VN - Ren'Py - Eternum [v0.8.6 Public] [Caribdis]

Eternum was honestly rather daunting to try, despite being always on my radar as one of the consistently highest rated VNs. The screenshots showed oddball characters (like a red head with an eyepatch, huh?) and the many different complicated settings (cyberpunk = heavy lore, right?) combined with the hefty download size all pointed at an imposing read.

I couldn't be more wrong. The VN is immediately relatable and funny in the first ten seconds with Chang (plus incredibly adorable with Annie). Letting the MC settle in before hopping into the video game world was a brilliant decision that grounded the story. Even the way you earn access to the game was very rewarding and showed how complex and nuanced the VN was going to be.

GAMEPLAY: 3.5/5 ⭐⭐⭐
At the end of the day, this is a Ren'Py Visual Novel, so gameplay was never going to be this game's strong suit. It's fine, but a huge reason why I typically only play one VN a year, as I prefer smutty emergent gameplay like getting raped in a dungeon crawl. That said, the choices occasionally made me sweat bullets (such as East Timor) and some are compelling enough I always immediately rewind to see both branches.

GRAPHICS: 4/5 to 5/5 (Gets better later) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
It seems the game got a ton of funding and really stepped up the graphics quality in the later half, not that the first half was bad. At the start of the game it's mostly side boob shots paired with a typical generic MC. The second half ramps into well animated sex scenes with a chiseled chad gym bro MC sporting an 8-pack of abs. Also, do yourself a favor and check out the fan art threads for this game. The graphics and character design are amazing enough to spawn quality community art.

AUDIO: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Huge shout out to the music that appears in the second half of the game. The tracks look like they're made just for the game and are honestly fantastic additions to IRL sexy time playlists.

PORN: 4.5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
There's a solid stream of sex scenes, though some can be easily missed if you make a wrong decision. That said, the scenes are only vanilla to slightly spicy, which loses points for me. But there is hope of them progressing farther on the current trajectory (for example, there's hinting of bondage right now). Other top VN games like Pale Carnations or Accidental Mind deliver better porn, but the quality and spiciness keeps getting better with Eternum.

Porn and harem believability also skyrockets if you focus on a small detail dropped at the start of the story: 65% of the Eternum population signed up just to bang on sex servers. This explains why people want to casually hook up online (very realistic) and also partially explains why everyone is kinda incompetent except the main crew of characters. I think the author should lean into this even more, it's a win-win for boosting believability but also setting a lewd tone for everything. I also just love stories where people are banging everywhere.

STORY: 6/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Unfortunately, the overall grand plot is a poor generic "collect the magic items" from a run-of-the-mill Anime or Ready Player One/Isekai style story. The main plot moves at a glacial pace, is overly cryptic (I'm not sure the writer even knew the full plot when the cryptic messages started), and isn't particularly rewarding to unravel.

Fortunately, the vast bulk of the game's story is instead the mini-adventures of Chang's 9 (from space station horror to casino heist). These are all excellent and I find myself always wanting more of these, sometimes even getting annoyed when a sex scene interrupts them since I want to keep reading about the group's hijinks.

The final piece of the puzzle is character development slice-of-life in the real world, where some character's backstories are genuinely moving and other's personalities ridiculously endearing to read. Amazingly good stuff.

OVERALL: 4.5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Deserves its #1 spot but could be a little bit better for me on gameplay and kinkiness.

___

CHARACTER REVIEWS (Spoilers)

Eternum definitely has the highest production quality I've seen on this site, with stunning visuals supplemented by handcrafted animations and props, but if, like me, you're mainly here for the story, there's a lot to be desired in later writing. Not to spoil, but a certain character is revealed to have a completely unprecedented and straight up illogical power level that completely breaks the world building of Eternum in every way. This is about the point where I realized that most of the girls around MC just happen to be some of the best Eternum players. Even if you place world building above all else, this vn is still worth playing, but continue on with very low expectations.

This isn't to say Eternum has a bad story, it's just not grounded in any realism.

Best. Game. Ever.

Plot is intriguing and well developed. Character are rounded up, lively and different (even visually, not same-looking-dolls-with-different-hair). H scenes are well spaced, significant in plot developement and reflecting the individual characters involved. Graphics is gorgeous, animations included. Humour is good...

I'm just out of words. Can't wait for 9.0.

Standing ovation, this is an exaple of what NSFW VN can be if written seriously, with care and skill instead of "it's porn, who needs plot?"

That's the point. This is not porn with writing, is writing with porn. It would be good even without porn.

Hats off to the authors.

As a rule I don't enjoy VNs - sandbox-style games are more my thing.

Eternum is an exception to this.

Many adult games/VNs tend to suffer from "porn video plot", where the plot is thin and largely exists just to string one sex scene to another. The story for Eternum is a triple threat - well written, compelling and humorous. I'm as invested in most of the side characters (Chang & Micaleh, Mr Hernandez & Chop-Chop) as I am in the central characters.

Graphically, the character renders are excellent and seem to be unique (although I did see the Sunshot hand cannon from Destiny in there). I think my only criticism is that while some of the backgrounds/scenery are extremely detailed, some feel a little underdone (the Wild West zone as an example).

Ultimately, if you don't have Eternum you're missing out. What are you waiting for? The Gems of Doom aren't going to find themselves.

Absolutely phenominal. Cant say i've ever played a better AVN and I cant wait for more! I spent the last 4 days playing almost non-stop.. I just couldnt stop myself, the story is so compelling, the reltionships are written so well and the women are out of this world. Theres so muth depth and charater building, funny moments that actually made me laugh out loud, sad and heartwarming moments that pull at the heartstrings. I really got more than I bargained for and would highly recommend you give it a try if you havent already! I'm now gonna grab the music mod and the FPS mod to enhance my next playthrough A massive thank you to Caridbis and all of the supporters for making this incredible story!

Hooooly Moly, I'm so glad I downloaded this!

1. Great main story which isn't compromised for the faps.
2. Brilliant writing! Good amount of (importantly: also good) humour mixed in, progression doesn't feel forced, MC is neither Alpha-esque or complete pussy.
3. Characters. They are their own separate people with different views, motivations and personalities. They actually have believable character/personality/corruption progression but without losing their core traits, which is unbelievably rare in today's saturated AVN market. Seriously the writing in this is top notch; the only comparison I can make in my own experience is to Love & Magic (which has less character progression, but the characters do have their own individual humour and consistent personalities).
4. The animations! They're beautiful! Even more importantly, they're not just a 2-second loop that only focuses on the ins-and-outs; there is an amazing amount of attention on movement away from the action, and the loops are something like 15-40 second SEAMLESS looping!

As someone whose fetishes can be....controversial (my fetishes are taboo to "regular society" not necessarily because they are inherently "bad", but purely because what turns me on is the fact that it's outside the current norms. If I had been born 150 years ago, I'd probably have an ankle fetish, for example.)... the background and leadup (and I don't mean just the physical foreplay) make a huge difference to me - and whomever was responsible for the writing here is a master of his/her craft.

This is now one of my all-time favourite AVNs, and I haven't stopped playing since I first opened it!

I'll definitely be keeping a closer eye on this dev from now on!

For context, I don't usually play virtual novels.

100% recommend everyone who hasn't yet, to try it.

The plot is very engaging, in general this VN is very fun and diverse, including adventure, mystery, comedy, horror, romance and erotics - all in good proportions. The amount of content this game has is great, everything about this game makes me want to come back another day and keep the story going.
Story choices have though put behind them and make sense, this isn't just some slop just to get off to.

Characters are also well written and diverse, all with their own quirks and personalities, truly makes the game feel more lively and full.

Cg is excellent. The quality, angles, everything is truly amazing.

Although the romance and sex scene writing is very male oriented and at times /silly/, in general it's very well done, especially for an adult game.

In conclusion - absolutely amazing experience from a very good game.

Honestly, this peak fiction has the plot of the best sci-fi power fantasy.
Even without the amazing lewds, boobs and crotch tubes, It's still an entertaining ride through and through

That just shows how you don't just have skills in Intimacy Co-ordination
But you are an amazing writer. Characters get their time to shine, so often that it doesn't leave anyone behind. There's no moment where you are wondering what another character is doing. Because you've had quite an amount of time, equally with all of them.

The nuance of character archetypes is something I love. Nova is a nerd but not too much. Alex is a Tomboy but not too much. But as well they go beyond their characters. Luna is an emo but also has a Mexican background which is awesome. It's all so, "Yep that's who this character is" at their core but it's intricate character writing makes them so much more interesting than their base archetypes. I love the writing so much

Also the cg work, the different creative decisions are amazing. I won't say much to avoid spoilers. But you use such simple changes and angles and just general knowledge of editing that whenever something like that comes up, it's like DAMN THAT'S COOL!

The only thing I have to say is that I'm hyped for more. And that more funnily enough is more for the plot than the lewds. Lewds are just the cherry on top of this indulgent adventure.

Eternum is prob the best +18 VN I’ve played. The mix of humor, action, and spice is just perfect. Characters feel real, worlds are super creative, and the writing keeps you hooked all the way. Not just scenes slapped together there’s actually a plot worth following.

Story [5/5]
Every character feels important, even the side ones.

Gameplay [4.5/5]
It’s still mainly a visual novel style, so don’t expect full “gameplay” like an RPG, but the little choices and animations make it feel alive.

Final thoughts:
Updates take a bit but they’re worth it every time. Caribdis really knows how to make you care about both the story and the fun stuff.

I loved everything about the game. The characters were well written. The story was top notch, I had trouble pulling away from it when I began playing. There could be more interactive aspects to it to make it more engaging. I often times felt myself laughing out loud at either the cheesiness of the situation or the absurdity, but in a good way. I would consider this probably one of my top 5 favourite AVNs.

I started Eternum thinking it’d just be another “click through, skip to the spicy parts” kinda game… but nah, I got completely sucked in. I’ve been playing it nonstop, and honestly? It might be the best game I’ve played in ages, maybe ever. I’ve never been this hooked on a visual novel before. One second I’m just poking around, the next I’m six hours deep, emotionally invested in a bunch of fictional people.

The setup’s already cool, you move to a new city where everyone’s obsessed with a VR game called Eternum. But it’s not your average VR; it’s full-on “feels like real life” neural implant stuff. Inside, there are servers for everything, fantasy kingdoms, cyberpunk cities, pirate ships, horror worlds, and more. At first it’s all fun and adventure, but pretty quickly you realize there’s a dark side: shady markets, data theft, dangerous mysteries… and you’re right in the middle of it.

What really makes it click is the characters and the writing. Every girl actually has a personality, and you get to know them long before anything NSFW happens. They feel real, and the more you play, the more you care. The plot’s also packed with mystery and suspense that keeps pulling you back in. The humor? Surprisingly great, self-aware without being cringe, able to land both dumb jokes and emotional gut punches. And the music? Way better than it has any right to be.

If you’re only here for constant sex scenes, you might think there’s “too much story,” but that’s exactly why the spicy parts hit harder, they feel earned. I came for the plot (…okay, half for the plot), but stayed for the wild server adventures, lovable cast, and twisty mystery.

On top of that, the visuals are gorgeous, the animations are smooth, and the level of detail shows serious effort. The big updates keep making it better, and every scene feels elevated by its soundtrack. Overall, it’s just an amazing experience start to finish, a must-play for anyone who loves great storytelling and memorable characters.

Amazing game and visual novel! Balanced, funny, interesting story, well-paced, incredibly hot LIs, and some real emotion in there too. Alex's story especially got to me with her scenes, both relentless fucking and some crushing lows.

Everyone should play this game.

For the most part it was just boring, there's nothing spicy about the scenarios, nothing taboo or exciting. The sci-fi setting is more akin to fantasy imo, not really establishing an immersive world-building.

nothing comes close to this game. playing other avns or going back to summer time saga feels drastic compared to the quality thats in this game. there was a point in time i legit stopped gooning and was paying attention to the lore if you could believe it. plot lines and paths are not convoluted to point where you have to do something so out of the blue to get things going. id recommend playing once in a life time before playing this game as it has multiple references to that game and probably does connect lore wise. good luck

One of the best games of this kind.
Wonderful characters, great pacing and mix of story and explicit scenes. Can't wait for more content, keep up the awesome work!
If I had one thing to criticize it would be the lacking variety of breast/areola types, but in that regard this game is already a huge improvement compared to Once in A Lifetime so I'm not complaining

i havent played many avn, but this is hands down the one that imersed me the most and the one i just wanna continue reading forever.

eternum biggest pro is its superior story compared to most other avn. it also have an amazing soundtrack that really makes you feel the scenes and what the charecters are feeling.

it has enough content to not blue ball you, but if you're just gonna skip the talk to see sex this is not a game for you. while writing this the game has hours of playtime if you take your time reading the story.

i recomend every avn enjoyer to at least give this a try

To be honest, at first I wasn't impressed by the game's visuals.
Now I'm on a heist mission and I can say the following:

- The BJ scene with Nova is awesome
- The dive into the Ancient Rome server was the worst part of the plot
- The plot is one of the best I've ever played
- Interesting mechanics that you won't see anywhere else

There are very few sex scenes, but the game is truly amazing, and its storyline and well-thought-out world draw you in. I will also say that at first, the game seemed a little more lustful than it did towards the middle of the storyline. The game starts to turn into a regular game with an interesting plot and minimal interactions and decisions from the MC.

But I'm already giving it a well-deserved 9/10 just for the plot and the two cool girls (Nova/Luna).

If you're expecting cool graphics and realism from the game, you're better off playing A Wife and Mother. But Eternium has some cool cutscenes in places, and you can't take that away from the game.

Not a fan of 3D, and especially not into Caribdis' art style — BUT the story is incredibly well written.
Every character is well crafted (in design and personality), and most scenes are solid, with a few standing out as truly god-tier ( ).
Overall: definitely one of the best games on this site, no doubt.

The art is amazing. The in depth backstory of each character is well written and thought out. The story line has me hooked and I am excited to see the endgame. Very much a game you can deeply dive into.

Other games have attempted to reach Eternum's level of quality and depth of content, none successfully. The perfect blend of humor and plot development, excellent rendering and animation. Renowned for a reason. Definitely use the Music Restoration Mod.