Source: Cashmoneys
Price: £2.09
Where To Get It: Steam

Content tags: Lesbian sex, mild domination/submission. It’s pretty wholesome.

It’s always nice to see comfy, wholesome lewdness. It’s especially nice to see comfy, wholesome lewdness that talks about having good sex. And so we come to Lives So Sweet, a short visual novel, comprising three two part vignettes and a finale, all about a massage parlour which caters exclusively to women, run by a woman (and her girlfriend, although said girlfriend is never seen, alas), and, on top of the usual massage parlour services, there is the extra service: Pleasure.

Now, before you say “Okay, it’s just lesbian porn”, consider firstly that that statement covers a wide variety of things. And secondly, that there is a focus, funnily enough, on engaging with subjects like self confidence, exploring sexuality in a safe setting, edging, crushing on people and boundaries (sort of in the last case), and, of course, consent. So… Yeah, an object lesson in “Don’t dismiss things.”

Anyway, aesthetically, the game uses a few scenes, and a few characters, and the music is light hearted, fun stuff, just like the game. It all works, so yes, that’s good! UX is good, my only gripe is that there’s no resolution control, but honestly, with a windowed mode that’s adjustable, it’s a minor one.

Now, the writing. Ah, three different situations, three different customers, and three different focii. The first is a tale of a girl who wants to become more confident, but finds she isn’t into girls. She still takes the special service a second time, but to explore means of pleasure that don’t necessarily include girls, but, more importantly, she gets some self confidence.

The second is, to me, one of the more interesting ones, because it’s a domination/submission scenario which not only shows the beginning of a roleplay between two people comfortable (mostly, but it’s more a “I’m not into this aspect, but I’m willing to do it” thing) slipping into roleplay, but also the changing dynamic when the customer has other things on their mind.

And, finally, the crush. The final customer in the story is, at the same time, the most straightforward and one of the more emotionally complex parts. A girl wants to explore whether she’s a lesbian through the special service… And ends up crushing hard on Yuri. And Yuri notices this, and, by the end of the second scenario in this vignette, is considering both her girlfriend’s feelings, and passing said client onto the girlfriend so as to maintain professional distance.

And, since I couldn’t talk about all that without spoilering, yes, that spoilers a lot. But, with a short and tight playtime of between 1 and 2 hours, I think getting across what charmed me the most about this visual novel is important, and… Well, it’s almost impossible to avoid spoiling things.

So yes, Lives So Sweet is wholesome, it explores its subjects in each scenario… Not deeply, but enough to give it that extra narrative kick, just like its emotional overtones and themes of self confidence, exploration of sexuality, and helping others. I’m quite pleased I managed to find this one, and I recommend it.

More wholesome smut! More wholesome smut! Take note of this, potential devs, this is a relatively unexplored niche.

Filed under: Adult Only Games, Game Reviews by admin

Become a Patron!