VN - Ren'Py - Completed - Leap of Faith [Ch. 8 v1.0.3] [DriftyGames]

Leap of Faith [Final]

Leap of Faith is different. It focuses on storytelling over anything. This is a novel with adult scenes, but definitely based on dramatic storytelling. At the end of this game, you will have felt many emotions. And the sad ones are the most impressive. If you are simply looking for a sex simulator, look elsewhere. This game is trying to tell you something about feelings and in the process, making you feel it.

STORY
This game is one of the most well-connected AVN’s I know. Leap of Faith has a very strong cast of multiple characters who all develop as the story progresses. The cast basically goes through life together and it helps them become evolved people with a different set of beliefs in the end.

You are Jake, a man with a small social circle. As you live life, you will meet people. You’ll flirt and you will gain friends. While you progress, the people around you change along with you. People from your past come to haunt you as you try to create a better future for everyone. Friendships come with issues that can take over your life. I’m deliberately keeping this vague because the story is something to be experienced, not explained.

Sad is a keyword as this game gets into very dark territory. For story’s sake realistic details are simplified, but you can feel the weight as the game’s story collapses. A personal message from the developer hits like a freight train as fiction and reality temporarily mix in game. I really, truly admire the developer for aspiring to do this project.

While the overall story is an impressive feat, what shines is the interpersonal conversations people have. You will hear people around you referencing choices you made or things that happened in the story. By just reading the responses, you can already figure out who you are talking with. There’s a bunch of personality within the responses themselves.

Of course I could nitpick about story issues concerning Jake’s family members unnecessarily popping up, other story bits that remain unresolved - but on the larger scale the story just works. There is so much interpersonal stuff happening that planning, organizing and keeping the story together must have been a hard project. Add different ending scenes for all of the characters to that as well.

Writing too much will spoil the fun - so I’ll praise one more aspect. The humor in this game is just as good as the drama is. There are pop references, dad jokes, 4th wall sketches - Driftygames went out of his way to create an experience that’s extremely rare in the AVN community. Thoughtful, fun and meaningful. Each character has it’s own story arc and if interested, you could learn more about them. And that’s not even counting the guest appearances this game features.

You owe it to yourself to play this AVN if you are a fan of mature storytelling.

PRESENTATION
As a 2020 game, graphics are above average, good enough to appear realistic. There’s a gloss-like look to characters which has to be your preference, but the graphics mostly serve the story well. Some characters (most notably Cece) have questionable temporary appearance changes that don’t have any reasoning, which could be due to the rendering engine. Overall, the game looks and feels pretty good. Sex scenes do feature animation and are average to good, although it could benefit from more variation.

The game has a high quality range of shots, usually telling the story by close-up shots. Leap of Faith is about the personal stories of the characters. Every breath, word and touch matters. I appreciate the way the developer uses storytelling and presentation to touch all kinds of subjects, from same-sex love to mental health issues. If you can look past the stylized, somewhat simplistic look, you can experience a great story here.

Honestly, I would have loved a bit more variety in terms of intimacy among all the characters. The dev doesn't go kink hunting, but doesn't shy away from them either. If there is one, it has to absolutely make sense for the story. Outfits are average to good, although the developer went for a more 'realistic' approach rather than a fantasy one. In the end, it benefits the story.

Notable mention must be made on how the music intertwines with some of the scenes. I usually play with the sound off, but the developer made scenes that specifically go with the music chosen in the game. Some of those include singing and even a dedicated soundtrack, others are just for dramatic purposes. Definitely turn your music up for those scenes, it's worth all the effort the developer put in.

GAMEPLAY
While Leap of Faith is primarily a traditional VN with one main story, there’s the choice of which female character you want to romance. This won’t change the overall narrative, but will change a few of the narratives of the people you directly influence. So while your story choices matter for the relationships between people, they won’t always influence the overall game story much.

The game features a phone system which allows you to chat with friends, call them, look at photos you have taken (after prompted by the game) or check social media. It’s a bit rough around the edges and is forced upon you at times, but does help in making you believe you’re part of this bigger story. There’s a reason for all the functions though - so make sure you browse through all of them in order to find the hidden things you can do in order to get the secret content.

Make sure you explore options in different playthroughs - keeping someone in your life rather than banning them could wield interesting results. Kissing someone rather than not kissing them could as well. And taking a photo rather than not taking one could definitely do that.

OVERALL
It’s hard to create a novel that develops this much, but still allows you to influence the story in ways that can give you multiple variations of it. Leap of Faith is one of my favorite story-based VN’s out there and simply one of the most socially engaging games I have ever played. I still can’t get over the heartbreaking revelation the developer shares and how the game manages to stay so grounded while exploring unlikely scenarios.

Whether it’s the lush lifestyle Lexi lives or the mental struggles Cece has, the identity crisis that Kira goes through or the troubled history Jake has with either Linda or Stephanie - most of the characters stand out just by existing in this universe. It’s not strange this game pops up on a lot of ‘Best AVN’ lists by heavy users of the genre. Leap of Faith belongs there among the top.

9/10, so a 10/10 here. Congratulations, dev.

This game is soooo good. The storytelling is amazing, the characters felt real and the ladies are beautiful. The thing that really distinguishes this game from the others is that you really get immersed in the stories. It's not just your regular porn game. One of the best games out there for sure.

I've played few hundred games from this site and I think this is my 2nd favourite game of all times. One of the games that made me realize that I'm not playing these games to jack off but for the game itself.

This game is awesome in the department of story, character evolution, relationships, relationship evolution, all potential LIs are great, every single one is amazing in it's own way, this game is funny, there is a great storytelling, writing is perfect, situations are believable, eveything makes sense, you can see that dev is an intelligent person just by reading the dialogues. I played this game 5 times: (Lexi, Cece, Steph, Linda, Kira + Robin) and I'm not going to pick favourite, every single path is satisfying and interesting, it's worth to play it 5 times.

One of the best things about this game is how it provokes really extreme emotions - sadness and happiness especialy. I'm not afraid to write that I cried a river 5 times, during one moment of the story that we know. It was not tears in eyes/moved kind of thing but literally sobbing. I knew what was coming after 1st time I played it and 1. still played it every time 2. still cried like a bitch every time 3. it hit even harder when you read everything and know what's coming "let me say goodbye to everyone". That wasn't the only moment in the game that made me cry, there are plenty of sad moments but these were small fortunately. Also, knowing about dev's daughter makes it all even sadder. I read his post about being on the edge of adding these "real" stuff to the game and we know that he finnaly did, and it elevates this moments even further on this sad level

On the other hand - game is funny, you can see that dev is a really smart guy by simply reading the dialogue and enjoying these situations. I laughed my ass off every single time when 1. they were starting truth or dare and introducing it to Lexi 2. MC gave the present to Linda at the airport. Chris is amazing, funny guy, one of the best friends in any games like this, I think he's on Derek level. In every playthrough I played I hooked him up with some girl, I don't normally do this, but Chris is such an amazing guy and friend that I just wanted him to be happy. +4th wall jokes - Cece (peek/not peek), MC talking about dev and so on, I love this kind of humour and if it's made good - like in this game - it's hillarious

Ok, this game is funny, but it also gives you this warm, nice, happy feeling when you're with somebody and you're making her happy by being there, saying the right words, being a friend/partner that this person needs. I probably suck at explaining it properly, because this game IS sad, but it also makes you happy.

I like interactions with all the girls, even if you choose somebody else, you're still making an effort to be friend. It was visible especially with Cece, if you're not on her path, you're just a friend, but she needs a friend even more than a lover, this may be a little weird but I'm glad that level of relationship with Cece does not influence the story and what is happening later on, because if it did, I would end the game after playing Cece path, I wouldn't want to play the other paths knowing that by doing this I make her more miserable

Animations - average, but who cares, who plays game like this for animations?

Ok, few things I didn't like. It might get a little spoilery, I'll try to hide it.
1. 2. 3. 4.

Probably the best in depth game with quite some twists. Wouldn't say it's an AVN but more just a VN with occasional adult scenes. I would say that once you start playing, you forget that it's a sex game and just think of it as a movie with choices which isn't necessarily bad. Chose the Cece path as I thought it's what the game was meant to be about and made sense as the MC is connected to her the most (Also prettiest IMO). One of the only games that made me cry a bit, and I didn't even cry during Titanic. Excellent story, characters just wish a few things would have been different but not so critical.
1) Should have showed more interactions with MC's parents and sister
2) More about Cece's family
3) Still a lot of unanswered questions at the end as some of the details were left behind or cut short.
4) Choosing the path comes really early in the game not leaving much choice and should at least have a built in scene viewer (luckily there are awesome mods)
5)The end should have been a bit more interesting with the pregnant girls and should have shown that they are an actual family for a happy end.
The rest is not so important, but still would make the story more interesting. Even with those issues, easily a 9.5/10 as it was one of the most intense and enjoyable games.

this game is excellent. the grapich is very good. womens looks great. the humor is perfect. the sum sreen is very nice on end of the chapters. the story is great too. there is not a ton adult scene, but good enough. the sounds, the music are very good too. the characters are lovely and loveable. i dont know what good can i say more to praise the game, this is near to masterpiece work
only 2 problem got to me. one, even there is happy ending, the story at a point is too depressing. two, i wanted to get more scene with all girls, before choosing one.

I dont want to say much due to spoilers and all.

But fuck you for making me cry like a little bitch I love you <3

If you are reading this review thinking of trying this game. Please do, I have never connected with characters so strongly

A sexual game cannot afford so much drama and romance. There is one part in particular that can move even the most callous person. It's beautiful work. Apart from that, the sex animations are very good. I don't know if it's just me, but it seems like the sexual part is a bit underplayed. But I don't have anything to say about the game, but I have to say that this game is definitely a game where you shouldn't skip through the scenes.

I have never written a review here before. But I had the feeling that I had to do it for Leap of Faith.

At first, I thought this would just be another typical lewd game, but I soon realized that this is not the case for this one. The start of the story is a bit shallow, and the first chapter doesn't really hook you up. But at the end of the first chapter, or at least very soon after, the story starts to build up into a masterpiece.

It's not common to have such good storytelling and character writing in an AVN. To me, it just felt like the characters were real people with all their needs, problems, dreams, and fears. I guess this game is way closer to real life than most of the other lewd games. Even your best buddy "Chris" has a very detailed personality, so he is not just the typical gap filler. You can feel his struggles. And you can really feel that the MC and Chris are old friends. There is quite a lot of interpersonal relationship stuff going on in LoF. And that's also the strong foundation the game is built on. The story that is told wouldn't be possible to tell without the strong foundation of relationships between the main actors of the game.

I just completed the first playthrough. And let me say that I had a blurry vision more than once while playing this VN. There are not many things out there that could make me shed a tear. You can really feel that Drifty created the game to process things that happened in his life, and I guess that is also why this game is so well written, so meaningful, and much more profound than many other games. This could also be related to more serious topics, such as depression and suicide. These are normally not to be found in an AVN. Even if these topics are, of course, only treated superficially due to the subject of the game.
One example of what I mean by “profound” is before Lexi's concert begins, and she is standing in front of the door leading to the concert hall (where she is thinking about the meaning of doors). Such explanations and thoughts are normally not to be found in an AVN. And this is also what makes all the actors so beautiful. Of course they are looking gorgeous, but it's the character behind the nice-looking women that makes them so much more beautiful and adorable.

But of course, not only serious topics are covered; there is also a lot of well-written, funny, and hilarious stuff. I had a lot of things to smile and laugh about, like the MC dancing with his slippers, some jokes about pop culture, or just a fart at the right place... But just a few moments after a hilarious scene, you might find yourself with blurry vision and a chill that goes down your spine. This story really is an emotional roller coaster.
And that's not only because of the story itself but also because of a solid soundtrack. The choice of music in this novel just fits pretty well with the emotions told in the different scenes.

Though I wouldn't recommend this game for the lewd scenes, they are not bad at all but not really needed; the story would also work without them. At least without them in detail. More like the "hinted" scenes in famous movies like "Pretty Woman" or "Notting Hill".

Now that I'm at the end of the game, I just feel sad that it's over. What I mean is that I would like to spend much more time with all of them and see how they do in the future. The last time I had such feelings while playing a game was in the Mass Effect trilogy. Just because the character writing was equally good.

I think I will just give the game at least a second playthrough and try the game with another LI. But to be honest, I think it'll be quite hard to pick another girl on the next playthrough.

Conclusion 10/10 points for this AVN. Not because of the lewd content in it, but because it is one of the most emotional and beautiful stories ever told in a game.

graphics are ok and there is not really a good scene, story is not interesting, gameplay is average. the characters are too similar. you don't get much content when you pick one path, you have to play it several times and events doesn't get much different depending on your path

Leap of Faith moved in a completely different direction than expected and entertained me extremely well over time. I would like to play it again with Linda as the target, but I'm afraid of what might happen to Cece and Stephanie. An absolute recommendation from me

As someone who’s helped people IRL through depression, grief or trauma, I find this game extremely shallow and its story outright comical at times. But I guess the happy ending makes people feel better about themselves? To each their own, I suppose.

This game is a true gem! One of the best stories in AVN, and even in videogames history. All the paths are very, very good. For me, two paths in particular are more "canon" if I could say it like that, but no paths feel awkward, out of place, boring or something like that. They're all great and hits hard.

Also, be sure you are in the right state of mind playing this because even if you are, you're in for a rollercoaster of emotions!

Drifty made an amazing game. If you want to try this game, I'll say do a first playthrough without a mod and just enjoy the ride. After that, you really need to do all paths, they're worth it!

Holy mother of....I came for a well-reputed adult game, I honestly didn't expect such a well-paced masterpiece. The camera work is just phenomenal, the cutscenes well-thought-out and beautifully rendered. The theme involved gets quite heavy, definitely not a game for the sex, but rather an HBO-style storytelling with adult themes as a dressing, rather than the meal. I work as a doctor, in hospitals where patients walk the line between living and death all the time, and this still gets to me, can't imagine how an audience of the general public can take this game. The only drawback for me was that, apart from Cece, Holly, and most of Lexi, the other LIs' models don't really fit my taste, kind of takes me out of the story when their facial features get a bit disproportional. It's a rather minor and possibly intentional point? Since Cece is so nicely rendered, I'm not sure why the other characters look so different. Regardless, once you get used to the character's looks, immersing in the plot brings true joy only some of the best fiction novels have done similarly for me.

I Love this game 10/10!, every second I've played felt the connection with the characters and the beautiful story (Cece path the best IMO), I don't think I can even not choose Cece. It's amazing how you can learn something new in the most unexpected place.

Strong 4/5, pushing for 4+ with how low a standard is with 90% of VN's.

Production value? Unseen elsewhere.
Nice music, amazing use of voice effects.
Great transitions, making the best out of just RenPy features.

Lovely, linear story, without branching but choices are meaningful just well enough to not feel like unnecessary.

Everyone should play this game!

And quit it after THE THING.
If it did end on IT, then it would be as I wrote above.
Buuuut... It doesn't.

Ok, I'm not sure where to start, but I'm impressed with this game, how the characters interacted with each other, and how the humor is so well set with the nature of the plot, how the girls in the game ar just not hot chicks but have beautiful personalities and deep problems making the reader enjoy more than just the h-scenes but when they talk, play, enjoy and cry .
I started playing Cece Route, and bro, I almost cried more than once.

spoiler:

I was really scared when she left the note and ran again to that bridge, and the moment of realization that after all the MC and her been through, her emotions were still too much to handle for her, and in the moment in which she didn't take the MC hand and fall, my heart almost stopped, but then the author just said, "Just kidding," and honestly, I was more relieved that Cece didn't die than angry at the author for scaring me like that.


being honest i just played that route and i dont want to try another one, not because im lazy but because the events i been through in that route make me feel wrong to change how they develop i cannot accept the mc and Cece having anything different from what they have in that route . in my personal opinion the Cece route is my favorite and the real ending of the game
100% recommended

I don't know how this game escaped from me all this time.
I was still yet to play a game that's not scared to tell a story without pulling it in 1000 directions to appeal to everyone until LoF.
Thank you for this amazing experience, i hope whoever is reading this doesn't get spoiled on the story and plays it all.
If i need to nitpick something bad maybe the sex scenes could've been better.
You will not want to skip unseen text on this one with holding "ctrl" trust me.

I'm not usually one to go out of my way to leave reviews, but I had to express my appreciation to the dev on this one.

Honestly, early in the game, I didn't feel particularly hooked. The story is a pretty slow build as you get to know the various characters. But the overall quality of the game experience and the stellar reviews convinced me to give it a solid playthrough. As I progressed through the game I grew to know the characters better and I became more invested with everything going on. And then Ch 6 came along and completely transformed my perspective of the game as a whole. It's rare that a game will move me to the point of tears being shed, but this one accomplishes it with flying colors. The slow build is to the game's merit, as it allows you to bond with the characters to the point that they feel like good friends. It's a beautiful story first, and a porn game second.

I want to thank the dev for making this game. It's clear that it comes from the heart and a very personal place, and that resonates with players. I'm glad that you were able to tell your story.

I felt like watching a tv show with this one, very well made and... might i even say well-acted. That scene where CC remembered made my tear dropped because of how real the dev made the characters, it's one of the most genuine and sincere type of feeling i have ever experience in a video game, i can't help but sympethize greatly with James at that moments. That type of connection is rare, which is why the game derserve the highest rate and suppport of me. A very well done game, Drifty

I really enjoyed this AVN , some would say the story was over the top but thats what books and movies mostly are a mental adventure, that are usually over the top to take us out of our current reality. THIS AVN does exactly that when I started Leap of Faith I loved the character and felt connected to most of them. Someone started cutting onions nearby I think and I had some blurred vision from my eyes watering up.... Damn onions...

Overall I loved this AVN great job Dev!