STORY
A Divine Life is a stereotypical male fantasy about a teen lusting over women. Main character Alex is engulfed with a mobile gacha game about angels and demons, until one day his favorite game characters come to life. Struggling with his sexual desire and identity, he eventually forces himself to become intimate with women around him in order to help out his new divine friend.
The game is quite text-heavy, so having a good story is key to a pleasing experience. ADL barely passes this check, even though the text quality is generally okay. The story suffers from teenage ‘and then the magic happens’ storytelling and doesn’t quite understand or respect what makes the relationships between Alex and his peers actually interesting. Sure, there are steamy scenes that are explained in detail over two or three renders. But they feel shoehorned in rather than naturally progressed.
Throughout the game, the developer uses humor and sarcasm to create a better experience and for the most part, it works. Although the game doesn’t always explain why people behave the way they do, they make efforts to explain things through thought monologues. Because of pacing issues, the buildups often feel forced and lacking the proper intensity.
ADL does a good job introducing a whole host of characters. Some, like Sophia and Cassandra, are pretty well thought out. Others, like Emily and Taylor, are shallow and need more weight in order to be believable and truly enjoyable. The game features over 10 supporting characters already, so you can guess where in harem land this is going.
The magic story angle with a mana ring that collects and arouses sexual energy is alright. It’s been done before, but it works in this setting. That relates back to the quality of the entire game. It works, but you can’t shake the feeling it’s not up to par on where it wants or needs to be.
PRESENTATION
Graphics are personal taste with A Divine Life. The dev opted for a stylized, cartoon-based look with drawn sprites. As a fan of 3D, I tend to avoid 2D games because of low graphic quality. This game does have a distinct style and looks good. Dare I say, I even enjoyed the graphics. Even if they felt a bit childish at certain times.
ADL does have a low amount of images compared to other games. A scene could play out in 5 - 10 images, even intimate ones. That’s a style choice and for the most part, stimulation comes through the text rather than the visuals. If it takes the developer a long time to draw these renders, he could consider adding comic panels with zoomed-in update panels. That way one render can be used more than once, as the overlaying panels update.
Characters actually look recognizable and good. Damian and Lucretia have their distinct otherworldly styles. Cassandra really sells the bitch look. Abigail and Taylor are initially forbidden terrain, redheads living in the same house together. There are a bunch of women to enjoy and have conversations with.
If you’re alright with the visual style of this game, the presentation is actually alright. The UI of the sandbox elements works well enough and there's even a phone that I’ll tell you about next. A Divine Life looks good.
GAMEPLAY
As Alex explores his options, the game turns into a sandbox style puzzle. You start out in the house, but soon enough are given access to the outside world. From that moment on, you figure out where you need to be to find who you need.
There are a couple moments per day and for each day, you have to figure out where your subjects are. Work, school or otherwise. If you’re stuck looking for objects around the house, consider asking your dog Caesar for help. He might show you where to look.
In addition to the sandbox, Alex has a phone handy that lets him track and set a couple of things. First, the scene replays. Second, a mission tracker that tells you which character still has a mission for you. It might be bare ones, but definitely helped me get to every mission that’s available.
OVERALL
For me, A Divine Life is an unremarkable bag of things. The art is good enough to be usable, but hasn’t grasped me. The story might even be more in need of an upgrade, even though the developer did their best linking all the characters together. I would consider revisiting this universe, but only if the developer finds a way to put more story quality and cohesion within. With that said, it was a positive experience and I'm curious to it's future.
Rating: 6.5/10
Developer: A Divine Life
