This VN is really weird to review, for a number of reasons. I'll try and sort through my expectation(s) *wink,wink*, the reality, and then positives and negatives with some more miscellaneous elements.
When I downloaded it there were only two reviews: one 5-star, and a 1-star describing it as having "a simp cuck MC". Looking at the overview and the vague description of having "sexual content, but not being the main focus", there wasn't really much to go off. The images seemed decent, and I expected it to be maybe the first day in a 4-day event for a big wedding, about winning over your crush from her husband and sleeping with other guests. I just expected decency.
The reality, is it's almost not even an AVN at all. It's really just a slice of life visual novel, with very scarce sexual elements, for both good and bad. You only have the one love interest, Celine, and every interaction you have with others is purely as characters. The MC's former crush, Alice, is happily married to a lovely man. The bride-to-be is in a healthy relationship with your best friend. Even the tumultous relationship between the bride's brother and the woman head-over-heels for him can be somewhat repaired by the end. The entire experience is really just about talking to these characters and knowing more.
The issue comes when I don't know whether to rate this as an ADULT visual novel, or as a visual novel. While the game has 3 sex scenes (and 2 lewd scenes), it really doesn't fit into what I'd define as an adult visual novel. That would be like saying Blade Runner is an erotic film (the writing isn't up THERE, but you get the picture). I feel more comfortable rating this in terms of being a visual novel. Unfortunately, this would set it back due to it's writing really being better when compared to an AVN rather than an actual VN (imo). It also doesn't fit just rating it like that on F95zone. I'll try and strike a neat balance between the two.
+ as previously mentioned, the character writing far surpasses most AVNs on this site, where each of them gets moments to talk, and they all have far more human and genuine interactions. Each character actually establishes themselves in your mind, you can actually assign positives and negatives to each of them, see their likes and dislikes.
- however, for me personally, this led to it being slightly dull as it went on. I was expecting more drama, more engagement, but it's all just this mixture of stilted and natural conversations. The characters are, in essence, stereotypical. Celine is basically a Ramona from Scott Pilgrim. They really have one positive trait and one negative, and that's all you'll get from all of them. I also believe in the dev's native language, the language may be better than in English. At the moment, it almost feels uncanny valley, like two A.Is talking to each other. It's so CLOSE to being as if it was a transcript, but there are just parts that remind you that it isn't. A strange joke, a weird word choice, etc.
+ when you reach the sex scenes, they all feel properly built up and natural, which adds to the character depth. They're also done well with the models they have.
- there are unfortunately not that many sexual encounters, and the two proper sex scenes are near the very end. This works for the narrative, but isn't as beneficial for an AVN experience.
\ the models are decent. I wouldn't say they're great, but they're certainly not bad. Each character is distinct and you can recognise them visually alone. For every great use of the models there's a less flattering one. Generally speaking, the smaller scenes with one person look much better than the ones with more than 2, which obviously I understand, but it's still noticeable.
\ despite the narrative being largely kinetic, there are still choices that let you choose the content you'll see. Unfortunately, besides just not seeing someone's tits, there really does feel like your decision have little effect. Perhaps the time jump for the next chapter would make them feel more significant, but at the time of writing [Chapter 1], the decisions generally feel arbitrary and empty. Why should it matter if I'm an ass to Fred or not? I'm not given any indication that it SHOULD matter.
- the text is very weirdly formatted. It's too big and takes up too much real estate on the screen. It also means that often you have to click far too many times for the same discussion, because they can't fit more than one line.
Ultimately, I give it a 6/10. I can understand why people are giving it 5 stars, but for me, it just doesn't fulfill the necessary criteria. It'd be a 7/10 if not for the text.
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