Adventures of Tara

Foreword

Gameplay

. . . in a nutshell

Consult my article on visual novels.

out the shell. . .

Before starting the game, a brief tutorial shows up on-screen. It explains basic controls and options, such as the ability to skip (already watched) scenes and the “fetish book”. The fetish book allows you to disable any content that you might not be interested in, such as “futa, tentacles” and “pregnancy”. From your inventory, there are a variety of books which provide useful information when activated.

Though this game uses the RPGMaker engine, it plays-out more like a visual novel. You don’t go around slaying baddies and grinding for new equipment. Instead, you go from place to place, as consequences of your actions or in the name of exploration. This title is story heavy, and as such expect a lot of reading and visual content.

. . . and yes! This is a game you can play one-handed!

Story

Tara is a student of Magicus University, and she’s a senior. She’s the first elf (from her hometown) to attend Magicus, so she’s got a bit of weight on her shoulders. She must graduate Magicus, at all costs. Another student reveals to her that one or more boys are conspiring to sabotage her, and that she should know. After attending a school-wide meeting, it is also revealed that beings called “Invigilators” have been called to straighten out the students’ flaws.

After the meeting, Tara encounters an invigilator. He disguised himself as an academically challenged goblin, and requests her help. She treats him like scum, and he reveals his true form. He casts a curse upon her. Anytime she treats another poorly, she will be overtaken with insatiable lust, which will grow stronger each time she mistreats another. This was his way to force Tara to overcome her problems with peaceful solutions.

A man she used and abused (as her magic guinea pig) hears everything, and he takes full advantage of the situation. He sneaks into the Tara’s room, and blackmails her. She must do anything he asks, or else he’ll tell everyone about the curse (thereby allowing them to use her as they see fit) and how she invoked an invigilator’s wrath. So, he does the logical thing and violates her.

But that’s not all! Through a series of schemes and sneaky spell casting, a pair of boys wind up as her masters. One of the boys becomes her “probation officer”, with the power to expel her with a signature. So he (and his partner in crime) do the logical thing, which is sexually exploit and demean her in front of her peers. She needs to figure out how to deal with all of the men abusing her, how to remove her curse, and on top of all that graduate Magicus!

Visuals

The title screen is basic and unimpressive, lacking even an “option” selection. The game itself is a strange combination of 3D renders and pixel art. Scenes and character portraits are rendered in 3D, but the game-play uses pixel art. The 3D renders try to match with the pixel assets, but the lack of original pixel art makes the discrepancies clear. But credit where credit’s due, the developers tried.

The Goods

Sexual content is rendered with 3D models as animations and stills. In static scenes, there are a lot of pictures to smash through, keeping visual content fresh. The models resemble those of Daz Studio or Poser, freeware 3D rendering software. The renders themselves are decent, but far from professional. The animations are well done, however. Scenes are accompanied by a series of dialogue boxes, which I found distracting. Scenes can be viewed in-game from a pentagram in the protagonist’s room.

. . . expect female and male-on-female sexual content.

Verdict

I had mixed feelings going into this game, and the visuals remain a source of contention with me (in regards to style clashing). However, I’ve laughed out loud multiple times, and there’s plenty of lewd scenes to keep you pressing on. This titles a bit pricey, but it’s jacked with content. I’d wait for a sale, or if you’re too impatient to wait, consider picking it up straight away.