Stories that left you disappointed for a reason

[Dafolha]

Dropped that **** so fast, Like what the **** do you mean my 6'6 muscular athlete mc got overpowerd by a ****ing squizo twig, **** that ****ing bothers me is the author contantely putting one up the mc you choose the biggest height you can somehow there will be a character how description will be 'taller then you'

Exemple of that is "Party of four" or something like that there is a Ro named Aslo and for some ****ing reason will Always be bigger than then the mc

 

[SasariRomanii]

Dropped that **** so fast, Like what the **** do you mean my 6'6 muscular athlete mc got overpowerd by a ****ing squizo twig, **** that ****ing bothers me is the author contantely putting one up the mc you choose the biggest height you can somehow there will be a character how description will be 'taller then you'

Oh yeah that shyte is also annoying af like players chose a big MC for a reason! If authors aren't gonna care for flavor texts and tailoring the scenes to be consistent with MC's chosen characteristics (whether it be physical or psychological) then what's the point of having character creation in the first place? Aesthetics?? Lol

This reminds me of LAD's bonus content where the MC dies instead, and I was playing a 6 ft plus muscular male MC but then through some physics defying feat, little Ekissa managed to lift MC up in her arms. I mean, b8tch, even buff beefy firefighters struggle to carry an unconscious average Joe like that. It's so f8cking cringey to read, esp on top of her already head-smack-inducing writing (still gonna read it though, for science)

 

[justindeed]

Shepherds of Haven. It's not even for the fact my favorite RO (Lavinet) is in the backburner for the foreseeable future so the author can milk Blade events. It's because so many damn interactions between male characters are female-coded. Like my close friend Red putting his hand on my face, or the only options for one of the events hanging out with Chase being "loop your arm around his (????) or act super detached or just refuse to hang out", or all the other examples. **** like off the cuff teling me that "you feel so safe and protected around Blade", like bro is HE MY BOYFRIEND NOW???? Wtf is this?!


It's just all so obviously colored by Lena's experience as a woman interacting with her friends and other women. And there's nothing intrinsically wrong with that per se, but it shows a lack of effort that I can't even talk to friends normally without them getting all over my personal space.

 

[Ireth313]

like bro is HE MY BOYFRIEND NOW

he's everyone's boyfriend because Lena simps for him

Tbh, I feel like there's also another glaring issue with friendships in SoH (and many other IFs): you are required to mirror the character to score the friend points. Like, come on! People, in general, pick friends with similar values\interests, not similar personalities.

 

[blossom1]

Shepherds of Haven. It's not even for the fact my favorite RO (Lavinet) is in the backburner for the foreseeable future so the author can milk Blade events. It's because so many damn interactions between male characters are female-coded. Like my close friend Red putting his hand on my face, or the only options for one of the events hanging out with Chase being "loop your arm around his (????) or act super detached or just refuse to hang out", or all the other examples. **** like off the cuff teling me that "you feel so safe and protected around Blade", like bro is HE MY BOYFRIEND NOW???? Wtf is this?!


It's just all so obviously colored by Lena's experience as a woman interacting with her friends and other women. And there's nothing intrinsically wrong with that per se, but it shows a lack of effort that I can't even talk to friends normally without them getting all over my personal space.

SO TRUE BESTIE.i may look like the biggest fangirl ever but i have *so many* criticisms about shepherds and this is one of them.

Idk how to spoiler mobile so i wont go into detail, but i so dislike every female route because the mc is written like """the man"""" ,, why am i suddenly speaking gruffly lol im so icked out with Shery s festival event, which should have been easier like with Blade's as the mc is fixed to F there but Nooooo so they are all my bros forever.

and its everywhere like...why is my character wistful about fem ros pregnancies your *** is not getting anybody pregnant!! (no, not even adoption..imagine being behind Samurai of Hyuga when it comes to wlw romances.....) ...im picking blade because my mc acts in character only in that route....and for maybe half the times. Please tell me how my mc 'feels protected' once again. i feel the writer has made her perfect man in him.nothing wrong with it mind you, just.obvious. no amount of *He's my son*s will fool us Lena!

With friendships too, she forces in this...strong/emotional/physical bond if youre friends...god forbid you dont want to walk hand in hand, cheek to cheek—thats -200 points! (and other characters can get away with being less touchy...like if thats the case how is trouble besties with blade..? ) does this make sense

That said yall go n wishlist on steam.... [sigh]

 

[Zoklitsos]

Tbh, I feel like there's also another glaring issue with friendships in SoH (and many other IFs): you are required to mirror the character to score the friend points. Like, come on! People, in general, pick friends with similar values\interests, not similar personalities.

I completely agree. I do enjoy SOH and I'm pretty sure it was one of the first IFs I ever played (which was ages ago when I was first getting into IF and the game was relatively new-ish) so I do have a soft spot for it. But the way it handles romances and friendships has always been one of my biggest issues with it, as much as I enjoy the characters. It's still a fun game at the end of the day and there's enough NPCs where I guess I can 'naturally' befriend them (and by that I mean pick options that are in character for the MC I am trying to roleplay without worrying about approval points) but it's still annoying. I was really hoping this is something that would be improved on, it's been a few years since I last played the game and at this point I'm just waiting for it to come out because I played it so many times as a WIP that I got sick of it lol. But it seems like this aspect hasn't been changed much, which is a shame. It's weird bc outside of the romances specifically, I feel like you're given a decent amount of freedom when it comes to the choices you make in the story and how to roleplay your MC. But when it comes to the romances, there isn't much freedom in RP-ing because you have to pick some pretty specific options to advance the romance and get enough points, and your MC is kinda forced to act a specific way too? That's the best way I can put it ig.

Idk how to spoiler mobile so i wont go into detail, but i so dislike every female route because the mc is written like """the man"""" ,, why am i suddenly speaking gruffly lol im so icked out with Shery s festival event, which should have been easier like with Blade's as the mc is fixed to F there but Nooooo so they are all my bros forever.

and its everywhere like...why is my character wistful about fem ros pregnancies your *** is not getting anybody pregnant!! (no, not even adoption..imagine being behind Samurai of Hyuga when it comes to wlw romances.....) ...im picking blade because my mc acts in character only in that route....and for maybe half the times. Please tell me how my mc 'feels protected' once again. i feel the writer has made her perfect man in him.nothing wrong with it mind you, just.obvious. no amount of *He's my son*s will fool us Lena!

Wait, Shery's route is "man-coded" too? I haven't played it bc I don't really care for Shery's romance lol she's pretty boring to me. If so, that is pretty weird considering Shery is a lesbian if I remember correctly lol? I could understand Lena subconsciously/accidentally making the MC come off like that in the other women's routes (other than Lavinet since she's straight) since there can be both a male and female MC. But it's weird that it's an issue in the lesbian RO's route lol. And the pregnancy thing, are you for real omg My favourite female RO is Ayla but she didn't really have a lot of romance content the last time I played the game, I really hope her route doesn't disappoint me lol. Her and Blade are my preferred ROs, but I'm kinda meh on Blade at the same time bc it feels weird trying to play his route with a more serious and stoic MC lol. I used to like Red too, but his romance felt a bit underwhelming the last time I played it and I feel like it's basically mandatory to pick the origin/background where you know each other and are exes which is pretty annoying; otherwise his romance feels really barebones and underdeveloped if you pick any background other than that one.

But yeah, it's very clear that Blade is Lena's favourite character, the same way it's pretty obvious that Adam is Sera's favourite character in Wayhaven. The common denominator between those two games being the fact that they were originally conceptualised as regular books, not interactive fiction I don't think there's anything wrong with doing that but in my experience when this happens, it always becomes pretty obvious in the story who the author's favourite characters are and how they prefer you to play... The Night Market is another example of this. For SOH specifically, I think Lena is also definitely biased about how she prefers the MC to act and what choices to make due to the original MC from the book, but from what I remember she's done a pretty decent job of giving varied choices for how to shape your MC (outside of the romances and friendships where you're kinda forced into picking very specific dialogue options if you want approva or romance points), so it's not that big of a deal.

 

[justindeed]

With friendships too, she forces in this...strong/emotional/physical bond if youre friends...god forbid you dont want to walk hand in hand, cheek to cheek—thats -200 points! (and other characters can get away with being less touchy...like if thats the case how is trouble besties with blade..? ) does this make sense

That's what gets me. Either I'm super touchy and physical with other men as a straight man, or I'm basically not friends with them at all.

Idk how to spoiler mobile so i wont go into detail, but i so dislike every female route because the mc is written like """the man"""" ,, why am i suddenly speaking gruffly lol im so icked out with Shery s festival event, which should have been easier like with Blade's as the mc is fixed to F there but Nooooo so they are all my bros forever.

I'd thought that playing as a woman that department would be better or at least less jarring, but I guess it's tough for you girls too lol

Please tell me how my mc 'feels protected' once again.

I didn't flirt even once with him before being hit with that phrase. I'd just talked with the guy like a normal person, trained with him and was nice to him and then FLASHBANG YOU'RE HORNY FOR BLADE, YOU'RE GUSHING OVER HIM.

Not even a choice dude, just straight up the narrative telling me I'm ovulating over this guy .

 

[blossom1]

But yeah, it's very clear that Blade is Lena's favourite character, the same way it's pretty obvious that Adam is Sera's favourite character in Wayhaven. The common denominator between those two games being the fact that they were originally conceptualised as regular books, not interactive fiction I don't think there's anything wrong with doing that but in my experience when this happens, it always becomes pretty obvious in the story who the author's favourite characters are and how they prefer you to play... The Night Market is another example of this. For SOH specifically, I think Lena is also definitely biased about how she prefers the MC to act and what choices to make due to the original MC from the book, but from what I remember she's done a pretty decent job of giving varied choices for how to shape your MC (outside of the romances and friendships where you're kinda forced into picking very specific dialogue options if you want approva or romance points), so it's not that big of a deal.

Yeah the story options are *good* i think, i can play my character decently enough, though i agree that it requires a certain... emotional approach and pov to romance Blade. im glad that it doesnt have you become the manic pixie dream girl™ at least, but you have to be the one pursuing, which i guess gotta give it to Lena idk how Blade would open up without that xD i sorta think Tallys needs more of a 'pandering' for her romance? its really..hmm..rigid.what you can choose

How do you think she prefers MCs though? cant say i ever felt that way and my mc is not at all like the novel one from what i know

 

[blossom1]

That's what gets me. Either I'm super touchy and physical with other men as a straight man, or I'm basically not friends with them at all.

I'd thought that playing as a woman that department would be better or at least less jarring, but I guess it's tough for you girls too lol

I didn't flirt even once with him before being hit with that phrase. I'd just talked with the guy like a normal person, trained with him and was nice to him and then FLASHBANG YOU'RE HORNY FOR BLADE, YOU'RE GUSHING OVER HIM.

Not even a choice dude, just straight up the narrative telling me I'm ovulating over this guy

Mc, unprompted: i couldnt TEAR my EYES from Blade s *VERY* muscular, pale body as he trained with an incredible grace no other possessed, not unlike a panther (no homo)

fr though since she does the same with female characters (everyone's beauty must be emphasized) i feel its the writers love of the characters lol i guess i get it but still jarring at times.....

 

[Zoklitsos]

How do you think she prefers MCs though? cant say i ever felt that way and my mc is not at all like the novel one from what i know

Honestly, I'd have to read the game again to give a more thorough answer lol, it's been a few years since I read it and since I've been a patron, so I've forgotten a lot of details and info about the original novel and MC (a lot of that info is on patreon - I know it's probably leaked somewhere around here but I'm too lazy to go looking for it lol). I just kinda remember getting that vibe from the game and the way Lena talked about the MC. It's not something super obvious tho unless you already know stuff about the original novel. And like don't get me wrong, I don't think it's a problem or anything bc as I said, I do think Lena has overall done a good job with giving a variety of personality and dialogue choices for all kinds of MCs. So it's not like her bias for the original protagonist's personality is affecting the game negatively or something haha, it's just sth I noticed. From what I remember the original MC from the novels is supposed to be this pretty bubbly and extroverted character that's just constantly super nice and selfless but also kinda sassy (?) lol and I just feel like sometimes it reflects in the related dialogue choices in the game, the ones that correspond to that behaviour just seemed a bit more varied and fleshed out sometimes? I've played all kinds of MCs with various personalities and choices so I've explored a lot of the options and at least I remember getting this impression. But again, idk, maybe that's just me tbh.

 

[Serpent]

I didn't flirt even once with him before being hit with that phrase. I'd just talked with the guy like a normal person, trained with him and was nice to him and then FLASHBANG YOU'RE HORNY FOR BLADE, YOU'RE GUSHING OVER HIM.

I'd also like to add that shooter guy (forgot his name), which was from the original trio of him, Blade and that elf chick (forgot her name as well, that's how long it's been). But yeah, I am friendly with that guy, and suddenly he wants to court my straight male ***, even though I never once chose any of the romantic options or anything, and was just being friendly.
Though I think that this is something that I mentioned already? You just make sure to have a high general friend/whatever score with the npcs, and they will all suddenly be in love with you and vice versa, which is just straight up ***

 

[blossom1]

I'd also like to add that shooter guy (forgot his name), which was from the original trio of him, Blade and that elf chick (forgot her name as well, that's how long it's been). But yeah, I am friendly with that guy, and suddenly he wants to court my straight male ***, even though I never once chose any of the romantic options or anything, and was just being friendly.
Though I think that this is something that I mentioned already? You just make sure to have a high general friend/whatever score with the npcs, and they will all suddenly be in love with you and vice versa, which is just straight up ***

Pretty realistic tho but yeah thats the side effect of the romance system...thats my character with Ayla, its pretty easy to 'ninjamance' her...less so with Trouble/Red beecause there are a few scenes in which you pick between the guys so the others lose romance points

i prefer it to having to spam cringe flirty one liners to romance tbh but there could be a way to show your disinterest without ruining the whole friendship (like they take - 'hardening' points too if you dont pursue sometimes,, wdym your life depends on getting with the mc )

 

[justindeed]

i prefer it to having to spam cringe flirty one liners to romance tbh but there could be a way to show your disinterest without ruining the whole friendship (like they take - 'hardening' points too if you dont pursue sometimes,, wdym your life depends on getting with the mc )

Wasn't hardening like a character development thing? I might be misremembering because I recall you increase hardening by encouraging Shery to be more courageous, or Lavinet to focus on her long term objectives over fleeting friendships, or Tallys to not be racist to norms.