Ren'Py - Fashion Business [Ep.4 v11.00 Extra] [DecentMonkey]

This game is rough. Not rough like needing more polish and work done to it, but just rooough. Not fun to play at all. Way too grindy. It's not sandboxy despite being set up like one. It's micromanaging a point and click game. "Game", sorry. The moment this game gets even remotely in the vicinity of interesting (waaaaay too far into the game, btw) it goes right back to boring random clicking with little sense of what to do or where to go.

I'm having more fun writing this review, which is fucking saaad.

Character models are okay. that's about the only plus. Story is dumb, the writing is bad, there is no gameplay but what "gameplay" there is is such a slog that you realize you just wasted hours of your weekend clicking incessantly through this shit sandwich trying to get to the first sex scene with the main character. Hours in, still nothing.

Avoid at all costs. Don't play this shit. Do literally anything else with your time and life.

This is a fabulous game. Granted, I felt the first episode was probably the best, though the 3rd is also up there (haven't played 4). The characters are varied, and beautiful. Sometimes you feel powerless just like the MC might. The one annoying thing (the first time I saw was is in Ch. 3) is the locked Patreon content. In some cases, it prevents choices, which breaks the immersion. The other thing that is weird (i feel that it should be spread in time) is the MC's desperation for money and offering services on the street when she already makes much more money as a stripper and/or has enough cash on hand to meet her needs. Initially when she is struggling for any cash, the street job makes more sense the way it is presented. Nonetheless, excellent game that I enjoy. As you progress in the game, the sex becomes more and more explicit. What I liked in Ch. 3 was that once again, I could choose to be a bitch or a nice person in some interactions.

DISCLAIMER: this is, obviously, a personal opinion. But I wil share the facts that makes me regret of playing this game.

Oh God. I need to rant. I'm pissed off. But pissed off with myself, for the hours I decided to spend in this game hoping it would get somehow better.

I played all Ep 1 and almost Ep 2 entirely. I give it 2 stars just because female models (and Monica on top) are amazing, and the idea of the story is interesting. But that's what makes me so angry. It had everything to be a masterpiece game, but decided to ruin it with a lot of grinding, meaningless dialogues, repetitive scenes, poor sense of humor and horrible male models.

Now I will give some details on the pros and cons I found:

PROS
-The main
story is very intriguing. Somehow unbelievable and can only happen in a world where many things "doesn't work" like they use to, but the story keeps you interested on what's going on behind Monica's fall.

-Graphical aspect of female renders is great, if not one of the best out there. Facial expresions are really impressive, and the aesthetic of the girls is very good. But this two pros get overshadowed by the many cons.

CONS

- The grinding in this game reaches stupid levels. It has no sense. You have to go and come here and there changing clothes, eating, sleeping, waiting days. It feels like playing a cheap version of The Sims. There is no porpose for the plot in this grinding. You just have to waste a lot of time doing repetitive things that doesn't add to anything. Just to compare, games like Treasure of Nadia have also a lot of grinding, but finding objects and doing different things related to the plot.

- The same goes with dialogues. I got tired of reading "I will drag them to dust" after a blackmail scene, or "I would never do (insert any humillating action)... On the other hand, I need the money". The dialogues with Victoria are fucking stupid. They underestimate the intelligence of the player. "Are you a good friend?" "Yes" "Tell me, I want to hear you. Yes what?" "I'm a good friend". Melanie and Monica have to repeat everything Victoria says.

-Even when the game intend to be funny, the humor is very basic and not fun at all. It lacks of creativity. "Ohh, well, another guy who just crossed the sexual boundaries they previously agreed on with Monica. How funny.". Other games like Being a Dik have a sense of humor that actually makes you laugh, even if they are just moments.

-Every single sexual encounter occurs in the context of blackmailing/ prostitution. I'm not a prude. I understand that the game is not vanilla and that blackmailing is a main theme in the plot. But making this the ONLY source of sexual encounters makes the game more and more repetitive. All the sexual encounters have the same structure: Monica is blackmailed. Then she agreed on making some sexual things to the guy. The guy push forward the boundaries, Monica protest, but at the end accept the situation.

-All the male characters are by far more ugly than the average person. The only "standard looking" characters may be Alex and the profesor. I understand that it's intended to humillate Monica the most, and I'm not here for the male characters (I'm 100 % hetero). But let's be honest. We are here for the lewd theme. The plot is a build up toward these scenes. I expect them to be something aesthetic. I would not complain if 2 or 3 guys in the game were bad looking, but being almost every male character the hunchback of Notre Dame is a big turn off for me.

That's all I can say. It's a shame that the story and the amazing graphics are wassted that way.

Originally was playing it to watch Monica being bitch and get what she deserved. Now as I spend more time on the game, I see other bitchy women. Now I am playing it to see Monica get her place back and humiliate other bitches. Really hate Victoria and want to send her to Marcus' Ranch!

Well i gave this a good try and it started out great even though i normaly never play female protagonist games, this sounded decent and like it could be a fun story, but it gets worse and worse as you come along.
Even the cheat mode dosent effect the game, quest say collect 5k, but it dosent care if you got 5k your forced to strip naked to earn 5k no matter how much money you got.

I couldent really get into the story, it was fun being the bitch or nice when you felt like it, but you dont even get the satifaction of using any of your power, i was looking forward to fire Fred and the 2 girl sluts at Steves office, but you arent allow to even do that.

Then you get trown in jail which feels a bit stupid, they claim you have no rights to a lawyer even though everyone has that right even non citizen, but lets ignore that fact, then you get trown in jail by male cops, the rip off you clothes, they starve you and invite rapist into your cell not sure if she got raped or not, then they stip her naked as well for all the other prisoners to see and the cops ofc, all normal human rights are just trown out the window.

If the game was about getting back up and get revenge on everyone and find ways to not have to do shit with people you hate then game could be alot of fun, but getting forced to lets say suck Freds dick wasent my cup of tea, and i expect it will only become worse.

Game also just get to boring, constantly just having to collect money doing shit you dont want to do, and never get any revenge on anyone treating you like siht, if your into being submissive this might be a great game but its most defently not my type of game.

Dident really find most of the girls all that hot, but the worst part is the men are all just really ugly or fat or old, i guess it fits the game in some way but playing the MC being forced to do anything with them wouldent give me any joy what so ever, so game really isent in my taste.

Animations are good somewhat short but good and rare.

Music is Meh.

Sandbox aspect is really annoying, just talking to someone feels like work since you click on someone click talk then they say a few things and then you have to yet and click on the person click talk to continue the conversation it happens over and over instend of just finishing the talk after first click, it dosent really make sense....
The dressing itsent that but it still adds to the annoyance since you come home change to underware to sleep wake up change to home clothes to go take a bath then go change again to outdoor clothes and this is every single day.

From act 2 you cant even scroll back anymore, you got no auto saves, you got no quick saves, it becomes a pure pain in the ass to play.

Playing this game is like going to the job.
It is literal grindfest to open one another picture or one another scene.
Unintuitive and terrible game interface.
And then you have stats system.... which kills the last bit of hope, and is only viable with cheating or with repetition for many hours.
Just to get from bed and walk outside you have to make 5-6 clicks.
And the scenes are simply not worth it.

I had never played a female protagonist "humiliation" type game, so I was curious. And... before the "fall" of Monica, I thought this game was freaking amazing! However, I couldn't bear to continue playing after that! There were lots of gross scenes and it was really depressing. For me, Monica's selfishness and naïveté was cute and it made me feel like she was my daughter. So it was unbearable for me to see her suffer! It's such a shame because this game has the hottest models in the world of VN... Melanie, Victoria... and I wanted Monica to stay on top of those mean bitches and the gross gentlemen...

Honestly, I'd love the version in which Monica stays the "Rich Bitch" from start to the end! If someone could make one, it's gonna be a big hit, don't you think?

Not worth a 1000 clicks to go to bed, MC face is still unattractive. Not realistic at all, Additionally, the storyline, or lack thereof, was a major letdown. I anticipated at least a semblance of a plot to accompany the adult content, but the narrative was weak and uninteresting. It felt like the developers focused solely on the explicit aspects of the game, neglecting the importance of a compelling story that could enhance the overall gaming experience.

Great game.
The main advantages: excellent 3D graphics, the presence of a plot, characters with their own characters, a huge amount of work done, a lot of events. There are disadvantages, but this is the case when you simply don’t even want to mention them.
Good luck and all the best.)

Truly one of my most regrettable waste of time. Game constantly crashes whenever you try and move from one location to the next. The story is abysmal with how slow and ridiculous the pace is set and overall the gameplay shows you exactly how intelligent the dev thinks his players are. Treats you like an absolute monkey who has no choice but to keep sinking time trying to get the next new scene after going through the same no sex routine over and over again.
TLDR: Skip this completely and you will never regret it.

Essentially torture porn with the porn being occasional between pointless busy work. So basically just torture.

Watch a beautiful, bitchy, driven and intelligent woman's life unravel in the most nonsensical way ever. See how she lets everyone take advantage of her now apparent sheer stupidity, in what seems to be a conspiracy to bring her down, seemingly by everyone she's ever known.

Maybe a re-write of sections of EP1 could solve some of my issues with the story but in all honesty, it's just not fun to see Monica being tortured. It feels like I'm watching a special needs person being taken advantage of at every step. Shame as she really is stunning.

First of all, really love the models and renders. Animations are simple loops but pretty nice. Melanie is one of the hottest girls in any game i have seen. Was literally pushing my self to play more, just to see more of her.

That aside, everything else about this game pisses me off. Story is intriguing but poorly executed. Choices imho dont meant anything in this game. But the worst thing is the GAMEplay. It is just tedious and honestly very annoying to play

Ok , I'll be honest , I'm just at episode 1 , and not even finished with it . But some stuff are way too weird and annoying to not comment upon already . If by the end my opinions changes , I'll just amend them

The game is padded with silly actions that are just aggravating and clearly there to add grind and waste time . Who the hell changes clothes , so they could go take a shower , and to change back into the same (supposedly dirty then) clothes ? Before of course changeing again for either PJs or work clothes ?

Why to i have to click again on a character each new sentence , when I'm clearly already in a conversation with them (Steve in his office comes to mind) ?

And some of the "bitchy" vs "Decent" choices are weird ... i know that it's an adult game , so stuff will always be skewed to lead to such content . But some choices are just between being horrible or a complete doormat .
It is much better imo when the "evil/bitchy" choices are actually picked by a player by choice and taste , rather than just wanting to avoid a ridiculously submissive and passive pick .
If you just decided that the main should always be a bitch , don't bother with a gauge and those choices , just focus instead on providing other kind of choices ... such as whom to torment , sleep with and ditch .
As an example i expected to decide on a kinky route with Julia the maid , out of the bat , even if it would not obviously immediately lead to sex (or even at all ) , instead I'm forced to play a prank on a carpet to punish her , for something i know ain't her fault .

Otherwise the concept is interesting , so is the main character . But the main gameplay is just annoying from the start . The clothing store sequence was awful ... You're basically forced to seek for any pixel that light up , in the hope that you can trigger the next scene to finally be able to change the dresses and get out .

I played this game and liked it very much. Also you can relive the same scenes over and over again.
The part I love is when he first enters the prison.
Also the descent of the protagonist's life was structured well.
Good job.

This used to be my absolute favorite AVN out there, but rather than improving over time it's actually becoming more annoying to play. The Female Protagonist is perhaps the hottest model on this website and the sexy scenes are top notch... but the game is a horrible grind to play and you spend FAR too much time changing outfits or trying to find NPC's to increase your stats/money.

The writing isn't as bad as some reviewers seem to make out, it can be funny and entertaining at times, but at some point the willingness of the main protagonist to be be blackmailed becomes absurd. No spoilers, but I remember Monica being extorted by a tiny blonde half her size over basically nothing, and I couldn't help but think that if it were at all in line with way the FP is portrayed that little blonde would have gotten her neck snapped and her body left in the dumpster... instead it's just more of the same.

Don't get me wrong, I love the sex scenes, just make it a little more believable. Great game, but it's getting worse over time and I doubt that'll change.

happy to be the 200th reviewer

I don't know why I ignored this game for so long, possiby because of female protagonist tag, but this was one of the best games I ever played

well timed progress, from nudity to more sexual stuff

the blackmail storyline just works so well and is imo perfcectly executed, there is always some twist so it never got boring

renders are also beautiful of course

10/10 would recommend, but bear in my mind that this game requires a lot of time (definitely worth it)

Loved the game , Monica is such a babe!

Honestly hands down the best fem protag game i played, Story is okay and little average but the porn and nsfw in it is so fucking good.

Almost all the fetishes i like are in the game so its a great one for me , Decent monkey you are god tier!

One of the best games on this site story and renders/animations wise, furthermore it offers a relatively wide variety of fetishes. Most of the bad reviews come from people who couldn't get through Episode 2. Yeah, in the second episode you have to grind a lot, but if you get through this part of the game the third/fourth episode(s) will make up for the "difficulties".

I'd prefer to give the game a 4 because of how grindy the second episode is, but at the same time I would like to "improve" the average rating (3.5) of the game since it doesn't reflect reality.

This update cycle is so slow for what the game is. And then we lose content with every chapter release.
In short this is a ren'py multiple choice game where the choice is to either see the sex or be a bitch and not see the sex. The girls are fine, the animations are fine, but the sandbox is so limited because we keep losing content that it had. Then you go to explore the new content and there's only a few events to see, many times starting over from scratch at BJ's. That's it. 5 years. As far as ren'py games go this is almost OK, but the loss of content each chapter really just limits it way too far I think.

To me it feels like a manga that started out promising, but then turned into a long haul that you check back on once in a while to see if it will deliver on its promises. [my rating is not based on that]

i like all of the models, writing skills of monkey, animations, poses, dresses YET i dont like the game and boring almost impossible to play gameplay. i heard he is not taking single ideas of players or give a single sht but i ll write it anyway:

imagine playing as a male protagonist in Fashion Business universe with custom name, you dealing with monica aka most hot girl in adult vn world. imagine we playing as a corrupt businessman. i mean with that plot we can have infinite possibilities for good gameplay and story. speaking of good gameplay imagine this game has a choice based linear gameplay you know just like the ALL already succeed games.

With that characters and skills monkey has, its a crime that this game not even in the first 3 of best games of all time but there is a reason. there is a reason badik sitting on the throne instead of FB. Maybe for another title who knows...