Women of Xal

So far a very interesting and engaging dating sim adventure. The art style is quite unique and makes good pair with the dreamy fantasy setting. All characters are written in a distinct way, and their moods / backstory kicks in in realistically during the story, blending together with the choices you make during the game. Choices that fit well in the narration, which is very well made and offers peaks of fun, sadness, wtf moments and some unexpected plot twists. Because of this, the story is worth a replay, not counting the different romances that one may miss or fk up during the gameplay. Everything is pretty detailed and important clou scenes are also well animated. Writing is on very good levels yet clear even for non english speakers like me, replayability aswell, 1 or 2 romances/characters feel a bit off...but like irl, not everyone is a special person :) I did my best to not spoiler anything. a must play for the dating sim adventure games enjoyers. Solid 8.

Xjena has a fully developed personality and strong opinions, which I appreciated. As a player, I had consistent opportunities to collaborate in shaping her future, and I never once cringed at her dialogue. Her obsession with pizza might be nutritionally questionable, but it’s charming in context. The world doesn’t revolve around Xjena or her calendar. You have to make hard choices about who you pursue romantically, and sometimes you simply don’t have time to do it all. My max was six romances at once—out of twelve total. I didn’t finish Proxis, Furnell, or Xobi’s routes. The poly romances were refreshingly smooth. No awkwardness, no jealousy, no walking on eggshells. It felt more like ethical sluttery; and I mean that in the best way. You can date as many people as you want, and sometimes your partners even date each other, which is honestly adorable. It’s rare to see this done well, and it made the game feel emotionally expansive, not messy. The game advertises a "tricky high fantasy political mystery," but it’s not one the player really solves. Instead, you train, do paperwork, and go on a lot of dates. Some of the people you're dating are actively solving the mystery, and if y…

It's very interesting story-wise, the only downside is it not having achievements.

Sexy characters, political intrigue, dark humor, splashes of real world analogies, and an MC that's NOT annoying to me??? Also a killer soundtrack, like they really did that. This is what I want out of indie games. Eager for the sequel

Women of Xal is a deep visual novel, with its own fantasy world politics, large cast, and plenty of things to say. As one might guess from the premise, WoX is very considered in what it does with gender, race and sexuality (which is not always a given in world-reversal media!) I think it's thanks to the care it takes with its world and characters, how different motivations overlap and people clash. The game has also been made with lots of care - there are so many interactions, unique visuals dotted around special moments (as well as voiced songs and cutscenes), plenty of music, interesting reasons to replay, and situations that are more complicated than they seem at first. My only issue is that it takes a bit of time to wrap your head around the world, characters and how your actions/stats/relationships may lead to different outcomes. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to stick with it after my first playthrough, but I'm glad I did. The prospect just seemed daunting at the time!

It's pretty good but there's no way to tell what choices branch the story and I just keep getting the same ending over and over. The story and characters are great I just wish I could experience the rest of it but with no guide to be found anywhere I'm stuck.