And to be super clear, bringing up this kind of shit isn't about cleansing all fiction from potentially offensive phrases, or never hurting or excluding anyone, ever. That would make for boring stories. But I do think a good writer should at least be aware of what their work says--intentionally or unintentionally--about themself, about itself, about the characters, about the world it's set in and the real one, and potentially, about the reader. And I think Caribdis is a very good writer. For a lesser game, I wouldn't have even bothered mentioning it.
melamermaid
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A member registered Aug 10, 2019
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I feel like you're picking up things I did not put down.
You're right about Charlotte's saggy tits being one of the examples I noticed, though I didn't want to go into specifics here because I didn't want this to become A Whole Thing (too late ig), but your example is apples and elephants. In this case, male minion getting his head blown off served the story because it (1) showed the praetorian(s) doling out their justice in a harsh, shocking way, which (2) helped us and the MC understand why we should be afraid of them, (3) set up a huge part of the mystery surrounding Eternum, and (4) directly kicked off the change in Axel's character. As far as I could tell, female minion's tits being saggy was not vital to the narrative. Nothing would change if she had perky, or even average, melons except a subpar (imo) joke in one branch of an optional scene. If the tables were turned and Charlotte got her head blown off for attempted assault and Benjamin's tiny dick was the recurring gag, it would still be a case of vital to the narrative vs. totally optional body shaming with no narrative payoff.
Lost me in the 2nd half, though. I actually pointed out that the outfits typically make sense for the scene, and said nothing about the female characters being weak or dependent, so I'm pretty sure we agree!
Oh, Micaela is positive rep, for sure! And you reminded me I forgot to mention that in my review to the dev, which I meant to do, so thank you for bringing it up. But there are other instances which are more subtle, and I don't think any of them really fall into the category of dark humor. I don't think any of the examples I can recall were meant to be malicious, they're just careless and, imo, they don't serve the game at all.
Caribdis, this is a fucking masterpiece. I plan to support the game development either here or on Patreon but I legitimately can't believe we get to play this for free. As for any potential players trying to decide if you want to download Eternum: DO IT. DO IT NOW!
A review for the ladies in particular:
TRY IIIIT. This is one of the few VNs in its class where the male MC has an actual, well-rounded, likeable personality. Orion (or whatever you choose to name him) is kind, thoughtful, loyal, brave, clever, and horny, instead of only the last one. Even on the full harem route, it doesn't come across like he's just out here collecting chicks to screw; we can see that he actually cares about each of them, and we get to see why they grow to (or already do) care about him, too. While having hot nasty sexual encounters! Brilliant. Oh, and it's funny af?? I was laughing by the end of the first scene.
My only real criticism is the body shaming that pops up here and there, but it only comes up a few times, and after the first playthrough I just skipped through those moments. Obviously, there are some of the usual gratuitous panty shots, near-brokeback poses (my spine aches for these babes, but they do look damn fine), and supersexy outfits, but, I mean, that's par for the course here. Besides, the clothes generally make sense for the scene, and the few times they don't, the story and characters are still so goddamn good that it doesn't even matter. The renders, writing, and soundtrack are top-notch, too. It's not voiced, but definitely recommend playing with the sound on (though maybe with headphones, unless you live solo or are very open with your housemates).