Ren'Py - A House in the Rift [v0.7.14b1] [Zanith]

I've spent a few hours with this game, and think its FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC.

Well written and differentiated characters in an incredibly fun and unique plot. My sincerest kudos to the author/creator.

The art is top notch, just enough cartoon-y-ness to give it a fantasy vibe, but enough propriety to keep it near-real.

A few more easter-egg type things would fit perfectly, like finding a dildo in the fridge or something equally ridiculous... but to imply the story is lacking is not what is deserved. The story is concise, well told, and propels you forward at a reasonably proper pace.

Ok, I'm going to shut up now and stop gushing, but this one deserves your time and, should you be so inclined, money.

PROS:

+Incredible characters and design. There are only 4 girls in the game (so far), and each and every one of them are beautifully designed. Their over-all look and character are unique.
+Good storytelling. The premise is interesting and the story is easy to follow despite being confusing at first.
+Great soundtrack. The music and soundtrack in the game aren't the right at your face kind; Just the perfect background noise for your leisure.
+Adult scenes are phenomenal! The animations in this game is soooo goooooood. The devs actually put in good effort and made the animations themselves and not just used the typical generic animations from Honey Select. They also made sure to add different kinks and acts for different kinds of connoisseurs to enjoy.
+Gameplay is amazing. The game is a sandbox. Do what you want, and do it whenever you want. And by all means don't be afraid to just jump in and do whatever you want, cause there's an in-game guide for you!
+User interface is spot-on. Often times in games like this. The developers usually make the UI confusing and complicated, and generally a HUGE pile of mess. This game's UI however, is spot-on. The buttons aren't disturbing, the map isn't confusing, the screen isn't a clutter, and the in-game guide is really helpful. I personally love how, while you can manually navigate the map by clicking the rooms and doors, you could also instantly teleport to rooms using the map.
+If you're looking for a well-deserved awaited wank, after investing time in story/characters playing, this game is for you

CONS:

-Like mentioned above, the introduction of the game was off-putting. I was confused on what was happening and what was my goal. On-top of the confusing story introduction, there were also no introduction for the mechanics of the game. "What happened? Where did i go? What's next? I have an attic? Who's this girl in my attic? You're a what? Why did it suddenly said Intimacy+?? What this Lewdness+?!? HUH?!?!?" And so on, and so forth. I only got the grasp of what's happening, both story wise and game mechanic wise, when the 2nd girl came in.
-If you're looking for a quick wank, this game isn't for you

Despite the issues i had, this game quickly grew on me and climbed its way at my top 10 list. Although confusing at the beginning, the premise is interesting enough to keep me playing, the graphics are GOLD, and the gameplay and player-friendliness of it is just the cherry on top. Such an amazing game.

10/10 Would drink rum again with Naomi.

This game is a real rarity in the genre.

First off the visuals are definitely the strongest point:
Animations flow really nicely, and their composition is exceptional.
Also face expressions are fantastic during animations.

The dev clearly has an artistic background and also possibly a veteran of 'Honey Select' engine because they are able to bring out the best in it while cleverly obscuring the bad - which is no easy task, because normally HS models, especially the males, look like horrid clones. The solution? MC's face is cleverly hidden, and the focus is on the ladies.

Writing almost equally great - MC is well written, and is easy to 'RP\immerse yourself as' thanks to the dialogue choices you're presented with. You're also not forced into anything sexual you don't want, although you do miss out on content by not doing certain activities (perving on your roommates showering being one of them).

Conversations in general feel believable within the context of the story.

Two characters are a real standout: the succubus and the pirate, both are interesting, personable, well-developed. Less so with the magician and the elf, who feel cliche and one-dimensional - hopefully getting to know them better will make them feel more unique.

The general premise is fresh, and there are genuine moments of drama when the game explores themes like being stranded, helplessness, longing - but also camaraderie and romance. It strikes a nice balance and I hope the dev leans into these further.

The mechanics - not much to speak of, there's very minimal time/resource/stats management that feels superficial but also doesn't really detract from the experience. Looks like in earlier builds this was more of a "thing" but later versions seem to put almost no emphasis on it. Which is fine.

The best part of the game is (IMO) the characters. They are likable, have a (mostly?) consistent personality and differ from each other (as opposed to being copy-paste with just slight variations).
The models of the characters look great and scenes are animated fluidly.
Gameplay-wise the game has no grind to speak of, you can switch between animations during most scenes and the game has a menu that gives you tips on what to do next.
The player character is also ok and the game's writing is mostly lighthearted without being silly. The story can also be a little bit more serious at times.
You also don't have to grind for most (all?) of the sex scenes and only some of them are depending on RNG (Like character location. They frequently switch between locations and most locations are depending on the time of the day so there's not much 'waiting without doing anything').

This is an excellent game!

+Excellent characters
+Top teir animations, some of the best on this site!
+Love the story! Although I forget some of the sci-fi/fantasy lore if I wait too long to play between update but that's my bad.
+Nice and fast regular updates.

Keep up the great work!

-The Game has actual plot, with you visiting different realities and each one being it's own little fantasy world

-Since it's using honey select, the game looks good and is well animated

-The characters are actually good and not just walking clichés like in most games, though it does start a bit like that in the beginning but it gets better, so developing the characters even more than what guys already have would be beneficial

-The game doesn't cuck or transform you into a sissy like so many games on this website, let's hope it stays that way

-Perhaps add a couple more fantasy characters like an elf, an orc girl, etc...

-I Don't know if you guys have it already planned but maybe add a games room with snooker, poker and arcades because it could lead to some interesting interactions with the girls as well as more things you could do around the house

You guys are doing well, keep it up

I went into this game, only to see where the "Rift" thing was going. But this game offers so much more.
I really found a lot of the dialogue options to be absolutely hilarious, and I love that they're an option.

This games story is very original, and I like the difference between the girls.
I personally encountered no bugs. Only a single typo.
There is a good amount of content in the game by now, so definitely worth checking out.

Only thing I disliked was the amount of clicking required to go around the house, but I heard the newest update has a map, so I guess thats fixed.

I also loved all the cross interaction between the characters in the story.
In some games the women barely interact with each other, as if they don't live under the same roof.

I came for sexy animations and I stayed for a very well written story and interesting characters so far. Which is very rare in the genre. I have no idea how you managed this but please keep going.

Besides the animation, the art style is certainly unique, unlike the heaps of almost identical and passionless character models. I am honestly looking forward to know where this whole thing goes, and I will be watching this work very closely.

I actually have not finished 3.7 at the point I'm writing this review. Mostly because I die a little inside every time I see the "You have reached the end of this content of this current version".

Storytelling and premises: 4.5/5
First of all, the story for the game is, for better or worst, ambitious. The author has amazing ideas and concepts he wants to put in the story, which he does a pretty good job of, though at times, quite forcefully.

Let's face it, there's a good portion of players who is just here for the sex scenes, the hot dialogue that makes everyone hot and bothered. And sometimes players like that can't be bothered to focus on the many concepts and unfamiliar terms that the story tries to introduce. Me included of course. But over time I found myself more and more drawn into the story, and slowly but surely beginning to really understand what was going on.

In a way, that's a pretty amazing method to tell this story in particular. We start as a human who have no solid idea of magic, rifts, dreamwalking and stuff like that, thrown into a completely unfamilar situation. So the psyche of us as players and that of the main character are exactly the same. If the author meant it, he's probably a genius.

Though things that I maybe would change is that, too much information and words are thrown right at the start of the game, and not really properly explained to a layman, who has no prior grasp of such concepts. So it ends up pretty overwhelming at first. Maybe add a few examples or analogy to make it easier to understand.

TLDR: Slightly hard to understand everything the story throws at you at first, but definitely rewarding and I think many people will eventually like it, even people who just wants a quick fap.

Graphics: 5/5

IMPRESSIVE, is the word that comes to mind. It's not perfect, but CG and renders rarely are tbh. The characters looks amazing, the renders looks almost HD, if that's a thing. The sex scenes are absolutely stunning, and sexy af.

Gameplay: 5/5

Clear and user friendly interface, somewhat linear storyline so you don't miss things, easy to understand hints and paths. I'm personally a walkthrough nerd, where I sometimes decide to play or not to play a game based on whether there's a walkthrough and how comeplete it is. Because I'm a bit of a perfectionist and always want to see all scenes and get the best route. To my current knowledge, there's no "major fork in the roads" that I hate and players can eventually do everything given enough time.

Characters: 4.5/5

Very well designed characters. They have pretty much distinct personalities, speech patterns, body shapes. Speaking of which, are believable, they all look natural and are hot in their own way.

Rae beats the overused stereotype of succubus being giant tittied milfs or flat lolis. Pretty much one of the sexiest characters amongst the games I've played, being slender as well as thicc at the same time. (sounds weird, but you'll see)

I don't have a fetish for muscular and tall ladies, but even so, I still like the character design of Naomi. It's not overexaggerated and she looks good overall. So if being dominated by muscular girls are your thing, you're in for a treat.

Caitlyn is pretty new to me as well, but she has a clear identity and personality, to fit her niche in the story. She's your girl if you like impressionable young thing that's curious and apprehensive about sex.

Main complaint at this stage would only be that there's only 3 characters, or maybe 4, based on the twitter page.

Conclusion:
That's pretty much my review of the game. All in all, I really enjoyed this game. Many people over alot of different platforms recommend HH and MM as some of the best games out there, but personally, I feel that this takes the cake. Of course, in terms of content and the amount of content. MM and HH will still be up there. But I think this 1 certainly has the potential to overtake them eventually.

This is still my 1st version played, so I have no idea how fast the updates are the how much content each update gives. But this is a highly recommended game for me.

To author(if he or she even reads this):
I'm going through a tough patch financially, so sadly, I'm unable to support you, even though I know how important it is to this community. But I promise, when things get better, I'll definitely become a patreon.

Also, I think you should review the 1st 3 days of the story. We players, like the MC, was thrown into the story with pretty much no idea of the situation so maybe our decision making wasn't the best. The fact that Rae was desperate to get out of the house and willing to do everything was... sad. It really brings out what she probably goes through in her everyday life and how she has been living

After the whole situation becomes clearer, I felt like a jerk for taking advantage of her during the 1st 3 days, especially since she was willing to do everything before, and she suddenly reject your advances after the story really begins.

Maybe I'm just thinking too much, because she is a succubus after all, but it just kind of bothers me.

One of the best-written game in this site. Very enjoyable experience.
Lines: 9/10
Character Development: 9/10
Story: 8.5/10
Model Design: 8/10
Scene Design: 9/10
Graphics Quality: 7.5/10
Animation Quality: 8/10
Gameplay Design: 8.5/10
Music: 7/10
Overall Rating: 8.5/10 comparing quality of the work done to expected best quality, +1 bonus due to the ambition of this project.
Final Rating: 9.5/10

Besides excellent writings, there are actually very elaborately designed branchings in this game. Your different attitude towards Rae can result in different outcomes - and elegantly different, not...bluntly different. Even if it does not seem to affect so-called "endings" (at this point of the game development), it makes the virtual game world a lot more realistic and enjoyable.
Elegantly designed gameplay, well-written lines, rich background story with up-to-par visual and audio experience, this is what I call an ambitious project. There are games I gave 5 stars that might have better writing or better visual experience, but having more dimensions of beautiful design than this? Very rare.

This game has a few thing going for it:

• The cast is varied both in physique as well as character, and all of them are charming. The only minor complaint is Naomi face which is a bit to childlike in my opinion.
• The renders are well made and I like the look of the environment and enjoy the Honey Select models
• Gives a few tidbits of interesting world building, though the story has yet to take shape

What I personally most enjoyed is the femdom content with Naomi, who is clearly into dominating you, but not overly cruel. No chains or beatings or any bitchy attitude, just a gal telling you what she wants you to do and being powerful and self assured.

Great story so far, written by what appears to be a native english speaker which is a plus, all the scenes seem to be really well done so far and the creator takes an active role in discussing with the community and taking their feedback into consideration. If you like harem hotel or mythic manor you should definitely give this game a try

This pretty quickly has become one of my favorites. Really smooth scenes, lots to do and have fun with in the house, solid characters, and a fun premise.

Really excited to see where this project goes.

I want to give this game a 1/5.
I've been spoiled by WVM from Braindrop, this game "a House in the rift" as many other lack some intimacy ironicaly, too few kisses and little attention torwards the girl you're aiming for unlike in WVM.
There was a nice moment after an event with rae i'll give you points for that but please, more.

That being said! the game is great hence the 5/5, the story is not original but well executed not forced and the devellopement so far is going at a decent pace and is really a story compared to some other games where you progress just to unlock new sex actions.

The characters are tropes, sexy demon, muscle girl, bookworm but even if they are based on this it's not their whole personality.
They are lovable they have much more to give than just sexy time this is why i started this review with an outrage about lack of intimacy, the game has intimacy points and you want to devellop them you want to spend time with the girl you choose because they are well built and someone you really care about.

Still this is a "porn" game you will find some great action, the animations are great and varied.

Conclusion: this game is great so far, looks to be a futur classic and i can't wait for more.

Excellent story, plot and characters design.
It's one of the best games in this site, even though there's no much content yet
The characters are well fleshed, the graphic are good and animated.
The MC's story, power, and dialogues are realistic and well thought.
Really a good job by the developer, I'm eager to see what he can do in the future

Great game, the characters, and the writing are very good and even if I didn't quite liked the looks some of the characters the writing made up for it. The plot is pretty interesting with some unique approach to the typical fantasy vn and the character interactions and personal story progression are very fun and for me, the most enjoyable part of this game and the grinding to proceed with the story is almost non-existent which is very refreshing for this type of game. The renders and animations are very well done with some great scenes. Overall I greatly enjoyed the game and consider this one of the best fantasy vn on this site and hope to see more surreal and unique settings in the future.

So, first of all, the game is great.
Now I could actually finish my review, because I can't find anything negative. BUT I still go into some detail without spoiling anything.

The first thing I noticed was that both the interface and the menu are very intuitive. There are also in-game hints for every single character, which actually helps you a lot, even though it's usually self-explanatory what to do next. Since the environment within the game doesn't need a map,
there are no 50 different places to trigger anything anyway.
The game is expanding though, so you're not "trapped" in the small environment. And let me say at this point: The concept of that is really clever.

Characters:
There's only one thing to say about the Waifus: Gorgeous.
Sure, that's always in the eye of the beholder, of course, but I like them very much. The characters are very different from each other. Another point the game benefits from, because when you look at the situation the characters are in, you get the most hilarious situations. Which is great.
And the MC is also well written. In dialogues there are always about three possible answers available, which influence the point system. While playing I had the feeling that the answers you can give are divided into three types. Good/ friendly, Neutral and Dominant/aggressive.
I assume that this will probably have a strong influence on the individual routes in the further course of the game.

Story:
The story is actually quite interesting. In any case, nothing I have ever seen anywhere else before. Although I have to say, when I first read the description, I didn't have that much hope. But let me tell you, don't let the description fool you. The story is much more interesting and innovative than it seems at first.What I especially like about it is how crazy it is, but still believable. Not believable in the sense of: "Sure, happens to me every day". But as a fantasy story it is well thought out. Until now, at least.
But I have a feeling as if the quality would remain consistently high.
I assume that Zanith wrote the characters and the story himself. He sure has talent. And a wonderful sense of humour.

Animations:
So without exaggerating, I've played a lot of VN's developed with HS.
And the animations in these games are, to say the least, not the best.
I would even go so far as to say that the animations in HS VN's are partly so badly done (probably due to the possibilities you have with Studio Neo)
that I can definitely understand why many say "That's not for me".
But Holy Fu*k. The animations in this game are incredibly well done for a game developed with HS. I really haven't seen anything like it. I mean, for me personally, the animations aren't SO important that I wouldn't play the game if I liked the rest. But damn... Zanith sure knows what he's doin there.

Finally, I can say I really had a lot of fun playing.
And I'm not talking about Fapping. Well, not entirely, anyway.
However, I can only recommend this game.
For me, it's a solid 10/10.
Cheers.

I think we found a hidden gem here... I believe that A House In The Rift has great potential and now for the PROS and CONS :
PROS: All heroines are so lovable and unique in their own ways there s no way you can hate any of them ^^ (Well i gotta add that i love Rae most though~) The story is great and it ll get even better because its just v0. 3.6 at the moment. And of course the animations.. I hope we can see more of them in the future builds they made the experience better in every aspect. I count the fighting training with Rae as a mini-game and i liked it (well not as much as i liked the reward afterwards lol) so it s definitely a PRO for me.Last but not least it s being a mobile game is a PRO for me too.
CONS: Well honestly the music. I expect a better soundtrack from here and i think the dev ll make it happen too... And well we need MORE content but gotta be patient~
EDIT: This is becoming one of the best games in here props to dev

Review of ver0.3.6
Wow what an easy, clean 5 I get to give today! I'm so glad my habit of reading the reviews before deciding on downloading a game finally paid off big time!
From my first impression of this game I would have guessed that it would be a bit too cartoony for my taste, but boy was I wrong. This is right up my alley.

There are a few devs out there with actual writing skills and imagination enough to create fun interesting and sexy characters and Zanith is most definitely one of them. I also love it when I get to play a cocky-funny MC. Really well done on the writing!

The animations and sex scenes are also easy 5/5. The shower scenes are really steaming hot, wink wink.

With many other games there is a certain effort that goes into starting a new day, looking through rooms to see if there are any new interactions and then trying to figure out where to go and what to do. Not so with this game, every time a new day starts I'm genuinely feeling like an explorer, looking forward to finding out what comes next.

If I were to complain about anything it would be that there's only a few hours of content yet. I want moar! Also I guess the story has stayed clear of darker themes, I wouldn't mind seeing some (slightly) heavier stuff. Gimme some anger, violence and revenge sprinkled in and this could be a top tier masterpiece!

[rev @ v.0.3.6 Public]
[Edit @ v0.4.3 Public]: Bumped to 5. I fuckin love the characters. Game's now among the top of the list I look forward to updating.

Much better than the summary blurb led me to believe.

Art's nice, presentation has a good amount of effort.

Writing is much more enjoyable than I thought it would be. Characters are strong and enjoyable.

Porn's enjoyable; a tad vanilla at the moment but in the 'project is still in early development' way rather than the 'I have no clue how sex works' way.

TLDR: It's nice being blindsided by a game being much higher quality than expected.