Gnoll Way Home

I usually write reviews with a rating like a normal person, but as Gnoll Way Home is slated to be a relatively short and tightly written story, I will do that upon its completion. Instead, here are my impressions up until the end of chapter 3.

I wasn't sure what to expect when first opening up the game, being met with the Lion King-esque visual and music of the main menu. It primed me more for something like cumbrained fantasy with a dash of slice of life, rather than what it turned out to be; anti-capitalist allegory through the lens of fantasy sociopolitics and complex interpersonal relationships, with more than a dash of cumbrain. The main menu music especially is so out of place with how upbeat and silly it is, I can only assume it's on purpose - so as an anecdotal thought, it took the initial impression a bit far for me personally as I got hesitant if the game was for me (glad I pushed through, because it was!)

The music is great in general though, and I appreciate a soundscape outside a modern Euro/US instrumentation. The sound design is a bit sparse - mostly used for comedic effect - but it's not something I missed too much.

If there's an immediate selling point, it's for sure the art. The sprites are all incredibly expressive with a huge variation in both faces and poses, and with the addition of small animations, rarely feel static. And they're all hot, can't forget that.

This is also a VN where background art gets a whole lot of effort put into them which really shows. It adds greatly to the cohesion of the fantasy aesthetic, and the more otherworldly ones feel strange even for the fantastical setting.

The writing is strong, especially considering how much information it has to convey, which it does well without infodumps or making me feel lost. Maybe the pressure is alleviated a bit on account of the in-game encyclopedia, but the entries are written to be fun to read and are marked in-text when a concept is relevant. However, there are times when something gets quite a lot of focus, but ends up feeling irrelevant. One example from chapter 3 are the witches, which I thought would be the main obstacle for our protagonists - but then they didn't show up at all. Part of why I'd rather wait with a rating, they may very well show up in chapter 4 and make me look like a fool.

Another reason is that, while the character dynamics and relationships are a lot more nuanced and complex than anticipated, it's currently a bit unbalanced. Despite Tav being the central character, I barely feel like I know anything about him. I can accept the MC's feelings for Tav on account of maybe having residual memories and the guilt from causing someone to hurt. But I was taken aback by what Tav said at the end of the current build, because I can't think of what lead to even a bit of tenderness. I don't think they've even had a genuine and positive moment together?

On the flipside, Stinky is the character who has been in the spotlight. Which I won't complain about. This is part of why I love furry visual novels; where else do we get hot horny himbo intersex (I think) characters who are so confident about their gender and body it's just a fact, and not really the focus of their character arc? He's already had that arc, we've got daddy issues to deal with now!

As a final note on the writing: I don't know if it's a joke lost to time, gnoll-lore, or a joke from something else entirely - but I started to get drenched in Soup outta nowhere and it just keeps spurting. I don't know why 😭

I started getting into dnd and playing bg3 not so long ago, I was kinda surprised to recognize the name "Gnolls" from somewhere... I highly doubt they are born in the same way that in that game, right??? RIGHT????? D: 

i love how the story progresses in the chapter 3 and i love love love the artstyle so much, great work!!! now waiting for another chapter!!

I'm so excited to read! I've been patiently waiting for a new chapter! :3

I <3 STINKY

https://www.change.org/p/tell-mastercard-visa-activist-groups-stop-controlling-what-we-can-watch-read-or-play

There is a bill in congress right now that would make it illegal for any financial service provider to directly or indirectly prohibit or inhibit any legal transaction. It's called the Fair Access to Banking Act. H.R.987 in the House, S.401 in the Senate. Call your Representatives. Get it passed.

wish yall well love ur work

When will we see some sexual interaction along with a full nude sprite of the matrions wife?

Tribal maturation or epic labyrinth, I don't know where these chapters and scenes will lead, it's a journey anyhow. Thanks, enjoyed Oda. Dead stray bear delivers on horny and the background illustrations are watercolour splash.

Plus the sex/tease scenes 👌🛋

Oh.

wow.

I expected a lot from a VN by Kah after watching the campaigns at Gnollplaying Games, but this is something else.

The worldbuilding got me hooked, and the journal balances really well between allowing you to dig in as much as you want and not overwhelming you with stuff (plus the little personal details to characterize Gash, show character dynamics and set up jokes). 

The cast is lively and the tone is impecable, lots of social commentary while being tasteful. I like that.

And Enter Wombwood. What a track. It sent shivers down my being when it played for the first time, but that choice screen? Holy shit.

Anyway, I don't know if its a big priority to fix, but using the journal on android is a bit of a chore. I always find myself fat-fingering something while trying to switch tabs, and the whole thing closes. Not a biggie, though.

But damn, I'm in love with this game.

Oh wow, I read that way too fast, there's a lot of themes that I loved (and the intersections with our reality scream volumes) I loved the way the world is set so far, and the plot threads are kinda visible over the horizon ( if i'm reading it righ, might be totally wrong later) and also kudos for having such a great trans character on the main cast (stars know that we don't see many of them around this parts) 

thanks again for bringingthis to us, this was an amazing story so far. (I also liked how the decision makin' screen showed, very front and center and not an afterthought )

the main character is built like Potemkin from Guilty Gear, and I can't stop thinking about it. 10/10.

I thought I downloaded the updated version for Android but the game still ends after chapter 1? Did I do something wrong?

Edit: nevermind, I guess must've misclicked and not updated the app

This was very good!  I'm enjoying the story and the art is fantastic.  While auto play, it seems like decisions are defaulted instead of halting play till button click.

Just finished reading and I gotta say its great! Very modern, very polished VN! I like how there's a lot of small moments and details in this VN that are charming and memorable. I really liked this scene in particular when delivering mail to the tribe:

Can't wait to see how the story pans out! This is a hidden gem for sure. Good soup!!!

Genuinely my new favorite VN. Artistically and visually I'd say its ahead of some of the top dawgs of VNs like adastra. The story is fucking amazeballs thus far, cant fucking wait to play more!!!!!!!

I like how the story has other characters the MC might be attracted to that aren't necessarily the person the original body might have been attracted to. I do enjoy that little bit of story telling, even if Opa has my heart in a choke hold and won't let go

The tradition of telling everyone about the seller of bad copper, Ea-nasir, continues. Also, soup

Good Soup

A great game already, the only issue is that it ends.

how dare you all leave us hanging so! i loved this so much anticipating further chapters with boiling blood

A promising,  prettily looking and interesting project. Good job with backgrounds and character design as well (DeadStrayBear my beloved), the soundtrack is nice and isn't boring.  Good luck with making this game and I wish to play more!

So far really enjoying it and think it's a really interesting way/twist of having a sort of isekai story, I look forward to reading more!

suggestion: add the bara tag, i think it fits a lot!