Reviewed on: 2024/09/06
Score: 9/10
Playtime: At least 10 hours for 100% achievements.

The Neverwhere Tales (TNT) is a story-first and character-driven AVN. It spins the tale of Alex, the renamable MC, who has his life turned up-side-down. Secrets that were kept from him come to the surface after he's put into danger because of them.
This is, undoubtedly, one of the best AVNs I played. It puts story and character-building before lewds, making its few lewd scenes that more impactful. Your choices matter, and while you can try to be friends with everyone, relationships are exclusive. You can try to sleep around, just be prepared for the consequences.
TNT's story is expertly written, containing humor and drama, ups and downs, even some heartbreak. It's enriched by interesting world building, and a cast of nuanced and unique personalities. The AVN's cinematography is excellently done as well, with detailed posing and scene composition. On top of this, player choice has consequences and effects, and allows for multiple paths and playthroughs.
If you like story over porn, then I highly recommend this game, even at full price.

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While this AVN is guilty of one of my pet-peeves, namely starting the MC in a relationship, I don't mind it at all. The way the relationship itself is integral to the story and to the elicited emotions from the MC/player (no NTR, don't worry), I actually like how TNT did it.
For those worried about this situation, allow me to clarify something: The MC, Alex, starts the game while in a relationship with Kaija. The choices relating to her in the 1st chapter will determine how she feels about him. This can feel counter-intuitive, but a way to frame this, is to look at it as how easy Alex makes it for Kaija to love him. After certain events, Alex will have the choice to dump her, take a step back, or declare his love for her.

The Neverwhere Tales contains 7 lewd scenes, with mostly vanilla foreplay and intercourse of various intensity.
Other mature themes are: violence, death, racism (fictional), and tragedy. Though this list is not exclusive, due to the debauched nature of Neverwhere.

General design: TNT makes a great first impression with its main menu. It's a good sign when an AVN treats its main menu as part of the visual experience, and isn't just text-based.
From the main menu players can access the extras, containing a gallery for special renders (unlocked by achievements), cinematics, achievements and a (lewd) scene replay. This screen is also available in-game.
The configuration screen is fairly basic, though it does have settings for a configurable textbox. On the save-screen, you can toggle save-game renaming, which is probably useful for players with a Steam Deck.
Characters: While TNT's character design seems to err on the side of larger breasts, it still offers various designs and shapes. Characters are posed well with believable and realistic body language. They often also have small animations, like blinking.
Scenes/Renders: This AVN features some of the most unique environments I've seen in the 150+ AVN I've played. Locations contain plenty of detail, and fit the story's context perfectly. It's clear the dev paid a lot of attention to lighting, adding a layer of atmosphere to the game's scenes.
Animations: These aren't limited to lewd scenes, though these have animations as well, of course. We're treated to the occasional animation both small and large, including a panoramic view of a city, or a gorgeous dance. Some animations can feel a bit too fast, but they never became uncanny to me.

This review is starting to feel a bit boring because I have nothing to critique about TNT's sound design either.
It not only has a great main soundtrack, it also has background music that's matched to their scenes. In addition, it makes use of sound effects and ambient noises to further our immersion. The game's default volume wasn't too loud, though I lowered it another 20% for my preferences.

I had nothing but positive things to say about TNT's audiovisual design, and for its writing, this doesn't change.
When we start the game, we meet Alex (renamable MC), who's in a strained relationship with Kaija. The early game introduces us to several Love Interests while Alex goes about his usual day. One evening at work, Alex receives a phone call which turns his life up-side-down. Something happened to his father, which leads Alex to discover that several people in his life aren't who he thought they were. He also learns about a hidden supernatural world, and that he's needed there to help his father.
These events thrust Alex into adventure, while impacting his relationships. How they're impacted, is up to the player to decide. Do you forgive someone who thought they did the right thing by keeping a secret? Can you still trust anyone after learning people close to you have manipulated your life?
This interpersonal drama is interwoven in the main story of TNT, which is an epic fantasy/science fiction tale of love, conflict, and betrayal.

The Neverwhere Tales is a must-buy if you like story-first AVNs. Intimate scenes aren't what TNT is designed around, instead it tells an epic story of a reluctant hero who can get to know certain people on a deeper level. Or not, it's entirely up to you.
This game comes close to being a perfect AVN for me, so if our tastes align: Buy it, play it, and enjoy!

---

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Reviewed on: 2024/09/06 Score: 9/10 Playtime: At least 10 hours for 100% achievements. [h3]TL;DR:[/h3] The Neverwhere Tales (TNT) is a story-first and character-driven AVN. It spins the tale of Alex, the renamable MC, who has his life turned up-side-down. Secrets that were kept from him come to the surface after he's put into danger because of them. This is, undoubtedly, one of the best AVNs I played. It puts story and character-building before lewds, making its few lewd scenes that more impactful. Your choices matter, and while you can try to be friends with everyone, relationships are exclusive. You can try to sleep around, just be prepared for the consequences. TNT's story is expertly written, containing humor and drama, ups and downs, even some heartbreak. It's enriched by interesting world building, and a cast of nuanced and unique personalities. The AVN's cinematography is excellently done as well, with detailed posing and scene composition. On top of this, player choice has consequences and effects, and allows for multiple paths and playthroughs. [b]If you like story over porn, then I highly recommend this game, even at full price.[/b] [hr][/hr] [h3]Notes:[/h3] While this AVN is guilty of one of my pet-peeves, namely starting the MC in a relationship, I don't mind it at all. The way the relationship itself is integral to the story and to the elicited emotions from the MC/player (no NTR, don't worry), I actually like how TNT did it. For those worried about this situation, allow me to clarify something: [spoiler]The MC, Alex, starts the game while in a relationship with Kaija. The choices relating to her in the 1st chapter will determine how she feels about him. This can feel counter-intuitive, but a way to frame this, is to look at it as how easy Alex makes it for Kaija to love him. After certain events, Alex will have the choice to dump her, take a step back, or declare his love for her.[/spoiler] [h3]Adult:[/h3] The Neverwhere Tales contains 7 lewd scenes, with mostly vanilla foreplay and intercourse of various intensity. Other mature themes are: violence, death, racism (fictional), and tragedy. Though this list is not exclusive, due to the debauched nature of Neverwhere. [h3]Visual:[/h3] [b]General design:[/b] TNT makes a great first impression with its main menu. It's a good sign when an AVN treats its main menu as part of the visual experience, and isn't just text-based. From the main menu players can access the extras, containing a gallery for special renders (unlocked by achievements), cinematics, achievements and a (lewd) scene replay. This screen is also available in-game. The configuration screen is fairly basic, though it does have settings for a configurable textbox. On the save-screen, you can toggle save-game renaming, which is probably useful for players with a Steam Deck. [b]Characters:[/b] While TNT's character design seems to err on the side of larger breasts, it still offers various designs and shapes. Characters are posed well with believable and realistic body language. They often also have small animations, like blinking. [b]Scenes/Renders:[/b] This AVN features some of the most unique environments I've seen in the 150+ AVN I've played. Locations contain plenty of detail, and fit the story's context perfectly. It's clear the dev paid a lot of attention to lighting, adding a layer of atmosphere to the game's scenes. [b]Animations:[/b] These aren't limited to lewd scenes, though these have animations as well, of course. We're treated to the occasional animation both small and large, including a panoramic view of a city, or a gorgeous dance. Some animations can feel a bit too fast, but they never became uncanny to me. [h3]Sound:[/h3] This review is starting to feel a bit boring because I have nothing to critique about TNT's sound design either. It not only has a great main soundtrack, it also has background music that's matched to their scenes. In addition, it makes use of sound effects and ambient noises to further our immersion. The game's default volume wasn't too loud, though I lowered it another 20% for my preferences. [h3]Novel:[/h3] I had nothing but positive things to say about TNT's audiovisual design, and for its writing, this doesn't change. When we start the game, we meet Alex (renamable MC), who's in a strained relationship with Kaija. The early game introduces us to several Love Interests while Alex goes about his usual day. One evening at work, Alex receives a phone call which turns his life up-side-down. Something happened to his father, which leads Alex to discover that several people in his life aren't who he thought they were. He also learns about a hidden supernatural world, and that he's needed there to help his father. These events thrust Alex into adventure, while impacting his relationships. How they're impacted, is up to the player to decide. Do you forgive someone who thought they did the right thing by keeping a secret? Can you still trust anyone after learning people close to you have manipulated your life? This interpersonal drama is interwoven in the main story of TNT, which is an epic fantasy/science fiction tale of love, conflict, and betrayal. [h3]Conclusion:[/h3] The Neverwhere Tales is a must-buy if you like story-first AVNs. Intimate scenes aren't what TNT is designed around, instead it tells an epic story of a reluctant hero who can get to know certain people on a deeper level. Or not, it's entirely up to you. This game comes close to being a perfect AVN for me, so if our tastes align: Buy it, play it, and enjoy! [hr][/hr] [b]Socials[/b] Interested in discussing AVN? Join the [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/LewdReview]Lewd Review Group[/url] Or, follow our [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44944816-Lewd-Review/]Curator page[/url].