*Hello! And a (spoilery) review of Common Grounds

Hey all. Want to say that I thought the game was fun, bought it a few months ago and beat it rather quickly. It was nice to see a furry dating sim that didn’t involve a vastly underaged rabbit. Overall the game was a bit short, but sweet, and worth the price of admission, at the very least to see what will come next!

Do have some things I’d like to say about the game (and hopefully people don’t mind!).

Gameplay: Overall, rather straight forward, you plan out your day and go at it from there. Only stumbling block I had was that “Leisure” didn’t seem to increase my “Fun” meter, which is odd, considering people do “Leisure” activities for fun. I might suggest that “Fun” might be converted to “Social” meter, and the “Leisure” activity might be called “Art” or “Creativity” or something. Still, nothing that isn’t learned quickly after the first day. Can be a pain getting the stats up at the right time to go on the dates, but if it was easy, then it would fail as a time-management game. Still, even on my first playthrough, I managed to get four people at max hearts by the end, which then exploiting the autosave at the final day, opens up all the endings rather quickly.

Characters: But, really, the gameplay isn’t all that important in a dating sim (about as important as a traditional console RPG), so really it comes down to story, and in this case, the characters. Some I really liked, Most I didn’t mind, some got on my bad side. So, I guess for opinion’s sake, I’ll go from favourite to least.

Troy: While cross-dressing isn’t a particularly big kink of mine, the relationship between Troy and Zell really seemed to click. The dates and the other scenes between them solidified the story of two childhood friends whom have taken the next step in their relationship. Troy seemed especially nervous exposing himself to the player simply because of their history together, and it made the storyline very sweet. (I’m a little disappointed his pre-reqs seem more money based than anyone else, but, at least it’s not because he’s a moocher.)

Andrew: It’s hard for me to decide who I like better, Andrew or Troy, so they pretty much both keep the number one slot. Andrew can be the most difficult one to woo, simply because he’s a very overworked fox. Still, the sullen eyes and how he smiles when he sees Zell does help exemplify him as someone who is working his tail off but does seem genuinely interested in Zell. The ending with him going to his summer coat, while hinted at, did seem to be out of left field just a tad, but it wasn’t all that jarring, really.

Max: Starts off as the typical fox, getting his conquest and getting out. Honestly, he kinda matures the most out of the various datable characters, realizing that absence (And abstinence 😉 ) makes the heart grow fonder.

Ben: Honestly, not a bad partner, but his overly cheerful demeanor does get a little off-putting at times. The deleted plotline that he was taken advantage of in the locker room might have added some decent detail to the person, hopefully not in a “broken goods” fantasy, but would have given him a reason for his constant cheerful disposition (trying to not let his past control him).

Chet: Typically, tend to disdain braggarts (Chet was the last storyline I followed), but at least his ending did seem to give him a little redemption.

AJ: Not bad per se, but I think his ‘blowing you off to go hang with friends’ and the like should have happened a bit earlier in the relationship. Kinda a bit silly that he doesn’t seem to put “bisexuality” as an option, but there are plenty of people with that sense of dimorphic sexuality. Still, nice to see at least one top (c’mon, where are the switches! I know they lampshade it early in the game about the boat joke, but still…). Still, again, I think the scenes should have been shuffled a bit, but overall worked okay.

Roger: Where as Troy’s story of long-lost friends who reconnect and bring their relationship closer I thought was well done, Roger, on the other hand, kinda falls flat on its face, mostly since before Roger is your teacher, and when things get more sexual, Roger does the best he can to avoid you completely. Unless you’re going to have a closed relationship with him, it’s impossible to be monogamous with anyone else considering he rapes you twice (once pretty much literally when you’re too tired to fight back and then again when you’re railroaded into it in the plotline). Also, the final day when he asks who you choose to be your lover, choosing him kinda feels like emotional blackmail. I kinda am disappointed that he wasn’t Surfer Fox (Vulpanism was just a red herring! /Clue), but, I guess it helps add to the mystique on the question of who this shadowy authour is!

Sebastion: Ugh. Typically I love me the nerdy, chubby types, and raccoons especially, but the whining audacity of this procyon is a bit horrible. I mean, just the hypocrisy of him complaining about his online boyfriend having net sex with other people after he gets you to pound him in the shower. Meh, it’s just a game.

And not in any particular order to the rest is, of course, Zell (well, his default name). I know that in dating sims the goal is to, of course, date, and have a relationship. But Zell seemed to have grown stronger, more independent through the game, and at the end, he just kinda threw himself back into the trope of “I have to be in a relationship to justify myself” was a little disappointing. I guess if he would have learned to move on from compulsory relationships to one where he was more in control of himself, it might not have quite as a “romantic” ending. Also, considering how much you do/could pretty much woo just about anyone and everyone, I’m kinda disappointed with a lack of a polyamorous option. But, that would require a whole lot more coding, so I can understand the lack of that.

Graphics: While most people, myself included, would have probably preferred hand-drawn sprites or images, the 3D models were pretty good. They all fit the style well enough, and only a few things ever felt a little off. Max’s eyes seemed to vacate his head when he looked at the screen from a 3/4ths angle, and the genitals, I dunno. Big penises are to be expected, but they made the scrotums end up looking a little small in comparison.

Music: Doesn’t interfere with the game itself and adds to the general feel, so, nothing bad about that. Sound effects seemed to work just fine in the sex scenes.

Overall, a good game, like I said, and worth the money!