VN - Ren'Py - Isabella - Chasing Shadows [Ch. 4.2] [badtimetales]

I've played until chapter 3.0, and I definitely love the story. I find myself curious about what will happen, and I can't wait for the next updates. I like the depressing premise, and find myself hoping that the main character finds love, happiness and sex.

i wish I could like the game, but if you're not interested in the "super" model "Isa" you feel pretty forced into her, bc the mc neither stops her advances nor even tries to set a clear boundary by saying he's not interested. on the contrary hugs,kisses,flirting and simping for her, you can't avoid it. whatever Isa wants like mc sleeping at her place (bc she is scared to be alone) mc is just fine with everything even sleeping in the same bed as if she would be a kid, poor Isa. couldn't be more forced seriously it reached a point where it's annoying that the MC just does whatever she wants.

in general the game feels more like a kinetic novel with choices that don't really have an impact to the story. if you don't like it when an MC (or the Dev) tries to make you fall for a girl that you may not want to, i would avoid this one. Especially if you only want to go for Alex you will not like it how the MC behaves around Isa that so called "smoking hot Supermodel." which is imo a naive,whinning blonde that never reached maturity.

the renderings are good, quality renderings

story is interesting enough to make me want more ... and That is what makes me think a game is great or just ok ... this one is great

the characters are memorable, Alex is awesome, tho that hair cut is not so much, hope to see how she develops

I wish the dev nothing but smooth going

My one problem at the beginning was that I found and still find that news report a bit unbelievable.
It seemed to be an attempt at serious investigative journalism, and neither the writing nor the presentation held up to any standards. It just felt clumsy and awkward.

Thankfully, this seems to be the only fluke of that kind, the story itself, while being sensationalistic and filled with many convenient deus ex machinae (I counted at least 4 or 5 in the existing chapters), is quite well written.
Characters are somewhat believable, which is not exactly common in this type of game, and even stuff others criticized I find quite believable. Like Isabella thinking Zeus is dead, when he is just drugged.
Given the circumstances, I thought her not catching that he was still breathing was something that could very well happen. I mean, she was clearly panicking and completely emotional. Drugs can also slow down your metabolism so much, that the breathing can be quite flat and not much movement of the chest area will be seen. She might have just felt for a pulse, didn't find it, and was then convinced the dog was a goner.

One thing I didn't particularly like, is the MC is quite the MarySue. He can fight, he is super smart, and women are just automatically drawn to him.
The problem is, he doesn't act particularly smart, and you wonder a bit why someone who seems like a bit of a doofus is so attractive to women.
Unless they know how loaded he is.
I actually find it kind of limiting story-telling wise, if the MC is too strong, not to mention that flawed characters are more interesting.
And no, I don't consider having a breakdown after your fiancé dies as something weak. That is a devastating thing to happen.

Visually the game is fine, the renders are okay and set up nicely enough.
In addition, the girls have quite diverse looks and body types, even if there is a strong emphasis on blonde ladies.
While I appreciate that diversity, I admit, someone like Alex is a bit too thin and for my tastes also could have slightly bigger tits, but I think it's fine to have something for everyone.
It's definitely a good thing that, so far, the characters aren't just the usual tired 10 daz models we've seen in dozens of games by now, without alterations, except for age and breast size (and while I love them boobies, I can also appreciate that so far the game keeps away from ridiculously large ones)
I mean, I know most of the models, but I'm not tired of them, like I am of some others.

As for writing and story, there is definitely room for improvement, maybe the MC could be a bit less capable at everything and not so conveniently have someone at hand who can help with whatever kind of problem he has at that moment.
That's certainly not like it works in real life.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE QUIRKY

Take a Hollywood film like The Bodyguard and add developed characters, real plot twists, and well-written dialogue and you have Isabella: Dark Paths. Instead of a singer you have a supermodel, instead of a single crazed fan you have a potential conspiracy, and instead of a bodyguard who delivers lines like sliced sausage hitting a countertop, you have someone with depth and personality. It's not always a single ground-breaking idea that makes for a good story. More often it's a combination of elements. In the case of this VN, the combination is very well done. This information is current as of Chapter 3 (v3.3).

THE GOOD

THE BAD

THE QUIRKY

Although also possessing solid renders/animations, sound, and dialogue, the plot and characters really are what make Isabella: Dark Paths shine. Connections breeding connections is hardly an easy feat to manage, but Badtime Tales pulls it off well. And what might turn out as two-dimensional papier-mâché in someone else's hands has been given depth and provokes empathy from the player. Some games rely on many love interests to motivate players for upcoming updates; others use enjoyable characters and an interesting plot to drive anticipation. Badtime Tales has chosen the latter, and it shows.

My thoughts after playing Ch 3.3

I've got three words to describe this game, great, interesting and hot! It has great renders, sounds and animations but it would be better if sounds were also added on the sex scenes. It has an interesting story which got me hooked even on its early stages. The women and the sex scenes are hot and I am really hoping that there would be an option for a harem route in the upcoming chapters. This definitely has the potential to be one of the best VNs out there.

(This review was written just after the release of Ch 3.3)

In case you don't want to read the full review renders are great (especially Isabella and Val's). Story is not extraordinary (for now) but being ordinary doesn't always mean being cliche or boring it is quite intriguing actually. It's promising and definitely worth giving a chance .

First of all, I want to start with a characteristic feature of this game. Isabella Dark Paths contains videos/animations (in addition to sex scenes) to improve its narrating and it works very well it makes you feel like you are playing something more than a virtual novel. For example, when you're driving your car a cutscene starts. I wanted to start with this feature because as far as I am aware of there aren't many games using videos/animations to improve narrating

About renders, I know it is not the peak of rendering art but as I mentioned in my short review it definitely has some gems in it like Isabella and Val's renders they are certainly high class in my opinion.

Well, I know a romantic relationship between a supermodel who needs protection and her bodyguard is not something you've never seen but I think what makes a story interesting, gripping is narrating skills, twists, etc. rather than its originality. To me even a well known fairy tale can be intriguing if told effectively enough. There isn't much to say as of now since it hasn't reached its climax yet but I can say it is worth reading.

In conclusion, great renders, kinda ordinary but intriguing story and most importantly there is a hot blondie supermodel yep definitely worth playing. It is neither a teasing simulator nor a fuckfest it's perfectly balanced as all things should be.

Excellent story, well written with few if any grammatical errors and several plot twists. Conversations hold interest and not a lot of extraneous dialogue.

Interesting characters with depth and background, well written and realistic.

Good graphics. Characters are attractive but not a bunch of supermodels (except the supermodels) or waifus. They look good but realistic.

Minimal animation but they work well to help tell the story

Review made as of version 3.3 (final version of 3rd chapter).

Took me some time to try it out, but i have to say i came out the other side pleasantly surprised. The VN follows the story of a healthy man who's girlfriend has recently died. This is one for the "Plot" lovers and well worth it.

I have to start by saying that the simple fact that it automatically reduces the volume at first startup by itself deserves praise.
Plot: Is front and center this VN's biggest strength, an intriguing mystery to solve, beautiful girls to protect and a MC that is likable, only slight con is that you start with a "friends with benefits" / girlfriend which only later can you choose to keep or not
Art: Its not the best out there but its fairly good, the girl's models are really good, and are the posing and direction (shot framing) there are also animations used to change scenes which are fairly well done.
Sound: The VN has sound effects when appropriate and some background music which helps setting the mood and increase immersion.

TL;DR: Very Intriguing plot, a mystery to resolve, good looking girls to protect/help and enough sexy bits to keep all but the biggest perverts.
What more can one ask for.

I'm not sure why I haven't tried this one before. Dark Paths has great storytelling and thriller atmosphere with convincing action sequences, there aren't many LIs which means you get to spend more time with them. Always a good thing in my book.

I particularly enjoy the sound design and the non-lewd animations that really give this VN a high quality vibe. The plot develops rather quickly, which can be a good or a bad thing depending on personal taste, I think it wouldn't hurt to slow down a bit but then again, I am a sucker for telenovelas and this is clearly a different genre. So it's not really a valid criticism.

I can only encourage the developer to stick to his guns since he is doing a good job so far and I enjoy the ride.

(as of version 3.2)
Love this game. Can't wait for the next update.
I usually ignore blondes, especially the rich and famous ones, but Isa is just an awesome character. And Alex is the kind of woman who needs a bit of spanking once in a while. She'll drive you mad with her jabs at you but she will also be there for you in your darkest moment.

The story is interesting.
The renders are great.
The characters are very well written.

TL;DR = this game in nutshell: tragedy, crime, detective drama, thriller, hot girls, a supermodel and a lot of sex. Really good mix.

Story: 5/5
+ Game starts when somebody kills MC's fiancée. After he stops mopping he will start meeting new girls and he will also try to investigate the murder of his fiancée. Things get more complicated when he meets this hot supermodel who has stalker issues.
+ This game has really good plot (for porn game). It is actually an erotic thriller. It might not be on the same level as some real detective drama, but it is close.
Art: 5/5
+ The girls are hot.
+ Renders are good.
+ Game has some good animations. Not only sex animations, but also some common activities (riding a bike, car, etc.)
+ Sex scenes are good.

Gameplay: 4/5
+ This is typical VN with some choices.
- Choices are usually minor things. It is mostly sex related.
+ English is good.
+ Game also has pretty decent soundtrack. During tense moments you will hear thriller music, during cheesy moments you will hear cheerful music. Etc,

To sum it up:
I really like this game. If you like some good story in your games, then this game is PERFECT. Go for it.

I've been a bit sceptical about this game at first, well, I definitely was wrong, and I've played it from the beginning to the end without a break. A decent detective story that kept me on my toes to find out what happens next is my favorite part of the game. Renders, scenery and animations are nice, lewd scenes doesn't ruin the plot which is rare nowdays, so the overall impression is very good. Added to the favourites.

Some time ago I decided to play this jame just of curiosity. I never thought it may be intresting in some way. Spoiler: I was wrong. Actually, its good! Its a surprise, this game is not another click'n'fuck VN, whitch always "skip unseen". Detective story influenced by famous movies and games. There are no much similar games and I really apreciate dev's work. Carry on!

+ Good renders and animation. Especially faces. Dunno why, but i like them.
+ Really good plot. A lilbit hyperbolised, a lilbit slow. Not withiout issues, but its good.
+ Atmospheric music. If you play with sound.
+ VN got many references to modern problems. I like it because its not something you have to be silent about.
+ Greek mythology and european culture as leitmotif of narration. The dog called Zeus, a bust in prot's home, archetypes and other minor things. Also some jewish only symbols for those, who know Was it done accidentally or on purpose, bit I love it!

+- Despite the good plot, some dialogs are quite dumby. Yes, of course. Text in NSFW games are secondary, but you can see they became better with every new update.
+- Easy start. No one wanna play as common John Doe. But a man with a huge ammount of money, fighting skills, Apollo body (after almost year of drinking) ? IDK

- Dumby protagonist. Really, man? My fiance was hit and run, during huge journalist investigation, laptop was twisted, my friend's dog was knocked out... It might be a murder. Come on, guys. Maybe Im overreacting, sorry bout that. But brilliant guy should catch things like that from the beginning.

Its good this game became even better every update. Can't wait for the new one!

There is no other rating I can give this AVN except five stars! I literally ripped through this title's current available Ch. 3.2 story in a single sitting, savoring it over an entire evening... like starting late afternoon and engrossed until midnight!

The renders are beautiful in 1080p HD, the animations are fluid, the ladies are HOT! But, the real secret ingredient here is the amazing and wonderfully intriguing story!

Well... I think my initial commentary in the forum already says it for me rather well...

"I just came across this brilliant tale today and was curious to see how it went so I DL'd Chapter 3.2 and was rather pleasantly surprised by the overall experience! Exceptional 1080p HD, high quality renders and smooth animations, lots of sexy good times yet in this game the story is the star. The hot, steamy sex scenes are a natural flow of the story without feeling forced which allows the intrigue to build and grow as MC gets deeper into the events surrounding the untimely demise of his former lover and wife to be. There is a good balance between how much MC knows and what we as the audience know with the story allowing us hints and tastes of the bigger picture, even some of the nefarious players involved without divulging everything.

This title defies definition and I like that. It's tragic, epic, mysterious, thrilling, chilling and rather sexy however it doesn't fit the standard definitions for any of those categorical genre classifications. If you want something intriguing, sexy and different... this is a great pick! This is my thank you note to the dev and recommendation to the crowd. Top quality AVN here!!! Chomping at the bit like a prized stallion to see more of this.

Thank you!!! Thank you!!! Thank you!!!"

Yeah... that says it right there... I highly recommend Isabella-Dark Paths for your AVN gaming enjoyment.

Adventure ever on my friends, Phat

Game has been in my backlog for a while and I finally got around to playing it. Good sounds, has animation and decent amount of lewd scenes, the girls are nice and have their own personalities, the renders are nice, the plot is well done and intriguing. Its doing a good job of keeping my attention. There are no slow or dull points. Its still overall early in the plot still I think but so far its all promising. And at least the dev is active which is more than what I can say for 90% of the other games lol.

Isabella - Dark Paths doesn't have all that much content yet, you can easily play through the entire build in one afternoon, but the VN is off to a promising start.

The story revolves around the dead girlfriend of the MC who was killed in a hit and run accident. Only it was probably murder. She was an investigative journalist and about to release a juicy story about the fashion world, involving abuse of models etc. and someone evidently didn't want her to release her findings.

The MC fell into a deep hole after the loss of his girlfriend, but he has gotten into a - more or less casual- friends with huge benefits relationship with a bartender after the death of his girlfriend.

The game then slowly develops the bigger mystery, with the MC trying to uncover the reasons behind the death of his dead girlfriend, while he also befriends a hot supermodel, titular character Isabella. As a fashion model she is involved with some of the people who may or may not be behind the girlfriend's death, so she's central to the story and not just a regular love interest.
But on top of that the relationship with the bartender Alex also develops and it becomes obvious that it's really more than just "friends with benefits", even though both insist that's it's just that. But it's really not.

The character models in the game are all very attractive. All of them have natural proportions, Alex is very petite and cute, Isabella is a bit more curvy but still looking very natural. So if you like female characters who look like actual women, Isabella - Dark Paths is your game.

And while there are some typos in the game, there are some problems with "your" and "you're" and sometimes it's "to" instead of "too", the writing is pretty good. It's certainly a few levels above your standard VN fare.

The central mystery is also intriguing and you will never skip any of the narration or dialogue here, you, as the player, will absolutely want to find out why the girlfriend Jennifer was killed. So even the scenes with several male NPCs, including the father of the MC, a former police detective and a few others will keep you engaged.

The renders are also pretty great, it's your typical DAZ3D affair, but things look good. There are plenty of animations in the game, not just for the more intimate scenes, but several story scenes are also animated, it adds quite a lot of atmosphere.

Not everything is perfect though... I feel the flashback heavy intro may have been handled a bit better. Maybe it would have been better to start the game with Jennifer and to actually experience the accident and then to skip ahead a few months instead of resorting to flashbacks.
I was also not a fan of how quickly and eagerly news anchor Valerie (a colleague of the dead reporter girlfriend) jumps the bones of the MC. That scene is avoidable however and the MC can reject her. But honestly, who will do that. Valerie is after Isabella easily the most attractive woman in the game, only somewhat less curvy than Isabella. Still, some more build-up may have been nice. But maybe she's only ever meant to be a casual friends with benefits character. At least Valerie insists - for now - that she's not looking for a relationship. But that could certainly change in the future.

As of now there are zero scenes with Isabella, so people hoping to get a bit closer to her need to be patient. Most of the scenes you get are with the bartender girlfriend Alex and then one optional scene with Valerie plus a dream sequence with the poor dead girlfriend Jennifer (that morphs into a short scene with Isabella, it's evident the MC really likes her a lot). I am usually not a friend of dream sex, at least with potential future love interests, but the scene with Isabella here is pretty short and you only ever see Isabella's chest for a brief moment, when Jennifer morphs into her. The MC wakes up very quickly afer that. I guess the scene is essential and meant to point out the growing affection for Isabella. It's also pointed out in the story how Isabella is the same type of woman as Jennifer and this will certainly have an impact on the MC's feelings towards her.

The animations are pretty good and some of them are even quite long, often several animations are combined into a longer sequence. At times there is a splitscreen giving you two different angles. There are some choices here and there, mostly about where to finish, nothing real fancy, it's ok though. There are no forced kinks (as of yet, I hope it will stay that way) and everything is basically vanilla. But as someone who likes vanilla that's a big plus. And as long as it's vanilla choices are not required.

But while the game itself has music and sound effects the sex animations have no music or sound at all, which I found a bit odd. At least a music track could have been used here to enhance the mood.
Also, some of the poses of Alex in the animations are... not good, her body is a bit contorted here and there and it doesn't look natural. But it's nothing major. And it only happens in earlier scenes.

The super rich MC trope is maybe a bit overused though, and in this game the MC is yet another super rich son of some super rich father owning an IT company. But it provides an explanation why the MC doesn't have to work and has all the time in the world to spend with the various females. On the plus side the MC is not a kid, he's 32, it's good to get an actual adult protagonist. Girlfriend Alex is 24, Isabella is also in her early twenties. So no teenagers here.

The game switches between POV and 3rd person perspective when necessary. So there are no awkward camera angles here. When two characters kiss you will see the MC's head and in several other scenes too.

Isabella - Dark Path is certainly one of the better story focused VNs, the available content is very promising. By giving the MC a girlfriend out of the gate you also get several scenes that don't feel too rushed or silly, since the two have known each other for months already. It may only be a negative if you don't like starter girlfriends and prefer to conquer all your LIs in the game.
But if you want early sex in your game I think this is the best way to do it. Alex is also pretty likable so I would guess almost everyone will be ok with her. You will not want to avoid her.

What I also liked was how the dev rendered Alex' reaction to a kiss Isabella gives the MC (she wants to create a distraction and avoid getting seen by someone she doesn't like), you can see how she's hurt and jealous. That facial expression was spot on. Many other VNs usually don't do that. But here you can feel the pain of Alex. It may make you think twice if it's a good idea to cheat on her, even if she pretends she and the MC are not really in a relationship.
But I suppose almost everyone won't be able to resist Isabella should opportunities arise in the future, that woman is stunning and easily one of the best looking female characters in any game.

So if you like a good mystery, if you can handle somewhat darker subjects like a murdered girlfriend, if you like story driven VNs that only have a few (potential) love interests, if you like very attractive, but realistic looking characters, then Isabella - Dark Paths is absolutely worth your time. This could easily become one of the best story driven VNs.

I've never seen an AVN this immersive... The animations are next level... But it's more than just in sex scenes, it's all the way from driving your car to walking down the street. The game seems to strive to be more than just a porn game, but the whole immersion of a story.

Definitely keep your eye on this one. It's the complete package. Hot women, good humor, emotional moments, great story.

A solid story where the lewd scenes come when they are needed, not just out of the blue.
An impressive amount of animations.
Overall good render quality and a very nice top model as POI for the MC.
Very promising

Very good story, and not as dark as the title can feel. Very nice rendering, a lot of very nice quality animations !
the characters are well writen, like the history. It's a good thriller so far, but like i said not dark thriller. The MC is (right now at least) a good guy, same as the others "good" characters. But there is, of course, some villains too !