The Selkie

The Selkie is an intriguing AVN (and fairly short too at three episodes). The story deals with some selkies (they shapeshift between seal and human) manipulating locals’ sexual inhibitions at a small Scottish village. There’s not much to the game - your female MC can choose to investigate or be oblivious, and the graphics are OK but nothing special (also no animation). My rating is based on the quality of the original story (and dialogue ) with its mythical lore, which I think makes the game. The dev has gone the extra effort to capture the language (local slang) and the authenticity of the Scottish setting. It’s refreshing when compared with the same ‘nowhere and anywhere’ urban setting of so many AVNs. Note that the dev’s previous AVNs deal with swingers and sharing so expect some of that here too. That content is avoidable for the MC but not for some other NPCs.

version: 3.0 (final) TL;DR: A fresh and original story that fully compensates for some shortcomings of the game. Let's start with a few negatives. The graphics aren't the best – their quality is uneven, some images are grainy. The obvious problem is the hair of some key characters. There are no animations; for me, it’s not that important, but many expect them. On the other hand, FMC is natural and attractive, same for a couple of more mature hens (ha, ha), and the Scottish landscapes are interesting. The writing… I have no problem with the Scottish words in the narration and dialogue; for me, it makes the story even more engaging, although sometimes the dev seems to try too hard (dictionaries...). If anything bothers me, it's a lack of trust in the readers. I find some of the narration unnecessary – images and dialogue are sufficient, and describing what's happening, if it’s visible in the renders, is redundant. In other words, there's sometimes too much text (also in too long dialogues), which disrupts the flow of the story. And there could be more endings or meaningful choices. But even considering all these shortcomings, I'm still willing to give the game five stars. Why? The answer is simple: the plot. I found it fresh, original, and engaging, unlike in case of hundreds of standard - say - high school/college or incest stories. And I found many situations described in the story to be arousing, which is the essence of a porn (or, in this case, erotic) game. Yes, it worked for me. Good job. It would be great to find more games like this. PS: Fish dinner and red wine? The Scots are strange.

Story: The storyline of this game is fascinating. I was reading along, completely immersed into the folklore, the mythology and history of the area. Although it was an attempt at immersion, I don't think including the local lexicon was a good idea. A simple lass or aye is enough to imply that the characters are speaking English with an accent IMHO. All the other terminology and slang beyond that was distracting while going through the dialog. Pacing: I felt that there was adequate pacing in not only the story but also the H scenes. There were no too slow, boring areas that I could recall skipping past, which is always good. Renders: One of my biggest disappointments and gripes are the character renders which seem to be dated. Some of the facial expressions were not appropriate for the scenes, i.e. the character is beaming brightly for no reason. Also, the hairstyles on both Grey John and Morag were a bad choice. Their hair looks so unnatural in some of the images that it distracts. The background renders, however, were very vibrant and lovely, particularly the outside world. H Scenes: This was another disappointment. No animations. The H scenes, although situationally hot and kinky, were flawed by poor character renders and the wild hair of both antagonists. Overall: This game could be a homerun. The idea of antagonists that can seduce happily married people into cheating or swinging, all the while attempting to seduce the FMC is excellent. I was also very pleased with the fact that whether the FMC was seduced or tricked into cheating/swinging/sharing etc., was left in the control of the Player and my choices. The resistance to "the glamour" of the Selkies is a very good idea and works well along with the story. Very well done. If there is a way to improve the renders and H scenes of this story, this could be one of the best games out there.

The Selkie offers an intriguing premise with a moody, folklore-inspired atmosphere that sets it apart from many visual novels and the narrative shows promise. However, there are a few noticeable issues that detract from the overall experience. For one, there are times when the hair on both Morag and Gray John looks oddly frozen or unnatural, even when they’re standing still — this breaks immersion, especially during more emotionally charged scenes. Another immersion-breaking detail is the occasional appearance of the default names for the main character and her husband in dialogue, even when custom names have been assigned. It’s a small oversight, but it pulls you out of the story and reminds you that you're playing a game, not living the narrative. Visually, the grainy and low-resolution images are a bit disappointing. While it's understandable this could be due to the developer’s equipment or limitations, a bump in quality — even slightly — would go a long way in enhancing the atmosphere and emotional impact of the game. Despite these issues, The Selkie has the bones of a good visual novel. With some polish and refinement, especially in the visuals and dialogue scripting, it could become something really good.