The following review is for Because We're Here created by Eike for Renpy. Because We're Here is a commercial game that is still under development. This review is for a Demo version that was played in July 2015.

Because We're Here is a visual novel where you play as a female protagonist named Elfriede Rauss. The story starts out in the middle of a war. Elfriede's camp is under attack and she is constantly concerned with where "he" is (The "he" being Elfriede's love interest.) At the end of this scene you are brought back to a time before this war broke out. The men of the village are about to leave for the war and Elfriede wants to talk to them before they go off.



Because We're Here is one of those visual novels where you get to choose who your love interest is. During the conversations there will be dialogue choices where you can build up affinity towards who you want to be with. The game also has an interesting mini game called "Battle of Wits." In this mini game you hear out an opponent and try to counter their arguments with your own logic. These battles can have a drastic outcome on the game and add something a bit more interesting to the mix.



Elfriede Rauss is a pretty strong female lead. She conveys a certain inner strength and determination that can be admired. Her inner dialogue is probably some of the best parts of the story. She describes settings, sounds, and other characters so well. Her ability to analyze and understand people is probably her best attribute. And each male suitor brings something different to the table, though I sort of thing she's a bit too good for any of them.

Because We're Here has a pretty strong story and each character is well developed. I think there's enough here to keep your interest going. The sound design is decent and nothing seemed out of place (You'll be reading most of the time anyways.) Though I do have some mixed thoughts on the graphics. The character busts and some of the scenes are really well done. Though there are 2 problems I have with the graphics. The first problem is the backgrounds. A lot of the backgrounds look like faded out, out of focus camera shots. It's hard not to compare the robust look of the cut scenes to the drab feel of the rest of the game. The second problem I have is the absence of faces for non important characters. While I do realize that these characters have no impact on the story, I just don't see the purpose for not drawing them in.

When I Compare the graphics to other Renpy games I have played this game doesn't hold a candle to them. And this is for non-commercial games available on RMN! Holding the incomplete graphics against the strong story, I give this game a 3.5 / 5.