Having known about Grove for quite a while now, the newbuild was the excuse I needed to finally check the game out, and if this massive wall-of-text-turned-essay-review of v0.307 is any indication, I'm extremely glad I did.
As someone whose biggest kink is hypnosis/mind control, little did I know that I would be the one put in a trance, as I played this game for, and I'm not kidding you, 24 hours straight.
Well, to be honest, itch has me clocked in at 23 hours, but I hope you'll forgive me for exaggerating a littleand rounding up.
It's not like that's a common occurrence for me or anything. I couldn't tell you the last time a game hooked me THIS much, but while I was playing, there was always something that kept me wanting to continue, whether it was the plot, the characters, or, yes, the p*rn.
It's easy for me to focus on the latter, but the best furry games/visual novels do a good job at balancing all three of those aspects, something which Grove does very well, in my eyes.
I'll start with the p*rn first, though, given it's relevant to the game's plot. Since kinks are so specific to each of us individually, I can't promise that anyone reading this will get the same level of sexual enjoyment I did, but if you're a massive pervert like me, you're gonna find a lot to like.
In the game's setting, something is causing both creatures and plants alike to crave certain...nutrients; nutrients which you, a muscular male dragon named Grove, are able to provide them. On top of that, this same corrupting force is influencing/controlling people, making them act on their wildest and most carnal impulses. Put the two together and you have a situation where literally everyone and everything wants to f*ck you.
You can be a saint and defeat them all, of course, but if you do find yourself on the losing end (unwillingly or otherwise), you'll get a detailed, turn-by-turn description of Grove being tamed with accompanying art, each specific to that enemy. If defeated, there will then be a"bad ending" where you see whichever kinky fate Grove ended up having.
Personally speaking, I found all of the enemies veryarousing. I already said I love mind control, but in terms of kinks,there's also plenty of bondage, corruption, objectification, master/slave, body control/takeover,goo, monster, oviposition,and probably more I'm forgetting. Regardless,all of the scenarios areare really well done. One of the reasons why I couldn't stop playing this game during my first playthroughwas I needed to see what would happen next.
And that also has to do with the plot and characters. In contrast to the p*rnographic aspect, the story has been gradual in its progression, which is great. It feels natural when the mystery is steadily revealed and your relationships with others grow. There is one moment in the current patch when, in passing, a character makes a physicaladvance on Grove, and it honestly took me aback. It is the first time, as far as I can tell, that an NPC has made a move on you, and I love that, especially since it's fitting for that particular character and their story. You can tell that the creative team truly care about building the bonds between Grove and the cast, to make itmore rewarding once you AREable to romance them, and I appreciate that a lot. As well, seeing a town slowly build up around the inn you call home is one of the many small touches in this game that left me feeling satisfied.
Another thing I wanted to praise is the combat. I love the fact that there are two fighting systems you can use, one with your normal skills and another while you're prone. One thing I liked is that, while prone, you get a critical hit just before you climax, meaning you still have a chance to win even if you're about to lose, adding a dramatic factor to it.I try to keep my HP and shields as high as possible, but since I like grinding, it can cost most of my gold to replenish recovery potions because the enemies are pretty tough. However, if you balance your HP, MP, and stamina bars well, you can basically become a sex-fighter and manage well enough even under half-health, which is anice option to have.
If I have any suggestions or criticisms, given how many fighting abilities you can learn, I would like to have individual categories that separate abilities basedon type. Currently, you have toscroll and remember where each one is, which can be annoying. I also wouldn't mind having more detailed explanations on some abilities and items. I think the teleportation map could use a bit of a revamp, too. For the sake of my own sanity, please lower the chance of those underwater tentacle creatures grabbing you in the jungle. While bugs and spelling errors are expected in new patches, I have to point out that moving around in the slug golem room was almost impossible for some reason, but I'msure the devs already know that.As well, while I do think the sketch style used for the artwork works great forcapturing the imagination, I would love to see more detailed key art. I know that would take a ton of time, butif there are plans to eversell this game as a full release, I would happily pay $20-$30 for something like that, personally speaking.
That said, the fact this game is currently FREE amazes me. If they wanted to, I believe the devs would be well-justified in havinga Patreon to support development costs. At the very least, Ihope they get a lot of money in direct donations, because they deserve it, in my opinion.I got an entire's day worth of enjoyment out of Grove so far, and I'm sure I'll have many more.
And because I can't seem to stop gushing about my adoration for this game...
The adventuring trio is great and I love each of them equally. Wizz is best wizard shopkeeper friend person. I'm super excited to see how Tuon's arc plays out, and spend time withBosc, and discover what Sulik is hiding, and see what shenanigans the bandits find themselves in, and learn more about the slug golem host. Also, voting in the strawpolls was harrrrrd. All of theenemies/NPCs are great, and picking atop 5would've been difficult, let alone three! The fact that jellicap's in last place, followed by the mimic and the imp,is an absolutetravesty, because they were all legitimately some of my favorites. I wound up voting for Jellicap/Overseer/Bosc and Jaler/Tuon/Bosc, but again, they're ALL great. This game is incredible. Holy sh*t. I'm tired.
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Okay, think I got it all out of my system. To whoever got this far, thanks for reading! Hope you have a great day. :)
