Ladykiller In A Bind (Review)
Source: Cashmoneys
Price: $30
Where To Get It: Official Site
NB: This review contains mature content (Transgender content, BDSM, drug use). If you are not mature, or at least willing to pretend to be about sex, then stroll the fuck on. Thanks, TMW.
Sex is a good metaphor for many things, because it has mechanical elements, artistic elements, and emotional elements. Fun or “Good” sex isn’t just about pacing, or sensation, or those feels, it’s about the interplay between these things. A good game, as such, is like a good fuck, in that it plays on your emotions, while not being super awkward about the actual motions, and not finishing too quickly or going too slowly, instead working with you. It’s a mutual thing.
So, as you might imagine, I’ve been quite pleased with the latest offering from Love Conquers All, Ladykiller In A Bind (LKIAB, or, to use its full title, My Twin Brother Made Me Crossdress As Him And Now I Have To Deal With A Geeky Stalker And A Domme Beauty Who Want Me In A Bind!!) Not only is it a game about sex, it’s also designed around this thought process.
Of course, it also helps that it has BDSM (Bondage, Domination, Sadism, Masochism) elements as well, which warms my Dommy little heart… Because good media about BDSM in general requires a bit of discernment to find. Now that we’ve kicked off this train of thought, however, it’s time to unpack it. Let’s begin with the mechanical end, and how it ties into pacing.
While a Visual Novel, all too often, is a case of “Pick from X options”, LKIAB allows the choice of passively letting the conversation continue. This may not seem like a game-changer, or may remind you of the “Do not pick anything” in some Telltale games… But it is, because it ties in with the seductions that litter this erotic game. Let’s imagine, for example, you are talking to somebody in a situation you don’t know your way around. Waiting could give you the conversational opening you need… It could put a person at their ease because they’re in control… Or it can make someone think you’re playing games. Meanwhile, one option that often crops up is a “Flirty” option. Flirt too quickly, and you might arouse suspicion. Wait too long, and the moment will pass. Thus, the conversation has risk, and if that suspicion gets too high? Well, the rich kids our heroine is mingling with are, for the most part, not going to take that well.
And this applies in two very different ways to the main relationships, The Stalker/Nerd and The Beauty/Princess (Character names are customisable, which bit me on the ass somewhat when I named the Prince, the brother of the Beast, and thus the person the main character is impersonating, That Asshole. Shoulda thought that one through, really.) Put at their simplest, the Stalker is a sub, or bottom, while The Princess is a dom, or top. Visit the Stalker, and you can gain more votes, at the risk of suspicion. Visit the Princess, and all that suspicion can go away… For the price of being her plaything for the night. Now, at this point, the importance of consent, a core element of BDSM, and the conversational mechanics come into play. For reference, I identify as a dom. With The Princess, one of the conversational options that’s very important is the agreement. It is from that moment on that, unless you use the safeword (And yes, you are given that option), you are explicitly giving your permission to be dommed, which, thanks to the writing, is an emotionally draining experience. Of course, you could choose to play it bratty, but that… Leads to punishment. But giving in to somebody, equally, is one hell of a thing.
Meanwhile, The Stalker path, for me at least, involved letting my subby little nerd know that yes, she does have boundaries, and she doesn’t have to do anything she doesn’t want. It involved reassuring her, not taking advantage of the power offered, while teasing her mercilessly about how thirsty (In the lust sense) she is, and, seemingly paradoxically for those who’ve never been a sub, improving her confidence by showing her what she looks like during sex. There’s a lot of depth that I really can’t do justice in both paths, and indeed, with the other relationships on this boat. But hopefully, the screenshots are telling you a little more, and about how each person, rightly or wrongly, is dealing with sex, gender, and their sexuality.
The 6 days of a first playthrough, for me, took around 4 hours. It’s not a series of hours I’m going to forget anytime soon, from the Dude’s overbearingly playful blackmail (Yo, Bro, obviously you’re the Prince, because obviously you know this thing that you didn’t claim to know, so hey, wanna shoot hoops and talk about the others? Classy, Bro), to the Photographer and the commentary on internet fame she seems to represent. If you want a mature game that treats sex maturely, then LKiaB is definitely worth a shot.
The Mad Welshman will always look out for you. Sometimes by tying you up… With your permission, of course.