INCOMPLETE: This game quit development early, marking it incomplete.
STORY
You are John, a young man living with his sister Kat and lovely grandpa. As you both just became 18, the world is open to your curiosity and curious you are. The game opens with the intimate affection between the brother and sister, claiming girls left John because he was too close with his sister.
Sadly, your parents aren’t around to make sure things don’t escalate between John and Kat. Luckily there’s Rose, your aunt who acted as somewhat of a caretaker ever since you both were little. But since Rose has secrets of her own, she isn’t strong enough to stop your sister from claiming you. The whole thing gets messy as your sister has always wanted your attention.
Meanwhile, since being a young pup John has always liked his neighbour Anna. At 31, she took to caring for John which now developed into him harboring sexual feelings for her. John became absurdly shy around Anna and she wonders what happened since they used to have such great chemistry together.
The story is unique in it’s four people set-up, but the focus on pictures over engaging dialog takes away from the power of the story. That said, the story is enjoyable and as realistic as possible. It’s worth experiencing even if it will never finish.
The game got abandoned before the bulk of the story was explained, but hints let you figure out in what direction the story would develop. Below the review, I’ll share my thoughts with obvious spoilers.
PRESENTATION
Red Lucy is gorgeous, no contest. From the graphical fidelity to the amount of renders and camera angles, this game is an A+ presentation. Nearly all of the characters look great and there are a ton of creative shots that show the skill of the developer. There’s a special role for the music in the game, which sounds beautifully through automated slideshows, which sadly take away some of the agency.
Somehow though, Anna's 40-year old look seems like she has something going on in her face which was never resolved - resulting in Anna being less of an attractive woman than characters like Kat or Rose. We never learn why this is, while Anna is described as a eye striking and talented woman.
The menus work well and while the dialog choices are a little on the small side, it ends up all working well because it’s molded into one overarching style. Also, the game does feature animations and intimate scenes are scattered around the game - making the game short, but fun.
Red Lucy should be played for its graphics alone. The game is a masterclass in how to make things look beautiful and meaningful, playing with reflections and angles masterfully. It’s take on duality, even showing in the rendered shots where characters aren’t in it - is something to be admired, even if the game will never finish.
GAMEPLAY
The game is a standard Kinetic VN with choice paths. There are love paths for many women and a subtle dominance or submission path for one love interest. It never reaches full throttle before the game ends, however.
Aside from the story, the game features extra galleries, collectible renders and replays which all look great - at least making full use of the assets presented within the game before its abandonment.
OVERALL
Red Lucy is gorgeous. While the story isn’t radically different from earlier games, there’s a magic to it that makes you curious where this game would have taken us. There is a setup for the story and the start of it comes to fruition, but since the developer didn’t get the support he needed to survive this adventure, he left for greener pastures. But not without leaving us with a glimpse of what could have been a nice adventure. I’m awarding this game a 6/10 because the story is willy incomplete, but it’s a must-play if you want to learn about beautiful graphics.
Rating: 7/10
Developer: LeFrench
EXTRA: Story Wrapup
So eventually, the game hints at family drama being played out behind John and Kat’s backs. Adam, presumably the duo’s father - is still alive, unbeknownst to both of them. He’s seen chatting with both Rose and Anna individually, both women claiming they can’t keep their secret going any longer and at least John should be told the truth.
Meanwhile, John gets playful with his sister Kat who doesn’t back down to sexualize her brother. If played that way, the whole thing gets out of hand while Kat says “she never liked any of John’s girlfriends for him.” An unhealthy possessiveness grows in Kat as she eventually goes down on John, making sure he knows she can satisfy him, sending the family into freefall.
While the game sexualizes all women with suggestive camera angles, Rose eventually feels John is closing himself off from all women around him. She doesn’t trust this and investigates, eventually learning John is attracted to the sexy women around him. If John plays his cards right, Rose lets him have a little fun with her while restraining him from fucking her.
John’s fantasy about Anna goes into overdrive, as one day, he meets her and they have a sexual interaction with Anna thinking it’s her husband. Anna doesn’t object once she finds out its John, but does figure their attraction might go further than ever before. She teases him into opening up, wearing revealing gym clothes and touching him frequently while helping him get his job done.
While the story is far from complete, you eventually have an intimate encounter with Anna if you so choose - before the game reveals a bit more of the true story. It looks like Rose and Anna end up being sisters (instead of being so called ‘best friends’), with Kat being Rose’s daughter and John being Anna’s son. Yes, that would make this game go deep into family relation territory. Rose and Anna have trouble being in the same room together while they used to be very close, which all hints at something happening that they didn’t process yet. Adam seems to be the father of both children, effectively making Kat your half-sister.
While the game sexualizes all women with suggestive camera angles, Rose eventually feels John is closing himself off from all women around him. She doesn’t trust this and investigates, eventually learning John is attracted to the sexy women around him. If John plays his cards right, Rose lets him have a little fun with her while restraining him from fucking her.
John’s fantasy about Anna goes into overdrive, as one day, he meets her and they have a sexual interaction with Anna thinking it’s her husband. Anna doesn’t object once she finds out its John, but does figure their attraction might go further than ever before. She teases him into opening up, wearing revealing gym clothes and touching him frequently while helping him get his job done.
While the story is far from complete, you eventually have an intimate encounter with Anna if you so choose - before the game reveals a bit more of the true story. It looks like Rose and Anna end up being sisters (instead of being so called ‘best friends’), with Kat being Rose’s daughter and John being Anna’s son. Yes, that would make this game go deep into family relation territory. Rose and Anna have trouble being in the same room together while they used to be very close, which all hints at something happening that they didn’t process yet. Adam seems to be the father of both children, effectively making Kat your half-sister.
