VN - Ren'Py - A Wife at Stake [v0.080] [eHellJay]

This one is an interesting one, with strong lights and also dark shadows. On the one hand, I find the story and characters interesting and compelling. It's a slow burn and it does devote a lot of time to the series and program and those things, so if you are looking for a quick one this is not for you. Choices seem to matter enough, even if I only played through once so can't say for sure. The writing is pretty decent as well, and I like the fact that you don't only choose what to do, but what kind of person the FMC is. Problem with it is that once the buildup is released, the game loses interest and, for my taste, becomes a bit too romantic. And I dislike the husband character, I can understand him so it's not that he's poorly designed or so, but meh.

On the technical aspects is where the game flops a little. Renders are decent, but I think there should be more of them for the different scenes. Animations and sex scenes are on the poorer side, short and quite basic. I took out the music so I can't comment on that, but there are a few sound effects, some are nice some annoying, and the fact that the voice in italian keeps playing when you've already moved on is a bit bothering, but it doesn't happen to often as most of the game lacks voices. I didn't run into any bugs myself, but I do think that lacking a gallery in a game like this is a mistake.

So, all in all it's an interesting game and I'm looking forward to see how it develops. I could very well see it going up to 4 stars.

Pros:

• I usually care about the husband just as much as the FMC in these types of games, but this husband deserves to get cucked. Personally, I don't give a damn about him. He has neither a good personality nor character, nor does he groom himself to look even slightly attractive! Why exactly should he deserve the lovely Laura!? He doesn't even make an effort in the marital sex department...
• On the other hand, Laura is talented, beautiful, young, and has an interesting personality. She deserves better than this husband
• The game's atmosphere has a fresh vibe, too; I haven't seen it in any other game
• It has an interesting and engaging story as well. I'm curious to see how far Laura climbs the ladder of her acting career
• It also has good potential for high-tension relationships, like between Laura and her husband's friends, and other dynamics
• It has performed well in the dialogue and writing department, too

Cons:

• But yes, I agree that if she resisted more, it would have been better, allowing more relationship and sexual tension to build up; that way, we would have fallen in love with her more. I think most people (not all) prefer "hard-to-get" girls over "easy" girls
  Yesterday I played this game for the first time up to the first sex scene between Laura and Vincenzo on the route with the least resistance Or rather, I didn't know there were routes where Laura resists more because I haven't finished the game yet
• Also, it would be better if Vincenzo didn't always have that arrogant facial expression; sometimes it gets on my nerves
• And there is a need to increase the sense of immersion. This developer's games have issues in this regard. Maybe it's due to a lack of attention to the backgrounds the characters are in? Maybe it's due to the low number of facial expressions? Maybe because most backgrounds are 2D? Or perhaps because every scene, whether sexual or non-sexual, is short, and this rapid change of location doesn't let the player get immersed in the event. Honestly, I don't know exactly, but one can't get lost in this experience; it has a strange feeling
  
  
• Overall, it's a well-made game. I definitely enjoyed it and will continue following it
• And if Patreon helps this game grow more, I hope the developer brings the game to Patreon

I am really disappointed.

The characters are likable and credible
The plot is interesting and captivating
The delivery time is reasonable
The art and designs are ok+.

So... What does it miss here?!?!?
All the ADULT part of the game.

The sex interactions are the classical checkbox exercise, few images, short and poorly represented sex scenes, no eroticism or whatsoever.
Clearly the dev is very good in telling the story but doesn't understand the sex/adult world.
In an adult game the plot serve as preparation for the sex scenes that need to be proper represented, long, detailed (e.g. LISA).

Here we are very far from the minimum standards of quality and it is a pity because the other aspects of the game are decently nailed.

Wow this avn is a masterpiece. By far one of thr best well written avn I've played. Lauras slow corruption is absolutely incredible.the pacing and storytelling is done very well. Animations and renders are great. Also a plus that it actually has sound effects. Their are branching routes in this game so every decision matters. If you are a ntr fan then you got to play this one. Laura is a loving housewife first but falls into the dark pits of corruption if you chose that for her. Her model is gorgeous and the animations are so smooth. Can not wait for more updates!

This NTR visual novel is an absolute masterpiece! The story's realism hits hard, weaving complex emotions and relatable dilemmas that keep you hooked. The characters feel alive, each with distinct motivations and depth, making every choice gut-wrenching yet authentic. The screenplay is brilliantly crafted, balancing tension and heartfelt moments with sharp dialogue that elevates the experience. A must-play for fans of grounded, emotionally charged storytelling!

I absolutely love this. I am not joking this was one of the best AVNs I have ever played on F95. Of course, YMMV, and a part of that is personal taste.

What I loved most is the story and the FMC. The writing was very engaging. I enjoyed playing from her FMC's point of view. To me her decisions that lead to gradual corruption are very plausible, much more than in most other games. Top marks for not going for the corruption trope of FMC being forced to endure low quality fat old bastards but rather have a realistic hypergamous option that makes plausible sense for cheating. The progression to the eventual payoff was earned.

The graphics may be dated, and in fairness are not great, but they still accomplish a few key things:

1.) Immersion: There is a genuine Italy feeling. The TV set, the village market, all of this comes across as immersive.
2.) The FMC is very beautiful, with realistic proportions and with appropriate alterations from scene to scene. It is very easy to immerse into the FMC's point of view.
3.) No low-quality AI CG (or no AI CG at all, to be precise).


Due to the high quality of the story and how much I enjoyed playing I will not remove any points for the dated graphics. I am glad I discovered this late as waiting for Ep7 would have been painful AF.

Graphically it's a comedy, its style is too old for today's standards, the story is clearly copied from an Italian comedy film, and in fact the game is also comical, an update every 10 months, this is also comical.

So, "A Wife at Stake" had this, like, really sick idea, but it totally fell flat. The whole thing about a wife getting put into this wild game show by her partner is a cool concept, but the way it plays out is just a letdown, for real.

The biggest issue is the "choices." Like, you're supposed to be in control, but all the options feel super random and don't even matter. I wasn't really guiding Laura's story; I was just clicking on whatever to get to the next scene. It's less about making a big decision and more about picking the most illogical thing on the list.

And the lack of an ending is a whole vibe. After playing for a while, the story just feels like it's going nowhere. There's no real conclusion, and you're just stuck in this weird narrative limbo. It's like the game is more interested in throwing random scenes at you than actually getting to the point.

Then there's the visuals, which are a major bummer. Not gonna lie, the art looks kinda crusty and low-res. And the dudes? They were just not it. Their "lust" for the FMC (Laura) comes off as way too aggressive and just plain creepy. It made it super hard to get into any of the drama or romance stuff.

Bottom line: The game's narrative is a hot mess, and the visuals are hard to look at. For a visual novel, your choices should actually mean something, and the aesthetics should at least be decent. "A Wife at Stake" misses the mark on both fronts.

2/5 Stars

I'm really enjoying A Wife At Stake. The one con to the game is that it doesn't have the latest rendering technology and I've even noticed two male characters having the same face but even still the female main character is very attractive and it's a very well written story with very promising paths.

a game too linear, few options to choose from, mediocre plot, unbelievable characters, terrible audio, only decent graphics. For fans of the cuckold and idiot genre. The various POVs are useless and poorly presented

FMC: Undeniably hot.
Bull: A repetitive and generic appearance, identical to characters seen in countless other games.

Renders: Mediocre.
Render Angles: Poorly executed
Animations: Average at best.

FMC's Character Development: The FMC behaves in a promiscuous manner without any justification—kissing, holding hands, or engaging with others in ways that feel entirely unwarranted. Essentially, we’re dealing with an FMC who appears inherently loose, not someone evolving through corruption.

Logic : Why would a wife, introduced as a strong and moral character, suddenly exhibit such behavior without any explanation? It's entirely illogical and undermines the narrative.

Overall, this game falls short on multiple fronts. It doesn’t cater to fans of *Netorare*, nor does it appeal to those who enjoy a well-executed *corruption* arc. Highly disappointing and not worth the time for either audience.

A solid corruption game. This is one of those rare games that forces me to take a logical decision, instead of just following the corruption route. The story premise is intriguing, the models are lovely. But it is let down by some long dialogues and generic renpy styling.

Translations (He/She mistakes) could have been a lot better, added with the long dialogues, it makes for a hard read. Also the images could use some polishing, but not a major issue.

This VN has a well written plot with a jealousy NTR story
Story - great
Graphic - good
background music - good
translation - decent

This VN is going to become a nice NTR story like pineapple express and corrupted hearts.

Keep up the good work, dev.

V. 0.3

Usually I do not review games at early stage of development. In this case the situation is different – the game has been tagged as abandoned (by the dev) and there is no reason to wait for more content. Which is a pity, I should say from the beginning.

The artwork is original and interesting, though its quality is not always great, especially because of the resolution. I like the views of Italian cities – it’s not that often that in the games we can see views we can recognize. It’s fresh and nice. The strongest side of the game is – or should be – the plot. The story’s point of departure comes from real life problems and the possible corruption of Laura is believable. I like slow burn games and this is (would be) certainly one of such instances. My problem is with in-game choices: they suggest various paths for the FMC but at the current – and unfortunately final – stage of development they are practically meaningless.

The writing is better than ok, though one may find some typing errors and mistakes (like ‘his’ instead of ‘her’ or ‘she’/’her’ when talking about an actor). By the way – the Latin expression is ‘alea iacta est’ and not ‘alea jacta est’ (it’s funny I can make such remarks about a porn game… I would never expect that. Though I should correct myself: it seems more an erotic game than a porn one).

It is obvious for me that the inspiration for the game comes from the Italian movie ‘Una moglie bellisima’ (A Beautiful Wife, 2007) with Laura Torrisi. Even the first name speaks for itself… To make it clear: I do not blame the dev for it. Just opposite, it would be interesting to see various paths or options and compare them to the movie. It’s a pity we won’t see them. But if you are interested, you can watch the movie and check what happened to Laura (or the character she played) in this flick.

I have almost forgotten to explain the rating. The game has a lot of potential and in a finished or more advanced version would easily earn a perfect five. But here we deal rather with a promise of a good game than with a ‘full experience’ – and I am talking about sex scenes and decisions, for instance. On the other hand, I had fun, anyway. More fun than with some finished games. So – the final verdict is ‘four’.

A small update – v. 0.080 promo

Returning to my review after quite a while, I need to clarify one thing. Of course, the game isn't abandoned; my earlier misinterpretations stemmed from, let's say, complicated relationships between the dev and the F95 community. Today, we're much further along in the story and possible choices... and it's much better than ok. So, I have to keep my word and give the game a perfect five. Even if I sometimes regret that the renders or animations aren't top-notch (then again... what games offer us the views of Rome or Bari?).

It just came out and it says abandoned??? I really enjoyed all this buildup, hope to see more from this developer.

It's a slow corruption game with a female protagonist, love the genre and love the characters so far.

If you're tired of corruption games where the female MC immediately acts promiscuous with everybody, give this game a try.

It has a really good story with plenty of build up as the wife begins to spend more and more time with an attractive suitor. There are also a good amount of choices which determine her overall loyalty to her partner and attraction to the new guy.

If the developer's previous games are any indication, this won't be a long fruitless tease with no payoff either.