VN - Ren'Py - Companion of Darkness [Ch. 8] [Berkili4]

This is my review for Companion of Darkness [Ch. 7].

The good

• Renders are looking really good
• Music
• Writing
• Gameplay
• Big amout of content 5+ hours
• Story is interesting
• Big updates

The bad

• Nothing

In conclusion, 5 stars worth playing.

Ahh, brings me back to a nostalgic time when I loved reading and writing indulgent stories like this.

Premises and lore draws you in almost immediately, and well thought out. There's a clear direction and idea of where and how the story is going. Credit to the writer definitely.

NSFW scenes are always yes or no, and while the choices matter, they don't create multiple branches that locks you out in the future, which you can't say the same about every other game here, so that's a big plus.

However, the engine used is unfortunately one of the oldest. Though I assume that's for the ease of animation, it kinda takes away from the "cinematics".

Direction of the action scenes are surprisingly good, even on a old engine, same as above, ideas well thought out, but the quality is abit lacking.

One of those games where you can probably remove the lewd scenes and sell it as a VN and still be very successful. The actual 'kink' factor isn't that high. Sex scenes could almost be considered boring, though the characters actually look quite good despite using old program.

All in all, it's really only limited by the renders, 9.5/10 as an fantasy-action VN. but probably only a 6.5 or 7 as a lewd game.

Still, looking forward to more content as the story is honestly quite addicting, would probably be an amazing remaster using one of the newer engines/program for renders. (Though it would suck to slow down the production of the story)

Great work Berkili4!

I recently found this one. I think the story is why I like this one so much. I also like that you do not have just jumbo titties and have made a great selections of body types and styles. I look forward to the next update.

Very enjoyable game

The story kept me interested throughout - The pace is decent (didn't feel too slow or rushed) and the models/scenes were good. Definitely worth a play through and I look forward to reading more of the story in the next update

edit - lol after looking through some of the other reviews, it seems this game is a bit of a love it or hate it. so I thought I should add more - To me the story was the one of the best i've seen in a lewd game, good character depth and fairly logical actions with a bit of comedy thrown in.

Wow. I came into this game not expecting a whole lot but to say I was pleasantly surprised would be the understatement of the year. This game is absolutely incredible and blew me away.

The story is literally out of this world. The dialogue and plot twists just make this a pleasure to read through and I can't applaud it enough.

The whole concept the story revolves around is unique and refreshing and really ramps up from 0 to 100 quickly and it feels like an adventure. The girls are interesting and feel like a part of the story rather than just H-Scenes.

I finished the game a little while ago and I'm still processing it but it's been a while since I enjoyed a VN so much. About halfway through the story, I was dreading reaching the end because there would be no more to read for a while. And that's about the highest compliment you can give.

This game focuses more of plot than plot and has a lot of information to read through. So if you're not into reading, this probably isn't for you. But if you are, this is a special game.

Easy 5/5.

Companion of Darkness is a gem of a game. The story is gripping, it flows with logical, yet perhaps abrupt movements, it’s not afraid to make bold choices and warp characters that you’re fond of, even to the point of nearly removing them from the game. I have a lot to say about the story, but I’ll save the spoilers and note some of my favorite points:

Noel and MC’s relationship is actually top tier, up there with some good company in terms of top AVN relationships. The character arcs in this game are incredible, most characters that you meet in the first chapter go through incredible development of the course of the following chapters with almost no stone unturned. Some might find this off-putting as some of their favorite characters early might drastically change, but, in my eyes, it keeps the story really interesting and unpredictable.

I only have a few minor negatives:
No gallery up to this point, though I hear chapter 8 will introduce one, which is very good.
Animation work is fairly hit or miss. I personally don't mind it much, but I could see it being a bigger issue for those who put a lot of stock in that department.
Grammatic inconsistencies. Excusable to me, but I could imagine it would bother others.

I am very excited to see how the story goes from here and eagerly await the next update!

Although the plot may be abrupt, those details can be omitted due to the size and development of the game. Anyway, the girls and stories inside are quite interesting. Both the plot and the sexy content are very worth experiencing, and so far, the content behind Chapter 7 is worth looking forward to. Looking forward to future development, the author cheers.

Great story. The developer did put a lot of effort to this game. One of the best game in this genre. I really recommend it to everyone. If you love fantasy and a lot of twist, this is the game for you. The character designs are beautifull. This might the first game that i am gonna actually support through money.

Companion of Darkness became my favorite VN several chapters ago, but it is still standing very strong with each new update. I can't even make predictions of what will happen from chapter to chapter because Berkili4 is a better writer than my brain can imagine.

I play a handful of VNs every week, so I often forget what has happened chapter to chapter. That hasn't been the case with "Companion of Darkness". It sticks with me. I would still recommend to Berkili4 and every developer to implement ways to remind VN regulars what happened in previous chapters. Sometimes it can be just character profiles that jog my memory, but simply a paragraph or two summarizing the events of each chapter is very useful at getting everyone up to speed.

5 out of 5, 10 out of 10, 100 out of 100, ∞ out of ∞

Loved it.

Discovering a good HS superpower / demony title is my jam and this ranks up there with the better ones.

I think what Companion of Darkness has in common with the best ones is the way it starts out looking very average and blossoms into something fairly epic. It surprises and delights. We're kept on our toes as to who friends and enemies might be and our relationships change as characters are not black and white but like the Dark Ones themselves, grey at best.

Pros

• Epic story with twists and turns
• Moves at a good pace
• Lots of adorable characters
• Good amount of content (Chapter 7 at time of review)

Cons

• Writing - The English is not great and seems to get worse as you go on. You can always get the point so doesn't stop you in your tracks but some find it irritating..

Yep this is a hit imo.

Pros:

- amazing and interresting story

- great LI's, all a very likeable yet unique

- the best big brother any avn has ever seen

- fun fights and power level scaling

- deep characters, seemingly wrong/unusual behavior can have deep roots

- clara's gaming talks and using a dark one for gold farming in wow


Cons:

- some LI's are just not around for quite long amount of times which can feel a bit disappointing at times

Worthless story with zero player agency and an equally worthless main character. How this got an average rating of 4.5 is anyone's guess. The dialogue is poorly written and from the grammatical error it's clear that the dev is not a native speaker. The renders are similarly of poor quality . Would advise new players not to waste their time on this.

It's truly amazing how dull this "VN", even if you ignore the generic "secret society of superpowered/gods existing" plot setting. The overview is big fat lie, the mystery gets revealed 5 minutes into the game. Poor writing, even worse proofreading. The "fights" are always one sided stomps by OP plot devices instead of characters. "Choices" are a lie, they have no impact outside of see/don't see sex scene. Characters that you have no reason to get attached to because they will either disappear as quickly as they appear or have a complete 180 to their characterization.
Pretty mediocre usage of Honey Select for the models and animation. Not great, but I saw worse. The sex is sprinkled apart and is pretty rare, so don't expect to be particularly aroused, and there is no replay gallery, the most basic of VN features.
I came expecting little and was still dissapointed.

Quite enjoyable experience. Very good writing and even with the budget of a VN the developer does a really good job with the action scenes. Love interests are all great.

My biggest regret with the story is I wish they didn't drag out the relationship with his childhood friend. She's too sweet and pure to be lead on while he's banging everyone else. They were stuck hiding out for too much time for them to not have had sex much sooner in the story.

This game is spectacular. Genuinely the relationship between the MC and Noel has grabbed me a way no other game has. Maybe it's just because I've feeling a little raw recently and Noel's personality is very much my "type", but all the story beats regarding their relationship hit me as hard as possible. The character work is really well done. Great stuff, can't wait to get my hands on chapter 7.

Incredible game. Love the lore, the number of characters that the game has and how smooth and enjoyable the playthrough is.

Probably something like 50 bonus points for Misty cameo btw.

Best of luck in the development! can't wait for another episode.

I got really into the story! I like the world building, I like the characters, I like the humor and plot too--it's all great.

I think the art is good, I like all of the character designs. I enjoy all the scenes too. If I was to critique the game is I think its light on player choice and the setting/tone is a bit over the top.

I'm excited to play more of this! Its a game that certainly appeals to my particular tastes, but I'd also find it easy to recommend to just about anyone who enjoys adult VNs.

I really don't like the whole superpower genre. It usually is just an excuse for poor story telling, but this is really well done. So much so, that it left me impressed and eager for the next chapter. It is a great read.

It's not without flaws, the way it courts Deus Ex Machina is annoying at times and there's too many characters that often don't get to do anything meaningful and the story takes a bit to long to get anywhere sometimes.

BUT all that is nitpicking a great story with interesting characters and an actual sense of consequence. There's loss and betrayal and plot twists that I did not foresee. It's really REALLY well written in that sense, especially compared to all the Disney Theme Park Harem Trash that you usually find here.

Give it a try!

I was skeptical going into this game. I was expecting a banal and cliche chosen one story. While there are aspects of the story that do follow that trope the experience is quite special. The story does not shy away from the "darkness" but embraces it. However there is a wonderful balance between dark grittiness and meaningful connections. The contrast gives those moments more impact. The highest praise I can give a game is that when I have reached the end of the current content (Chapter 6 at time of review) I was left with that empty feeling you have after finishing a great show or book and a profound longing for more.

I only have 2 real criticisms. There are some minor grammar and spelling mistakes. Also there are some continuity issues that seem to ignore previous decisions. This is a major pet peeve of mine and often ends my interest in a game however I enjoyed the characters and story enough it was only a minor annoyance.

Fantastic job dev(s), I cannot wait to experience more of this story.

I played through Chapter 6 in a few evenings, and found this VN quite enjoyable. On the positive side it features an entertaining urban-fantasy story, a MC that is moderately relatable, and numerous love-interests. Graphics and animations are low to mid-tier Honey Select, improving over the course of the story.

On the con side: the text badly needs proofreading to fix frequent grammar and spelling issues; and there were a couple of minor fem-dom scenes that didn’t seem to offer the player a chance to flip the script.

I look forward to seeing where the story goes from here.

Edit: as of Ch. 8 I have upgraded my rating from four to five stars for excellence in storytelling.