I loved the faces every single time I looked I was smiling

The presentation was just okay, overall. The lack of music and SFX really hurts this novel, and I had to come back to it. When I decided to read all of the entries in one sitting, it was ending up being one of the most difficult.

Overall, it was a most grounded reading. Really authentic. I'm glad it doesn't explain itself too much.

This one’s interesting - it sets out to convey a very down-to-earth sort of vibe in a way that I really relate to, but I feel as though some elements of the presentation and writing wind up harming the story.

First up is the obvious matter of the audio - I feel as though a more fleshed-out soundscape could really help expand on the setting and make it feel more real - moreso than any other jam game, I really felt the lack of sound effects, music, and ambient noises here.

Secondly, while I think the writing gets across the sense of these characters knowing each other well and having a natural chemistry with each other, I do think it struggles a bit at making sure that the reader feels included in i. It’s a bit hard to explain, but it feels like someone telling a story of what happened, rather than us getting to see it directly - there’s no pauses in dialogue during the banter, no moments of contemplation or of them struggling to put together their next statement - it’s all just a nonstop stream of bits and inside jokes without much description as to what occurs between them.

To give an example, I’ll take the scene of Shiloh meeting up with Liam in the break room in the beginning of the game. The two meet in the crowded break room, dap up, make some small talk, and then Shiloh makes a fool of himself by making a loud alarm clock noise before Liam jokes about tollers getting a weird rep. The problem here is that the crux of the joke - Shiloh making a ton of noise, followed by deafening silence - isn’t delivered in a way that connects with the reader all that much. I’d say this is mostly in the pacing of the writing.

I feel like visual novels have a natural pacing to them - a character says a line, the reader clicks forward to move to the next line, and so on. Each sentence, each click, can be seen as a ‘unit of time’ - similar to seconds in a TV show, or panels in a comic. If a scene is of importance, you’ll want to linger on it, or to do something else to highlight said importance. Here, however, the ‘climax’ of the joke - Shiloh making the absurd noise - is relegated to one half of a ‘unit of time’ by taking up half of a sentence that starts out seemingly casually, and the aftermath is a very simple and very nondescript line - “Everyone in the break room stares at Shiloh.”

I think that, pacing things out better (breaking up shiloh’s joke into multiple lines similar to how a joke would naturally be paced, or fleshing out the description of the silence slightly or describing the new people’s expressions, etc) could have helped slightly here. Likewise, I think sound effects could also help with indicating the pacing of things better (for example, by cutting out the music during the line that’s meant to represent an “awkward silence”).

All of that said, this is just my personal opinion - and I’m certainly not an expert on this stuff, so forgive me if this all just sounded like nonsense. Properly conveying this type of realism is a really difficult thing to do in the medium of visual novels, and I think that even with the flaws I mentioned the VN does a fantastic job of it - both in how the characters speak, and with the broader connection to workplace stories and ‘folklore’ that comes from a very real place.

I haven’t mentioned the art, but it’s also great - there’s a lot of sprite variations, and though the sprites veer towards being slightly meme-y at times, they do a lot to showcase the various characters’ personalities (maybe this is me reading a bit too into things, but the fact that Greyson’s expressions are just as absurd as Liam / Shiloh / Brooke’s expressions tells me everything I need to know about how well he’ll fit in with those three).

I also really liked (read: groaned at) Liam’s repeated attempts at self-sabotaging his potential relationship with Greyson (and was very thankful for his friends’ wingman skills). There’s a lot to like here - and I think this VN manages to do a very tricky thing quite well, which I really appreciate it for. I’m really excited to see what else you put out!

What makes Paws and Recs most interesting to me is also what made it hard to like. The reveal at the end that a lot of this was based off real experiences did not come as a surprise to me at all. Characters and situations sounded extremely authentic from the jump, so it became quite easy to buy into the relationships on-screen. Furthermore, it uses that inspiration with temperance, never bringing too much that distracts from the main plot but adding just enough to give characters a good amount of depth. In all of this, however, the game is often borderline impenetrable. Characters speak with lingo and inside jokes that don't receive timely explanation (or, sometimes, any at all) which caused some confusion in me as I read. Basic info, such as what work they actually do in this golf course, end up mostly existing as inferences from the readers. Other minor problems aside, I was genuinely impressed with how well paced this was given how it started. There is some faffing about in here, but reaching the final scene, I could look back at the game and see how everything kinda builds up to this satisfying moment. I think Paws and Recs is ultimately fine for what it is. The chemistry between everyone is the star of the show and elevates what could have been a mediocre tale into a FVN worth a look.

This was a sweet relaxing VN, I had a pretty nice time. My main impression came after I finished playing it with a group, with everyone's reaction being "well that was a nice game, but it's a shame it didn't engage with a theme at all". I was surprised by that reaction, and I worry it will be how the median FVN reader (derogatory) will have a similar reaction . So I'm hijacking this review to moan and bitch about the esoteric "theme" rating category in the jam.

So far I'd say most of the entries I read have recreated or alluded to some real life myth, some have been about cryptids, and some were fantasy or had a DnD spin. Basically what one would expect. But this entry thought a little bit outside the box, and I worry it will get punished for it. 

It made me think of my first job and when I arrived there. Of course all workplaces are different, but I think a newcomer being initiated into an existing community with their own rules, habits and inside jokes is relatively universal. I remember living in the shadow of my predecessor, an apparently eccentric and hard to get along lady, and everyone kinda expected me to follow in her footsteps. I was being compared to a woman I have nothing in common with and who I never met, just because I inherited her position after she left the company. Coworkers kept telling me about this lady and her many exploits, nitpicks, neuroses and the many scenes she has caused, she was a local mini legend in the company.

When I joined, I just barely missed the company celebrating the 15 year anniversary of its existence. Everyone returned from a lovely company funded trip where they went to  another country, stayed at a lavish hotel, had a wonderful dinner, did some teambuilding exercises and everyone got shitfaced.  It was a very positive even which is frankly hard to imagine from the place of 2026 corporate austerity and penny pinching. It was also talked about with much reverence and it felt like a magical event I just barely missed out, and colleagues speaking fondly about their exploits and bacchanalia engraved itself into my "freshly joined the workforce" mind.

Why am I saying all of this seemingly unrelated shit? Paws and Recs does something similar, and I don't say that just because of the stories being about the workplace and colleagues. Stories like these might not be folklore in the traditional or academic sense, but I think they do count. It is a very creative interpretation of the jam theme. These are all stories that we tell to each other, mundane places and people and events that we give meaning to.

I do wish Paws and Recs went harder on this though. I think The Shrine is the most explicit part of this, where the game look directly at the reader, blinks with understanding in its eyes, asks you to trust the vision and hands you the cypher to understand what you're supposed to be looking for. I hope audiences will meet it at its own terms and be open minded enough to appreciate it did something different.

Perfect, simple, realistic and fun VN to read! The characters are well written, can tell they have life. Stories taken from IRL work events. I'd enjoy this becoming a full routed VN I thought the bear Manager would be a fun guy to hang out with off work. 

If there were one word to describe this VN, it would be "chill". This is a very cozy and chill game. It feels like hanging out with your co-workers and just having fun with the cute, new guy you just met. All of the character designs are a vibe. Especially the protagonist, I love faded goats. The protagonist's crush on the wolf is very cute and relatable, and the wolf himself feels like someone you can hang out with and not have to worry about a thing. I don't really know how this VN is folklore-y, so unfortunately, I do have to dock points for that. But no, this is very chill, and there's not much for me to say. Would recommend if you want something lowkey and chill.

'Paws and Recs' is a light-hearted slice-of-working life as it follows a group of young college aged adults as they endure a summer job at a national park. Definitely feels like it's inspired by the show it's name-sake is after, there's a fluffy and laid-back vibe to this story, as it's a very low-stakes working environment, yet the main characters a trying to balance enjoying themselves as much as possible without losing their jobs. There's also the introduction of a bit of a wish-fulfilment meet-cute when the new guy who shows up to work is just Mr. Perfect for the MC.

The story itself just follows our main guy, Liam, as he's woken up from a hot sex dream to find out he's almost late for first day at work at the national park. He makes it just barely and catches up with the established cast of his friends and bosses, but there's a new guy at orientation, Greyson. Now, Greyson is extremely chill, plays guitar, is good at driving golf karts, is totally down to smoke weed after hours and is also gay and just broke up with his loser ex. After a bit of shenanigans at work, Liam finds himself stressing over insecurities like, since he's a bit on the heavy side and gets ribbed for it a lot. Turns out Greyson is into Liam and it totally okay with making out. As a sort of fluff piece with no real stakes, conflict, or tension, this is a really good light read for a feel good time. There's a couple of implied scares such as showing up late a speeding into work, ditching orientation speech, or driving recklessly with the golf kart, but they're all resolved quickly or aren't a problem to begin with. The characters are pretty fun to read about as well, though they all have slightly differing flavors of 'new-gen young adult', but enough quirks to make them stand apart from each other, especially in contrast to their overbearingly positive and somewhat cringy bosses.

The presentation is charming. I'm guessing that some of these photos are self taken, which adds a personal touch. The character designs and sprites are expressive and help convey who these characters are. I'm kind of a sucker for some of these smug and wacky facial expressions that are given to them, especially Liam's smug face. The lack of music and audio is noticeable, though I also understand the struggle of finding free-music that fits the vibe without also being so over-used in so many visual novels that it becomes an issue in that manner too. Though, it does seem to be the common rule-of-thumb to opt for the stock music even if it's over used, so that you can then utilize the silence in your visual novels as well. The writing is adequate, I don't think I was confused by a lot of the newer slang terms like some other VNs, especially good job by adding in those context clues. The dialog also felt very natural, good flow between characters and conveying information.

There's actually not much of a folklore aspect to this, I think the closest that this comes to a folklore is coming across a table full of assorted knick knacks in a type of "work place shrine" type of deal, which makes it personal to the workers, but not necessarily influences their behaviors or anything superstitious about it. Still, traditions are traditions, even if they're little workplace ones, so I begrudgingly will consider that there's an element here, even if it's the amount equivalent to the flavor in sparkling water. As a slice-of-work life that is based on true recollections, and a bit derivative from existing stories but with a new-gen twist, there's not too much that makes this stand out (though still love the character expressions).

As a first timer VN producer, really solid first showing! If you were aiming for fluffy slice of life with a twist of romance on top, you achieved it. Love the characters, the art is charming, and pulling from real life experiences really makes this world feel real, with lots of those oddly specific details that give just enough character without being distracting. I will say that since this is so fluffy and low-stakes, it'll be hard for folks to get really hooked on the story without some kind of conflict that drives the story forward. So far, this story's conflict seems to be internal 'I like this guy, I don't want him to reject me', but since it resolves instantly without Liam having to work for it or make some kind of effort/change, it's doesn't hit very hard. Liam likes his job, he likes his coworkers, his bosses are annoying but seem lenient, and he seems to mostly have an issue with being gay internally, but externally, no body gives him any flak for it... so it's like, where's the story? Is there an arc for Liam to grow from? Even if this story were to be a farce, there should be a motivation for Liam. Some examples off the top of my head include: Liam is normally cool, but acts the fool around Greyson because he's so hot, and he keeps making a fool of himself. Liam is annoyed being stuck having to train the new guy, Greyson, until he realizes that Greyson is cooler than he initially came off as. Work place tradition is to haze the new guy, goes too far and now they have to make things right. Try to keep these kinds of character or narrative arcs in mind when you're conceptualizing the story, it'll make for a stronger hook.

I was thinking there a lot of stories told by the characters; it makes sense now that I know they’re from the writer’s workplace!^^ The story is pretty basic but it’s a fine conduit for some humor. Although the VN is pretty mundane and that humor doesn’t shine through. That or I don’t really like those types of characters, sorry…

The sprites are pretty good and expressive, and the few CGs we have are really nice. The way they move on screen is very basic though. The most problematic though, is the complete lack of music or sounds; that really made the whole thing more boring than it could have been.

Overall, it’s a valiant first attempt but it’s missing some stuff, and the writing didn’t hook me in. Keep at it!

A very silly VN. The plot is a tad predictable but also very much unserious. I especially liked how all the characters are kinda douchebags actually (meant in the best way possible). They feel like real people, the kinda people you'd roll your eyes at but still enjoy hanging out with. The dialogue is very zoomer-esque (or just young in general i guess? idk the lingo of the youths anymore). The expressions are goofy as hell, which I think gives this VN a unique voice. And I also enjoyed how much workplace-specific jargon there was. It's clear that the writer is intimately familiar with the setting of this VN. Just a fun romp and the brief romance with Greyson was cute. Only issue is... where's the folklore? Most I can see is that showing a new employee the ropes is kind of like sharing the folklore of the workplace. But the theme was never going to be mandatory so, hope you don't mind the 1-star in theme I guess. Still a decent VN even if it's somewhat lacking in visuals and a plot direction.

For just a brief second there looking at the preview screenshots I thought Shiloh might have been some welcome opossum representation. My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined. 

For a first time effort, this wasn't bad at all - there's absolutely nothing wrong with some low stakes slice of life and I think you did well to synthesize your real world experiences into a coherent narrative. However, there's definitely a level of polish that separates this submission from the top entries in the jam. That's okay - those things come with time and experience, but for now, let's break it down:

Implementation of Theme:

Yeah let's get this out of the way early. Unless there is some deep cut myth you're referencing here, I'm not seeing it. What we're looking for is "folklore," and I don't think that's really present at all. If you stretch real hard maybe you could argue that the shrine is some kind of folklore, but that is, as stated, quite a stretch to begin with, and even then it's only referenced once and has no material impact on the narrative. 

Presentation:

Starting with the good here, the art is solid and there's actually quite a bit more of it than I was expecting. Having several expressions for the primary characters is great (even if I thought some of the expressions themselves were a bit too meme face-y) and I like that we got sprites even for characters that didn't appear very often. Chocco has some great "what if Mr. Peanut Butter was a divorced dad" energy and I'm a bit sad we didn't get to see him more.

All that said, there were a few moments where I wasn't sure if the expression the characters were showing always matched the conversation and there were some bizarre instances of sprites appearing in a scene for a second right before disappearing again with the transition to the next scene. Not sure if you intended to have the sprites appear in the new scene and just got your line order mixed up or something.

The biggest elephant in the room for presentation here is the total absence of sound. While the story is clearly still coherent without music or SFX, audio can be really effective at selling scenes beyond what's visually on screen, and considering the jam does offer stock music assets, I think there should have been at least some attempt to incorporate sound here. 

Not to discount the work of your proofreader as I'm sure she caught plenty in your drafts, but there were still a few typos and awkward phrasing. For example, "for the past summer two seasons" which presumably should have been "past two summer seasons" or, to make it cleaner, "past two summers" unless you really felt like "seasons" was necessary to incorporate the employee jargon. 

Story/Writing:

The premise here is very simple. Boy meets boy; boy hangs out with boy; boy likes boy; boy kisses boy; result. As stated above, there's nothing wrong with simple, and I think drawing so much from your experiences helped make Liam's and Greyson's dynamic and development feel believable. Everything felt like a plausible event or conversation that could happen between them, and I think their development was well-paced to end where the VN does at a solid first date. On the same vein, I thought the interactions with Shiloh and Brooke also felt like the characters were genuine friends, even if the "Bro. Brooooo. BRO. Bro? Bro." speak was a little much for my taste. 

While the conversations worked at a high level, I think one thing to keep in mind is the level of detail you actually need to get them across for the VN. Like, while Shiloh and Liam giving Greyson tips about the job as an intro is good, I don't think we really need to be getting into POS systems and stuff. That may be "lore accurate" so to speak for actual conversations you'd have at work, but your readers are getting dropped into this setting cold and getting too into the weeds can detract from the narrative itself. As another example, we don't really need to know "although motor vehicles aren’t allowed, since the golf cart is a company vehicle we’re fine." It doesn't add anything and you can safely cut that.

While the buildup was good,  the story ended pretty abruptly. Not sure if things were cut due to jam constraints, but carrying the story through to the end of the date might have been a more natural place to conclude. It also didn't help that the tone radically shifted leading up to the kiss as well; the dialogue is consistently bro-speak for most of the VN, then goes sappy and dramatic for the last ten lines, there's a kiss CG, and we're done. It's a bit jarring. I think maybe easing into that a bit more as well as giving the characters some room to breathe and react after the initial contact would soften the transition into romance a bit more. 

Creativity:

Like I said in the previous section, the narrative here isn't exactly revolutionary; it's simple and straightforward, but I think you injected enough personal flair to elevate it beyond being totally generic. With that said, I think there's also definitely some room for you to stretch your legs and maybe try something a bit more ambitious next time, and to that end I hope you stick with it and keep writing. If you do, I think this is a really solid foundation to build on. 

Final score of 12 rapidly minimized fanfic pages out of 3 pairs of underwear that Liam's dream man has never touched.

lmao the ponytail on that otter. Nice.