Hentai RPG Review: Explorer of Yggdrasil

Written by Rastafoo69, edited by Otaku Apologist

Explorer of Yggdrasil, a hentai RPG developed by Black Train. Released March 13, 2020. Download on MangaGamer for $20.00. For Windows PC. Partial voice acting. Uncensored genitals.

Mei hopes to conquer the Tower of God and regain her lost memories! She’ll do this with the help of Gilles Anote, a mysterious man without arms who also hopes to conquer the tower. Together, they’ll solve the mystery of the tower!

We’ve also reviewed these other Black Train titles: Sujimon Quest – Lewd Crest Lady of the Night – Niplheim’s Hunter

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STORY

This game is a linear experience with one ending. As you climb the tower, you’ll gain flashbacks and learn more about the people who originally controlled the tower. However, the story doesn’t really develop much until the final two hours.

Not everything is as it seems. Many of the presumptions you make are turned upside down by the writing. Mei’s lost memories included. And the cute girl who got fucked by tentacles on floor 25? She’s more central to the plot than you’d think.

The writing is casual like in most games from Black Train. The game has very few NPCs. “The Resistance” found near the top floor has no real significance to the player or plot. The late game infodump may bother some players, but that’s honestly the least of the complaints one could make.

Even if you have full health, there are multiple scripted losses throughout the game. Even if you never use the healing medicine, dialogue will indicate you have been and its effecting your physiology. Even if you have full health, Mei will complain she’s being worn out. The list goes on. The author basically acts with complete disregard for the player. And skipping from floor 30 to floor 80 felt like I was robbed of content.

Rest in the camp near the bottom of the tower. At night time, you can control Gilles and watch as Mei prostitutes herself for no real reason. Temper your expectations and don’t take the writing too seriously. It almost feels like a long shitpost. Like when Mei gets a new outfit with her tits exposed and the description says “You have ascended to have the protection of God himself”. The writer reminds me of Akabur, taking it very casually.

GAMEPLAY

Explorer of Yggdrasil was created in Wolf RPG Editor. Press CTRL to skip text. Press W for the text log. Press Q to hide the text box. Press Shift for auto-text. Hold Shift to return to base camp.

Combat is super simple. Press Z to attack. Press Shift to heal. Press X to run away. Tap the direction shown on screen to block a strike. After enough strikes, you’ll be able to time your button for a chance at critical damage. It might sound complex, but you’ll honestly learn it in under a minute.

Loot drops are completely randomized. Due to the lack of skills or complex fighting mechanics, the player is forced to rely on finding good equipment. Simply kill enemies until they drop something powerful, and then breeze your way through. Shields allow for the best defense, daggers have double strike, and other weapon types have their own advantages as well. You can sell any excess equipment for gold, but it has no purpose unless you play the lottery in the post-game.

The weapon log and monster log in the pause menu are available as soon as you start the game. This means you can easily tell, this game has tons of treasure and exciting monsters to discover. If you’re a completionist, this game is heaven for you.

Monsters drop different weapons and prompt sex scenes, but fighting them is always the same. Just keep hitting them! Although your class can be changed to prioritize a different stat like attack or defense, you’ll probably just use whichever class matches your most powerful weapon.

Hentai scenes boost your stats like increasing your health points. I beat the game without ever using this feature, but it’s a nice addition for people who have a hard time. Losing in battle earns you a sex scene, which will strengthen you, so you won’t lose again.

Besides the occasional distraction like playing as Gilles to go find Mei, the game is a pretty straight-forward grind. The game is under 3 hours long and you’ll complete it around level 45. So although it’s a bit repetitive, it is short enough where that won’t bother most players.

GRAPHICS

There are 35 scenes, but under 35 unique artworks. Naturally, CGs repeat from time to time. This is forgivable, due to the high quality artworks circle Black Train is known for. Each artwork features numerous variation images as Mei slowly undresses, inserts, rides, and cums all over a thick new cock.

Outside of sex scenes however, there are multiple apparent flaws. For example, sometimes the engine lags when starting battles or entering new regions. And there are very few CGs of a non-sexual nature, even when the game could use one! Like the big emotional scene between Gilles and Mei at the end of the game! I would have cried to see Mei clinging to Gilles and begging him to stay, but instead we got the same sprites we’ve seen all game long! I love the sex scenes, but one nonsexual CG would have really saved this.

The character designs are absolutely fantastic! Mei’s braided hair and simple clothing is both realistic and attractive. Her belt, her corset, her scarf, her gloves, these all perfectly sell the concept of a semi-industrialized medieval world. Meanwhile Gilles has a cloth hood and leather bag on his back, perfect for his role as the alchemist and healer who supports Mei’s climb through the tower. If these two were anime protagonists, their merch would sell like hotcakes!

The entire game takes place inside the tower, and the protagonist only leaves it on one occasion. This means there is no world map or wide cast of NPC villagers. Rather, there’s a small camp at the bottom of the tower, and another at the top. This felt strange since the game begins by showing a long line of people trying to gain entry into the tower. I was expecting a lot more NPCs to talk to. Although the prologue states this tower is renowned and heavily explored, it actually felt like I was the only one in there besides monsters.

The interface in this game is unique and gorgeous. I love how the monster encyclopedia features replayable sprite animations for each character. And the steampunk aesthetic of the tower is matched perfectly with the browning pages of a book that serve as a backdrop in the pause menu. Best of all, this game optimizes screen space with an alternating pause menu display. When you pause, you see your current stats. But simply press left or right to see your sex stats instead! This menu design is smooth as silk!

VOICE ACTING AND SOUND EFFECTS (SFX)

Explorer of Yggdrasil features partial voice acting. While all the male characters in the game are silent, the female characters featured during sex scenes are given voiced lines for moaning and ahegao. While these clips enhance the sex scenes, the core dialogue of the game remains silent. Therefore, you may have to imagine the tone of a scene, rather than hearing the way a line is delivered.

The sound design in this game is perfect for a 3-hour experience. While sword strikes and healing sounds have a sense of originality, the sound assets in this game remain limited. This is because the game is so short, there really is no need for huge variety. I will say however, if you play longer than three hours the sound design will become repetitive. The lack of skills and unique abilities is really limiting what sounds could be used.

MUSIC

There are 27 music tracks in total. A heavy emphasis is placed on an upbeat techno theme. Sort of like a synth-funk aesthetic. Record scratches and other unusual sounds are implemented into the music to keep things fresh. It’s very reminiscent of the old SSX snowboarding games for PS2. My opinion of the music changes depending on my mood. Sometimes I really groove to the beat, but other times it feels borderline distracting. There are however, some tracks I love thoroughly, like the ones featuring trumpets and horns during the Legion’s Trial part of the story. Overall it’s a very good soundtrack, unless you hate synth-funk.

HENTAI

Explorer of Yggdrasil features 35 erotic scenes in total. Some CGs repeat. Screen shake and other effects simulate animation from time to time. There is no virgin playthrough, since Mei was already prostituting herself long before she met you.

The voice acting and visuals carry the scenes. While the core fetish is prostitution and being a free-use whore, it never gets old even after 35 scenes. This is primarily due to the gorgeously drawn facial expressions and lovely realistic moaning from the girl being fucked.

From the moment you enter the base camp, you can start fucking around and unlocking sex scenes. Some are unavailable until you progress further in the story, which motivates you to progress since the hints in the pause menu will allow you to track down all scenes easily.

Sex positions are primarily cowgirl and doggystyle, emphasizing tits and ass, though there are some blowjobs as well. The protagonist, Mei, is a total whore and fucks basically any guy who asks. Meanwhile Gilles peeps in and watches her be a whore with a focus on voyeurism. He doesn’t love Mei, she’s just some hot babe he faps to.

While 35 scenes are fullscreen CGs, there are also 16 sprite animations when Mei fucks enemies. However, just like repeat CGs, there are numerous repeated animations with recolored enemies.

The dialogue in this game is funny, but not exactly erotic. Like when Mei is being fucked by a guard and says “You’re guarding me so hard”. I don’t even know what that means but it made me laugh more than fap.

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CONCLUDING WORDS

Explorer of Yggdrasil is a fun little erotic RPG where you grind levels and find new equipment. While the story was a bit too casual for my tastes, the voice acting and sex scenes are simply phenomenal. No matter your fetishes, the visuals in this game are sure to make you cum!

Download Explorer of Yggdrasil. If you liked this game, then also check out our review of Artemis Pearl, a similar game with some fully animated anime porn.