Right off the bat, it seems to have very high production value with a few animations and a nice-looking title screen. I think this is one of the few times I get a gore warning at the start. It also continues with animated backgrounds in the opening and the character sprites having mouth movements.
It does kind of throw out a lot of terms at the start, but thankfully it defines them with hover-over text as many times as you want. So hopefully they will stick. The premise of the story is largely explained at the start. You play a human looking to become a werewolf, and you get to choose a main to become your love interest possibly.
I'm also most interested in the wolf lore over Far Beyond the World. Because it feels like it is building to something, feeling so far away and detached from everything.
The MC is a human on the way to becoming a werewolf, hopefully. With the first character, we meet Wolf Dad, who loves him. The MC has attacks and visions now and again. One seems normal for people that are about to be werewolves, and the other one seems like it is something else.
The game also has good sprite animations again, as Anoam has his ear twitch or his tail give a wag sometimes. He also doesn't like to be called a father because that makes him feel old. He also isn't allowed to be in a relationship with the MC.
After setting up the world and characters, we are told that they live under a matriarchy, and you get to talk to a black woman showing her breasts. Can't say that I'm crazy about this development. I mostly tried to skim past what I could to get out of it, but I hope she doesn't show up too much.
FVNs have really burned me out on the girl boss types, so I don't even really care about giving her a chance. While it might not be fair, I don't really have a reason to believe she would be in this position. So far it makes it seem like they are more diplomats who are just also leaders. The game hasn't really justified why she is there or why the wolves would even respect her. I don't want to dwell too long on it.
The important parts are that there are monsters in the world and the MC might be much more important than Anoam is letting on. The scene ends with a friend of the MC, Kirik, coming to meet him as a new wolf. They talk about their past and build up to the fact that the final part of the ritual is the human having sex with a wolf. They also had sex before, and Kirik shows the MC his human form again.
After that, Anoam and the MC head out again. Before they get to their destination, Anoam says that everything he hid, he did so out of love. They were hinting at him keeping secrets, and it will be hard for him to keep them here for some reason. The MC's scar is something that the other wolves will view him as both greater and hate him for being blessed.
So far Anoam is my favorite character, and this heart-to-heart is making him pretty interesting too. This is a life-changing event that might take the MC far away from him. You are given a choice of giving a prayer to one of the wolf spirits that died as they walk in.
They start with a speech from the high sage, and as a little side note. If you are a big fan of casual nudity, this game has a lot of it. Same with public displays of affection. After some rituals, it is time for Anoam to get yelled at for abandoning tradition.
The MC gets shown around while this is going on. So I wanted to sidetrack a little here to talk about lore a little bit. It seems like all the men and wolves are basically tribes that focus on a handful of topics. It's kind of like having fantasy races, but all of them are the same thing at the end of the day, just raised differently. An interesting take on what would most likely be just different species to stand in for the cultures, so you aren't really losing much unless you can't stand wolves.
I would say the culture is very pro-masculine outside the female leaders. Most of the characters are male and kind of remind me of Shelter without the over-the-top himbo natures or the constant struggle to survive. Funny how both games with little to no women allow men to feel free to express themselves. I'm sure the game would credit it to their female leader.
The MC is shown the common area, the mess hall, a view of the frozen lake, and a moonwell. The MC is told that his dream wolf has no true form but tends to have ones he likes, as the statue of him there looks like him. They move on to an orgy of men and wolves made to honor the gods that became lovers. We get an animated sex scene while the MC is in a trance focusing on two wolves.
The MC melds his mind with them, and this is a good thing, as this is one of the practices he is meant to learn. The MC gets settled into his home for the night only for his friend to come back and tell him that his wolf dad was in a fight. Only to get banished, but Taloen, the guy that was showing the MC around, interjects to him being kicked out. So he just strips him of his title and role again and curses him.
The MC starts to treat him after they leave, and we get his backstory: he lost someone he loved here, and the memories are too painful. He is also worried because the MC defied a leader and might hold it against them. They finally sleep next to each other, drained from the day.
One thing that is really a treat is that the codex keeps updating not with more notes and terms but with new art to them as well. I'm kind of stunned how much effort went into the visual effects of this FVN, and it is still on the longer side in size.
When the MC wakes up, he gets a choice of doing three things. This is where you meet one of the other wolves, and I picked to go to the river. The MC starts pushing on his scars and forces a vision somehow before a wolf finds him. The wolf is a tide wolf druid and tries to help the MC.
Since Wolf Dad comes from the eastern shores, he knows a lot about tide wolves, and he happened to be the one doing a ritual with him when they first came in. We also get an interesting fact of wolf lore that they diagnose ailments by tasting them. Of course, this gets a bit more intimate before backing off.
The main event soon starts, and our MC is going to start the path to becoming a wolf. I'm guessing we meet all the wolves we would have because the first part is a black wolf I never met, leading into the tide wolf I already did, leading into a storm wolf I also haven't met. They will be his teachers/love interests for the story.
We are then given the full creation myth we got bits and pieces of before. How interesting you find it will mostly depend on how deep you like FVNs to go into worldbuilding. The MC meets up with his friend again, and you get a choice to fuck him later. He then goes to meet with the wolves he will be spending his time with.
Going to brush over this part a bit since it is a lot of character-building dialogue. I think it would be better to experience it yourself, but I will give a bit of a recap and my first impressions on them.
Raithan is kind of the normal and calm choice. Relaxed and chill, and he is largely going to help the MC get ready for the sex with a wolf. He is also interested in the scar the MC has that feels off to him.
Next up is Noakai, the big, scary, black wolf. I have to say he is my least favorite of the bunch. It feels like he's the most played out of the characters, just rough around the edges but kind under it all. But has to pretend to be cruel and indifferent to save face. At least it doesn't seem like he will take long to show that because there are clear cracks in his armor already. Still just feels exhausting to be around. The bad boy loner type mostly.
Lastly, Veolf is pretty playful and boisterous. Wasn't expecting that from a man that was part of what is basically the military. He is most likely the most fun choice, so I will most likely pick him or Raithan given a choice. The game starts with the promise that your choices will matter at some point, so I wonder how the routes will all play out.
After you meet all of them, you head back, and if you said yes to him, the MC meets his friend for sex. The MC gets a blowjob after being horny all day because of all the wolves having sex and encouraging him to partake in the sexual energy. They also reveal that they had a troubled history.
And that is the end of the current build. I enjoyed my time with it and will be keeping an eye on it in the future. Can recommend it even if you don't really like the sometimes a bit overwhelming amount of terms. I think the characters are pretty strong, and of course the art is great.
It feels like a labor of love, and the animations really breathe life into everything. It's a shame that most FVNs can't really do the same, but it is understandable. But I'm also hoping that this kind of raises the bar at least a little. I feel the pacing is good, and I wasn't really bored because the wolf dad got me hooked, and the other characters also gave me something to latch on to.