To clarify, in 2024 I reviewed the original Milfy Cases. The original review for it can now be found here. While handing feedback to the developer, he expressed a strong desire to remake his game after completing the remake of Her Hearts Desire. In response, we chose not to release the review for the original Milfy Cases at that time and wait until the day the remake was far along enough to produce a new review. You're reading that new review right now.
STORY
If you experienced the original Milfy Cases, you definitely remember its whacky and silly tone. That's all removed for the remake. No talking animals, no silly meta comments. This game builds a pretty strong world, full of magic and technology for its characters.
As Scott Thunderstone, you took tutorship to become an active agent from Zara Virelle, one of the Agency's finest agents. There's in-game lore on the Agency, but suffice to say the organization trains magic users, so they can eventually safeguard the public and the use of magic as a whole.
You are selected to go on a mission by Zara, and that mission doesn't go according to plan. Pretty soon, Scott is tasked with investigating the small town of Hope Springs in response to the failed mission. There, he meets a colorful cast of women that the agent subsequently takes care of. It sounds shallow, but there is an actual plotline behind all of this, driving Scott to handle business.
While most of his investigation seems to be into women and I hope we do get more 'mission' moments, the story is a nice balance of story and flirting interactions. Detective Jenny and landlord Mary hold the same positions, but are written with more care this time around. Characters reference each other and a choice made elsewhere could pop up in a later conversation.
Milfy Cases is still developing, but the new story style makes for a more polished, professional product. With a better main character and support characters filling new roles, this game has me far more excited than last time around.
PRESENTATION
Just like in the Her Hearts Desire remake, the developer upgraded his visuals considerably. These are not updated renders from the original. Instead, an entirely new story is rendered. The graphic style sits between a shadowy, cartoony look and outright asset rendering. It works for the game, also because texturing helps take the blandness out of it.
Shots use far more depth of field, overviews and the main character was given an upgrade as well. This might as well be a new game. If you can stomach the clean, doll-like look, you are easily going to play through this game.
In the original, animations were janky and resource-intensive. This time around, even more (non-sexual) animations were added and none of them crunched my system. As a pet peeve, the lip licking when you become desirable to a woman is still in the game, and it still looks as silly as it ever did. It's a Big Chungus meme at this point.
With Alice and Sally now being written as maids instead of roommates, new maid costumes show off their best assets while the new house is an extreme upgrade to what the original game had. More facial detail helps express emotions better, while the original game didn't look exactly bad. Detective Jenny is however still as boring as she ever was, but that totally fits her character.
Presentation is an upgrade from the original game, with more animations and especially facial expressions looking far better.
GAMEPLAY
The idea of having multiple responses to a scene is still here. Milfy Cases is a typical visual novel, but depending on your answers you might get locked out of certain scenes. Responses are either funny, aggressive/dominant or inquiring/curious. Each situation requires a different approach and approaches change as the story progresses.
Giving the right responses might get you a hug with Alice, while being an asshole to her might get you an achievement. At this time it doesn't really pay off to explore everything, but you can see the potential here. We can only hope the developer keeps opening up these paths that push for exploration.
In addition, Big Chungus added a scene selector, lore & character databases and achievement lists. You can now read up on stories, figure out your progress with a character and look at what achievements you missed. It's great and as the game progresses, a great way to keep track of the shenanigans Scott gets himself into.
OVERALL
WIth the remake, Chungus definitely revived the spirit of Milfy Cases. Although the silliness took a backseat to the new characters of the game, it retains the typical charm Big Chungus is known for. The game is working up to it's story, but for now the game feels like a step up from Her Hearts Desire. We can't wait to see what Brosef comes up with for the adventure of Scott Thunderstone.
Rating: 7/10
Developer: Big Chungus Productions
