izigame.me

"Overwealmingly positive reviews"... Having effectively 100%-ed it (basically I just need a shitload of cash to get the last few %), I can absolutely understand why. That isn't to say it is without issues, it DOES have them - they're just pretty insignificant in the grand scheme. So let's go through this in some semblance of an order.
Let's start with gameplay. Functionally, this seems to be a hybrid between a VN and an everlasting RPG fetch-quest. Now that I actually take a moment to examine it, it doesn't sound very appealing.... Which actually makes sense as the gameplay is pretty weak.
Fortunately, the rather boring gameplay is saved by the H (more on that later) and by the story - which is REALLY impressive. First is the fact that the game gets a distinct beginning, middle, and end on an island backed with it's own history. The characters all have distinct personalities and show growth and development throughout the course of the game. Personal feeling for the characters aside, they were all gripping enough that I wanted to know more about them. There were some genuinely surprising twists in there, too.
Sadly the exemplary story is not really supported by the less esoteric aspects. The UI, which while not intolerable is very clunky and tends to stand out as there are a few minor tweaks that would've gone a long way towards streamlining a lot of progression. Fortunately, from almost the beginning of the game you have access to an item that will tell you where you need to go/what you need to do at any given moment - which is good because there would've been no saving this game without it. Even that though is not without issue as "progress" quickly separates into multiple arcs where progression is locked behind reaching a certain point in other arcs. It's... jarring... to go from "Killers are in the area and my girlfriend is missing" to "Imma wander the jungle a look for a plant so the masseuse can make lotion". While not an exact scenario, the "urgency" of certain arcs would pretty frequently get undermined by equally pointless shit.
The voice acting and writing are not helping either. There are comparatively few voiced lines, but that's probably for the best, as the ones that are almost sound robotic. I genuinely hope that they are computer generated, because I hate to think what the actor's/-tresses had to go through to sound so dead inside. The writing is even worse - while localization is great (I think I caught a grand total of one spelling error, and zero grammatical errors ), the grammar is... inhuman. Everything is /technically/ correct, and a character's personality or history might explain away certain idiosyncrasies for /that/ character - the fact that ALL of the characters do so comes off as alien. The mom who worries about language or the nun using "bottom" instead of "butt", "ass", "bum", etc... okay - that makes sense. If all the characters were native to the island, ok - /that/ would make sense as a locale idiosyncrasy. But no, pretty much all the characters pretty routinely call "butt" "bottom"; and 2 of the characters are foreign, 2 have personalities that might care about language, and there is a HUGE age range. The renegade with a firecracker attitude and a criminal past, who want to smash a guy's head in with a rock, telling you to put your dick in her "bottom" is hilarious for all the wrong reasons.
Ultimately, you can tell that the writing was there to progress the story and that's where they stopped - they clearly didn't go back to tweak the conversations to be more fitting of the characters saying the lines. Despite my issues with the dialogue, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that there are some genuinely funny jokes and pop-culture references in the mix. I would suggest muting the voices, but there are a few cut-scenes that are not subtitled, and they are not easily predicted.
The BGM and SFX are MUCH better though. Both of which are actually quite nice outside of the H. Fortunately, while the BGM & SFX during the H scenes are not as good, they at least aren't terrible; the BGM is merely meh. It isn't bad but it doesn't add anything. The SFX fares /slightly/ better in that it's better than silence, but the monotonous moans and flesh sounds just highlight the fact that they ARE monotonous.
Not sounding too promising so far, huh? Don't worry, it gets better. The visuals... oh my god, the VISUALS. This game is STUNNING. This is the first time, ever, that I have lamented not having a 4k monitor. Frankly, I am shocked that I was able to play this without the framerate grinding to a halt. Outside of the cutscenes, the world is bright and vibrant; but in the cutscenes... you can see the fine hairs on the backs of characters hands, the texture of their pores, ever-so-slight skin imperfections that make me question whether or not what I'm seeing is REALLY computer generated. Which brings me to the bright side of the H - the detail on the bodies of the characters is mind-boggling, and VERY realistic. Additionally, for as much H as there is in this game (over 100 scenes and an additional 60 for booty calls), they managed to mix up positions and location enough to prevent boredom from setting in.
On to the... not so much bad as less good... aspects of the H. Of the 12 love interests in the game few of them are REALLY distinct, visually. The entrepreneur looks much like the doctor and the childhood friend, who all look like daughters of the mom. The girlfriend looks much like the MILF, the rich-bitch, masseuse, and the librarian. The rebel looks like the treasure hunter. The only one that is TRULY distinct from all the rest is the GILF. Now, none are identical, but there isn't enough to really set them apart, either. You'd need a lot of detail before you could accurately pick any (excepting said GILF) out of a lineup. Lastly, despite the game successfully avoiding boredom, it still would've benefited from exploring more kinks - there are a few, but not many, and the ones that are explored are still kept pretty tame.
I know this review sounds REALLY harsh for getting the thumbs up, and honestly, it is. I've given 0's, 1's, and 2's/10 and tore less ass on them... but I think I'm being particularly harsh, because I LOVE this game. "The journey continues" - When the final scene ended with those words and scenes for their (presumably) next title (The Genesis Order) I was giddy with excitement, but that doesn't change the fact that I would hope TGO improves on areas that I felt ToN fell a little short on. Perfection is one of things that is never achievable, but should always be striven for nonetheless. The harshness of this review is not meant to be an indictment against any of the people who put their blood, sweat, and tears into this incredible game; I suppose it's meant to help them get that one step closer to that ever elusive perfection.
I MUST reiterate that this game is fucking AMAZING despite how harsh my review may sound. It's fucked up the bell curve enough, that I have to knock a point off of my few other 10/10 reviews. It absolutely deserves support, and I cannot wait until TGO comes out - I'll be first in line to buy it, even if they don't "improve" a single thing. I cannot recommend this game enough.
10/10
Just 100%-ed it; the additional scene you get for doing so is well worth the effort, imo.