Manila Shaw: Blackmail's Obsession

Made with RPG Maker, Manila Shaw: Blackmail’s Obsession is an ambitious adult visual novel video game. Created by Abaddon, the game follows a rookie cop named Manila. It plays like a typical visual novel with some action elements added to improve the experience. If you’re the sort of player that enjoys adult games and action flicks, this will be one to add to your collection.

Story

As Manila Shaw, you are a policewoman that does things by the book and apprehends perpetrators. She respects the rules and upholds her duty to justice. However, things are a bit difficult in this dystopian world, so crime runs more rampant than usual. As you explore the world and take on tasks in search of criminals and villainous people, you must choose the right course of action to successfully complete missions.

While playing, you’ll encounter mysterious characters that obsess over Manila like the enigmatic John Doe. This character will change her world forever and lead her into the dark depths of corruption and the underworld crime.

The game is great because it manages to separate itself from the typical visual novel focus on romance. With the dialogue options, fans of games like Detroit: Become Human will enjoy what Manila Shaw: Blackmail’s Obsession has to offer. The justice and corruption mechanic add more weight to the story elements of the game.

As a cop, its up to you to determine how certain situations occurred. Therefore, it would be best to keep a close watch on captured criminals L.A. Noire style.

The game has its fair share of bugs, but the compelling gameplay makes up for it.

Gameplay

As Manila, its up to you, the player to make choices that affect the events that occur. These decisions might temporarily or permanently change the results of your playthrough.

When faced with an important decision, you might get 2 or more of the following:

• Green: This choice type is usually meant for decisions that lean towards justice or a good moral code. When you pick green, you indicate your sworn values as a cop and respect the laws. Achieving a high level of Justice can make Manila an avenger character. Any decision aligned with Justice will usually have a bracket like (+1) or (+2) to show the alignment.

• Blue: For neutral decisions, blue is the option available to players. When choosing blue, it indicates that you want to postpone your choice or avoid a decision to prevent overworking your character in a scenario.

• Red: Red as a choice is for the players that want a sort of vigilante or bad cop role. That means you’re a bad cop, and you don’t do things by the rules. This might serve you well in the dystopian world, but be warned, the consequences might be too hot to handle. When you choose red, the “Corruption” value will be in marked brackets indicating (+1) or (+2). As your affinity for a specific choice grows, Manila will begin to do things differently.

As your choices tend to have consequences, some dialogues and scenes might change. If you are the type to play adult games in a risque fashion, red might be up your alley. Just be careful with the way you talk to the criminals in this game.

Pros

• Many options
• Player is in charge
• Great story

Cons

• Buggy

If you’re seeking for a game outside of the box, you’re probably in the right place if you’re reading this review. There’s a healthy number of sex games that are available on a number of online stores – Steam, being the largest of these, is no different and has enough to offer that could last anyone a lifetime (or at least a couple of weeks). However, many of those might not quite fit what you’re looking for. Whether too much, too tame, or don’t have any actual engagement beyond their primary purpose, its unlikely that every game like that will satisfy everyone that plays it. There’s really a whole other side of gaming in this genre that goes relatively under the radar to larger markets/audiences, and Manila Shaw: Blackmail’s Obsession is a pretty good example of this occurrence. You won’t find it on any major websites other than Patreon, as it is still a work in progress that’s currently on version 0.29 in its development.

Risqué Policework

On the surface, Manila Shaw probably sounds like your run of the mill lewd game that’s got no depth to it. Realisitcally, that’s not far from the truth, though there’s a little more to it than just what’s on the surface. From Abbadon, the creator, the game is about a policewoman within a dystopian world that has to make precarious choices for the greater good, all while being stalked by a mysterious stranger with sinister intentions.

What sets this game apart from the rest is that it’s a lewd game that actually has consequences for your previous decisions. In addition to a combat system complete with RPG elements (which I’ll cover shortly), the game gives your three options to deal with each situation as you see fit. Positive actions will have you acting in accordance with the but with altruism in mind, neutral actions follow the law to the letter with no room for negotiations, and negative actions are done through the lens of corruption. It adds an extra layer of depth that pushes this game from being another mindless lewd title like Acting Lessons to one that has all those elements with a bit of worthwhile narrative/gameplay.

A Fleshed Out RPG System

Color me impressed with how complex this system seems to be for combat and preparation. There are stats, equipment, skills, and various items/quests to keep track of while you play, which again, really makes this game feel like an actual title than a cheap one to get clicks.

Bottom Line

Plus, there are plenty of cutscenes interspersed throughout that are sure to pique any player’s interest at some point (if you’re curious, I’d check out the Patreon for yourself, though its definitely on par with some of the scenes in House Party).

Pros:

• Animations improving
• Combat system promising

Cons:

• None as of yet without full release