VN - Ren'Py - Friends in Need [Ch. 9 v0.60c] [NeonGhosts]

-Story is not that interesting and, as the devoper states, this game focuses on moral choices, and these choices do matter (some of them might be really controversial), so that was kinda good.
-MC is ok, girls are not bad looking, however they are kinda bad written.
-No music / sound
-No animations (however the developer made some effort using "looping renders" srry dont know how to call it xD)
Overall I think this game is a 7/10, it was cool that you can do some nasty stuff but the story was lacking, though It might get better in future updates.

I'm really loving this game! It starts off pretty straightforward, but then the world just builds up around you in such a cool way, and the character, oh man, they're so well fleshed out. I've tried a few different routes, and it's wild to see how some characters, like Nikki, stick around no matter how badly you treat them. Like, seriously? She’s still hanging in there after all that? Insane! xD

That said, the rest of the cast feels super believable and overall really well-written. I played up to Chapter 3 and now we're at Chapter 9, But i dont think i can play more, atleast not before MANY new updates comes out. There's too much going on, and I need more content before I can deal with all these loose threads. Too many jerks in this game to just sit around waiting..I need my revenge! xD But hey, that's on me.

I'll definitely be back to see where this game goes next. Feels like the dev is really onto something amazing here. Let him cook! Five stars from me!

This is one of the best written 18+ VN's I've played. The characters are rich and well developed (even with the small amount of screentime they get.)

The protag is managed to be rich in personality despite the different routes. You can really see his motivations of being good/ where his darkness can stem from. The other characters are unique from eachother and well designed. There's no char that I've immediately gone "Oh that's an alien wearing a human's face as a mask" so that's a good start.
The hot scenes are hot, the funny scenes are funny.

Playing the terrible person routes actually makes you feel a little terrible due to the characters being likeable. It doesn't just feel like the chars are there so the author can be 'and then they were murdered with the corpses of baby kittens!'

The first scene in the game has a bit of 'terrible face' syndrome but after that the quality immediately jumps up.

Development on the game is kinda slow but what is worked on is extremely high quality in my mind. The amount of characters to development speed ratio is concerning, but I try to look on the optimistic side when it comes to games and stories getting finished.

Highly looking forward to any update this dev makes.

This is a vanilla AVN, which means no sound and 2-frame looping animations, but don't let that put you off. The well crafted story and the attention to detail developing the characters and composing the scenes more than make it worth the time you spend on it. Speaking for myself, I couldn't stop playing it until I finally ran out of content, so things must have been done right. You would be missing out if you judge this game by looks alone.

The LIs are varied, there's some nice romance to experience and to top it all *no* inflated bodies to put you off if you are tired of seeing silly huge melons and asses every time. The MC does have the usual huge penis though, but I can forgive that. I sure hope we get to see more soon and I wish the developer a great success with this project. Thumbs up from me.

Is the game good? Yes. Do I recommend it? Yes.

The story begins with our down on his luck MC in what seems to be a bottomless pit in his life, there's no way out and no help is coming. It's a very relatable situation especially with people who play adult games, I mean that's why we play these games right? To escape? To read a story, maybe way different than our own, and watch it play out in a way we would never realistically choose to.

Before the update 0.60a, I was already numbed to the story. I knew then that nothing is really going to be going on and that aside from our MC being a generous helpful guy that the real story are going to be the stories behind the characters our MC interacts with. Which makes sense because the name of the game is Friends in Need, and our MC meeting people down on their luck and him being able to help them is fitting until this update. Now we have an overarching story on our hands and while it still needs some setting up to do, I'm excited to see where it'll go.

Next is the dialogue which is the real gem and this is honestly one of the most freedom in dialogue I've seen in an adult game. This is because dialogue is the deciding factor on whether or not a character will continue interacting with MC and, if they do, in which capacity. So far. I say this because in this update, we meet an interesting character and whether we choose to be friendly with them or not, I think it foreshadows another way the story can go - a real choice where the direction of the story changes.

Then comes the characters - the most important one is shockingly the MC this time and that's because coupled with the dialogue, how our MC talks with the other characters is directly effected by the options we choose. Shocking because this is an adult game where more often than not, the MC's characterization takes a backseat in place of the LI or LIs. And I guess we should at least go over what seems to be a somewhat common point of contention: our MC being kind of a doormat, helping everyone not knowing how to say no.

To the people who think this, go through the intro of the game again and remember that our MC was a nice guy who made bad calls throughout his life. He was working a dead end job at a convenience store where his sole happiness was with a girl who was taken and considers him a bro. Remember how I said this was relatable? This is a guy who was fucked for life until he got lucky. In real life, this guy would still be fucked and probably eating a bullet before they're 30. He suddenly comes across so much money that he can't spend it in a lifetime so what does he do? He chooses to help people who were just like him - just like Nicki. If you still don't see the beauty in that and how good of a person our MC is, you're too far gone.

What a tangent am I right? Anyways, next are the girls - they are all gorgeous and interesting. They're all troubled in their own way and for the longest time, I've felt that their stories were the real main focus of the game. That's because they are the Friends in Need so it's not far-fetched that our MC is willingly diving headfirst to find out more about them so that he can better help. Because of this, our heroines are not as one- or even two-dimensional as they seem to be which makes for an even more entertaining time.

The visuals are great, don't mind the haters who are most likely kids who think fidelity is the be all and end all. The beautiful renders combined with the amazing dialogue make for some really great sex scenes. So far I haven't seen anything immersion-breaking so that's always a plus.

Overall, the game is compelling with great dialogue and characters with their own interesting stories. How the overall story will go, we'll have to find out on future updates. A 5 star.

My message to to NeonGhosts: I love everything so far honestly, I was worried that the story was going nowhere and that it'll slowly peter out because aside from our MC stumbling across the next abandoned kitten to save, there was no direction. I'm glad that with the current update that that won't be the case and I looking forward to see what comes next! Also if you make me choose between Mason or Nicki I am not above changing my rating to 1 star. Just kidding.

Or am I?

Nice game. Writing is pretty good, I for once didn't want to skip any dialouge. I like that you have a choice of MC being a good guy, r*pist asshole or someone inbetween

Girls are hot and scenes were decent, but they lack animations. Renders are pretty average too, could be better

I wanted to give 5 stars at first because the game really impressed me, but it's very obvious that visuals are far from best. It's the only complaint from me

Nowadays I really feel a little lazy about doing reviews. but this game deserves it, it's really good, it has such a excellent writing, it's so good that I like it even though it has one of the things I hate the most in AVNs which is the excess of LIs and characters, but most of the characters are so lovable that I don't even care about that. It's really cool to see an AVNs with so many relatable characters in certain aspects and have LIs that are so imperfect, most games always give you the archetype of perfect LIs without any problems in life whose only function is to please the MC and that gets boring quickly , and I'm glad that this game has so many positive reviews despite that, since there are some people on this forum who think that a girl is a slut for having had a partner before the MC and who believe that making mistakes in life is "fatherless behavior" in any case there is also a dark route for those types of people who want to "punish" these "fatherless" girls so everyone can be happy.

So it is a great game with very good characters and good writing. kudos to the dev and at any moment i will become a supporter this game really deserves it.


P.S: Mason and Nicki best characters.

Really one of my preferred V Ns if not the one I prefer
Good story, characters with depth, MC who is not a hormone driven teen who wants to f*ck mommy and sis, yet you can choose if he'll be a good guy or an a$$hole
Very diverse (in the good sense) cast of LIs from busty blonde to loli black, nice sex scenes not too far apart
A gem!

I learned from this game that I'm not evil. I followed the "saint" path, the sadist psychopath role is not my thing. I think I decreased my chance to go to hell playing this VN. But even so, you can have a lot of fun with the girls without the need of being a rapist. Now talking about the game, the writing is deep and ultra-interesting. It's rare to find a VN that is an excellent reading, better than a good book. I love multiple-choice adult games where you can shape the MC's personality. This game is perfect for good and evil players.

This is a wonderful game with lots of choices and great writing. The girls are easy to fall in love with and the story is one of the best I have seen in a AVN.

One of its strongest points is that you get multiple choices for how to interact with the girls.

I can't recommend this game enough. If you love good writing and storytelling you'll love this game.

Just rushed in my Top3-Games on this site! Excellent writing, nice Animations and Renders, funny characters! Also tough choices from time to time. I really like and recommend this game! Looking forward the Carolina-Path and what Ashe keeps coming.

I value games that make me stop touching my dick for a bit and take in the story. I want to help these imaginary people. while also fucking them, respectfully.

The story is there, the graphics are too. I look forward to the development

[SPOILER ALERT]

"Friends in Need"? To me, it's more like "Fatherless Women in Need".

Jeez, the whole story is just kinda depressing to be honest. What's up with too many women in this game making bad decisions after bad decisions or caught a pretty bad luck? from all of the LIs, Ashleigh is probably the only one who has a relatively stable life. She has a nice home, a nice family (I really like her parents), a decent job, and nice racks. While the others are basically..... yeah I don't want to talk about it, go see for yourself.

Nicki particularly, hits almost too close to home. She was such a nice girl, but only in three months she made a lot of bad decisions. She could've just moved with me and be a nice couple but nah... she was too stupid for that. Now I get it why the dev has this "Nicki removal patch". I thought it was just a little joke from him but when I got through Nicki's story, I sighed so hard that I just punched my own desk (no, this is not a made up story, it did happen). Good job NeonGhosts, you made a character that almost look like someone that I used to know. If you ask me, no luckily she didn't sell her out unlike Nicki, in fact she became a doctor.

One particular problem that I have with this game is that the MC sometimes doesn't have enough courage to say a big motherfucking NO to some people who asking for his help. Just because I'm rich and also a famous philantrophist, it doesn't mean that everyone needs to be helped. For example, Risa asking you to take her home because she has "car problems" so she needs a ride. But it turns out she tricked you by driving her into a drug den because she is a drug addict. If I were the MC, I would've kicked her out from my car and called DEA/FBI afterward. I will never ever spend a penny for a junkie.

I haven't try the "dark path" yet because I am a nice guy. But seriously, I feel like that's probably the proper way to play this game because some of the women are shameless.

Three stars for now. I might add another star in the future, or keep it that way or perhaps lose it. Depends on how the dev handles it.

Overall a decent AVN where choice matters, and you can shape your relationships with the love interests how you like.

+ Plot is simple, but effective for the story
+ Good models and renders, with believable personalities
+ Good selection of relationship types (romance, benefits, domination, exploitation, etc)
+ Not a wide range of body types, but the girls are attractive
+ Only a few kinks, but the relationship types allow for some deviation
+ High re-playability factor to experience different relationship types with the love interests
+ Writing and grammar is good without a lot of distracting issues

+/- Not quite enough sex scenes or opportunities for them with each love interest for my liking. What's there is okay, but more would be better.

- Short AVN, 0.60c has perhaps 12-14 hours worth of content total
- No built-in walkthrough or hints, and no explanation of how choices affect relationships or the Darkness stat (and no way to track any of it)
- No music or sound effects
- Animations are extremely rare, short, and low in quality (sometimes just render flips between two screens)
- Love Interests are added slowly, and you have a fairly linear way of getting together with them (no choice, just whether or not it happens on a certain day)
- In 2 years and 3 months of development, it seems like progress is moving slowly to end up with ~12-14 hours of content. To put it in perspective, that's roughly 1 minute of gameplay developed per day, 7 minutes per week, or a half hour in a month.

Friends in Need ends up a 3.2 or 3.3 rating from me. Unsure why it has such a high rating on F95 for reasons listed above - it definitely has promise, but just as many shortcomings. If the developer would re-double their efforts and address them along with more frequent content, it'd end up a 4.5 or higher due to it's strengths. But it isn't there yet..

Maybe the best, most relatable writing I've ever seen in a game - keep it up!
The dialogue is great, the characters real and believable, and seemingly lots of choices that actually matter as you progress!

This game's vocabulary is excellent! This coupled with the interactions, choices, and ramifications can make this game a potential masterpiece. With future updates, the story can only get better and evolve into one of my top games on this platform. Keep in mind to not take it too far and end it as early as possible, as most games on f95 tend to get abandoned because of the sheer work needed to go into them and the burnout of developers working on a single project for multiple games. Keep up the good work and remember to keep it fresh!

Excellent game. I was a little worried in chapter 1 because the writing didn't really grip me and some of the facial animation looked a bit weird, but seriously, every chapter got better and better. By chapter 4 it was clear this was a masterpiece.

The characters are all interesting and unique, both in their designs and their personalities. But the real stars of the show are the MC and Nikki. The MC is a genuinely swell dude with great writing to back it up, and Nikki is a great match for him. Really the entire game could just be these two but the side characters bring lots of charm and life to the world.

Highly recommend.

Excellent opening premise for a game which is fully supported by brilliant writing and a varied cast. Visuals are good and choices feel impactful. The ending for Chapter 9 was eery with the MC feeling like he was in waay over his head, can't wait for next release. Easily one of my favourite games on this site.

Some of the recent reviews are pretty weird. Like yes, indeed, this is at its core a Visual Novel, and thus the choices won't be super impactful. Yes there is some polish to do to make this less immersion-breaking (like currently, how having a giant bruise on MC's face will provoke no reaction from strangers and LIs alike past the few scenes for it, even once the magical make up disappear), and yes it would be nice to have some background music, but cmon....

Honestly if you don't take it for what it isn't, and if you like a well written story and characters, I fail to see why you wouldn't like this game. Both the MC and the LIs have a personality, they don't simply fall in some kind of harem slots nor (yet) bloat the storylines too much, and the modest plots advance at a decent pace that feels natural.

I do find the premise, or at least its handling original. Not the simple "I was nobody now I'm in a power fantasy mode" but the way it translate as a "playboy+decent human being simulator" do hit the "actually, helping others people is a nice power fantasy if it's well written" button. Also feels like doing the asshole choices in this game is, I think, both a way to appeal to people who have these kinks and to remind people that this is not a very fullfilling to do.

Don't misunderstand me, in the absolute I much like prefer games that offer me depth of choices and consequences to them, but I also understand that time and ressources aren't infinite, and I prefer one well written line going far and fast than a metric ton of paths and 20 slides for each every updates.

Would definitely recommend the game. Writing is good, girls are hot, hop along for the ride!

(Also Britanni and Vicki best girls by far)

Story 2/5
Let me start of by saying choices dosent matter other then when it comes to relationships but even then it might not matter, like even if you rape a girl she will still come back to MC and live with him, work for him.....its truely that idiotic.

The start dosent really make much sense to me, MC gets lucky and get millions so he never has to worry about money again, then a friend comes to a visit who he had a crush on but shes always been in a relationship, so they are just friends, you then learn shes in need of money and that her boyfriend send her to MCs place to beg for money since he somehow knows MC is rich, i mean fair enough.

But the choices your given is absoultly idiotic sorry, shes supposed to be a friend and you get the option to abuse her by rape or just pay her for sex or to be nice...where on earth is the option to send her ass back to her idiot boyfriend without a single dime? and why the fuck does MC pay both her debt and her boyfriend? who MC dosent even like? i get helping her but the boyfriend? why? and ofc all 3 choices will end up in some kind of sexual scene without you having any choice other then what and how it will happen, im just not a fan of shit being forced on the players, atleast you can stop it with "only" a BJ if you pick the right choices, so yeah not the best start.

And when MC takes back Nicki who left him for 3 months to fuck her own life up instend of going to MC i just lost all respect for the game, he should have trown her ass out the door or give her the last money she needed and tell her to fuck off and stay away from him....giving her yet another chance makes MC feels submissive and extremly brainless and ofc he shows the idiotic cringy side of lusting for her yet again even though he should hate her, it really just makes for a shitty story nothing else, he even lets her stay in hes home with him....such a vanilla and boring thing, he even offers her a freaking job theres just no getting rid of the bitch.

And on a side note even if you freaking rape Nicki she will still come back to MC? how is that for a kinetic story....who the fuck would go back to her rapist.

Also story fucks up and ignore the choices you make, if you do nothing with Gabby MC still acts like hes in huge trubble when Maddison calls him? all he did was give Gabby a hug when he left? and MC acts like he raped the girl or something saying "fuck me" all the time and thinking "its nothing to worry about" or "this is bad..." its just waaaaay off point and makes 0 sense when all you ever did was hug the girl???? then she tells MC she understands that MC was just a little drunk? and that she dident tell Maddison? i mean what the fuck? tell her what? that she hugged him?

And whats with the Brittani and calander shit? i already turned her down after photo session and then later MC thinks about how to connect with Brittani and learn more about her? why? whats the point? story makes less and less sense.

Also dont get the constant Tt dialog? pops up alllll the freaking time?

And explain why MC also desides to help out a bitch on drugs? dosent MC know the word no? and why no choices to the player? i mean MC has a shitload to lose if he get cought doing drug deals but he fucking goes with the drug whore and pays for her drugs? i mean sorry game just to way to stupid, if she atleast had told him what why she needs he help first it could make a little more sense but him freely walking in to do a drug deal knowing nothing is idiotic.

Girls 3/5
There are some the look ok but none are really great, there is some diversity in builds which is good but thats about it

Animations and sex scenes 1/5
Not an animated game so loses alot on that alone, sex scenes are pretty short, bland and just boring really.

Music 0/5
Silent game which is always more boring.

Choices 2/5
When story ignores choices it makes for a shit story, when things are forced it adds to being a shitty story and add the kinetic main storyline where you can rape someone and still end up with her? it just makes little sense.

Not sure why or how this got rated so highly it just dosent make sense when it has no animations no music and a cringy creep MC on top of that and a story that fails over and over and simply just stops making any sense.