Red Embrace

Playtime for all routes and achievements is around 4 hours. I really enjoyed the stories, the (good and bad) endings and interestingly, the sound effects. There is no voice acting but the sound effects and the music create a lovely atmosphere. The art is lovely and the different routes are quite different. Due to the short playtime I would recommend getting it on sale.

Honestly I love this game but I would not recommend it. The main plot points that the entire game is based on are vaguely explained without much detail so if you only play one route it seems rushed and very short. It is also easy to get the bad endings because the game doesn't represent the choices very well. I personally loved the characters and story but the game falls short if you only play one route.

Dominics route was 100 minutes long. I did read the negative comments and was prepared for this but what I got was a rushed story that one could tell in 10 sentences.
-Met the bad vampire clan
-Got a bodyguard vampire friend
-Went to a club, danced and invited him to a drink
-One week later invited him to my apartment
-Bad clan boss says 'become one of us or forget about your bf'
-Dom and I ran away
-the end.
That's not even 7 sentences. It's not explained in any way what is so special about the "sweet" blood of the MC or what makes the two clans of San Francisco diffrent from Los Angeles (or any clan in fact).
Disappointing. Hope I'll get a refund.

I loved Red Embrace Hollywood so I was excited to play this one. Unfortunately the choices felt too limited which made the story feel out of my control and too punishing. Honestly, I hardly did anything, certainly nothing radical, and then boom, bad ending. There wasn't enough substance to make any of it memorable.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this game, I've had in in my library for 2 years before playing it, which tbh was 2 years too long to let it just sit. Recently I've been on a vampire kick so I finally loaded this one up to play, and it absolutely delivered what I was looking for. Each love interest is distinct and well-developed, and most of the routes were different from what I expected they would be based on the characters' intros (not in a bad way, in a refreshing way). Rex's route was my absolute favorite (baby boyyyyyyy <3) but I enjoyed all 4 quite a bit, reminding myself that I had this game to come back to got me through several workdays, aha.

The personality choice system adds some fun flavor to the game. It's fun to try different combinations to unlock the locked choices, and not too difficult imo. (For the one choice I DID have trouble with, I asked about in the dev's discord and they were very helpful; walkthroughs are also an option if you're struggling.) If you're like me and aren't a big fan of rereading, you can skip read text to quickly replay the routes for a chievements and also easily see the new text, as it'll stop skipping whenever you encounter a new line.

This is also gonna be the second time I praise Argent Games' sound design, something I don't usually point out or notice in VNs, but I was really impressed with the variety of sound effects and how well they fit into the game. The OST is also excellent, not necessarily one I personally would listen to outside the game but fitting for the game itself.

Maybe the only complaint that I really have is the clash between art styles for the CGs and sprites. Tbh I wish that the sprite artist had just done the CGs as well - the cover image makes it obvious that CGs are within their capability, and I thought that the backgrounds matched really well with the sprites. The anime style CGs were at odds with the rest of the game's style and imo there was also some disconnect between the character designs in the sprites and CGs; I loved Dominic's CG appearance but was just meh on his sprite art, and vice versa for Isaac. That said, this wasn't a dealbreaker for me as I tend to value writing over art in VNs (pretty art is just a nice bonus for me). Unless the CGs are the absolute 100% most important thing in a VN for you, it probably won't be a dealbreaker for you either.

Overall would HUGELY recommend this game, particularly to fans of vampires, MxM content, and/or Argent Games' other games, but tbh if you like visual novels in ANY capacity I think this one is super worth your time.

Minor spoilers ahead

This game is like Twilight novels mixed with Guilty Gear Story Modes. You can change the entire story line based on your choices which is pretty cool. I might give you a little warning: the game is Yaoi, but not the intense types one would find in mangas. So if you want to remember your adolescence, this is a game for you.

PROS:
- Choice-based story;
- Vampires + Yaoi;
- Extras with character profiles;
- Saving and Loading;
- Trading cards;
- Achievements.

CONS:
- Nothing I know of.

Worth buying it on discount sale. Have fun!

A good otome game in the Yaoi genre.

The story is a bit flat though. No matter which route I played. But the kissing scenes were on point!

For that alone, the purchase is worth it.

Sexy vampires, nuff said!

[quote]Follow Drugoja In The Dreaming for more biting games[/quote]

So, when I first started this game, I would NOT have recommended it.

I go back and forth on the art. It's wonderfully illustrated, and the artist(s) are talented, but MC's appearance between sprite and reward images doesn't really track. He's often better looking in the reward images, but not always. He certainly doesn't look like he could be in high school (which is great in that he's more appealing, but it contradicts the text). The LIs are consistently better looking in the reward images, except Dom. Everyone else is absolutely lovely.

I've seen better scripts with free mobile games. It's immature. Then there are poorly researched parts like thinking someone can live in San Francisco on a diner waiter salary (and not realizing that you don't work alone in a diner, nor would a diner open in the day be closed before the night shift to be opened), not seeming to realize the city has public transit, treating soda as unusual (and the constant 'sugar sugar sugar' commentary, like the majority of Americans don't drink it reguarly), or thinking New York is twice as expensive (while which is considered more expensive varies, COL and housing generally stays higher for San Francisco) or, INCREDIBLY frustrating for anyone who's ever lived in the Bay Area, that anyone living in the city would call it "San Fran." I cringed every time I saw that. Honestly, I feel like not recommending this just because it isn't free. However, I stuck it out because I paid for it and love vampires.

The music, though? Like, I came for a vampire story and stayed for the music. It's great. The sound effects vary (turn them down, and they're almost all fine), but I'm here for the music.

If this game's on sale (or better, free), I'd recommend grabbing it. If it's full price, meh. On top of all that, it was broken, too. I had to jump through hoops to get the achievements (it's worth it--they're entertaining). The bite scenes were good. For the most part, the scenes between the beginning and end, from where you select your LI, are the best written. That intro, though. I only got through by MST3King it. The stories are entertaining. The world is fun. If you're detail oriented, though, stay away.

I'd give the game 2.5 stars out of 5. I enjoyed it enough.

I saw vampires and M/M and I was on board.

There's so many good things packed into this short visual novel that I really appreciate. The writing is fantastic and beautifully scripted, the music and scene transitions set a captivating atmosphere unlike most cheap VNs I read, and all the characters (including MC) with their witty banters got me dying for more!

It's disappointing how short each route is, but very little of it is actually repeated, leaving each person with their own unique story and endings. It amazes me that for such a short visual novel, I was able to walk away so attached to these characters and their stories. Each route offers something different and they all end conclusively, leaving me wanting more while also feeling satisfied with each ending.

Other small comments:
- the CGs and art are great A+
- Bishop is an a$$ but a route would have been interesting
- Isaac was my fav (which is weird cuz it's a vamp game)
- Luka IS a route despite what people told me
- 2 human/2 vamp routes
- some of dialogue choices that lead to Isaac's good end don't make complete sense (I took the time to try out ALL the options for every route for funsies)
- there's 4 personality choices (+Aggressive, +Blunt, +Charming, +Gentle) but it felt more like 2 (A/B & C/G)
- full explanation on Strix would have been nice (each route gives different insight but Dom's bad end only left me with assumptions and more questions)
- loved getting to choose Art/Music/Writing, it was a great personal touch for readers
- caught this on sale, but i'd have no regrets if I had bought this for full price
- the 10 achievements were easy to get, used Bishop for Plagiarism cuz #### that dude
- I came for the sexy vamps, leavin with the feels. I wanna hug these bois.

I couldn't get into it. The choices were nice, but the writing style wasn't for me. I didn't feel any immersion, and the flow of the story seemed pushed towards endgame too fast.

It felt... amateurish. Granted, I've also been playing Vampire the Masquerade and it's sibling games for better part of 20 years, so I guess this felt too cut and dry for me.

---

Curator - Toby's Gaming Nook

Short Review:

Full Review:

Accessibility:

M/M erotic romance done oh so well ( I say, as a heterosexual woman). I actually initially made the mistake that the MC was just an androgenous character, but they are definitely male.

Feel like you want a protector? Go sit in Dominic's lap
Feel like you want to BE the protector? Scoop Luka's bad attitude into your lap.
Feel like you want an equal who hurts himself to protect you? Rex is your boi.
Feel like being the pawn in someone's plot but you don't mind so much? Then Issac is your man.

I'm not submissive at all, but I liked Dominic's the most. Then Rex, for being such a self sacrificial cinnamon roll. Then Issac; how he manipulates doesn't please me, but even the bad ending had him loyal to you. I liked Luka the least- none of the rest of the LIs are willing to sacrifice you as far as I experienced out of the 6 endings I got. If anything, kinda felt like Luka deserved his bad ending, and it's not often I want something BAD to happen to an LI.

Flaws: It suffers from the problem of needing a guide to achieve the good endings, imo. I only naturally got Dom and Rex's good endings, and I found the route to Luka's good ending downright opaque. If I have to use a guide, my immersion is officially broken. Second flaw is that the MC's personality changes based on the romance. MC is happy to be subby with Dom but then wants to be Dominant with Luka. I know that being a Switch is a thing, and even relationship can be tied to the Who you're with, but in a narrative, it just makes the MC more like a Chameleon and less like a real person.

PS this is an erotic game. No genitalia, but there is some BDSM erotic elements and I think this is awesome, but some people may not agree.

I played this a few weeks after playing Red Embrace: Hollywood and I must say, it was nice to get back into the dark fantasy vibe. I was also pleasantly surprised to find they had used some of the same soundtrack too.
So I don't confuse anyone, this game was released before RE:H. You don't have to play either to make sense of the other! I played in this order just because.
A lot of people have stated they felt it was a little short and I agree with them, however, I didn't feel like that was a huge disadvantage for RE. The lack of filler let's you get to where they want you to go without adding a whole other plot. It could have been expanded on a little, but it also wasn't necessary. For the price I paid (sale price -25%) I felt there was enough content and replayability to be worth the cost.
It was interesting to be playing as the opposite spectrum to RE:H.
One thing I didn't like was the hidden achievement that required you read 100% of the text. I didn't have too much difficulty with this but I've seen a few people stuck at 99%. I understand creators want you to experience the entire game but I personally don't agree with the implementation of achievements such as this.

So I really enjoyed this game. It is however quite short, but I feel for the price it has enough content to still be a worthwhile purchase.

I'll start off with the art. Artstyle is quite important to me when I look at buying VNs, I just can't quite seem to get into a game if the artstyle isn't all that appealing to me. I'm a fickle creature.
Now I'll be honest and say I actually really like the art for this game, despite it changing styles between backgrounds, sprites and CGs! The CGs seem to be in a more bold and simple style whereas the sprites are softer and have that 'painted' effect about them (I'm no art person, I don't know how to word it!) and the backgrounds are messy and have a wide contrast of colours, which I loved- especially the contrast between the dark and gloomy city skyline and then a neon bright alleyway in another scene.
The varying styles of art in the game might be off putting or unappealing to some, and I get that, but personally I like it so it's a plus for me :D

The music is suitable for the theme of the game. One of the tracks in particular gave me some particularly nostalgic vtmb vibes, which I loved!! I was more than happy to have the background music playing, even if it did get a little repetitive, and I feel it helped create that dark and slightly seedy (probably not the right word to use, but it's the first thing that sprang to mind) atmosphere that I associate with vampire games- I like to think of the divide between those vamps living the decedant highlife and then the more unfortunate ones that have to scrape by to survive. Not that it's really relevent here.

Anyway, so yeah the music is good and the art is good too.

Now for the story. It's short, but still very much enjoyable. I absolutely love that different answers change the attitude and personality of the MC, and consequently the outcome of the story or route. If you want to be soft and sweet and generally accepting of the shit that goes down, then it's got you covered. If you want to shout and swear and threaten to punch people, then heck, it lets you take that route too. I love it!

The characters themselves are the typical tropes that you get in these kind of games; you have the silent muscle-pig, the bratty youngster and the smooth talking specs guy. Even though we all know how these guys stories usually go, it was still enjoyable to read and share in the events that they go through.

I just wish there was more! I could've quite happily read more chapters and made kick ass decisions, but I guess I'll just have to be satisfied with what I got.

I do recommend this game, £3.99 is really not all that bad of a price.

This is a great yaoi romance visual novel, despite being too short.

Romance Options:

Dominic -- Appears to be a stoic tough guy, but is actually a nice, emotional guy. He's very lonely and even reveals to be a bit suicidal. He's a vampire, but regrets being one.

Isaac -- Appears to be only looking out for himself and using the protagonist at first, but turns out to be like that because he was hurt so much and doesn't know how to trust people anymore. He's NOT a vampire, but is involved in the vampire underworld.

Rex -- Appears to be a really agressive a--hole at first, and I honestly thought I'd hate his route, but it turns out he's just trying to show off to his clan, whom he believes are the only people that care about him. It becomes rewarding to see a more sincere side of him. He's a vampire and seems to like being one.

Perks:

• Lovely artwork, quite attractive men.
  
• No toxic relationships and any problematic behavior is remedied. (Not counting the bad ending with Bishop.)
  
• Well-written narration and dialogue.
  
• Elicits emotional/romantic feelings during sad or romantic scenes quite well.
  
• A nice Extras section on the main menu, including the gallery and character profiles.
  

• Ridiculous achievement to see all text. Like, I get that the devs worked hard on the game and want all of their work seen, but it's really off-putting to miss an achievement simply from not reading a sentence or two. "Ain't nobody got time for that."
  
• Everyone is white. No one has a single shade darker. "But their vampires" isn't an excuse. That's BS.
  
[*] Luka's character was fairly pointless. Why not make him a romance option?

I would prefer to give a neutral review, as I have mixed feelings, but since the price is very affordable, I bumped "Red Embrace" to Recommended. If the story premise interests you, try it out. Very mild spoilers when talking of the characters, so skip that paragraph if you wish to go wholly fresh into the story.

PROS

- Excellent game soundtrack. Most of the tension and atmosphere are thanks to Rupert Cole's compositions. "Reckless errors" and "Roving in Neon" are personal favourites. Some intimate scenes might have benefited from quieter volume or non-intrusive loop versions (compare Telltalegame's "Bigby's apartment" track) as sometimes the music took over one''s concentration on the longer sentences.

- No voice acting. It's a pro in Red Embrace, since it doesn't distract from reading, and would require some exceptional voice actors and balancing of the immersive elements.

- Fun characters. I initially found Rex to be the antithesis of a character I wanted to talk to, but he did some interesting character growth later in the routes, so I ended up liking him. Dominic had some interesting interactions right in the beginning, but suffered from saw-this-coming as his route progressed. Isaac was a I-wanna-slap-that-grin-off-your-face marvel, but his ending felt a bit...rushed? Overall still, everyone was fun. :)

- BL. :) I wouldn't mind more of it, especially when the writer does interesting character voices.

CONS

- Discontinuous, disjointed art. The styles aren't blended together well, and the character art is not on par with industry standards. I am saying this as a person with a degree and experience in graphic design and art, AND because I see great potential in Argent Games' work if some levels are reached in the visual presentation. Get that shading, anatomy, and co-operation in colour palette and detail in order. UI-design could use some typography checks, and how the visual elements (especially the active ones) are arranged on the screen for the reader/player's eye to move between them smoothly.

- The text skip when re-playing. It's a well-known dilemma in visual novels (or branching, choose-your-own-adventure formula) and I don't expect Argent Games to be able to solve it, but it would have been nice to lessen the skipping by making the narrative choices branch into clearly differing directions where there would have been plenty of new content. More work, but Red Embrace is a commercial, narrative driven game, so...

咳咳简直不敢相信自己来这个平台上玩耽美向攻略游戏……表示GAME的人设、立绘和BGM都还不错，可惜的是关键时候角色互动的剧情和立绘有点少哇！！_(:з」∠)_（一颗少女心的老夫还想看更多互动的说），overall而言三位男主个性鲜明都很有魅力就是了，不过攻略ISAAC需要一些性格转变哈哈哈哈让我试了几次~

First thing to say is... I LOVE ISAAC!

The game is quite short, 3 male characters to romance, two vampires and one human, each of them have a "good" and a "bad" ending.
I like it because being nice is not always gonna help you to get the "good" ending so depending on the character you are pursuing, you have to behave one way or another.
Each character have 3 cgs each, all of them beautiful, this is one of the things that I liked about it the most.

When I first saw the video/images, I thought the MC was a female (without breast XD) but after reading the info in the page and realising that the MC was a boy, I went all in for the game (I love BL <3)
Another thing that got me interested in this game was.. Isaac, yes, the way he smiles and looks at you is just too much, couldn't resist him, plus, after playing his route, I was more into it than when I first saw him.

It is a good game, short but totally worth playing it.

This game is definitely filling a hole in the visual novel market! We definitely needed more LGBT visual novels, and this one really shines. It reads like an otoge mixed with an Anne Rice novel, gritty and romantic all at once. The MC's personality changes depending on your choices, and the love interests react accordingly. Some of the dialogue options are unlocked by certain personality traits, so I spent a lot of time replaying the routes and trying to unlock those options.

The art is really amazing! I love all of the character designs, and the BGs were really helpful in setting the tone for each scene. I really looked forward to unlocking all of the CGs in the gallery!

The LIs are memorable and easy to fall for, and their routes are genuinely well-written. There's no explicit content but it's plenty spicy, so maybe if you're coming off of something like DMMd you might be disappointed, but I really thought that the routes were engaging enough without that content.

As for content, I played through all of the routes and choices at around 4.5 hours. Considering the price and the qualtiy of the game, I'd say this is a steal! I've played quite a few VNs that were more expensive than this one that didn't deliver on story or art, so I can easily recommend this one. This VN is definitely up there with works by sonnet009! Please, support this dev team, they're doing great work!

I love the interactions between the MC and the characters. I also love how those interactions can change depending on the personality choices you made earlier on in the game.