General Practitioner is an extremely well balanced slice of life adventure, with sparkles of management and simulation, a mix not so usual in adult games, but this is barely just an adult game, it’s a full experience of becoming the ultimate General Practitioner! Developed and published by Bruni Multimedia, General Practitioner was first published on Patreon for as low as just 1$ a month. A few days ago, the game hit Steam store, and this surely marks a new age for Valve, and for adult game fans worldwide.
We all know Patreon is a niche for adult games, but things are changing, and fast. General Practitioner is a primordial of its kind, one I believe will open many doors for both developers and consumers!
In General Practitioner, players take the role of a... well, a general practitioner, as the title suggests, but this is not just any doctor, as he moves to a small town, taking a big responsibility. The town’s clinic is in desperate need of a new head practitioner, and although it’s old and patients are less and less frequent, it’s a new challenge that will put him to the test. This is clearly one of the main goals of the game, to rebuild this small clinic to its former glory, by any means necessary. But the objectives don’t end here, as there are plenty of other goals to achieve, including side-quests.
As in many other games, players can change the character’s name, or keep the original intended. The same goes for other NPC’s that are not patients, but are somehow connected to our protagonist. As intended, the game works like a Visual Novel, but far more interactive and relies on frequent decisions to alter even small details. One of the main pinpoints, is the ability to perform medical examinations, with a large amount of detail. It’s not a new concept, but the depth of information used in General Practitioner, goes beyond anything seen so far, and it’s not a surprise considering it has two distinct game modes. The first one is exclusively to life in the shoes of a doctor performing examinations, and the other mode adds storyline and romance.
Medical terms are pretty hardcore with technical words and over-counter medicines, that will surely surprise you, and don’t feel bad for googling some of them, it’s all part of becoming a great practitioner. As one progresses through the story, patients become frequent, and they’ll challenge you. Players can order patients to lay on the examination table, and one has to observe the general physical condition, mental state, temperature, respiratory rate, and specific body areas, such as mouth, eyes, ears, any wound patients might have, and of course, it's possible do a genital exam. There are plenty extra exams going on, this is merely a small list of all the options one can perform on the patient. Some extra tests such as blood, urine, or even a CT Scan come later, as players will require purchasing this equipment for the clinic.
At each examination, players are rewarded based on their job as a doctor, let’s say a patient walks in with a broken arm, and if the doctor asks for a urine test and sends the patient home, that will result in a negative outcome. Bad examinations means less money and a loss of future clients based on their level of satisfaction, which is not good at all. Some cases are very special, including domestic violence, depression, pregnancy, and other serious issues. At times, the game works almost as a self-awareness of such issues.
The point of the game is to become a professional at the job, although it doesn’t mean we can’t mess around just for the fun! Stats are an important feature, as part of the Slice of Life component, which brings us to the simulation area. Players can use their influence, and manipulation to control outcomes and achieve their desired endings, either with patients or alongside the main storyline.
There over 40 special patients to examine, in which are embedded within the narrative. Their level of satisfaction will result in the story progression, or dead end for that specific character. Players have different approaches when dealing with patients, such as being friendly, cocky, aggressive, professional, lewd, and plenty other options to go with. Each one reacts differently to your approach, and its thorough pre-examination dialogue that one should realize the best approach. Everything depends on personal preference obviously if players are going for the romantic routes, or just playing professionally. Filler patients are also available. They don’t add anything new to the narrative, but they give you an option to increase your skills, and earn more money.
Each day is split into three parts, and if you want to keep the clinic in good fame, showing up for work is probably a good idea, but that doesn’t mean one can’t relax at the beach after a morning of work, to increase charm. Staying home studying is also a good choice to increase knowledge, and trust me, you’ll learn new and interesting things. Morning, Afternoon and Evening, are the time periods players can decide what to visit, in order to change and increase specific stats or go on dates. Some locations are already available such as the Spa, Theater, Gym, and a few others. Changing stats increase the probabilities of success in specific events alongside the game. Failing at these events reduce stats, so it's recommended to engage in activities with NPC’s when you have confidence in your stats.
As you earn money, more medical proposals will rise, and players will be able to hire new medical equipment, more nursers, staff, and fellow doctors to increase income and reputation. Your choices affect the clinic deeply, as hiring a sexy doctor with terrible practice skills will ruin your business. It’s all about choices, and the same goes for romance. At this point players can have a relationship with one character at a time, but with further updates, a polygamous relationship is possible. Romance with characters always depends on your approach and stats, like charm, looks, integrity, or even how professional you are. Multiple playthroughs will definitely be required to enjoy all romantic outcomes.
With an engaging narrative, the dialogues are very interesting to read and go well with the story. They have a proper emphasis on events and characters, which provides different personalities for each NPC. Medical terms and expressions are very realistic, blending perfectly with natural flowing conversations that bind profusely well with player’s choices and paths. The amount of time and medical research the developer applied in the game is absolutely outstanding!
Visually, General Practitioner uses real 3D renders, although the game still plays out as a Visual Novel, renders look pretty realistic, and each of the narrative-driven patients have a very unique design for both face and body aspect. Filler patients have the same design quality, but it’s expected to encounter some “familiar faces” after 15 hours of gameplay. Which is completely acceptable. Both female and male renders are very unique in the details, specifically if players are going for a more in-depth exam. As for the romantic ways, well, let’s just get one thing out of the way, it’s not only romance, as it’s pretty much hardcore for the taking! There’s no other way of putting, it’s explicit and it’s up to players to set the limits. Backgrounds are also fully 3D models, and they look very detailed, and for these sorts of renders, the most important factor, is to avoid generic uncomfortable spaces, and I say the objective is pretty much done. Improvement has been made, and will keep so for the future.
Overall, General Practitioner is a 50 hour plus adventure that just keeps growing thanks to fan support over at Patreon, and finally, now Steam users as well. An in-depth perspective over medical conditions and diseases, in a simple but very entertaining gameplay of diagnosis and treatment. Characters offer a wide range of variation, and the curiosity or straight up progression will keep you hooked for dozens of hours!