So this all is really good. It’s entertaining, has good twists, and the storylines are great. The thing that I’ve been noticing lately, though, is that it’s really pay to win. In one of the stories, you can’t even complement a character without it being stuck behind a paywall. Besides that, even having one ounce of spice costs a lot. There are about 30 pay things PER CHAPTER in many stories. Even though the storyline is great even without the paid options, something’s behind the paywall are unnecessary. For example, in one story I was playing, an item you needed to have so you didn’t die was behind the paywall. In the same story, a really big piece of lore was beneath a paywall as well. I would get having spice behind a paywall, maybe even some very small parts of lore that you end up finding out one way or another. But this game hid a really big piece of lore that was crucial to the plot and story. I really wish they could down the prices a big because for a spicy option, it is 16-30 hearts. This is about 180 dollars per chapter (maybe even more) if you paid for all the exclusive options like giving a character a hug. Over all, good game and a great app to pass time with (especially as a book lover!!) But, I would definitely prefer if it wasn’t so dang expensive.

So originally I had a 5 star review but there is a lot to improve still with this app that I hope the developers see and take note of because i know im not the only one.To start, i love the sapphire feature that has been added since I first came to the app. They have changed it a few times, trying to balance it where you can earn enough to actually unlock good scenes but also encourages you to engage with new stories even more now. Which I find wonderful for creators. The problem is however that creators get absolutely nothing from sapphire unlocks. It would be nice if the app could put in an optional section to watch ads to earn sapphires maybe so that both the app and creators could earn a cut from ad revenue.My other really big gripe with the app right now is how much AI content has infiltrated the app. It’s really saddening as an artist to see more and more of these stories with low quality content showing up and being pushed. Even if they say it’s only the artwork, how can I trust they aren’t using ai for the writing as well? There are so many ethical concerns by allowing such content on the app. Now I’m not saying remove them all immediately, but at the very least it would be nice to have a button that filters it out. Please do better Dorian. I know you guys are trying and you listen because otherwise you would never have added sapphires 🙏

So I haven’t played dorian for very long but I’m starting to get genuinely irritated. I get that hearts are a way to support creators but that being said this game is just way too expensive. It’s 7 dollars for a 51 hearts pack, which seems like it would be a good deal, except for the fact that each heart choice is about 30-40 hearts. And the fact that you can’t really progress in the story without picking heart choices is extremely unfair. It seems like dorian is blocking its own success while also making the game miserable for lower income players. If heart choices costed less, say 15-20, people would pick more heart choices, unlock more scenes, be more invested in the story, and buy more hearts because of how far in the game it would take them. With the current prices of heart choices and the lackluster scenes that come with them, playing the game just doesn’t seem worth it. And also, there’s another option to gain gems, but this doesn’t really work because of the insane amount of gems you need to gather, and the fact that by the time you think have enough gems, they’ve most likely already disappeared. I don’t know if this has only happened to me, but this week I racked up 300 gems and was waiting for the last day so I could have enough, only to log back in to see my gems at zero. (Please give my gems back, I literally waited for so long to have enough😭) Moral of the story, the gameplay is fine, but it’s just way too expensive.

Listen the app is great and all but.. The hearts I know the creators get paid from people using them from giveaways. But I just want YALL to make the game a lil cheaper you know? Poor people friendly? If the creators of these stories make the heart expenses for spice development I’m pretty sure more people would spend on the stories if they were a bit more cheap or sometimes free. It would make the stories more popular and people would actually want to buy more? You know it’s kind of marketing. But the app is great and all! Just won’t you guys give us starting hearts? Like at least a hundred so I’m pretty sure we would get to spend on the options you need diamonds for. Overall starting diamonds would really help the creators make more money if you think about it the more we get invested and like the story the more we will be likely to pick the diamond options. It would help the creators and the readers/players. Listen I know I’ve said this several times but. Just make it happen. Please give us 100 starting diamonds. I’m begging. (I NEED TO MARRY RHIN FROM SHARKBAIT PLEASEE) if I don’t get an update saying you can’t do that I swear to god I will break my phone and rage quit. I better get a response saying you CAN do that and you give everyone 100 diamonds I BEG YOU DEVS