SiNiSistar Lite Version is a lewd action-side-scroller about Rabiane, a woman tasked with reclaiming a city from monster occupation.
Adult Content?
(F, FxM) sexual content.
Censorship?
No. Woot! Woot!
Hours of Gameplay?
One hour.
Patch Available?
From DLsite.
Foreword: published November 30th, 2021
For the purposes of this review, I will only be discussing the patched version of the game.
Gameplay: published November 30th, 2021 (3/5★)
Tasked with retaking the city of Kessaria, you must guide Rabiane through monster-invested stages. Rabiane has two weapons; her sword provides rapid, short-range attacks, and her bow offers a limited number of ranged attacks. Though it’s preferable to engage foes from a distance, there aren’t enough arrows for everybody! SiNiSistar Lite Version doesn’t take a lot of skill to progress, but it takes some trial and error to beat the game. It’s not uncommon for hazards to kill you instantly. Thankfully, each stage is divided into several “checkpoints”, greatly reducing the penalty of death (and subsequently restocking your arrows!)
Navigation in SiNiSistar Lite Version is slow as balls. Considering how often you’re expected to evade enemies, you’d think there’d be some sort of “dash” or “sprint” mechanic. SiNiSistar Lite Version offers little platforming or interesting movement, but maybe that’s for the better. Rabiane moves so slow, I hated every jump and pitfall. I have a feeling Uu “throttled” the player character to milk playtime and increase the likelihood of accidental deaths. I think around half of my playtime was comprised of backtracking!
Sexual Content: published November 30th, 2021 (3/5★)
Nearly every foe and hazard sport some form of lewd and/or gory “game over” screen. If you’re not a fan of blood and guts, you may find the sexual content to be disturbing. Rabiane is raped and torn apart by her enemies! Her portrait is displayed at all times, showcasing the state of her clothes (and her fate when applicable). As she takes damage, her clothes will tear (but they are only completely removed for “game overs”.) Most foes have a “grapple attack”, playing a violent and/or sexual animation which deals heavy damage. If you don’t escape quickly, you’ll have to do some backtracking to do! In some cases, death will take you to an alternate stage, providing one or more sexual animations until you escape. Unfortunately, none of the aforementioned sexual content offers any from of meaningful interactivity. You can’t even control the animation until you beat the game and unlock the gallery!
To unlock the complete experience, you must purchase the remainder of the game on Dlsite. Once you purchase the “SiNiSistar R18 DLC for Lite Version”, you must drag and drop its contents into the correct folder. Included are files for Macintosh and Windows operating systems. Make sure you pick the correct version for your system! As a Windows user, I won’t be discussing Macintosh installation (though it appears to be the same process).
I recommend booting the game before installing the patch. The developers write “You’ll know the patch was applied correctly if “LiteVersion” disappears from the game’s main menu.” It’ll be difficult to measure your success if you don’t know what failure looks like! Once you’ve verified your “version” of the game, close the application. You’ll need to locate a folder called “game_bin”, included with the core installation. The file path may resemble mine:
[drive letter]:\Steam\steamapps\common\SiNiSistar\SiNiSistar_Data\StreamingAssets\game_bin
All you need to do is drag and drop the “game_bin” files from the purchased DLC into the preexisting “game_bin” (as provided by SiNiSistar Lite Version). I don’t remember Windows asking me to overwrite any files, but it’s still good practice to back-up your files. Once you’ve completed the drag-n’-drop, it’s time to reboot the game (hopefully the “full” version!)
Story: published November 29th, 2021 (2/5★)
Uu writes, “A member of the Church sent to Kessaria, an abandoned city overrun by monsters. With an abandoned cathedral as her base of operations, she takes on these monsters alone. Big-breasted.”
I love how “Big-breasted” was a big enough plot element it needed it’s own sentence fragment.
Sound: published November 29th, 2021 (2/5★)
I enjoyed the orchestic sound track. Slow, methodical pianos and electronic effects are a great duo for spooky ambience. The sound effects are alright, but they get old. Considering there’s only one effect per character, it doesn’t take long before they lose their charm. With only one or two sound effects to pull from, sex-scenes sound awful — considering most people that are buying this game are likely doing so specifically for the sex-scenes, that’s very unfortunate.
Visuals: published November 30th, 2021 (4/5★)
I loved the overall aesthetic of the game. The bleak color palette and stingy lighting contribute the advertised “feeling of despair.” SiNiSistar Lite Version maintains visual variety by completely changing the environmental design from stage to stage. One moment, you’re walking on dismembered bodies, and the next you’re trudging through slug-infested waters. For the most part, the enemies are genuinely off-putting. Beyond the stereotypical spiders and zombies, there are a selection of grotesque creatures to battle (or be raped by). Towards the end of the game are these goofy looking wizards — they don’t look bad, they just look cuter than spooky!
The user-interface looks great, but I can’t say the same about the way it controls. Anything that uses the mouse (such as the level-select screen) work fine — but the changing difficulty and navigating the unlockable gallery is a bitch and a half. Whenever I was viewing animations, I needed to scrutinize the provided legend to stay on the images that I wanted! The default controls for movement and battle are to be expected from a Japanese game, but if you’re like me (and prefer to use mouse and WASD keyboard controls) you’ll be happy to know they may be reconfigured.
Like a bioluminescent jellyfish, Rabiane projects a field of light wherever she goes. This is a typical feature for side-scrollers with low-visibility, but I hated the execution in this game. The lighting is rendered as if it were a 3D effect, producing uncharacteristically smooth reflections. The simulated lighting clashes with the otherwise flat pixel art. It doesn’t add the spookiness of the aesthetic, it just looks off. I thought the levels are illuminated enough to forego character lighting entirely; at no point was I unable to see where I was going unless the game very clearly didn’t want me to. I wish this visual effect was toggleable.
Verdict: published November 30th, 2021 (3/5★)
Even if you’re a fan of porn and gore, it’s hard for me to recommend this game. SiNiSistar Lite Version offers strong visuals and niche content, but the gameplay is mediocre and sexual content poorly delivered. Until you beat the game, sexual animations are totally devoid of user-input (and in most cases, blotted out with a “game over” overlay). If you don’t purchase the DLC (which costs nearly twice as much as the base game), you’ll have to make do without the sexy stuff. If you’re anything but a newcomer to the genre, you may be frustrated by the overly-forgiving gameplay and basic combat. For the most part, movement boils down to “move right” and combat “attack-attack”. For the price Uu is asking for, SiNiSistar Lite Version is an awful deal. Sporting only an hour or two of gameplay, there are better games for the money — and they won’t force you beat the game before showing you what you paid for!
