STORY
You’re Mike Bishop, an ambitious close protection specialist, who was put out of business after a pandemic. One day, your supposed father is murdered before you get offered a security job that changes your life. The offer is by Madeline, the ex-wife of your late father. You end up having to live with her and her all too tempting tenants. But beware, Madeline doesn't take kindly to you messing around with her girls.
While Midnight Sin is the most concentrated Faerin sandbox experience, its story is actually pretty straightforward. There are twists that keep you guessing, but most are fairly stereotypical in comparison to earlier Faerin games. Each of the characters has their own district personality, which does keep things fresh enough. It just feels like more of a simpler story than Man of the House, Faerin's first game.
What the sin of midnight is about, you'll uncover eventually as you realize there's something special about the family you're protecting. Mike's character gradually develops as well, until he's so deeply invested he can't do anything but go investigate further. That's where the game picks up, because Mike has to confront more than a few situations in order to keep everything nice and safe.
Olivia, Victoria and Annabelle all behave differently and while stereotypical, Faerin does allow moments of creativity to shine through. The attention-seeker wants to be appreciated, the introvert wants to be challenged and the rebel wants to be… restricted. As you learn to navigate all the other women in the house, Mike will slowly come into his own and perhaps create a few secrets and sins he would enjoy himself.
While the dialog seems better linked together this time around, the overall feel of the story seems less impactful than earlier Faerin games, where families got frisky or hotel guests were haunted. Highlight of the game is a period where Mike is persuaded to do a few tasks, sometimes fearing for what will happen when he does. It's a simple sidestep, but very effective.
The story of Midnight Sin is fine and takes its twist and turns showing you just how sinful a mansion can be. Mike is a bit of a tool, but does have enough personality to be remembered above the sea of average main characters. The developer did a better job of keeping tone, and the whole game is a little tongue-in-cheek in terms of style. Compared to other Faerin games, it's also playing it a bit safer than before. This story won't blow you away, but it will amuse you because of the care it is written with.
The game does step away from the whole murder mystery to focus on the inner family dealings. There are light hints towards incestuous relationships, but these are kept light in mention as to probably not raise too much awareness. It’s still a big question mark what the main takeaway for the story will be. But Faerin has assured us he will wrap the story up nicely and return to the murder plot.
PRESENTATION
Midnight Sin is gorgeous. The regular Faerin presenting style of a rendered backdrop with a rendered sprite in front of it is still here, and still works. Scenes that have actual interaction in them are fully rendered, and the combination of both work well to sell the illusion of a giant mansion. And a city to go with it, because frequently, you'll have to head outside for work. All the locations look believable and pretty neat, even though some are visited just once or twice. You will spend a lot more time indoors than say, in Man of The House, this game's early inspiration.
The developer learned from Man of the House and really took his time shaping up a bunch of interesting, good looking characters. Yes, Olivia gives off Ashley and Victoria gives off Veronica, but Annabelle and Madeleine throw some new energy into the mix - not to mention the housemaids, who are looking fine. There's more than enough eyecandy for you to feast your eyes on, even if this game is a slow burn. You won't get into the hearts of these women easily, but when you do… they will look good for you.
Intimate scenes work well, as the game tries new angles that previous games didn't tackle. While Midnight Sin lacks the variation that Mystwood Manor offered, the slow burn is captured perfectly through simple glances, poses or tongueslips. All the women have their own moment to shine and on select occasions, even interact with each other, solidifying the idea of a mansion family.
The game features sound and proper animations for intimate scenes, and fits all the bells and whistles for a game in 2025. There’s an entire map of locations to explore, although at the time of writing not all locations are in use yet. Midnight Sin looks good, sounds good and is a nice package to experience.
GAMEPLAY
The game is a Faerin sandbox game, meaning you can go all around the house at any time. The main puzzle is to find the right time in order to meet a person for their next objective. Each person has a schedule and once you figure the schedules out, you'll be in business. Thankfully, there are hints at the bottom of the screen and there's a whole new UI dedicated to the different characters of the game and their respective achievements. It's sleek, it's neat and it just works well.
Additionally, minigames are added in the form of a rhythmic fighting game, whack-a-squirrel and certain quick time events. Really nice to see AVN developers branch out to these types of interaction and while it's not mandatory, it does help with grinding the money to buy things for the house. Because that's the other part of the game - the grind. Faerin's games always include a bit of grind, although it's not nearly as bad as Man of The House and nowhere near Mystwood Manor.
For each impactful encounter, you can receive love or lust points. Aside from the sandbox, there are dialog options allowing you to respond nice or naughty. When encountering them first, you usually don’t have enough love or lust points to immediately select the intimate option. This means you will probably see both options by the end of the game. Therefore it’s not really dialog choice, but rather progression choice.
Faerin games pride themselves in grindy, elaborate sandboxes. While this sandbox is smaller in size than his other games, it does feel like you witness the characters develop more throughout the game.Just make sure you properly adjust expectations for the mansion sandbox as you go in, and you will have no trouble puzzling your way through the lives of multiple women.
OVERALL
Midnight Sin is a spiritual successor to the Man of the House formula, but instead focuses more on family matters rather than the outside world. If you love a good corruption story with a little murder mystery in a sandbox, this is a must play. Be mindful that it’s only playable on PC, though. But that exclusivity will get you an interactive sandbox with various unique elements, and some sins to indulge in.
Rating: 8.5/10
Developer: FAERINGAMES
