Recent reviews by Aymar (on hiatus)

Please note this game is Rated PG-17, and contains mature themes of a sexual, and violent nature. Trigger warnings include: suicide, blood, gore, abuse and bodily harm. Your personal discretion is advised.

"In a well-ordered universe where everything has its place, there are, for man, no possibilities of an escape from himself, except into the strange and inhospitable universe of his own mind. There he may wander in realms of ice or sink in the vast quicksands of the night. There he may crouch in the dark, listening to the great subterranean river of death and creation flowing beneath his feet. In a well-ordered world only the hidden and monstrous, under the cover of night, may find a place in which they can survive. They are dark things, the monsters, and always will be." Loren Eiseley

I have to admit, visual novels weren't my thing. Until now. I downloaded "Cupid" only thanks to Faudraline (Lady Storyteller). Her differentiated review made me curious. I recommend to the intellectually inclined player to be inspired by Faudraline's review here to play this VN.

Set in 18th Century France, CUPID is a gothic romance tale about loss, revenge and the different faces of love. The story is disturbing and fascinating at the same time. The charecters are complexly fleshed out, and their psychology and development in the non-linear plotline is captivating. The player takes on a split personality of the main character Rosa and his role is limited to selecting possible answers in conversations between the protagonists. However, these are match-decisive for the course and especially the end of the story.

You'll quickly find out that the characters have a mind of their own and act accordingly, even if you don't always agree with their decisions. In the end, I'm left a bit shaken and glad to find out that there are other possible outcomes to the story. I immediately set out to restarting the story and painstakingly clicked through countless dialog sequences I already knew, until at some point in the second playthrough I discovered the almost transparent "skip option" at the bottom of the menu, with which one can comfortably click through the conversations to the next relevant decision (just VN are not my thing). After several experimental playthroughs and five endings, I'm well acquainted with the characters so far and don't remain quite as distraught, but the story would not let me go and I carried it with me for some time.

The story begins in the style of Charles Dickens and Charlotte Brontë and develops through Anne Rice to almost Lovecraftian dimensions. One should not be put off by the formal partly childish graphics. In terms of content the story offers tragedies of Attic proportions. Guielleme, one of the main characters, bears traits of Lasher from the Mayfair Witches trilogy by Anne Rice. I was also reminded of the 1980 film Possession by Andrzej Zulawsky, in which the director comes to terms with his failed marriage and allows the viewer to peer into the monstrous abyss of the soul.

But despite all the fascination, the adjective "disturbing" hovers over this game. If love in its purest form is anything to go by, it is not disturbing. But since there are probably only amateurs among us humans in matters of love, one must probably accept this adjective in the present context. However, one is inclined to think the author (I assume it is a woman, men are rather seldom so direct and honest on this subject) to ask: "Who hurt you so much that you can write so cruelly about love?"

Official Blog of the gothic romance visual novel, "Cupid" [cupidvn.ameliori.art]

Please note this game contains mature themes of a sexual nature. Your personal discretion is advised.

The desire to play games is as old as humanity itself. But while in the past we relied on board games and cards, in the last two decades, gaming has largely shifted to the digital world. The exponential development of computer technology and the widespread availability of fast internet connections have opened up opportunities for developers and users that were previously almost unimaginable. In 2022, nearly 11,000 games were published on Steam, now the largest computer game platform in the world, compared to less than 500 in 2012. These numbers reflect users' interest in entertaining and interactive media and show that the consumption of computer games is largely accepted in today's society. Today, any creative designer can find an audience and position their game in the market without a large publisher and high budget. The almost daily growing number of AI tools also contribute to the fact that the growth of this industry continues to show an upward trend.

The desire for sex is also as old as mankind. However, the video game industry has not yet been able to provide valuable content in this part of the industry. Even though adult games are now socially acceptable, most of the games encountered online, you wish you had never been exposed to them. Most of them are cheaply produced and usually only aim at taking money out of the consumer's pocket. Furthermore, they are often unimaginative and both mentally and visually unerotic. I exclude the genre for pornographic manga and anime commonly referred to as Hentai in the West from this assessment, especially since this genre is not intended for mature audiences unless they have not yet passed the anal phase.

It is all the more pleasing that with "Treasure of Nadia" the interested adult audience is presented with an example of how, with passion, discipline and creativity, a sophisticated game can be designed that is not only visually appealing, but also funny and captivating in terms of content.

Treasure of Nadia is a successful mix of virtual novel and point-and-click adventure game with a lot of treasure hunting and some supernatural elements, as well as a whole series of puzzles and mini-games scattered throughout the game. You take on the role of Henry, a young treasure hunter suffering from priapism who follows in the footsteps of his late legendary father, Idaho Johnson, on the fictional island of Cape Vedra. The reminiscences of Indiana Jones are unmistakable. But Henry has a little problem, his dong is so gigantic that he passes out when he gets an erection. Fortunately, in beautiful Cape Vedra, there are plenty of understanding women who help him channel the blood from his loins back into his brain so that he can continue to focus on the successful search for artifacts in hidden caves and the jungle.

But what makes Treasure of Nadia so special? Why has the game received such extremely good reviews? Why has this title hit the adult games industry and its audience like a train? I must admit, I have always avoided computer games with sexual content. Simply because the gameplay and images presented to you have practically never gone beyond the predicate "it's better than sticking your head in a boiling chip pan." However, the trailer for "Treasure of Nadia" on Steam piqued my curiosity. The aesthetics of the 3D characters are impressive and tempt me to get to know the game better. And indeed, the game manages to captivate from the beginning and create an immersive experience. It is also worth mentioning that, unlike Hentai, female protagonists are of an adequate age for once.

The Game offers a semi-open world with exploration, puzzle solving, and treasure hunting. The linear story is captivatingly told and the characters are well fleshed out. It's fun to explore Cape Vedra, get to know the characters more deeply, and solve the puzzles. The story and supernatural background inevitably draw you in, so that you always want to know what happens next.

In the end, it remains porn, but as a male consumer you might forget why you bought the game in the first place while playing. As for the ladies playing, you should give the developer specific feedback on what you would like to see in games like this and what explicitly not. Since all the girls in the game are portrayed in a homogenized way in terms of sexual identity (they all like everything) and their sexual acts reflect stereotypical male fantasies, female input would be an asset to future games.

The sheer amount of gameplay that Treasure of Nadia offers is definitely impressive. You can spend many hours exploring and solving all the puzzles if you want to. It's even more incredible when you learn that there is only one person behind the developer pseudonym NLT. The creator of the trilogy (Treasure of Nadia being the second game after Lust Epidemic and before The Genesis Order) presents a successful concept on Patreon for regular content-based updates to the games. From a commercial perspective, an interesting approach. Instead of investing two years in development and then marketing the game, you can generate regular income during production. For those interested in background information, I recommend the exclusive interview with NLT on the grown-ups.net website.

Treasure of Nadia definitely has the potential to become a milestone in the adult gaming industry. Even the sex toy industry has recognized the potential for synergies with computer games. Allegedly, the compatible toys from the Lovense company mirror the action on the screen in the movement and intensity of their devices. Without judging this development, it's not hard to imagine that the combination of virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and hardware will lead to far more immersive gaming experiences in the future. Anyway, kudos to NLT for his contribution to the adult gaming industry. May he continue to be successful in his future endeavors.


Interview NLT [grown-ups.net]
NLT website [nlt-media.com]