HTML - Inner Empire [v1.69] [Defiant Explorer]

Great game. Well written, allows the female MC enough agency to be fun rather than just getting raped all the time - a lot of female MC games fall into that trap, you just get drugged or hypnotized non-stop. It's more fun to roleplay a horny slut who actually wants sex. Good characters, too. One of the few stories I'm coming back to from time to time.

Really well done game, sex scenes are steamy and spread out well enough, and solid story that made me very comfy in that sort of Berserk/Spice and Wolf/RDR2 small party traveling the roads vibe. It's really just a great framework for having the perfect number of characters that all sorta feel like a new family for the PC. Also one of the few games of this type I've seen that actually manages to incorporate RPG elements well that feel like actual roleplaying versus gamey stats.

Nice page and text formatting. Text is broken up well to fit into a single screen, character portraits make identifying speakers very easy. Overall great flow and very easy to digest. Art is weak, but it's a text game so not a big issue.

All in all a lot of what I like out of a text game, definitely worth a try and to keep an eye on.

Some critiques though:
Occasionally scenes can be a bit too hidden behind exploring certain options, or certain RP. Not necessarily a bad thing, makes sense you'd miss things if your character doesn't get involved, but could use more alternatives than just skipping it entirely. Ex. my mature ex-noble PC would have missed an Iolanta scene if I hadn't broken character to go run in flowers like a schoolgirl, perhaps instead she could have dragged me out there or we just could have talked in the cart.

Additionally, some characters seem to sorta fade out if you turned them down, mainly speaking of Cadonis. Just because I turned down his comically overdone advances doesn't mean I don't want to possibly be his friend (or bang him on my terms). However this could easily be within author's plans though and the game just hasn't advanced enough to offer those moments yet so it's a very soft criticism.

An EXCELLENT text-based game with an engaging plot, cool mechanics and steamy scenes. This is the best HTML/Twine/Sugarcube game I have ever played in terms of mechanics. There's no grind, and the imagery fits the game well.

It's really well written, fun, deep and sexy.
That weget so many picks when comes to designing our character, -background that matters- skills that are useful, and enough branching and freedom to keep me coming back for more.

I played without stop from start to (current) finish
I highly recommend Inner Empire, and I'm looking forward to seeing it's development in the future. It's shaping up to be an amazing game

A very good role-playing game. The writing and plot are very well done, the characters are well developed and interesting, and there are lots of choices to be made, with consequences!
Of course, the naughty situations are plentiful and well-written.
A game I highly recommend!

I wish there are more chapter to it but Every single thing is great I appreciate you hard work man I hope you have a nice day I wish you good luck and a successful career I have some suggestion for this game but I don't know you need it or not I really hope that this game improve I don't want this game to die you do you I will support you best of luck to you

I have discovered this game a few days ago. V1.6

Bad things.
It´s a really barebone text game and have few branching.

Good things.
It´s a really barebone text game and have few branching, so the developer can focus in developing the story. And it´s a good damm story.
NO GRINDING.

All in all, just say that the game had been good enough to make me do 6 different runs...

The writing is rather good, and the setting is detailed, if not original. The story isn't very interesting, but your character personal goal greatly vary depending on your background, it can be interesting like searching for your twin sister, or not having any real goal like the street urchin. The graphical part is dull : the portraits are unattractive and the maps are useless, but that's not really important.
The game offer a good diversity for your character creation, four background to choose from, and different ethnies. The NPC cast and the companions are diverse and interesting. But there is a problem with choices. the story is very linear and choices are meaningless because everything depend on the stat.

You can make the choices of not being interested in a character, but the author consider that you were lying, your character is attracted to the character if you miss a willpower check, and since you lack the willpower to resist him, you are forced to a sex scene. This is a poor way of doing choice driven games because it nullify the player's decisions and can break the roleplay you created for your character.

For exemple, my character have no willpower because she is broken from slavery and rapes, she has learnt to submit to suvive, but she is too broken and fearful of men to be attracted to this man (the father figure leader or the composed reassuring mountain of muscle are attractive to her, but not the drunkard and the womanizer) , but this character is not possible to roleplay, the author do not allow it because the conversation choices are not aknowledged by the game. In this context, the forced sex scene could have worked if the guy insisted on having sex and she was too submissive to say no, but that's not how it happen, the game make her willing and you are forced to select dialogue lines asking him to fuck you.

The game should first consider the player choice and then lead to a conclusion according to the stats. But this problem is not even consistent with the rest of the game, for exemple a starving character with no willpower is not forced to try stealing food from the poor farmer mother or to prostitution to buy food, you still have the choice even with no willpower. And the scene that I hate is not mandatory either, I wouldn't like it at all, but it could be a scene where the author absolutely needed to have my character sleep with this man, but no, with points in the willpower stat you can avoid it. This is just poorly done, but the author won't change it because they invested time in making secret seduction and affection stats for this encounter and they probably don't want to discard all this hard work even if it's nonsensical.
For now, I'm dropping the game because I really hate how internal mechanics are done.

Nice ! I love Inner empire. The writing is very good, illustrations are nice and it's really pleasant to play. Characters are good, easily recognizable and sex scenes are H O T.

All this attention to detail means less content, but I think it's worth it o/

I really liked this game!
Not only the writing is excellent, but it also has a really good amount of meaningful choices, the setup for each erotic scene is seamlessly integrated into the story and they are not only a block of text that you don't have any say on it like I see many text games doing, no, the player has real agency on how these scenes will play out. So choices when you commit to an erotic scene are not about "I want to see" or "I don't want to see" the scene, but you can actually shape the protagonist's personality while you are at them.

The world-building is also very well done!

It's one of my favourite text games at the moment and I wish the best for the developer and that they keep on with the good work.

I’m always on the lookout for hidden gems, and this game is definitely one of them. The writing in this game is absolutely fantastic, and I haven’t even finished it yet! Each text message, each dialogue option, is crafted with such care and attention to detail that it’s impossible not to be completely absorbed in the story.

What really surprised me is how invested I became in the lore of the fantasy world depicted in the game. The meticulous world-building, complete with its own set of histories, legends, and cultures, is simply awe-inspiring. It’s rare for a game to captivate me to this extent, and I have been thoroughly enjoying every moment of it. From the mythical creatures to the intricate political dynamics, the attention to detail is commendable.

However, to my dismay, it seems that I have reached the end of the game already. It’s disheartening to realize that it may only be 5-15% complete. While the story so far has been nothing short of epic, with twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat, I can’t help but feel a tinge of disappointment. Considering the epic scale of the story, it’s uncertain whether we’ll ever get to see it fully finished. This is a major disappointment for me as I was hoping for a more complete gaming experience.

Despite its unfinished state, I can’t deny the sheer brilliance of the writing in this game. The characters are well-developed, the dialogues are engaging, and the storytelling is top-notch. It’s a testament to the power of immersive storytelling that even though I know there may never be a resolution to the game’s overarching plot, I still find myself immersed in this captivating fantasy world.

The writing is super excellent yet simple at the same time, I able to imagine and understood the scenes based on words without graphic and sound effect. what's more to say.

Beside that, the Non-player characters, interactions and world building are very realistic and grim, which I believe is a great bonus to everyone.

The only downside (IMO) is the official portraits are rather unappealing, why not integrate the alternative Portraits mod from the community.

I WISH YOU WELL AND KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

Without a doubt the best text-based game on the site. The characters feel interesting and unique with well-made accompanying art. A couple spelling errors here and there but nothing that takes you out of the conversation.

In my opinion the best game on this website.

The writing is absolutely great, I enjoy the approach of sparce and subtle artworks that inspire your own imagination while not distracting from the story. Also, the artstyle of the illustrations depicting your surroundings is really nice and sets a nice atmosphere.
I haven't explored different paths yet, though the decisions in my playthrough felt impactful.

In sum, absolute recommendation and don't let the heavy focus on text stop you from trying this game, you'll miss out!

A lot of text based games here become very burdensome due to excessive grinding, chores, shitty navigational systems and the like. This has none of these, which greatly works to its advantage.

Some of the background attributes do seem as though they would overlap (e.g., intrigue, mind and perception) and thus 1 or 2 COULD be removed, but I am being very nit-picky here. The general plot is also one that is not often seen - a girl in a historical setting seeking fame and fortune through theatre. Hopefully there will be a wide array of kinks. Whether it is the fmc working or fucking her way to the top of the socioeconomic ladder (which is more my taste), or making the wrong (or right) decisions into becoming a slave to another.

There seem to be a variety of paths that can be taken by the protagonist, and an array of characters the player can encounter along the way. There is a mixture of important and minor choices that can be made, and the player is able to somewhat predict what may happen given a choice (which is a good thing; the consequences need not be obvious but they shouldn't be completely out of nowhere either).

There is also some detail that is put into the birds eye views and maps, as well as some visuals via portraits of the characters. It would be nice to see visuals for particular scenes as well, but this isn't absolutely necessary.

Ultimately, this is definitely one of the better erotic text based games that you can find. Can't wait to see how this project develops!

It catch my attention because I was searching for a game with female protagonist and lesbian (my two greater kinks ;-)), and character creation tags.
So if you don't like female protagonist, this game is definitively not for you!
But after I started reading the comments on this tread, I wasn't sure if I will like it.
As @Defiant Explorer explain that the MC is straight at first and so is attracted by men. By choice the player can make her bisexual.
But according to the lore of this world, lesbianism (and male homosexuality I guess) is a sin. And in a world where everybody believed in the gods, you don't want to attract their wrath on you. So the MC will never become a full lesbian.
And what I like is lesbian FMC.

But, I decided to give it a try anyway.
And I was not disappointed, quite the contrary!

First I like the creation character system.
Nothing new, but it give me a vibe of a good old tabletop RPG creation, and I like that.
And I like the concept of Insight ability. Like hero or fate points you can find in other RPGs, that allow you to exceed your limits, and succeed a test you should normally fail. One important thing to know, to be able to use Insight points with an ability, it must be at least at level 1. So when creating your character, if you want to have at least 1 in all the 6 abilities, you have just enough creation points have 2 abilities at level 2, ou 1 at level 3.
The ethnos (race) and origin (your personal story before the game start) help flesh out your character. They don't affect your starting abilities. But your origin sometimes give you specific options. And NPC sometimes react at your ethnos (but I don't remember having seen an option related at your ethnos, yet).

About the game mechanisms, it's all about choices. Actions or dialogue lines you must chose from a list depending of the situation.
Some choices require a minimum level of an ability. It's where having some Insight points to spend may prove useful, to allow you to temporary (for that choice only) meet the requirement.

The arts are minimal. So if it's important for you, this is not a game for you.
But, it's a text based game after all, so I don't mind.
I even found that the MC avatar remind me of some 70's French/Belgium sci-fi comic books (more precisely Yoko Tsuno and Valérian, for those who know).
And the views from above have a vibe of decors a tabletop RPG GM will draw for you to put your miniatures on.

I like the story for now.
I'm not a English native, but despise what the dev write, I didn't find it's in broken English. I find it rather well written.
You can chose how the MC can react to the situations and people. Will she be honest or not. Will she impose her will, or go with the flow. Will she fall for a man, sold her body for a few silver coins... or resist to all the males.
I won't say she is really a lesbian, as there often mentions that she find some men attractive. But you could avoid sex with all of them, and only go with women.
Well there only one sex scene with a woman for now. But I hope there will be more with her, and with other girls.

The game is at it's begin (chapter 1.2), but I really enjoyed it so far.

Inner Empire [v1.2]

I liked the game.
Well written. An interesting world around the main character. In the open location, there are various situations in which the main character can participate, although some of them are present solely to study the lore of the universe. The intimate scenes are well written.

A BIG MINUS for me was the stats of the main character. In some situations they are not needed for the playthrough I made, and in others without a certain number of stats you can't even say no to another character (like at the end of 1.2) So the plot gives me a choice without a choice and I find myself in a situation in which I I don’t want to be and at the same time the situation is exposed as if I simply have no choice and this choice is the only true one. The ending of this version is very frustrating.

Thus, I liked the game and if it were not for the situation with the choice at the end of 1.2, then I would put the 5th now it's only 4.

Also, only from the second playthrough, I learned about the possibility of pumping stats. It's better for the author to make a hint about this feature, or if it exists and I missed it, make it more noticeable.

While the game creates the illusion of choice in dialogue, choice seems solely based on stats. As a result, one can play always choosing to not want a certain relationship, but be forced into it and into the character enjoying it with the explanation that according to the willpower test, the player's declarations for the protagonist were dishonest. This takes away any sort of player agency but also breaks the trust between author and reader: if the reader can't trust the words written, reading becomes pointless.

I was incredibly surprised, this is not an ordinary html game where you want to quickly skip the entire text, but you really read the dialogues and do not miss them. An interesting skill system, I will follow the project and wait for updates, no questions asked, rating 5 out of 5.

Review for update 1.2
ok, so currently I have only played one route. Despite that I want to leave a review some where.
tldr: This is one of the better text based narratives I have experienced, the characters have a stunning amount of character and it seems to have an well built world. In the end I highly recommend it.

Also despite it being obvious spoilers ahead, read at your own discretion.

The only route I have played was the redhead characters trauma backstory, and the writing was fantastic. I felt genuinely upset and an actual grunge form toward the slavers. Yet I also felt the characters fear towards them and understood well why she was fearful. (then again that may be because of my irl experiences idk and idc) I loved the intro to the town and the choices and I hope that the sister gets treated well, hopefully bought by a guy like the protag in teaching feeling. I can not wait to read more and and explore every nook and cranny of this game.
The things I did dislike was how there was a lack of choice in the choices. Which I assume will be remedied as updates are released so I have little worry in that. Another was the abilities, although I do understand what each means. It is a bit frustrating having three separate abilities for charisma. Although I also recognize the necessity for it in a text based game. This was remedied by the inclusion of points you could spend to make up for any lacking abilities .

All in all, I give this game a solid 9/10 for its true score and I hope to see what this develops into.