is stereotypical Soviet/Russian mother, Olga is some sort of commissar at the local Soviet executive committee but with enough power to control whether or not the protagonist ends up in a gulag, Anya is simultaneously cowardly straight A student but willing to be violent (with our MC) while Lera hasn't been really expanded upon yet. It's still very early with this review being for v0.0.1 so it's difficult to judge most of these with the one or two scenes they're each present in. Grammar: 1.5/5 The translation itself is rough and needs a good English proofread. The meaning gets across but the majority of dialogue sounds like one-to-one translations of phrases that don't make sense in English. It's a lot of broken English and hard to rate the grammar and writing here as a result. Graphics: 4/5 It's a Honey Select 2 game. Still as noted, the environmental graphic design is excellent to the extent it absolutely matches the story and the lighting is exceptional in most renders. A lot of scenes really are pleasant to look. None of them are the overused backgrounds standard in HS2 games. Since the selling point of an adult visual novel are the female leads however, I have some choice words there. Disclaimer: these are just my personal opinions and others can, may, and will disagree. With that out of the way. Some of the current female cast are not that attractive. Anya has thick, bushy eyebrows, braces and just doesn't hit the right boxes for me while Olga has some notably strong nasolabial folds or "smile lines" around her mouth that makes her look really old. Katya and Lera seem fine but they aren't especially eye catching either. The most standout character so far has been the yet unnamed girl on the bus. Animations: 5/5 The only set of adult animations are with the meta-introduction character Nina at the very beginning and they're perfectly fine/good. On the other hand, the non-H animations are one of the strongest points of Comrade Seduction. While navigating the basic sandbox, if you're exploring you can walk up to living room and notice that you can see out of and interact with the window to look at the apartment across the way. The animation visual changes based on the time of day with a beautiful snowfall that's small but really adds to the atmosphere. When you go to bus stop, you see surveillance drones flying all across the sky. During your travel to the executive committee meeting, there's some genuinely well-crated animations that play as you pass through the dialogue for each part of the ride. There's situations like these throughout the story where there are nice animations that play when there could have easily been a static image. Altogether, these do impact and add to the quality of the game in a noticeable way when compared to similar games. Sound: 4.5/5 Good so far. There's some thematic music tracks that really sells the Soviet dystopia such as the bus scene's theme but generally there's fitting BGM. Some scenes might do better with more sound effects if they're attempting to be funny such as the protagonist getting his face shoved next to a squat toilet by Olga that currently reads as another moment of him being unintentionally or intentionally humiliated. Some additional notes. When you set the MC's name or let it default to Misha Ivanov, his full name is displayed in the name box instead of only the first name unlike every other character. You also see Lera in the Dossier relationship view on Day 1 before you meet her. The game's size is around 2.8GB at version 0.0.1. This looks like it's a result of a large number of PNGs that could be compressed to somewhere between 85-90% quality with minimal impact without bloating the game size if the author doesn't want to outright convert them to JPGs. In game, the default music volume setting at first launch is 40-50% making it impossible for the average user to hear when it would probably be better being around 80%. As it's a simple sandbox and it seems like it could work decently with the general concept, it's hard to comment too much on that will go at this stage but I'll add that hopefully the game avoids the general grind pitfall that a lot of sandbox games end up adding if it expands and fully commits to that aspect. Finally, it might be worth reworking the current logo art. The front art is where first impressions are made for new potential players and the moment to showcase your game at a glance. Currently it showcases Olga's wrinkled face. I don't think that impression matches the personality and amazing aesthetics that a lot of the screenshots show off. Important note. Although this review is written critically, as outlined at the beginning I think the offering is better than how the game is currently rated which is part of the reason for this review. Assuming the author reads this, balance any feedback and criticism in this review against your creative passion and personal attachment since those are lifeblood of these games. TLDR: Rough but there's something unique here. There is a distinct setting and environmental assets to match. This is something memorable in the making if some of the flaws are addressed. For transparency, this is closer to a 3.5 rating overall but F95 doesn't offer that and it's better to rate upwards than downwards in most cases, especially since it's a newer game that deserves its chance. P.S. Set up alternatives to Patreon such as SubscribeStar and whatever platforms of choice are preferred as well. It will limit the amount of pain that can happen later from ToS issues.

So far the beginning looked good until it jumped 18 years into the future where the MC is a bum and is physically abused by his mother and sister figure then proceeds to be a wimp and a coward. The game itself has a lot of Broken English and is very hard to follow and understand. More than half of the first update is watching the mother attack her son for having cigarettes even though he is a adult which makes no sense. The only good thing is see about this game so far is the Model quality and lighting in the game is pretty good other than that is needs alot of work. Writing 1/5 Characters 2/5 Story2/5 Character models 4.5/5