Law School

Hello hello, here is my review, quite long, of this episode. Beware of spoilers

Review after Episode 3

Law School is without a doubt one of the best visual novels available. Visually, it's awesome : great lighting, camera composition, character models, and an overall really great sense of flow.

What works really well:

• Visuals. Nothing to complain about : Law School is just one of the prettiest VNs out right now. Cameras, lighting, modeling, all perfected. You can tell the details and the hard work that goes into all the scenes.

• Pacing of the narrative. The story progresses well, with a good balance between school life, personal intrigues, and tense moments. The “law school” atmosphere is well established, even including classes or exams you can choose to attend or skip. (bless you for that)

• Intimate scenes. A vast upgrade in Episode 3 : the Miranda or Elsa scenes are well-paced, with real transitions and better staging management (this!!!). It’s far from the somewhat abrupt rush of previous episodes (like with Taylor in Episode 2, where everything happens a way too fast).

• Characterization. Engaging LIs, each with their own nuances : Miranda, Rose, Olive, Aurora, etc. You feel they have a backstory, their own logic, and their dialogues aren’t just functional. Special mention to the twist around Jack, very well handled, which I would never have guessed.

• Sound direction. Annoying sounds (for example that cringe laughter, like Rose's one in ep 1) have been removed, or placed in the voice volume idk, I play with voice volume at 0 % but either way, this is a relief for the ears that improves immersion.

What doesn’t :

• The personality system which breaks immersion

The biggest criticism is the altruistic / neutral / selfish personality meter, which supposedly dictates which LI routes you will be able to play through in Season 2. Interesting in theory, its execution is too rigid and artificial, often working against emotional logic rather than with it.

It’s not the idea that’s flawed, but its current form, a global numerical average of choices with little context. You’re not building relationships, you’re managing an invisible scorecard.

Example : Rose

When Rose is arguing about you giving Liam a second chance, if you're on her side and agree with her, you gain one "altruist" point, and she is happy with the choice you made.

But ironically, to romance her in season 2, you somehow have to be "neutral" overall, and the choice above can make you “altruistic”.

So by agreeing with her, you might lock yourself out of her route. You act in line with her values, she thanks you … and the system punishes you.

Same with Aurora

Aurora is supposed to be tied to the “selfish” path.

If you throw her under the bus at the end of Episode 3 (a clearly selfish choice), you increase your “selfish” score.

The result ? The choice can make you "selfish" overall, and unlock Aurora as a love interest on paper… but you have just betrayed her, possibly ruining her school career.

Here is the personality score breakdown :

• Altruist: > 4 points

• Neutral: between -4 and 4 points

• Selfish: < -4 points 

Here are two paradoxes :

Rose :

If your score is at 3 points, you are neutral, then Rose likes you and everything is hunky-dory in Season 2.

But if you agree with her choice (e.g., defending Liam), you get +1 point > score is 4, and you are in altruist range, then Rose's path becomes unavailable, while going in her way ?

Aurora :

If your score is between -1 to -3 points, you are neutral.

If you are in this range, she won't like you in Season 2.

But if you betray her at the end of episode 3 and throw her under the bus (which gives you -3 points), you enter selfish range and open her path, despite betraying her ?

??! 

It makes no sense, and it shows how artificial the system is.

Another issue would be with characters like Miranda, who currently show strong affection for the MC very early on. Her dynamic is warm, flirty, and consistently positive through the first episodes. However, if your personality score isn’t “neutral” enough, she could drastically turn against you in Season 2 (in a LI related way), not because of anything you did in the story, but due to your alignment on an invisible axis, with choices not even affecting her.

This wouldn’t reflect emotional instability on her part, but rather the fact that her reactions are tied more to a hidden stat system than to your actual choices or interactions.

That kind of system might feel artificial and jarring : imagine sharing an intimate scene with her one episode, only to find her cold and distant the next, without any narrative reason. In a character-driven game, that would break the sense of continuity and emotional logic that players expect from meaningful relationships.

A better implementation : Being a DIK (mods hate that name, but the comparison is relevant)

Being a DIK utilizes a similar system (DIK/chick), but mainly to flavor dialogue or to open up minor routes, not strict romance gating.

Law School takes it even further, making your personality an inflexible gating system, detached from narrative nuance.

Also, “selfish” is a very loaded word, it doesn't really fit what the choices often treats as idealist or chaotic. More nuanced terms like “idealist,” (prob the best replacement) or “chaotic” (my fav one) would better reflect the emotional tone of those decisions.

A smarter system : important decisions

Rather than a silent accumulation of “points”, the game would benefit from a few key moral or emotional choices, clearly flagged, that trigger character reactions and shape relationships organically. That would give players real agency without breaking immersion.

Conclusion

Law School is one of the most polished, promising VNs on the market.

But its rigid personality system undermines emotional consistency and immersion.

If you want to keep this system, maybe add major branching choices and more nuanced personality descriptors, and Law School could easily become a standout of the genre.

The text was long but who cares

ALSO, the artwork of Rose that appears during the loading screen, (the same one she uses as her Facegram profile pic) is SO COOL. Is there any way we can get that image ??

This game is awesome. Great characters, renders, animations and story. Can't wait for ep 3.

THE GAME IS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I swear this will go right to my top 3 game EVER!!!

Okay how is this going to be sold every episode 5 $ or are we buying a season here? Anyway Is there an example for the animation quality in the game?