Engaging Destiny

Premise This review reflects my personal experience with the game. While I aim to write thoughtfully and as fairly as possible, my reviews are subjective in nature and should not be used as objective metrics to assess/critique a game. I also curate a steam group which focusses on reviewing BL/Bara/MxM VNs. Feel free to join if you would like to see more reviews! :) [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/46061383-Gay-Games-Vault] Gay Games Vault[/url] Verdict: ★★★★★ Engaging Destiny Writing & Story — ★★★★★ Set in the fantasy town of Faranel, Engaging Destiny follows a knight beginning his service to the king, accompanied by his talented and protective squire, Warrick. As the story progresses, we meet the town's residents, learn about their lives and gradually discover the simple relationships that connect them. I particularly enjoyed how the story introduces its characters through exploration. Civ, the town's bard, was one of my favourites. As I progress through the game, he shares different parts of his stories, giving another reason to return and speak with him. Garreth, the blacksmith, was another character I grew fond of. He initially comes across as rather rough arou…

Engaging Destiny is an immersive, thoughtfully made story adventure game that sets a new standard for gay/queer visual novels. While many gay/queer visual novels focus solely on stereotypes and unrealistic sexual encounters, Engaging Destiny creates realistic gay/queer relationships with emotional intimacy and slow-burn attraction, friendship and more. There is sexual content, but it is neither the focus nor the "extra". It is integrated into the relationships you build with the characters in the story, and reflect real-world gay/queer sexual experiences. This is something that the genre sorely lacks in favour of cheaply made pornography or shallow "Mills & Boon" style 'romance'. I would however like to see some trans representation, and wonder if the publisher would have any appetite for including or, maybe prominently featuring gay/queer trans men and trans masc non-binary people. This is something the genre sorely lacks and there is enormous interest for this kind of content. Engaging Destiny was so good I bought Endless Bounty, too. Recommend!

I was able to 100% this game in around 7 hours. What a treat! They advertise this game as a platformer, and it *somewhat* is, but it is not a serious one by any means. You're not going to get intense platforming like Celeste. I would say this game is more of a visual novel with walking around. But where it lacks in gameplay it makes up for in story. Yes, this a gay game with rated R scenes. But the story I thought was what intrigued me more. The characters are really well done and have layers to them, there is world building, with deeper themes which makes the characters feel more real. I did feel like the game did drone on at some points, and the controls weren't that well optimized for controller and the lack of adjusting the keybinds really irked me at some moments. The game features a classic style of saving, you can do it at anytime though, but I say do it often because I have had a bug happen to me and had to restart and redo all of my progress. I think the game is good for the 7 hours of gameplay I got, any longer and I think this review would've gone differently. Now, one of the BIGGEST things that I loved about the story was how the love interest of Calen (Warrick) …

🎮 Gameplay & Genre This is a classic-style RPG with no combat and basic keyboard or controller movement. It’s longer and smoother than Endless Bounty, with a better story flow and lots of little side quests. You’ll want to consult the guide before the final sequence if you're going for all achievements. I got them all in just under 10 hours. Controls are simple and old-school, but they work just fine. 🔥 M/M Content There is so much more heat and heart here than in the first game. The sex scenes are more frequent, more romantic, and honestly kind of intense. The art is still pixelated but you can see everything. The erotic moments are spaced out well and a few of them absolutely did it for me. The relationship between the orc and his lover has some emotional weight to it too. 🎨 Visuals & Style Same pixel art style as Endless Bounty, but this time it's tighter and a bit more detailed. It’s still retro but definitely more polished. It feels like the devs grew more confident in their vision. 🗣️ Tone & Writing It’s got heart without taking itself too seriously. The world is more developed, the lore gets a nice boost, and the story gives the characters just enough depth to fee…

Game is unplayable and works in 1-2FPS after bandit stab scene on Windows (i5-10400/GTX 1060), Bazzite Linux (i7-12700K/RTX 3060Ti) and Steam Deck. Dev pretty much ignores the problem and won't fix it, so, not recommended

Peak, genuine peak