Stories that left you disappointed for a reason

[Addylan]

We'll that's the problem actually. I haven't been reading any IFs as much as I used to actually. I don't know if it's just a me thing, but I feel like we've been experiencing IF droughts lately? No good games published from COG or HG lately. Well nothing that catches my eyes actually. I first joined this fandom during Covid. At the time Mind Blind, ITFO, SOH4, A Mage Reborn, and other big name IFs are still in active development. That's when I feel the community is most alive.
Looking at the upcoming games thread, there aren't as many titles being released as before either. Didn't we get like at least 1-2 games every month?
Even updates from patreons feel a bit slow lately. Most of them are just short stories or QnAs. Nothing that actually progresses the story further

That's the thing. Lately, authors have been putting more focus on side stories, QnAs and all that trivial stuff instead of actually updating the main story. Honestly it's getting dull, I mean, sure, side stories and what-ifs are nice, but that ain't the reason I'm here for, I want to read the whole damn story not some stupid snippets and kinky ABC ****.

 

[mrstankylegs]

What are you all playing / reading lately? Whether it’s a VN or an IF.

VN
- I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (Don't see it mentioned much around here? It's really good.)
- Volcano Princess
- Long Live The Queen (New game sets in the same universe, Galaxy Princess Zorana, coming soon later this year.)
- Lust Odyssey (NSFW) (Goofy ahh writing, but weirdly PACKED worldbuilding and characters.)
- Love Lock (Poor writing, but it's got 50000000000 endings so it's been keeping me occupied.)
- Online Obsession (Demo, rather cute, but there ain't much.)
- Class of '09 (Bondocks for white people.)

IF
- The Princess Trap (NSFW)
- Play Things (NSFW, I'm not even into the kinks but the writing is surprisingly competent, almost read as a horror/thriller story.)
- One Knight Stand (The most reactive IF out there, still WIP but you can get so many hours out of it just exploring what's already there. Character customization that actually matters, right down to what you name your character. TONS of variables that the game actually remembers, one RO has like 6 different dynamics. Slept on, underrated, unfairly hated, I'll die on that hill. Earlier in this thread you'll see some people saying the game gets too much hype, but I believe it's well-deserved with how much thought's been put in to accomodate different playstyle. Does not suffer from that problem other games shave where the MC feels pre-determined or non-existent altogether.)
- Weeping Gods (WIP, Consistent update, funny, seems interesting so far.)
- Jolly Good: Tea and Scones (Demo, to be released, silly good fun, and the full game's gonna have a whopping 2 million words.)
- Mind Blind (WIP but it's got a good amount of content, funny, handles family drama better than many.)

 

[ADB446]

VN
- I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (Don't see it mentioned much around here? It's really good.)
- Volcano Princess
- Long Live The Queen (New game sets in the same universe, Galaxy Princess Zorana, coming soon later this year.)
- Lust Odyssey (NSFW) (Goofy ahh writing, but weirdly PACKED worldbuilding and characters.)
- Love Lock (Poor writing, but it's got 50000000000 endings so it's been keeping me occupied.)
- Online Obsession (Demo, rather cute, but there ain't much.)
- Class of '09 (Bondocks for white people.)

IF
- The Princess Trap (NSFW)
- Play Things (NSFW, I'm not even into the kinks but the writing is surprisingly competent, almost read as a horror/thriller story.)
- One Knight Stand (The most reactive IF out there, still WIP but you can get so many hours out of it just exploring what's already there. Character customization that actually matters, right down to what you name your character. TONS of variables that the game actually remembers, one RO has like 6 different dynamics. Slept on, underrated, I'll die on that hill. Earlier in this thread you'll see some people saying the game gets too much hype, but I believe it's well-deserved with how much thought's been put in to accomodate different playstyle. Does not suffer from that problem other games shave where the MC feels pre-determined or non-existent altogether.)
- Weeping Gods (WIP, Consistent update, funny, seems interesting so far.)
- Jolly Good: Tea and Scones (Demo, to be released, silly good fun, and the full game's gonna have a whopping 2 million words.)
- Mind Blind (Mostly been playing to prove a point that it handles family drama much better than twc which keeps grinding my ahh over not forgiving Rebecca.)

I really like how your choices matter in OKS, but its too campy for me . I'm not that much of a comedy person.

 

[mrstankylegs]

I really like how your choices matter in OKS, but its too campy for me . I'm not that much of a comedy person.

Understandable haha, I like camp so it's right up my alley. I wish there were more games this detailed in all sorts of genres! In my experience, either there isn't much character customizartion (which is fair enough), or there's WAY too much, you doubt if it'll have any real impact in the long run. (Though that's being optimistic, they never get far enough for there to be a 'long run'. Cough cough, Zorlok, and whatever the hell Nine Blood Dances thinks it's doing.)

 

[ADB446]

Understandable haha, I like camp so it's right up my alley. I wish there were more games this detailed in all sorts of genres! In my experience, either there isn't much character customizartion (which is fair enough), or there's WAY too much, you doubt if it'll have any real impact in the long run. (Though that's being optimistic, they never get far enough for there to be a 'long run'. Cough cough, Zorlok, and whatever the hell Nine Blood Dances thinks it's doing.)

Yup, though I do have faith that The Six That Thrive may get finished. I really like that one and it's got extensive customization but the author is currently keeping the chapters on patreon. Its apparently up to chapter 5 now or something.

 

[BiscuitB]

We'll that's the problem actually. I haven't been reading any IFs as much as I used to actually. I don't know if it's just a me thing, but I feel like we've been experiencing IF droughts lately? No good games published from COG or HG lately. Well nothing that catches my eyes actually. I first joined this fandom during Covid. At the time Mind Blind, ITFO, SOH4, A Mage Reborn, and other big name IFs are still in active development. That's when I feel the community is most alive.
Looking at the upcoming games thread, there aren't as many titles being released as before either. Didn't we get like at least 1-2 games every month?
Even updates from patreons feel a bit slow lately. Most of them are just short stories or QnAs. Nothing that actually progresses the story further

I'm of this opinion, I think I've become apathic recently to IF/VN like it's the same thing different day.
New IF come up get popular maybe write a demo and a chapter then straight to Patreon to milk money out of fans for half done work. Or it's hiatus or it's ghosting. It's IF authors who you kinda want to give constructive criticism but no point because you'll just get a hate or "if you don't like it don't read it". Everything just seems nowadays half arsed tbh.
By all means I might be on the wrong IF but it's just frustrating seeing more all these questions ask on Tumblr making 5 new stories instead of just finishing one.
I know most people do work and have lives outside of the this but I'm just so tired of seeing an IF in it's 4/5 year and still be on like chapter 5, but oh come to my Patreon for more ****!.

 

[yourstalkeroutside]

What are you all playing / reading lately? Whether it’s a VN or an IF.

VNS:

Andromeda Six: Unfinished with 2 more chapters to release. Chapter 9 should've released by now but the Devs put most of their resources on 2 pateron exclusive side stories, one of which is unreleased.

Infinite Stars: Unfinished but there's so much content to go through that you'll never run out, more choice heavy than most VNs or IFs

Killer Chat: Undergoing a rewrite, following process on Discord

Rose of Segunda/Thorns of War: Waiting for the incest route to come out on Thorns of War.

IFs:

Ultimate Magic Student: I genuinely like how it's not an isekai

Kingdoms and Empires: Peaked my interest as a fan of historical stuff and I like endless worldbuilding

Wayfarer: Episode 3 is never going to be released publicly at this rate and I say this as someone on this Discord server.

God-Cursed: It's ok.

The Bastard of Camelot

Life as Ruler: Nexus Island

POMA/Aura Clash and a bunch more because most IFs are only a chapter long.

 

[Parallax]

What are you all playing / reading lately?

Replays of released games (FH, Golden Rose, AMR, Keeper) waiting for the next books WIPs to be updated.

I almost always avoid new ones these days. I don't like the plot, or MC's role, or they're just poorly written or gender locked. I think a few years ago there were a lot more good quality WIPs with more interesting ideas and world building.

 

[mrstankylegs]

Oh, here's an oldie but goodie - Choice of the Deathless (and the sequel, Deathless: The City's Thirst.)

In term of gameplay, there ain't much, rather unremarkable, but it's written so well. One of the most unique, distinct writing styles when it comes to Choicescript games. The prose stands out and doesn't have that samey feel of blunted down Choice of Game's house style. Lovely characters and worldbuilding, because it's set in the established universe of the Craft Sequence. (You don't need to read the novels to undertand it, but if you enjoy the game, then you'd like the novels too. Think urban fantasy, necromacny and legal drama.)

The author, Max Gladstone, is one of the authors behind This Is How You Lose the Time War. 12 years later and the writing still holds up. I cannot forget THAT love scene. Wakefield my beloved. I wish he'd make more games because I adore his writing style, but he's probably better off now.

 

[SasariRomanii]

Oh, here's an oldie but goodie - Choice of the Deathless (and the sequel, Deathless: The City's Thirst.)

In term of gameplay, there ain't much, rather unremarkable, but it's written so well. One of the most unique, distinct writing styles when it comes to Choicescript games. The prose stands out and doesn't have that samey feel of blunted down Choice of Game's house style. Lovely characters and worldbuilding, because it's set in the established universe of the Craft Sequence. (You don't need to read the novels to undertand it, but if you enjoy the game, then you'd like the novels too. Think urban fantasy, necromacny and legal drama.)

The author, Max Gladstone, is one of the authors behind This Is How You Lose the Time War. 12 years later and the writing still holds up. I cannot forget THAT love scene. Wakefield my beloved. I wish he'd make more games because I adore his writing style, but he's probably better off now.

Oooh! That's a good one! It's very memorable and despite being short, it's really enjoyable to read!

Anyway, since this is a thread for disappointing IF, I just came back from reading The Marked WIP and oh boy does it littered with fake choices that doesn't even correlate to the personality stats! These new authors don't seem to treat traumatizing events seriously! It's so f8cking frustrating to go through that when I read the new WIP Timeline 2: False Ancestry in all of its simplistic glory I fell in love right away (even if it's obviously written with male MC in mind and has lots of grammar mistakes). Feels like new IF authors are competing to make the most tortured MC just because, then UwU-fying the trauma (like in Lightweaver, how the other characters treat MC like a stray pup with all smiles and amusement and UwU and not a freaking human being who is obviously broken! It's disgusting) Aajenisiabwhd

Anyway, The Marked is stressful to read I can't even stand skimming through the whole thing. Despite all the over the top angst, at least SoH, Keeper series, and Fallen Hero are fun to read and the angst makes sense considering the world they live in and what's happen to them. Also, in those three IFs the MC acts like someone who's gone through real sh1tter and not some shoujo character with sparkly eyes and... I think I'm gonna puke, you get my point Imma leave now before I stain the carpet.

 

[SasariRomanii]

One of the most unique, distinct writing styles when it comes to Choicescript games. The prose stands out and doesn't have that samey feel of blunted down Choice of Game's house style.

That's so true, lots of IFs reads the same for some reason, it's like they're being written by one entity.

 

[Parallax]

Is anyone still following https://www.tumblr.com/haydenigmatic? This author is just ridiculous

There hasn't been any major progress since 2023 (they didn't even manage to transfer the tiny demo that was there to Cog demos) but comes back every few months swearing that they will never abandon this project and that they are still working on it. The people Cog Forum and Tumblr are like "oh I'm so happy, can't wait to read it, take care of yourself and take your time" or talking about the details of the countless noble families and royal families from other countries. Wtf xDD This game basically doesn't exist.

 

[SasariRomanii]

Is anyone still following https://www.tumblr.com/haydenigmatic? This author is just ridiculous

There hasn't been any major progress since 2023 (they didn't even manage to transfer the tiny demo that was there to Cog demos) but comes back every few months swearing that they will never abandon this project and that they are still working on it. The people Cog Forum and Tumblr are like "oh I'm so happy, can't wait to read it, take care of yourself and take your time" or talking about the details of the countless noble families and royal families from other countries. Wtf xDD This game basically doesn't exist.

F8ck. No love lost though, sounds like another IF where we're stuck with a cast of smooth brained 4ssholes. Author should just close the Tumblr, isn't it a form of torture to give people hope only to take it away again and again? (´ー｀)

 

[ADB446]

Is anyone still following https://www.tumblr.com/haydenigmatic? This author is just ridiculous

There hasn't been any major progress since 2023 (they didn't even manage to transfer the tiny demo that was there to Cog demos) but comes back every few months swearing that they will never abandon this project and that they are still working on it. The people Cog Forum and Tumblr are like "oh I'm so happy, can't wait to read it, take care of yourself and take your time" or talking about the details of the countless noble families and royal families from other countries. Wtf xDD This game basically doesn't exist.

I haven't even heard of this till now.

 

[Gone_Dead]

Is anyone still following https://www.tumblr.com/haydenigmatic? This author is just ridiculous

There hasn't been any major progress since 2023 (they didn't even manage to transfer the tiny demo that was there to Cog demos) but comes back every few months swearing that they will never abandon this project and that they are still working on it. The people Cog Forum and Tumblr are like "oh I'm so happy, can't wait to read it, take care of yourself and take your time" or talking about the details of the countless noble families and royal families from other countries. Wtf xDD This game basically doesn't exist.

2 years just for characters and family posts lmao. I started following the author long back cuz the premise and characters seemed interested although very ambitious. But after I saw the author just putting out character posts for months without any content, I realised this wasn't going anywhere.

 

[Parallax]

F8ck. No love lost though, sounds like another IF where we're stuck with a cast of smooth brained 4ssholes. Author should just close the Tumblr, isn't it a form of torture to give people hope only to take it away again and again? (´ー｀)

From the description it seemed that MC wouldn't be some pathetic loser, and I liked some of the LIs. The demo was quite nice, even if short and only about MC's childhood.
Too bad. I'm still waiting for some new well written IF with royals (Arcadie: Second-Born and The Sword of Rhivenia are not good, imo ).

 

[seneya]

Arcadie: Second-Born

It has to be some kind of achievement to make the MC's family so unlikable.
#StanislasWasRight

 

[Glitch]

Don’t worry, I didn’t ask what everyone’s playing simply to give my opinion, I just wanted to see if I am the only one unable to pick up any IF lately—I’ve played most of the titles mentioned here too, which is probably inevitable after keeping up with these IFs for 8 years.

.

Visual Novels
* I Was a Teenage Exocolonist: I’ve always wanted to try this one after finding it while searching for games like BitLife and after playing Growing Up. Unfortunately, I could never find a Mac-compatible version.
* Lust Odyssey: I made a lot of progress in this one, but realized I didn’t like some of the choices I made. I restarted, intending to do things differently, but ended up dropping it—too lazy to go through it all again. Still, for an NSFW game, the plot is solid, the choices carry weight, and the relationships are surprisingly nuanced. I think it’s doing so well because it escaped criticisms of a certain category simply since all the LIs are male.
* Love Lock: I didn’t enjoy being forced into a route so early—and so suddenly. I was hoping for more yandere competition between Sebastian and the boyfriend, but the boyfriend either dies or disappears once you’re kidnapped. I can’t even find the boyfriend route. That said, I do appreciate that there’s an option to catch Sebastian with the police—I’ve always wanted that in a yandere story.
* Online Obsession: This one is a gem—great art, interesting personality choices, and engaging character interactions. The animated mini-games are a fun touch. I’m really looking forward to the full release, even though I wasn’t a fan of My Sweet! Housemate from the same dev.

Interactive Fiction
* One Knight Stand: There are so many choices and branching paths, which is usually a plus, but 90% of the time I have no idea what’s going on. It reads like a fever dream—everything happens all at once. As a perfectionist, I struggle with deciding on a background and sticking to a personality. If I play it again, I’ll probably just pick options randomly and see where it leads. Also, I miss a lot of the Easter eggs and humor since I’m not a movie buff and I am not familiar with the pop culture references.
* Weeping Gods: I like it, but most of the ROs seem to push the MC away, which gets frustrating.
* Jolly Good: Tea and Scones: I’d love to try the new demo, but I barely remember anything from the first book.
* Mind Blind: I’ve had to replay it so many times—first because of code changes, then because of new links, and now with Cogdemos being unreliable, I think I’ll just wait for the full release.

.

More VNs
* Andromeda Six: When I was new to VNs, it felt fresh and exciting. Now, all the routes feel too similar—like they just swap out the sprite and tweak a few lines based on the LI’s background and relationship with the MC.
* Infinite Stars: I agree with the sentiment. It’s more choice-heavy than most VNs, but the last update introduced bugs that break progression and forces you to restart. The dev only acknowledged that saves no longer work after someone brought it up on F95. Also, I was totally blindsided (and lowkey traumatized) by that forced scene with naked Veera in the gym—especially since I wasn’t even romancing her, wtf.
* Killer Chat: Honestly, this is the worst chat-style VN I’ve ever played. These types of games are already limited in plot due to the format, but here it’s worse—you only communicate via a Discord-style app, only see the LIs through video calls, and you're forced to share them with other LIs. Some of these characters were even together in the past, and you’re expected to be chill about it, let them have a say in your new relationship, and have them match make you because they know the LI better than you or risk losing affection points with your chosen LI. The romance took forever to start, and I couldn’t finish it. I definitely prefer single-LI chat VNs.
* Rose of Segunda / Thorns of War: Leopold’s route was perfection. I haven’t been able to bring myself to try any other route—can’t imagine a version where Iolanthe and Leo aren’t together.

IFs (continued)
* Kingdoms and Empires: I agree with the opinions others have already expressed here.
* POMA / Aura Clash: I don’t think I’ll be reading anything by these authors again.
* The Bastard of Camelot: The updates content feels like being fed with a micropipette.

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Surprised no one has mentioned Misplaced yet. Am I the only one who feels like the choices fall flat? Interacting with Az'Lean feels more like a child speaking to a parental figure—he’s always right, and only his opinion matters. The MC constantly gets rebuked, and there’s barely any romance. If you don’t romance him, Thianne’s relationship with him gets more attention than anything you get. I chose to reveal that the MC is fae, but it hasn’t led to anything—it hasn’t even been brought up again. Now I kind of regret telling him. Maybe saving that reveal would have had more impact.

I’ve also been replaying Crown of Exile to try Oren’s route. I kept choosing the bold flirt options, but after the third time I got yet another variant of :
 "Sir Oren gazes at you, a faint blush on his cheeks." / "My duty is to ensure both you and His Highness are safe." And honestly, I couldn’t bring myself to keep reading after that.

 

[seneya]

(post deleted by author)

 

[Re336]

Don’t worry, I didn’t ask what everyone’s playing simply to give my opinion, I just wanted to see if I am the only one unable to pick up any IF lately—I’ve played most of the titles mentioned here too, which is probably inevitable after keeping up with these IFs for 8 years.


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Surprised no one has mentioned Misplaced yet. Am I the only one who feels like the choices fall flat? Interacting with Az'Lean feels more like a child speaking to a parental figure—he’s always right, and only his opinion matters. The MC constantly gets rebuked, and there’s barely any romance. If you don’t romance him, Thianne’s relationship with him gets more attention than anything you get. I chose to reveal that the MC is fae, but it hasn’t led to anything—it hasn’t even been brought up again. Now I kind of regret telling him. Maybe saving that reveal would have had more impact.

I’ve also been replaying Crown of Exile to try Oren’s route. I kept choosing the bold flirt options, but after the third time I got yet another variant of :
 "Sir Oren gazes at you, a faint blush on his cheeks." / "My duty is to ensure both you and His Highness are safe." And honestly, I couldn’t bring myself to keep reading after that.

I actually like Misplaced. I like that the author is consistent with update. And the story seems promising enough to me.
Regarding Az'lean's reaction tho, I think it makes sense that he reacts that way? He's someone who's holding a grudge (and also blinded by rage?) so it's only right that he won't listen so easily to what MC says.
Yeah, the revelation route is a bit underwhelming. I was a bit disappointed that he doesn't react so strongly. I was expecting at least some kind of cold treatment from him after revealing my true nature, but no I don't feel he's acting any different. He said it himself that he's going to "use" us. But so far nothing happened. He still treats us like... an equal? Not a tool, like he said. So revealing our fae nature doesn't really make an impact.
I hope the author will add some "unhinged" Az'lean's moments where he does use MC like a tool. And I hope in the future we get into a really huge argument with him, hell maybe even a deadly fight for more drama Or maybe a scene where MC can kind of sacrifice themselves to protect Az'lean. I want MC's actions to be able to change Az'lean's perspective of the fae