Re-Review: Curing my Addiction

 Ed's H Game (Re-)Review!

Curing my Addiction

Game Type: Ren'py Point and Click Sandbox

Creator: The Gary

Version Played: Complete (Ch 5 ver. 1-C) 

I reviewed this game at first back in the early stages of Chapter 3. At the time it was a buggy mess, and the way it was designed and laid out, it had all the hallmarks of a Patreon string along, an open ended product with enough content to keep patrons hooked. Well, I'm all too happy to admit that I was wrong, and this game is now it stands complete at five chapters. It's a good feeling seeing the final vision of the creator be made.

The first thing to note is that the game is largely iterative. The first game starts on the themes, and the rest build on it, both systematically and narratively. In that regard, you're probably going to know if you're going to like the game's content very quickly. It's a BDSM piece about assuming control, with a healthy dose of spanking and D/s play. The author does have several femdom scenes as well, showing what happens if the main character fails in his tasks. Amazingly, this is a thoroughfare that continues all the way through the entire game, even as the main character ascends to the provebial throne. There's always a consequence for failure. And that consequence is usually a spanking, or eating a girl out. And if you don't like femdom content? Just turn it off in the options and you won't have to see it, though you will have to complete the actions that get you there.

And there's no shortage of scenes to explore. Let me tell you, this game is massive. Because it's iterative, each chapter is its own executable, essentially giving you give games and not five chapters. And in each chapter, there are a multitude of things to do, for better or for worse. Since the game is largely about exploring your environment and making scenes occur, these too can be iterative, expanding on scenes when repeated. This does sometimes cross over chapters, seemingly an artifact of before the split into multiple executables. I can see why some players would find this repetetive. Even I did at times. But something about finding the right answers works for me, and I'm sure I'm not unique in that regard. 

The renders of this game are just plain gorgeous. The character models are detailed and unique. The environments are rich and lush. The attention to detail is superb. Even the framing of individual shots is worthy of credit, the game just plain looks beautiful. It's a shame the animations are less perfect, and for better or worse, they are largely abandoned by chapter 3, with comparatively few animations. The artist focuses on the still images, which is a strength. Obviously this could be rankling to some players. Similarly, there is never a soundtrack to any of the games, only a few scattered sound effects for some spanking scenes, and even those give a warning ahead of time.

The story, the writing... to my incredible shock, this is by far and away the strength of the game. Which is odd considering the original premise. "Man gets sent to his ultra-rich extended family's yacht because his mother thinks he's watching too much porn." That's... not a great starting hook. Thankfully it's quickly ignored other than some side comments, with the bulk of the game being somewhere between corruption, character development, and good old fashioned bondage. What got me is that the characters feel... a lot more real than in a lot of these games. Aunt Rachel might be a submissive slut, but even after fully submitting, her position as head of her branch of the family is never questioned, not by the characters nor by the narrative. On the occasions she is called upon to be In Charge, there's no hesitation, no running for her Master, she just acts. "Pressure keeps me going. I have one target in sight and I'm aiming for the bulls eye. Anything else won't do." How many Submissives in these games do you know who can spit out a quote like that and mean it? There's a reason she helped build a multi-billion-with-a-b dollar company. Emily is a gorgeous redhead buttslut, and does fall deeply for the main character, but she's always treated as romantic, and it's clear she has a passion for art and for literature (not just trashy vampire novels, which she is also a fan of). And like her mother, when she needs to act, she does. Chloe is a little bondage kinkster, but the most socially aggressive of the group for better or worse, with a tendency to get into trouble or even pick fights. Every character is faceted, no one is stereotypical. Even the side characters have their own charms. Executive Assistant Charlotte is among my favorite characters in any porn game, even though I know she was never meant to be a final choice. It's never a question. And yet, she always comes off as rational, reasonable, fun-loving, sexual, a perfect Girl Friday in every way.

And then there's Amy. From a writing perspective, Amy is quite complex. On a personal level, I find her to be a problem character. But the fact that she can generate any sorts of strong emotions at all is a credit to the writing. I don't like her, I know the reasons I don't like her, and it has nothing to do with her being under-written or stereotypical. It's up to the player to decide whether she or any of the girls are worthwhile.

The UI is where the game has the most problems. It can be very confusing, and it's often an issue to try to follow the quest tracker, which changes in every chapter. It can be a headache to follow along. Rollback is disabled for the first two chapters, which can also be a headache since there's no "wrong" answers, I assume this has to do with issues with variable tracking. Variable tracking is at its worst in Chapter 3, in which there are several bugs. Most notably, changing Amy's outfit can become broken, leaving her without the option to change her clothes no matter how many times you select it.

Pacing also has its issues. Chapter 3 is massive, Chapters 4 and 5 are shorter. It seems obvious to me at least that the back quarter of Chapter 3 should probably have been merged with Chapter 4, leaving Chapter 5 as the ending and epilogue. Chapter 4 also has a large issue, though not a bug. It's the only chapter with missable content. There is a point in Chapters 1 and 2 where there is a Point of No Return, but you are warned in advance to finish outstanding events and continue your game before triggering it. This is not the case in Chapter 4. Additionally, once you hit the point of no return, you're locked into scenes with only one character (two if you're lucky) and will flat out miss scenes if you don't use a Save Editor (which I did). For a game that - up to this point - has been about finding every route and every event, this segment is entirely antithetical to the overarching design and actually makes me angrier than Chapter 3's bugs. And towards the end of Chapter 4, the "Do everything and everyone" ethos of the game is completely thrown out when it informs you it's going to lock you into endings. Charlotte - as I said, a favorite of mine - is the only one to call bullshit on this.

The endings. Let's talk about the endings. In the end, there are only three girls you can pick, though many of the others take part. The main three are Chloe, Emily, and Amy. Yes, Amy, the one I have a problem with. And yet, even her ending has significant emotional resonance. The writer takes the time to really examine the character, the relationship. Which lead me to realize that no. This wasn't a string along. This was never just about the Patreon money. This was a singular vision from the getgo, which despite missteps, has a solid beginning, middle, and end. The story has its fun when it wants, and can get deathly serious when it needs to, with the writing and scenario reflecting that. All three endings have some shared content, but each certainly enough of their own identity that they're worth experiencing. Even if I had a clear favorite, I found all three endings very worthwhile, and it was an honor getting to spend all these hours of real time with these characters. Despite its main kink - spanking - being something I'm not into, I found myself enthralled with this... frat boy weirdo who apparently watches too much porn and his adventures with the ladies in his life. It was the right blend of power fantasy, character drama, sexual antics, and emotional resonance. This thing clicked for me and easily transcended its shortcomings. I know it's not for everyone. But I'd be remiss if I didn't share this truly impressive bit of erotic art. 

Yes. Art.

Pros: Wonderful characters and characterization. Tons of content. Terrific renders, framing, and picture composition. Beautiful, complete story. Worthy of artistic merit and consideration despite technical failings.

Cons: Some typos. No sound. Minimal animations, and the animations that are there are somewhat low quality. Chapter 3 is buggy. Missable content (without warning) in Chapter 4. No harem ending. Spanking fetish is pervalent.

Overall: 10/10

https://www.patreon.com/TheGary