Randomly played this after work and it was actually one of the more engaging game si have played. Really enjoyed the interactions at the end aswell
Would love to have some sound/effects with the continued story if possible. Keep up the good work
Reviews for "Redemption for Jessika"
I did not only enjoy playing the game, cause a boi this game is awesome. Its porbally better than most normal visual novels even without the 18+ scenes but i also got i sick new rockband i can listen too. 😍😊
Excellent characters, very well defined. The game is sexy as hell and makes you horny, but it also makes you reflect.
As a psychology student, I really appreciated some of the dialogues :-)
And I swear I shed a tear in the end...
A well deserved five stars!
This is one of those games where you have to say, "Screw the 'Yes, I played an Adult game' stigma" and leave a review. That's something I have only done once before.
Occasionally when I'm feeling depressed, I'll mouse through some of the Adult games in search of something to lift my spirits. But even the highly rated ones are often abusive one-night-stand simulators or rape fantasies, and most portray the women in such an unrealistic manner that it fails to turn me on. In this case, I was caught by an intriguing name and an attractive picture of a female musician.
I'll tell you the truth: I'm a professional writer, and I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the story told here. If you removed the eroticism from this game and released it as a typical interactive novel, this thing would likely have been front-paged and garnered something like 56 pages of comments. The language, the pacing, and the characters are stronger than what we get in similar games, including those rated E or T. The story is beautiful, and I consider this to be legitimate Erotic Fiction as opposed to a common lewd fetish game. There's a notable amount of humanity here; the reason the erotic elements are as effective as they are is because you remembered to include meaning, emotion, and sensuality --things that are missing from most Adult games.
I wonder how many players related to Marc's nebbishy appearance and relative normality. He's one the few Adult protagonists who I liked. I also really loved the rock/metal theme of the story, and found it easy to root for the characters.
I commend you for not falling into the trap of treating these "rock n'roll" archetypes as glitzy, beer-drinking caricatures, but painting them as complex people. Jessica starts out broken and disgraceful, but if you treat her right, she reveals herself to be a loving person. Sarah starts off looking like a hard-core "fetish" lesbian, but eventually reveals herself to be a loyal friend and partner.
I also appreciate how you handled the eroticism. You ask the player to act like a decent human being, and you reward them with steamy sex scenes that are better than what we find in your average "hit it and walk away" games. Only by respecting the wishes of the women who tell you "look, but don't touch," and refusing to take advantage of the drunk babe who's ready to give you everything, does the player actually get to experience the game's steamiest scenes.
SPOILERS BELOW:
On that note, I also like the way you test us. It's neat how you spend the first few scenes urging us to give in to our animal desires, with constant options allowing us take advantage of compromising situations and generally act like a jerk. Reviewers have expressed different opinions about the voyeurism scene toward the beginning, but I see it as your way of screening out the players who just want to fuck and move on, as opposed to those who are actually willing to invest time into your characters.
Also, I was surprised when a few scenes nearly moved me to tears. The scene where Jess sheds a tear as she sings for the first time in a year, watched by a watery-eyed Sarah with her hands over her mouth, got me misty. The scene where Jess and Marc play the piano together is also full of feels, and it comes across as a true-to-life bonding moment that outshines even the sex scenes. The climax (pun intended :P) at the rally... even though it was clear what Jess had to do... was moving.
If I have to nit pick anything, I agree with the reviewer who pointed out the pixel-hunting for options was a little annoying. On my first play-through, the game ended when I asked Jess to sing, and I couldn't figure out why. I suspect it was because I allowed a drunk Jess to expose Marc in the elevator. Thing is, I didn't know there was an option to stop her from doing it, because I never found the proper spot on the screen. It was only on my follow-up play through that I found it. On the other hand, I like that you toss these options that amount to "take advantage of the drunk girl" right into our faces, then ask us to seek out more ethical options of our own accord. Also, the game didn't fit the screen properly for me; I missed some of the text on the left side (not enough to impede the story, but still).
Well, from one writer to another, I'm impressed. I sought out something to divert myself from brooding , and ended up with a satisfying, heart-warming story. Don't let anyone pigeon-hole you. What you're doing is on a different level than most of the output you're grouped with. As a writer, I usually shy away from erotica, but after playing "Redemption For Jessika", you've got me wondering what I might be able to do. Off to check out the rest of the series.
tlaero responds:
Wow. Thank you, MysteryMadman. I too have been feeling somewhat depressed lately, and this helped lift my spirits. Reviews like this serve to remind my why I write these games. Thank you for playing, and thank you for taking the time to write such an extensive and appreciative review.
Regarding the image size, you have two options with this and all of my games here.
1) Click the "Menu" button, then the lower right quadrant of the screen (Misc) then the lower left quadrant (Size). Choosing a smaller image size may fix your problem.
2) All of my games are available for free download at our patreon site (you don't need to be a patron to download them). If the issue you're having is a result of playing within the newgrounds window, playing from the downloaded version would fix it.
Tlaero
Okay this is the first time i am ever reviewing something here but it had to be done. First off you all are brilliant, the story, art, concept, sex scenes, everything about this is amazing. Honestly everyone else below me has pretty much said everything that needs to be said but this was so fantastic i had to comment. I played DWE before this and highly enjoyed that as well, I look forward to the next one which is where i am headed now lol. And seriously I can't believe these games are not "professional" games, keep up the great work you got yourself a new backer.