Magnus Plays...The Inn Between (Demo) (Patreon)

Crowd funding has proved to be a blessing for many creatives and studios striving to bring their ideas to life, allowing them to pursue projects that they would otherwise not be able to undertake. I found myself musing on this point as I and my boyfriend played the demo to The Inn Between, a new entry into the boy love visual novel genre by Cats on a Lily Pad studios  and which has successfully used such a funding model to now develop their idea into a full-fledged game.

The Inn Between tells the story a young man, Myka Riley, as he discovers he has been left a piece of property in the will of his grandfather, the Magnus Inn (yes, I do admit I had a small titter when I heard that name of the first time). This inheritance though comes with a whole bevy of mystery surrounding it, with a secret family history; friends who might know more then what they are letting on; an overbearing, controlling aunt who just might be being too overprotective; and a potent supernatural element looming over everything. 

This aura of intrigue is offset by the cheery, almost wholesome air of the characters and their interactions, being spunky and quite engaging. This makes the odd moment of tension more surprising when it does arise. Perhaps it has something to do with the engaging voice-acting, which is full of emotion and subtilties (and which will be highly interesting to listen to when the evitable sexy talk comes into play).

These positives though all pale in comparison to the strongest aspect of the demo; the game's artwork. The art for The Inn Between is simply gorgeous to look at. Character designs; the range of facial emotions; the backgrounds; all are top notch. When we get the first proper look at the inn itself, with it's beautiful far eastern aesthetic, I could see that this art won't look out of place hanging on my living room wall. 

It certainly feels as though the story's mysterious elements will be a central presence within The Inn Between, although it remains to be seen if it will give way or co-exist as strongly once the romantic/erotic elements of the game come forth. Whereas Coming Out On Top (COOP) felt very focused on the dating side of things The Inn Between has (yet) to show their hand in this regard. 

I suspect like Dead Dating, another recent addition to gay romance gaming, the mystery of the plot will have a strong presence throughout and will not be superseded by the romance. Admittedly this comparison is a tad tenuous, as Dead Dating and The Inn Between have quite different feels in terms of tone and while Dead Dating features ten possible dating routes compared to The Inn Between looks as though it will have three core romantic possibilities to pursue. This tighter romantic focus might be the game's potential single flaw I have seen so far, as while it might welcomed as a more concise gaming experience it lends less chance for replay value or alternative paths to follow. This though will likely be welcomed by some players who are not fond of doing too many playthroughs to get the game's whole story. 

Overall, The Inn Between has a lot of promise and I will be certainly be coming back to do a review of the full version of the game when it is released at a future date (something I am immensely looking forward to now).

The Demo for 'The Inn Between' can be found on Cats on a Lilypad Studio's Itch.io page which is here, available for Windows, macOS, and Linux:

https://cats-on-a-lilypad-studios.itch.io/the-inn-between