Leap of Faith is different. It focuses on storytelling over anything. This is a novel with adult scenes, but definitely based on dramatic storytelling. At the end of this game, you will have felt many emotions. And the sad ones are the most impressive. If you are simply looking for a sex simulator, look elsewhere. This game is trying to tell you something about feelings and in the process, making you feel it.




STORY 
This game is one of the most well-connected AVN’s I know. Leap of Faith has a very strong cast of multiple characters who all develop as the story progresses. The cast basically goes through life together and it helps them become evolved people with a different set of beliefs in the end.

You are Jake, a man with a small social circle. As you live life, you will meet people. You’ll flirt and you will gain friends. While you progress, the people around you change along with you. People from your past come to haunt you as you try to create a better future for everyone. Friendships come with issues that can take over your life. Trust me that I'm deliberately keeping this explanation vague because the story is something to be experienced, not explained.




Sad is a keyword as this game gets into very dark territory. For story’s sake realistic details are simplified, but you can feel the weight of it all as characters collapse and the story unfolds. A sudden personal message from the developer will hit you like a freight train as fiction and reality temporarily mix inside the game. It forces you to take a break, think about human connections, and then move on with a heavier heart. Without any restriction, I truly admire the developer for aspiring to do this project and in particular, put a very personal piece of himself inside. Some connection's just can't be saved.

While the overall story is an impressive feat in itself, what shines is the interpersonal conversations people have. You will hear people around you referencing choices you made or things that happened in the story. By just reading the responses, you can already figure out who you are talking with, even off-screen. There’s a bunch of personality within the responses themselves and they all add to the world-building. Whether popstar Lexi is charming you, your old girl Stephanie tries to discredit you or the dorky Cece pokes fun at you - every character actually adds to the mix of interactions while characters interacts among each other as well.




Of course I could nit-pick about story issues concerning Jake’s family members unnecessarily popping up, other story bits that remain unresolved - but on the larger scale the story just works. There is so much interpersonal stuff happening that planning, organizing and keeping the story together must have been a hard project. Add different ending scenes for all of the characters to that as well. it's clear that the developer had a set vision and mostly stuck to it through development, creating one of the best VN experience I have had ot date.

Writing too much will spoil the fun - so I’ll praise one more aspect. The humor in this game is just as good as the drama is. There are pop references, dad jokes, 4th wall sketches - Driftygames went out of his way to create an experience that’s extremely rare in the AVN community. Thoughtful, fun and meaningful. Each character has it’s own story arc and if interested, you could learn more about them. And that’s not even counting the guest appearances this game features.




You owe it to yourself to play this AVN if you are a fan of mature storytelling. Developer Drifty really took the cake by not only creating an interesting world to tell the story in, but by extension, find a way to channel his personal pain into this story. This game is more than just a nice novel or a warning, it's also a document of coping with grief.





PRESENTATION 
As a 2020 game, graphics are above average, good enough to appear realistic. There’s a gloss-like look to characters which has to be your preference, but the graphics mostly serve the story well. Some characters (most notably Cece) have questionable temporary appearance changes that don’t have any reasoning, which could be due to the rendering engine. Overall, the game looks and feels pretty good. Sex scenes do feature animation and are average to good, although it could benefit from more variation.

The game has a high quality range of shots, usually telling the story by close-up shots. Leap of Faith is about the personal stories of the characters. Every breath, word and touch matters. I appreciate the way the developer uses storytelling and presentation to touch all kinds of subjects, from same-sex love to mental health issues. If you can look past the stylized, somewhat simplistic look, you can experience a great story here.




Honestly I would have loved a bit more variety in terms of intimacy among all the characters. The dev doesn't go kink hunting, but doesn't shy away from them either. If there is one, it has to absolutely make sense for the story. Outfits are average to good, although the developer went for a more 'realistic' approach rather than a fantasy one. In the end, it benefits the story.

Notable mention must be made on how the music intertwines with some of the scenes. I usually play with the sound off, but the developer made scenes that specifically go with the music chosen in the game. Some of those include singing and even a dedicated soundtrack, others are just for dramatic purposes. Definitely turn your music up for those scenes, it's worth all the effort the developer put in.




GAMEPLAY 
While Leap of Faith is primarily a traditional VN with one main story, there’s the choice of which female character you want to romance. This won’t change the overall narrative, but will change a few of the narratives of the people you directly influence. So while your story choices matter for the relationships between people, they won’t always influence the overall game story much.

The game features a phone system which allows you to chat with friends, call them, look at photos you have taken (after prompted by the game) or check social media. It’s a bit rough around the edges and is forced upon you at times, but does help in making you believe you’re part of this bigger story. There’s a reason for all the functions though - so make sure you browse through all of them in order to find the hidden things you can do in order to get the secret content.




Make sure you explore options in different playthroughs - keeping someone in your life rather than banning them could wield interesting results. Kissing someone rather than not kissing them could as well. And taking a photo rather than not taking one could definitely do that.




OVERALL 
It’s hard to create a novel that develops this much, but still allows you to influence the story in ways that can give you multiple variations of it. Leap of Faith is one of my favorite story-based VN’s out there and simply one of the most socially engaging games I have ever played. I still can’t get over the heartbreaking revelation the developer shares and how the game manages to stay so grounded while exploring unlikely scenarios.

Whether it’s the lush lifestyle Lexi lives or the mental struggles Cece uncovers, the identity crisis that Kira goes through or the troubled history Jake has with either Linda or Stephanie - most of the characters stand out just by existing in this universe. It’s not strange this game pops up on a lot of ‘Best AVN’ lists by heavy users of the genre. Leap of Faith belongs there among the top.




Rating: 9/10
Developer: Driftygames

This game made it onto the Top Picks! list.