Bernard

Editorial Has potential

Bernard is an adult visual novel and point-and-click comedy in the spirit of Leisure Suit Larry and 90s cartoons, and players who enjoy its lowbrow, detailed, sexually comedic style tend to praise its humor and the art when it lands. The main criticisms are about execution. Reviewers point to clear inconsistency in character art styles, a heavy warm colour filter, and characters who seem to 'stare past each other' in multi-character scenes. Some of these issues are openly attributed by the developers to a learning curve. The release is an early demo covering about a chapter and a half, and players note slow development and an uncertain update pace. The bigger point of contention is whether the art was made with AI. Much of the discussion centres on this, and the developers have acknowledged using ChatGPT for early character concepts and reference images, while maintaining the art is hand-drawn. Opinion is split: some find the visuals convincingly handmade, others see common AI tells, and many feel the dispute is about trust and labelling rather than the game itself. Content preferences (romance branches and the focus on sexual humor) also divide players, but that is a matter of taste.