Ren'Py - A Home in the Desert [v0.5 Fix 1] [Misarmor]

(Reviewed Ver 0.5)
For a person that likes futa, even from this biased point of view , i think the game leaves a lot to be desired. The game leads you to believe that plenty of horny stuff will ensue following the intro, with the main lead being a perma-horny futa, AND there being a horniness gauge to begin with. But in reality the game still follows the average renpy VN-pretending-to-be-a-sandbox type gameplay loop.

The "management" aspect simply boils down to just bills, and i cant imagine someone NOT inputting the money cheat to circumvent this mechanic since its that easy to do so. The "sandbox" aspect is where the game is SUPPOSED to shine and frankly it has so much potential, but none realized at the current time of review.

Simply put, other games have done the "lewd incest cohabitation" genre better. And its kind of disappointing how little the protagonist's perversion matters, theres only a few ways she pervs on her family, and they all sorta tie in to the main story, with barely any replayibility when id argue in a good sandbox, replaying these scenes is the fun of it.

Whats there is fine to a degree, but id really like it if the main lead's interactions with her family get more perverted and raunchy the more time goes on. Her jerking off behind the family's back, peeking on them on the bath, sneaking a grope or a butt rub here and there, just anything to keep the boner up in the main sandbox phase. Hell more interactions with the HORNINESS meter, the meter thats supposed to get our main lead into these lewd scenarios would be awesome.

My main complaints could be boiled down to "hurr not enough porn in my porn game" and that is kinda true. But id argue that the systems that tie the porn TO the game are underutilized, and the game just falls on the same tired renpy fake sandbox mechanics, instead of feeling like an ACTUAL sandbox.

The game is a work in progress, yes. Maybe in a year or so this game would add these interactions and have the same kind of lewd charm that very few of the games in this website have. In its current state though, its worthy a download only if you are into the main lead.

Actually, one of the better RPYs here, and I played a lot of them.

Render's are decent. Activities and progress require you to be at a specific time and place - household management gives something extra that most rpys don't have (by that I mean, you hold Ctrl while you skip the visual novel to the sex stuff). Build up is great, there is some relationship growing - it's not instant submission nor domination.

Story creates a nice container for trying out different scenes with different characters - while still keeping the innocence and pretension of "forbidden fruit". Sidequest/sidejob is excellent.

Kink-wise, it's as the tags say and they are done decently, futas look good, as do females (if you like the more "perfect/dollish" style). I would like to see hair fetish (armpits, belly button to pussy, slightly/more hairy balls/penis - make it adjustable maybe) and sweat/drip.

Quick review, for a slow game.

Looks good, but to even get any content you need to trawl through a tedious slow grinding system. That system BTW is called SANDBOX, when you add management of this kind to it, you going back in time not forward.

Why some developers cling to this slow and frankly unpopular mechanism/play style escapes me, and not because I don't understand the flexibility of sandbox, I just hate the tediousness and strict conditionals that need to be satisfied to progress, to see more content. You also drip feed that content to the player, you will end up alienating them as is in this case.

In theory, it is a good game but the amount of tedious useless shit I need to do just to progress the story just ain't it. I've played management games before and I don't mind them if they get right to the point but this, is SLOW. I agree with the other people rating this game low. I would love to rate this game higher if the story was far more faster

Honestly, it's a very pleasant discovery!
There's a lot of humor, and you feel like the story is only just beginning, which suggests many possibilities for expanding on what has already been accomplished and what will be done. Indeed, there are some errors or inconsistencies (showers for two, but when you click on the bathroom, it says that only one person is in it) or flaws (you can't go join someone in the bathroom, for example... or attempt a gesture of rapprochement with an LI even if you do your best to improve the relationships (statistics to be introduced?)
The idea of improving the house and its comfort is brilliant and would allow for many easy enrichments, just like the cooking and recipes and the trips to the shops (food, clothes, etc.). In short, on this subject, it's truly a total success.
The ergonomics are very well done, well executed, the characters are successful, the heroine is formidable, the stories and missions are varied and beautiful! The feelings are there and the humor... I love it, I totally adhere to this spirit and this positive and beautiful atmosphere!
This will nevertheless raise high expectations for the future, so much this project is and could be Rich.
The problem with sandboxes is that they have to be successful (this is the case here), affordable (this is the case here), and offer a lot of content to compensate for the impression of slowness it creates (hence some games relying on excessive grinding to compensate). In this game, we're pleased to see that the story is there, the possibilities offered by the development of the house, the job, the missions... everything is already well established and realized.
I say BRAVO to the developer and invite them to push this much further by adding a few more adult scenes because we're a bit lacking in that area. Above all, don't give up on this game halfway through; it deserves to be exploited to the size of your MC's... ^^

Congratulations again, because once you start playing it, you'll go all out! I'm giving it a solid 4 because at this stage of development, you can't give a perfect score!

I've been following the game since v0.2, and I have to say the game in it's current state is VASTLY improved from then. A lot of the criticisms of the game and it's sub 3.0 rating were absolutely deserved, but as of v0.5 the game is moving forward and finally on the right track. There are still a few UI adjustments that need made, for sure, but nearly all the pre-v0.4 complaints and criticisms you see here have been addressed if not resolved.

As of v0.5:

• You have multiple sex scenes with 2 of the 6 named female characters
• The grind has been improved and now serves as pacing rather than pain
• Navigation has been improved, along with the "motion tracker" system to speed up finding where you need to be
• There are indications that, while this game is a sandbox, it is being done correctly with repeatable sex scenes with characters in a small and fully populated word rather than a giant empty one.

All told, this game still has room to improve before it's a 5 star game for me, but the dev is putting in the effort to fix it now rather than later.

It's a nice story, but the pacing and the gameplay, it drags so much out of it. Every update i try to play but i dont even get past the first 30 mins. Nice graphics, the milf is the best part about it

I'm personally a fan of management style games, even better with Futa! Not sure why this has a low score. Models are good, I especially like Emily with the goth style. Maybe the only thing is faster content release?

Aside from the very cute futa main protagonist and really nice renders, there ins't much to say. It's a management game that could be great, but it failed because the dev mixed with the management, slow burn (blue balls system), and sandbox.

A Home in the Desert [v0.4.5]]
You play as a Futa MC navigating the responsibilities of adulthood while living with a hot wincest family in the middle of nowhere, with a boner meter.

Gameplay and Mechanics
Game is a grindfest, work for a day to make enough to shop and cook for a day and manage the fucking heating of the house. Is this my life simulator? I want a porn game lmao.
Mechanics like cooking and recipes are just unnecessary and too much micromanagement that detracts from the fun.

Story
Good fundamentals for a potentially great story but its taking too long to develop when you have to balance this story with the other aspects of the game. There are good side branches too but wastes too much time with no reward.

Characters
All models are hot af, I personally don't like Eve that much, but that's personal preference, but the unique personalities don't really collide well, why are the other 2 sisters fucking already? Where is the corruption? Needs to blackmail the slut mom for the beginning.

Graphics and Sound
Visually, this game is stunning. The renders are top-notch, and every character looks deliciously tempting.
The soundtrack is decent too—ambient piano and soft rock set a nice vibe.

Replay Value
Not there, story is too linear, not even branched dialogues. Unless you like to skip days and grind making money, its not for you.

Personal Opinion
I want this game to succeed because it has everything I love—futa babes, taboo relationships, hot and steamy family dynamics. But it needs more content and less grind to deliver on its promise.
The dev seems ambitious (which is great), but they’re spending too much time on mechanics instead of giving us what we really want.

Pros:

• Amazing Models all babes are hot af.
• Futa MC, very rare in VNs
• Loved the "Motion Sensor" to know where everyone is, saved a lot of time.

Cons:

• Too Grindy, seriously, cut it down
• Next to no sex
• days are repetitive, need filler events to spice things up.
• Story feels slow and linear

Potential Additions:

• Can go wild with kinks and taboos, use the basement, tie your slut milf, breed and milk her ass...ETC
• Side quests that unlock new scenarios or characters

I finished what was already completed in its progression.

The story sets a solid foundation for the main character to achieve a better life for herself and family.

The 3D renders are exceptional, the ability to interact and be placed into the drivers seat makes it all the more worthy of pursuing the story. Thankfully it doesn't hold back from the taboo side of the spectrum.

I hope the developer continues to update this game for it to reach its fullest potential.

I was so excited to play this game. With a futa protag and a bunch of hot women around them, I was so hyped. But the gameplay killed this game and ruined any enjoyment I may have had. This game has promise, but I'm not trusting it do evolve into much.

Reviewing as of v0.4.5

Pros:

• The models are hot and well-made
• Story is alright. Tangible and somewhat easy to follow.

Cons:

• Gameplay is abhorrent
• Almost no NSFW content at all! It's been in production for about 2 years now!!!
• Extremely grindy and boring
• No need for all of these systems like cooking, shopping, etc. The dev is doing too much with nothing.

Conclusion:
Skip. Pass. Delete. Ignore. Sleep.

Just started playing this for a bit. I see quite some 1-star reviews, which I find a bit harsh. That you can give to utter crap, which this is not.

Soundtrack is nice/good. Nice selection of ambient, piano & soft rock. Together with the renders/visual gives a nice vibe IMO. It's nice how there's taken care of the morning, day/afternoon & evening setting/vibe.

Only got 1 lewd scene until now which had pretty decent sfx, so that's nice as well.

The free roam mechanics are quite elaborate. Some nice aspects to it, and some ('sandbox' game common I suppose) somewhat tedious (e.g. checking schedules/times). I'll have some suggestions for the dev. There are some issues like the map that doesn't seem to work 100% (red areas but nothing going on).

Will extend & refine review when I played a bit more & give a more grounded rating. For now giving 4 stars based on what I've seen so far & the potential.

The game looks good, no lie. But it's empty inside—no content, nothing to keep you hooked. There are features listed in the "quest" menu as "coming soon," but if you haven't added them, why put them there? Right now, the only thing this game really needs is tons of content. Since Feb 1, 2023, there’s been no real progress.

>really poor story and poor story execution
>gameplay wise it is SHIT
>at some point at the story, it jumps the out of nowhere and you can get lost (as long as I remember)
>mc is kinda derp
>3dcg is looks really looks cool and good at someparts but you can clearly see when the dev wanted to speed up things

I really want this one to succeed, I really do. But after 1 ½ years of development with almost no NSFW content and a very boring grind, I’m not very hopeful.

The story is alright, but nothing special. A family has financial troubles and has to move, and the main character has to pick up the slack. However, there are apparently some shady characters in the shadows, or something like that. You've heard it a hundred times already.

But let's be real, there's one and only one reason people play these kinds of games, and if the Dev doesn't deliver in that regard, the story could be a Shakespearean masterpiece and no one would care.

The character models look very pretty, in my opinion. Everyone except the aunt. I really don’t like her buzz cut. I like short hairstyles, but the prickly hair is really ugly. Other than that, everyone looks very attractive, which makes the lack of content even more frustrating.

I understand the appeal of a slow burn, but usually with a slow burn, the Dev makes up for it with some voyeurism or a throwaway horny side character to spice up the story.

So my suggestion to the dev would be to dedicate some time to creating more of these scenes. Right now, this really isn’t a game I could recommend to people because it just feels like a waste of time.

Almost everything in this game feels unnecessarily dragged out. The money grind, the need to go shopping and all the build up that leads to nowhere. The story is ridiculous and the characters make no sense.

Seems like one of those games where the dev is delaying the action as much as possible to milk out the patreons as the updates are slow and there is literally no content.

All that story and repeatable garbage storylines for next to no sexual content whatsoever... pointless and waste of time... The one scene was actually a dream scene... and there is no build up to actual sexual interactions between characters.

Too many unnecessary systems like shopping, cooking, etc. These systems take up development time that is wasted on non-essential features. If I play this kind of game, it’s not to go shopping.

It’s annoying how these games add useless, drawn-out features, with updates every 10 months where nothing interesting happens, only to be abandoned and never finished in the end.