itch.io

heh

I was stuck here too. Re checked the garden and found the vine on the tree. Thanks, DeKillc.
Not sure why anyone would down-vote this...

Sure. About the reload.

I fixed the bathhouse and then picked the "wrong" option during the cut scene. I quit the scene and reloaded my save. Then, the squirrel girl seemed to remember that I quit the scene and then glitched out with duplicated text- after the load.
Quitting the game completely and loading from a new launch seemed to fix it.
I did not copy any saves from previous builds.

IDK a random, uncontrollable dead-end after hours of play isn't fun for me.
The art style was pretty good, but I feel like there was no way to predict things. Random. And I don't want to go hunting back through saves to see where I could make an the "correct" uninformed choice.
Meh.

TL,DR;
Awesome.
This is a fantastic 3D, erotic, monster-girl fantasy adventure. The graphics are amazing, the atmosphere is lovely, and it's just quirky enough to be a unique experience.

Edit: Save and Load is broken. Don't mess up as "loading" a previous "save" does not reload everything.

I went on a roundabout way getting to this version for some reason. I had 0.06 first (which I think I downloaded a while ago but forgot about) loved it, and was thrilled to find a version #33. I spent a few hours severely frustrated at the bugs and after looking at itch.io again, I found this 0.08 version.

And after seeing the iterations of Aurora's Fog, I really hope CATINMASK keeps it up.

Eh... really need to work on storytelling. This is just every other game over and over.  Peek at sister/mom > go to boring school > work at cafe.
The same story, same dumb MC.
Good character models. Everything else is just super-cringe.
Good luck!

Review after finishing version 0.3  
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Astounding. Few games found for free profess good writing, and although Hero Party Must Fall is not a finished experience, what does fill in after v0.3 will have the benefit of a titanic foundation.

My complements to creator nithrolith.  

On Graphics:

Before playing, I didn’t have high hopes for the art style with how spoiled I’ve become on top-tier 3D offerings, but I was incorrect. The visual aspect of this Visual Novel are unique, stylized, and hand-crafted with intent. There is a masterful amount of emphasis on erotic, exaggerated, fleshy detail. Everything is sweaty and sopping. Working in such a restricting medium takes a true artist to pull off the visual aesthetic presented in Hero Party Must Fall. There are sections of the screen that show close ups to highlight different activities and although I can see some are still a work in progress, the UI groundwork laid before me only inspires anticipation for the finished product.  

On Story:

Again, masterful. Some typos but capitalization rules are out the window. To be honest, it wasn’t a problem in any way. It somehow fit the style of the experience. And what an experience. If you ignore the “under construction” parts of this work-in-progress, the underlying characters, worldbuilding, and plot are woven with forethought and care. Despite how I praised the pixel art above, there is still no comparison to other games with endless locations and professionally rendered animations. Yet, during the hours I sat going thought this iteration of Hero Party Must Fall, the dialogue and plot of the story was enough to keep me hooked. There’s no “Wake up, little childhood friend! It’s time for school! Oh, and don’t forget to obligatorily [Peek/Not Peak] at our landlady in the shower through a crack in the bathroom door!”

It is refreshing to find something so both unique and well-crafted.

On Minigames/gameplay:

It’s all clearly unfinished- and that’s okay. The only seemingly functional minigames are the Training Sessions. The way it’s set up now, there is no real reason to think or use strategy. Just doing nothing with the most recent unlocked position selected seems to earn max “points”. If the game elements come together and are as well-done as the rest of what I’ve seen, great. I do worry that if they become too complex or challenging, it will detract from the experience. I kind of enjoy directing the scene through the many positions and it is interesting to exert some control over what I’m seeing by holding or not holding down a button, but again, its incomplete at version 0.3.  

On Incompleteness:

First and foremost, I want to be clear that I recommend his game at v.0.3. There was enough here for me to enjoy the time spent. This version can get repetitive as the sandbox is small and the choices are very limited. Skipping large amounts of time is mandatory as there is nothing really to do but Train, most of the time. I encountered a game-breaking bug that sent me into an inescapable loop, but I was so invested in the characters/story, finding a solution wasn’t even in question.

Lucky the developer responded quickly. Search this itch.io comment section for terms like “peephole” and you’ll find the solution if you're stuck in the same place.

Conclusion:

[v0.3] Worth experiencing. Unique, loaded with style, well-written/believable/non-cringe dialogue (rare!), and dripping wet pixel artistry. Yet, go in knowing it’s an unfinished experience.

Fixed!
Thank you for being so responsive. I hope you continue to flesh out the experience. Amazing job with the conversations and the pixel art. Lots of room for polish, but it's clear where/how you intend to improve, and yet what substance there is is already fantastic.

Great game so far, great dialogue.
BUT, I seem to be stuck in a never-ending loop.

I've finished Cecille's second run through the curse, but now I  get generic post-traninig scenes with her now. I can also "interfere with their date" in the morning to "lower the curse" with the unfinshed mini-game, but nothing ever advances. There was something said about a peephole so Erin could watch or something but, I've tried everything I can seem to click on and nothing is advancing the story.
Any hints?

Here's the thing, LurkSkywalker. The developer didn't say these were misinterpretations when they responded. They intended them to be interpreted the way I did and that I should not "judge too early my friend. You'll know why he says all those things later. ;) "

Classic  "I meant to do that" and not admitting they could ever be anything but a genius.

I'm glad you found a game you like. 100% of the characters having the same "are you sure you aren't a comedian" mannerism could be a hint that the author doesn't know how to write unique dialog for different characters. If you find it endearing, again, I am happy for you.

I hope Moolah Milk finishes Deviant Anomalies and makes it brimming with content. I'm out this time, but since there is a lot to like besides the writing, I'll keep an eye out for their next project.

So much potential, but it's way too random and frustrating.
Sometimes the pink bar will shoot up and then just stop, and I have no idea why. There is an up arrow indicating that it should be increasing, and the only way to advance is to bring them to orgasm so its REALLY frustrating when that bar just stops for no reason.
Pics shown here are misleading. Because its "random" I have never seen tits that big.
Real shame how annoying this is. Seems dead too.

Hello developer! Thank you for taking the time to engage and for putting yourself out there with Deviant Anomalies. Lots of potential. There are some really good animations, erotic situations, character design, scene design, sandbox game-play... I'd like to reiterate that my frustration comes from a good experience turned sour through writing choices.

However, you put the project out there into the world, and it will be judged as it is written now. I'm sorry, but I don't believe you regarding why he says all those things later. ;) That's a classic artistic excuse. It's okay to internalize and learn from your mistakes. Your writing is far from flawless and posturing that it is will do both you and your future fans no favors.

*Spoilers*

There is no "later reveal" that could ever explain why the MC doesn't know what a drunk person sounds like in that moment. She has bottles there, we are meant to believe she is drunk, and if its revealed later that the MC somehow knew she was only acting or some other "I planned him to sound dumb all along", it doesn't explain why he wouldn't think she was drunk in that moment with the information both he and the reader have. This is a very small example of why I can't stand how clueless the MC sounds, but it is one among many. All you have to do is add the line, "is she drunk?" and none of this would exist. If this is a setup for something HOURS later or that's not even implemented in this version, it does not work at all/pulls me away from caring about the MC.

Of course the succubus isn't only in his head. Knowing that doesn't change my opinion about how unintelligent he sounds in that moment.

And blabbing to a random woman about a murder investigation and a hidden camera while he knows she is headed to the church... that was the nail in the coffin. I know you were trying to do something cleaver for the head nun's characterization, but in my opinion, it backfired spectacularly. It felt forced, and transparent, and frustrating to go through.
I, the reader, knew this was mother superior very early in the conversation.
The only thing I can think of is that you intend to reveal that the MC knew who she was the whole time and was blabbing on purpose, but we the reader have no reason to know that he knows. This is not set up or believable. It's a bad way to write a plot- in my opinion. Maybe this is not what your "later reveal" is, but either way, as it's written and presented at this moment- you lost me.

I hope you take the feedback seriously. A lot of people enjoy your work, but never forget you are never done improving your craft. Best of luck!

Jesus... I kept playing to see if it got better and got to the Mother Superior part.
I will never understand why people enjoy incredibly stupid protagonists.
I'm glad you found a story and a game you enjoy. I truly am.
The world needs variety.
But Holy shit is the MC dumb. like REALLY dumb. I just can't...

I wasn't sure at first,  but this really grew on me.
I like how it keeps expanding.
I enjoy the storytelling.
I love the exotic characters and world lore.

The developer said this was their first VN and that they were learning. I think I can see that play out over this experience and hope they continue to push out new content.

Great start.

Eh, I don't believe it's as bad as all that.

You can do repeat work on your computer for like $20.

Example 1: Calls cougar that owns 7-11.
Lady: I remebersss you, detective boyyy... Yes, heehee... This ish Cathriness.
MC: Huh, she doesn't sound like herself. She is talking in a very strange manner. Am I even talking to the right person?
This guy is supposed to be a detective and can't tell when someone is drunk? The audience/reader of this visual novel is intended to know her text has all the hallmarks of being drunk but our hero appears clueless.

Example 2: when he's arguing with the succubus lady in his head.
MC: "This is just a dream. It's all in my head. I need to wake up and focus on finding  out-"
Succubus: "-what happened to your guardians."
MC: "How do you know about them!?"
If he believes this person is his own mind, why is he violently surprised that the dream entity is finishing his sentences? If anything, it should be proof that he really is talking to himself. Makes me feel like this guy is a moron.

There are a lot of other examples here and there that I don't remember near the beginning and other bits of bad writing throughout.
Meh, there have been worse VNs. I usually make comments like this when I am disappointed. The premise and sandbox elements sound neat.

[EDIT]: I remember that multiple (at least 3-4) characters say, "You're funny. Have you thought about being a comedian?" when confronted. This is lazy writing.

Main character is written like a moron.
Makes it very hard to care/continue.

Lots of content, amazing animations, amazing story.
I appreciate being able to check the current level of each relationship at all times- if I choose to- so I can scroll back and make different, informed choices.

I agree that it is much more fun discovering things on your own.
I disagree that multiple play throughs of the same content is fun.

For me to enjoy playing games like this, I need the developer to either give me UI or context clues so I can make informed choices. Not just random guesses.

Neat concept, good foundation, the mini games aren't horrible, great character models.

Developer mentions in the guide that "doing nothing for 10-30 seconds" is really bad design and I agree. Glad they're aware of it and on top of it.

Trying to get SUB up, and the guide says 2-3 times of doing the Pet Favor, but no SUB points are awarded on the second attempt. If it weren't for the guide, I'd think this was bugged because the button to claim the earned points does not add points- her stats do not change (capped at 5). Sure enough, I get the achievement after three, but I would have no reason to waste the effort and 100 Favor points as the game is now.

Other than better communication with the player and maybe some better/hotter princess animations for the "favors", I'd say this is shaping up to be a solid unique game.

???
You don't seem to understand words.
So, I guess I will wish you the best of luck.

Amazing style and premise.

It's the only thing worth criticizing, IMO. It's low-effort writing. This constructive criticism is under all the wonderful pros listed and followed up with:
"All this being said, it's still light years ahead of many other visual novels I've found on this site in terms of attempted humor."

Believe it or not, I'm trying to help the publisher with my honest opinion about what did and didn't work for me personally, not nitpick. They directly asked for feedback.

Perhaps internet message boards are not the best place for you, emotionally.

[v0.1] = Good start. Very short so far.
I've seen much worse comedy writing, but humor is such a subjective thing.

Pros:
+ I like that I can pick  dialog options other than sarcastic "humor"
+ Animations and voice acting is top-tier. You nailed the effective eye-contact during the android scene. The minor shifts of her pupils really brings the character to life.
+ Static scenes for dialog are still fluid and full of interesting background details that don't distract too much.
+ Effective story hook. I feel 100% vested in the plot.

Concerns:
~ The Comedy
It isn't super cringe, but IMO, there's a bit too much of the "low-effort" gags. The secret base is literally labeled secret base, the mercenary store is labeled mercenary store. The forbidden door is labeled forbidden door. ha. ha. Get it?
Seriously, you have a good framework and some interesting character setups. I've said it above, humor is subjective, but I feel some of the LOOK HOW RANDOM WE ARE parts partially undo the believability in your world-building. They are speed-bumps that dumb everything down and pull me out of your story.
The honorable group of amulet hunters is a great example of what works for me. There's a set up, there is thought put into them, they have a purpose, and their antics aren't over-the-top cringe.

All this being said, it's still light years ahead of many other visual novels I've found on this site in terms of attempted humor. Take my criticism/advice, or leave it. It is all my opinion anyway.

Negatives:
- No unforgivable sins other than I wish this was farther along. Just enough content to make me feel shocked/disappointed when it ran out.
[v0.1]

Coming back for more praise and some constructive criticism.

+Tons of content so far and I love the game-play/sandbox elements.  Seriously, I have no idea what to expect with these "free" adult games and some have way more content than others. I've lost track of the hours I've sunk into MIST.
+Animations! Wow. The models are unique and I can tell care was put into the scenes.
+Love games that let you earn and replay sex scenes, especially when they have a game play purpose!
+UNIQUE STORY! Love finding creative adventures like MIST.

- My only negative so far is how the MC spent so much time freaking about about his "childhood friend." The writing hasn't been terrible, and it's WONDERFUL to get away from the anime tropes, but with this "childhood friend" character... yikes. It's as if the developer wants her to really be his sister and the "taboo" and the "I'm going to hell" mentality would make sense.
But she's just an old friend he hadn't seen for, what, 10-15 years? It's the end of the world, everyone is dead, monsters in the mist, hes fucking everyone, and this girl tortured him... The fierce modesty and reluctance is just really strange and off-putting. Pulls me out of the story and really, really, makes me hate the MC for that extended rough patch. Either have the guts to make her his actual sister to earn that reaction, or turn it waaaay down. IMO.

I am only saying this because I've thoroughly enjoyed most of the rest, and he does eventually come around and drop the cringey, bizarre attitude toward this girl.

Again, these are only my opinions! I'm past where I thought this would end and I have all this new stuff to do, so I'm going to get back to it.
Amazing harem adventure so far

Eh, it's not really a debate. Other people agree with my comment and opinion about blind choices.

Harem Hotel is nothing like Ripples. It's a sandbox with no miss-able content. It's one of my favorites so far! The Headmaster is REALLY Good too. Amazing expanding sandbox with no wrong choices.

If you've been paying attention, replaying the game is my personal gripe and not a valid solution. And to think Ripples is like chess... yeah you probably mentally align with the guy who thinks math equations are opinions.

It's okay that people don't like the same things you do. How shitty would the world be if everyone liked the same thing? Maybe the internet isn't the right place for you, bruvington brokowski.

Also, in  the spirit of constructive feedback; one of the characters says, "...you're not faced by it."
The phrase is, "not fazed "

Interesting game so far!

NM, I played for a bit longer and finally got a help screen explaining the arrow as a "morale boost" indicator.
It's not the end of the world, but some feedback would be to either not have it at all until that part of the game is unlocked, or add an additional pop-up help screen briefly just saying what the green arrow is before I can "actively" cause it to happen.

Can someone tell me what the green arrow UI represents next to the menu button in the upper left? Sometimes it's there, sometimes its not, and I feel I'm missing out on something.

Just a little bit into the game so far and I love the unique art style and fluid animations for everything.

1: I have up-votes, so people agree with me/care.
2: If you think everything should be 100% free from criticism, you are delusional/in for a surprise during your stay here on Earth.
3: There is no way to "get gud" when there is no information about far-reaching, early choices other than opening a walk through or reloading then spam clicking to get back to where you were in the story. That is a gameplay choice by the developer.

Not all VNs are like this and that's fine. Everyone is different and likes different things. Nothing you could ever say would convince me to enjoy "blind" systems some of these titles have. I liked the story, so I expressed my frustration.

G'day, mate.

Ghryst, you don't seem to understand my opinion, so I'll try and elaborate.

Random ripples leading to unpredictable outcomes is fine- IMO
Random ripples only leading to dead ends is not fine- IMO

Early and seemingly innocuous choices I could have no knowledge of picking correctly only snowballing into locking out massive sections of content and characters feels unfair and frustrating to me. Not giving any feedback takes that sense of control from the player. Especially when you don't know anything about plot or personalities at the beginning. Choices are entirely random.

A "good" example of this is the VN Halfway House. The premise intrigued me and I liked the art style/3d models. A smaller scope felt refreshing and the story felt mature for a change. You know, not targeted at children as a lot of these are.
Then about halfway into Halfway House, I realize that I'm missing a ton of content from the MILF who runs the place. Looking at a walk through; instead of the young man just getting out of prison for aggressiveness approaching the counselor/caretaker with respect and building into something more, you are intended to molest her from the very first choice. If you don't, it's a perpetual losing game for one-third of the characters, and the only way to get out of it is to start over from the very beginning.

Again, people can like blind mazes that lead to dead ends. People can like playing through the same content over and over and clicking random options until they happen to get the correct combination. People can like alt+tabbing to check a walk through instead of the game itself giving some type of feedback/knowledge to inform your choices. Fantastic.

That being said. My personal opinion about what I enjoy cannot be wrong.
If you think an opinion can be wrong, your existence is probably harming humanity as a whole.

No, u r.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Addictive Game ~ Brilliant Story

What an amazing experience. The BDSM/Training content is some of the best I've seen. It's not just porn for porn's sake. There is psychology, depth, and meaning for every action within this... unique experience.

I don't want to call The Headmaster a "visual novel" because of the sandbox and game elements, but its not just a game either. Epic forms of art like this deserve their own category.

The premise is a bit over the border into fantasy but how the MC "Headmaster" stays true to his philosophy and guiding behavioral-modification principals gives a solid, believable foundation to the events transpiring within this isolated all-girls school. It's refreshing to see such smartly written dialogue and characters.

The story isn't 100% done, but many of the character arcs that are closer to complete are emotionally complex and rewarding. This is hardcore, adult content with mature themes. I can't express enough how wonderful it is to find a deeply erotic story that doesn't feel totally targeted toward children.

Game-play-wise: The strategic punishment system actually forces you think about how to balance pain, humiliation, and pleasure when brute forcing personality disorders, and teaches you about real-world human psychology. Progression within this system is tethered to individual students' lives (through quests) and throttles options but makes the whole corporal punishment system seem believable and rewarding.

The Headmaster allows you to focus on one young-woman for a while or spread out your attention, yet the web of their interconnected lives woven by the overarching story makes this feel organic. You'll see your quest log update with "progress further with x student first" because their relationship to each other, or the school as a whole, fits this requirement perfectly.

I only discovered the wide world of visual novels a few weeks ago and after sampling about two-dozen of the highest rated on this site, I've come to really treasure the games/novels that allow the player/reader to progress at their own pace and not force you to constantly reference a random walk-through and/or lock out major pieces of content due to arbitrary choices. This whole experience is a budding flower of linked complexity, not the frustrating blind mazes I've witnessed with other titles on this site.
This is just my personal preference, and The Headmaster executes the expanding sandbox style flawlessly.

There are many threads I cannot wait to see fully realized , but if I had to chose, it would be "training-doll Amy".

Bravo, Altos and Herdone

I'm perfectly fine getting negative responses to this comment. The game has a full 5 stars, after all.
Completely random dialogue dead-ends seem to be a popular trope/gamely style a lot of people like. That's cool. Glad people are finding the things they enjoy.
However, there is a comment section and have no problem using it to express my frustration with unknowable/unpredictable consequences. Especially when I'm vested in the story.

Tired of these games that give you unknowable, arbitrary choices that lock out half the content. It sucks being forced to use a wiki instead of just enjoying the story to know what to do and/or being forced to start over and spam click for an hour to get back to where you were.

I'm fairly new to visual novels but I think whoever thought these unclear branching paths that only lock out content (not lead to DIFFERENT CONTENT) is a moron.
^
[EDIT: After interacting with others in posts below I regret the phrasing of this last sentence. Especially calling people who like this type of storytelling "morons". I'm actually glad a wide verity of games and game-play styles exist.]

And from what I'm seeing the walkthough i just opened, falling behind once forces you to lose out on even more relationship "+'s" in the locked scenes leading me to wonder why I'm bothering at all.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ~  Perfect ⑩ ~ Take My 💵

Experiencing this as my first visual novel kinda ruined most erotic games on itch.io. Such epic lore, character depth, and insanely hot/well-done animations.
I'd had a woefully incorrect assumption about "visual novels" before going in, and Harem Hotel really opened my eyes to their potential.
From top to bottom, this is shaping up to be a masterpiece. Once I started, I couldn't stop for about 24 hours. I took off time at work for Harem Hotel.
The BDSM stuff is impressively well-done and heavy with content, the edging is perfect, and the cultivated emotional attachment to the characters sends every encounter into inconceivable levels of blissful satisfaction.
And all the erotic stuff aside, the elf-slave political world-building is beyond my wildest expectations for a free game!

Runey, you have my recurring patreon support.

You're very welcome.
Despite the negative-loaded tone of my OP, I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to put out a free experience like this for the world to enjoy.
I can tell you put a lot of time into the unique lore and individual characters. If everything is done by one person, it's that much more impressive.
I wish you the best of luck in staying motivated and drawing in endless supporters.

I was initially turned off when 9/12 unlocked characters had "no content in this version". Very bad first impression as it was just one interesting dead end after another.

I gave it a second chance because the atmosphere was so unique. I am so vehemently sick of annoying, repetitive anime tropes, but this is truly something original. Once I found all the "early version" love interests, I sunk myself into hours of content and truly began to enjoy myself. The text has some consistently odd translation issues, but they somehow feel appropriate for this weird alternate-universe community.

The whole reason I signed up to leave this comment was to impart some constructive feedback to the creator, Stawer. I have spent what feels like a full month without the ability to experience a "Noon".

There are several things I want to do which are only available during the noon cycle and that you're forcing constant, unwanted cut-scenes on me during this time has become exponentially frustrating.

Either design a sandbox where I can chose my destiny or make it a liner visual novel. Again, try and take this as constructive criticism. I work in a creative field and deal with consumer feedback all the time. If this helps, I'm only venting here because I am enjoying myself so much.

Anyway, I know a lot goes on behind the scenes to determine what triggers when. Again, treat this as constructive criticism.
Looking forward to the museum!
 

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