clarry: Judging by the comments: nobody played the game, nobody is qualified to judge it.
Except maybe MarkoH01?
I did not want to heat up the discussion but I agree. Judging by comments of people who never played the game imo is a bit strange. Reading these comments in detail one should also see that most people complain about the artstyle only which imo always is a subjective thing. Several people did not like the artstyle of "Edna & Harvey" back then since it showed that it was a one person project ... anyway - so the comments are about an artstyle those people who commented did not like ... does not have to mean that it is the same for the person who is reading those comments, right?
In case anybody would want some true information on what this game is about and how it plays (after a few hours):
As it is correctly described in the review here on GOG the game is in a really early state of early access. In opposite to "Under Contract" from the same devs the game is far from being finished. You chose if you like to be a man or a woman and then you explore the island (which imo does not look bad at all - especially the water effects are quite nice) and you'll find several different "monster girls" (I'd call them animal girls but anyway ...) running around the island. They are like typical wildlife and will not stand still for you but rather run away. You goal is to take pictures and you have a small list of tasks to perform here (i.e. make a pic of a lamb girl drinking). You can make as many pictures as you like but after 10 pics you'll have to submit them. You can only submit pictures in areas in which you have activated the radio beacon and for this to do you'll have to find the beacons (which are marked on the map so not hard to find). You can throw some "lust powder" on the girls and if you hit several of them at the same time they make sex with each other. Right now you can not participate in it as well. To make them stop doing whatever they do you can throw a stone on them. Pictures will get rated based on focus and composition and task. Right now there's not much story in the game, several things are not fleshed out yet and the game also is not optimized yet (though it was running mostly fine for me with my 1060GTX). The devs are aware and when I told them about my experiences they explained to me what they are planning which is quite a lot. There will be voice over, audio logs with background story, different tasks, different equiplment and rewards ... so no, the game is (as I expected) not a "just watch the porn and be done with it" game.
Here is what the devs told me:
"Yes the game is still early, but unlike Under Contract there is a whole lot more to make here before the game is complete. Currently the team is working on finishing the "pokedex" component of the game, which in turn starts the foundation of the game. You photograph girls doing things, which raises your research level, which allows the purchase of new toys and tools for island exploration.
Following the pokedex update, we will be working on the narrative component. We already have a massive script which we are currently finding voice actors for. This includes getting vocal work for all 9 monster girls in the plains, the 3 original scientists who leave behind a trail of audio logs explaining their findings and disappearance on the island, the 2 player characters (Jamie and Oscar) and their reactions to the wildlife and quests, a voice for the shady Mr. Hands, who is the bounty broker for the game tasking the player with taking a whole manner of lewd photos for cash, and finaly getting KumBomb back for voicing Frida. Here is an example of the audio log content
> Sarah (matter of fact): So, this particular site I have been investigating paints a more interesting picture of the natives. As I guessed before, they have a language. From my personal observations, I believe I have discovered their word for 'dick'. They repeat it over and over near this rock.
>
> Sarah (curious): I wonder what significance this site has in their culture? And since they have culture, how does the culture differentiate from species to species? Do the other species on the island have sites of religious significance too? Do they all speak the same language, or are there distinct dialects among different groups?
>
> Sarah (sheepish): ...Yeah, sorry. I tend to ramble a bit. I just have so many questions.
>
> (A sound of Sarah fumbling with the recorder. There is a noticeable thud in the audio as she catches it before it hits the ground.)
>
> Sarah (shocked): Shit, nearly dropped the recorder!
>
> (Several cries from the bunbuns as they run away)
>
> Sarah (annoyed): God damn it, I spooked them! Why do I have to be so damn clumsy?!
>
> Sarah (defeated): Oh well... Guess I can come back later."
"what you're playing is what is generally called a pivoit. We honestly have rebuilt this game a bunch to get two things right
1. the game needs to be fun, engaging, and give players a lot of tasks they can ultimately ignore or engage with if they want too.
2. make sure our art/animation pipeline does not kill us during development.
as of v016 and v017 we now have both of those nailed down. its all about content and fleshing out our core gameplay pillars."
It is a true early access game in which you can witness how a game comes to life and how it evolves. Yes, you have to put in a bit of trust that the end result will be to your liking but that's why we get a 50% discount here. I am willing to take that risk especially since I had good experiences with these devs and if I dislike something they will reply immediately on their discord. And I mean IMMEDIATELY not after weeks like GOG support ;)
