Ren'Py - A Wife's Phone [v0.7.2] [Bloody Ink/Scyxar Studios]

At first glance, I thought this was going to be similar to a game concept I had. Disappointed someone beat me to the punch, I was still looking forward to playing it. For better or worse, I was wrong.

The game is extremely linear. Very low on any significant choices or personal agency. Just a series of one-to-the-next clicks of text-text-text that I just found tiring. "Oh great. Another text I had no hand in initiating and no choice but to click through until it's over".
Waiting for the actual interaction portion to start. A point where the user is set free to explore and make their own choices. But it just drags on and on without that. Most of these games can't be built with much choice. But you need to at least capitalize on the illusion of choice in game design to hook the player somewhat. That wasn't well considered here.

The writing also features a lot of implausible actions and thin world-building that take out any potential immersion. You don't feel in any way grounded to a real character interacting with others when the endless rounds of text go from 0 to Pornstar in ten seconds flat. Not to mention run-of-the-mill instagram/porn faces with no real character in them.

Some may like it for the content, but I found this incredibly boring and frustrating for lack of choices or believable, well written & designed characters, world-building, dialogue and game-play, sorry to say. Might as well just watch pornhub and avoid the ugly Kardishian-damaged plastic faces the dev chose for the models in this game. Ironically more interactive than this in at least they have a search bar.

Edit: The game now goes sandbox lite (very light) after a certain amount of time has passed, with several limited selections you can make on your phone and NPC phones you hack into, but half of that is waiting for days to pass to get/see a text. So you'll find the majority of this game at that point is repeatedly pressing the time-forward button to get a repeating text or few-and-far between story update on a route. Still far from well-designed or fun, unfortunately.

Edit 2: Hot garbage as of the recent update. I decided to check back in out of boredom, which this didn't alleviate. Majority of the game is still spamming the time passage button for character phone developments - which are now a total mess, with convoluted story paths directly contradicting each other each text. Not that they had any flavor to begin with. Players with dirt-low standards who like the concept must be what's pulling this through to almost 4 stars. Because there is no pulp here. Just paper-thin strings of implausible dialogue, entirely disconnected from each other.

Based on the skill-level I'm seeing on writing, pacing and game design, it's safe to say this will only devolve and isn't worth another look months or years down the line.

My smallest complaint - which wouldn't make any difference in the playability of this mess if fixed , don't get me wrong - is that the wife is also the least attractive character in an unintriguing list of amateur and pro pornshoot models. Even the already-made porn content they're poaching isn't hot. When the majority of previous IRL girlfriends/spouse are hotter than the main-focus love-interest in this sort of game, you know you're doing it wrong. (Tbh, I edited the some of the photos to a much hotter ex just to try to get one good jack off of this. lol. But there is just way to much media to do it throughout, so mid-tier game wife still kept popping up). Dev couldn't even bother to hunt out and select hotter pre-made content on this for some reason.

The best way to describe this game: An agonizing chore you don't want to complete. "Am I gonna get paid for this?" *gets rewarded with string of bad writing and shitty porno photo* in a text message.

This is a great game. It has tons of great content; really interesting story options; very good pictures and videos; and a really amazing story. I like the nod to the WifeApp story and game as well. Keep up the good work dev!

Well made. Good writing.

pro:
- the interface.
- the real porn sticking with the same woman when scene progresses.
- the updates are pretty long as well.

con:
- i' m a bit worried it eventually become more of a sandboxy game. but right now it's linear
- the spyware on the phone being able to change the mental state of your wife seems to be a bit of a stretch I'd just as well believe her to become more slutty when she gains more popularity in her fuckstagram
- for anyone anti-NTR it will probably cause a seizure.

review of v0.15

i love this game, super hot and really good writing, cant wait for the next update.

give it a look if youre into the tags, its very unique and the next update promises a huge upgrade if i were you id get in on the ground floor, im tempted to sub on patreon for this one.

one tiny and unimportant criticism is that most of the women are brunettes and i have a hard time distinguishing between them.

I really like it, probably one of them best current real porn games, the pics and gifs are well chosen but that aside , the corruption, cheating genre of real porn has one problem, most author don't make things optional making the mc be forced to be sissified or feminised, I like when the Mc is the one doing it to others which is what happens in this game and the story hook isnt bad for a game of this type and is interesting, can't wait to see how this develops, current update the game gets you into it as the next few updates will really flesh out the corruption and changing other characters mechanics so eageraly waiting for next update.

TLDR: TY author good game

Well at last a game where the writing is "readable" and really thrilling, the storyline intruiging and the concept with the phone refreshing!

I really really love to play 0.15 and i want to save Jenny and Christie... or dont iI...?

keep this up @ Dev youre programming a real pearl here!!

This game has a TON of potential and I am giving it 5 stars based on that alone. In this early version, there isn't really much to do and that makes a lot of sense as this version seems less like a final product and more of a proof of concept. Given that the developer is actively looking for feedback about whether a story like this has appeal to a wide enough audience, I think this whole experiment will come down to whether there is enough interest in it or not. As such, I would say that if you are looking for a VN game format that is a bit different from the motion-comic-book style that most VNs are these days and you don't mind the particular hang ups and fetishes of the content, then let your voice and support be heard. Similarly if you are into the fetishes and content, but less in the format, let that be known as well. I like the whole package, so I am eager to see what comes next - I just hope the issue where hitting the space bar at certain points sends you back to the main menu gets fixed. Really promising start!

its exactly what it looks like

fairly good writing

lots of professional real porn

100% BBC Cuckold netorase

Theres really nothing else to say as the game is very short
but sure I can waffle on about it being presented very nicely as well

Although this is only v.01, I am rating it based on its potential, not where it is now in early development.

As other reviewers have said, the phone interface is somewhat unique and makes for compelling hook. One reason why that is so is because it is realistic. Most games here are not very realistic (fine), but it is great to see one that is built on a realistic concept (even if the interactions are more fantasy).

Some suggestions: First, introduce a few more characters, some of which don't necessarily end up going anywhere (that would really up the realism). Have their interactions with the MC be more realistic, short, meaningful, not grindy. Second, design the files so that players can mod easily with their own preferred images of their own friends/wives/etc. Third, this phone-style seems best to focus on cheating, so play that up enough with several main options for the MC and MC wife. Make it so the wife can cheat some or alot, in different scenarios, for different reasons (without a huge decision tree).

I look forward to seeing v.02.

This game is fantastic, great interface and concept. Can't wait for more content and seems like the dev will be putting out updates fairly often. Definitely one on the top of my watch list. Hope it doesn't go down the trans route or sissification route like many of these games do.

This is a really strong start! I saw another review that suggested that Ren'Py isn't the best engine for this story, and I think I agree, since it's got such a unique layout. I encountered a bug, too, where if I was on the home screen of the phone, hitting the spacebar or clicking on the margins of the screen it would take me back to the home screen of the game and I'd lose progress.

Still, this seems like a really hot start, and I look forward to more, whether it turns out to be a linear story, or one with different paths.

Really well done so far! And a very unique idea to have it all run through the interface of smartphones.

Personally I would really enjoy if the game embraced the BBC, QoS, BNWO themes EVEN MORE, but that's just selfishly cuz they're exciting kinks for me.

Keep sissifying the white cucks!

Excellent start for a v0.1 little short, but it was expected but the little we got was perfect,
(a little too linear)
a little more freedom of choice and different fetish, and it actually could be perfect
but with the amount of picture and video me and other as given on the discord already I have high hope for the future

It employs a clever system as you watch everything from your smartphone. You interact with people through that device and see the outcomes as photos. I am very curious to see how you will interact with your wife's adventures. Photos and models are fitting to the scene and concept is very exciting for now. I am looking forward to see frequent and meaningful updates. I hope this turns out to be gem.

Hast great NTR potential if youre into that kind of thinng.

love the choice of images so far.

The story could use some work but i really dont mind it. Looking forward to seeing more updated, not too much to go off so far.

**v0.15 Turning into some A tier shit, lots more content added. Worried the creator might be doing too many story threads and wont be able to deliver, but id love to be proven wrong. Cant wait to see more

Good start, perhaps a slower rate would be better as the colleague goes a bit too weirdly fast . I like the idea of the phone interface and the mc just experiencing everything through the device. I Look forward to seeing more.

TL;DR = game focused on cheating, voyeurism, spying. Really early in development.

Story: 2/5
- The story goes like: every single girl in MC's life is a slut. Majority of them are sluts for black cocks. As far as we know only MC's wife is sort of good person, but that will somehow change soon.
- There isnt any plot at all. Everybody is cheating. At start MC has trouble accepting it, but after few minutes he accepts it. That's all the plot development we get. It feels quite lacklustre.

Art: 2/5
- This game contains some random pictures and GIFs. The number is quite low.
- The game is mostly text based. If you dont mind, then feel free to check out the game.

Sex stuff: 0/5
- The sex part is HUGE disappointment for me. In text based games I expect a lot of description of the sex. Unfortunately the game doesnt have that. You are only witnessing the game through mobile phone interface and it sucks. Imagine this example:
Wife sends you a message "I will be home in 1 hour and I feel horny". But then the game will SKIP entire sex scene with some message "2 hours have passed". After that you will receive a SMS from your wife "Today we had nice sex". OMG! Bascially the game skips the whole sex part. You will only hear how good/bad sex was. No details!!!

Gameplay: 2/5
- Idea about the the witnessing the story only through mobile phone interface is novelty idea. But it also sucks because it restricts players a lot.
- The game is also very early in development and there isnt much content at this point. It is quite short.
- The game has some choices, but they dont affect much. So far only difference is seeing slightly different pictures. No matter what you choose the game will proceed anyway.
- Game is also very UNFINISHED and buggy.
- Skip button doesnt work.
- Settings about text speed dont work. You can set to "max" or "min" speed, but text will always CRAWL slowly on your screen.
- There is no image gallery. When people send you pictures, you cant see them at your own leisure. The image will only popup when you click through the text and then it will disappear. If you want to see it again, you will to SCROLL BACK through a tons of text. Seriously? If dev takes his time to create mobile phone interface in RenPy then at least he should add img gallery.

To sum it up:
This is game in early development. At this point it is not worth playing. Maybe check the game later.

A bit of a new take on the wife corruption path. I would prefer that there was a little more freedom with the path, but this is so much better than games that require a grind to progress story. Decent imagery. I hope there will be more options to stear the wife into different directions in future updates.

A great start I like the phone simulation idea. It's the first time I've played a game like this, and, well, it's really good. The MC is likeable and seems like a good person who loves his wife. There already are some choices to make, so the player won't be railroaded into stuff they don't like.
I haven't seen any bugs, and the game is quite good from a technical standpoint. I mean, it's a pretty realistic simulation of a phone with messages and apps.
So, best of luck to the dev! Looking forward to the next update

Updated review: I've dropped this from a 3.5 review to a 2 star review.

Interracial is a driving aspect of this game, so if you're not into interracial you may want to avoid this title. There are a lot of good quality clips and images from Blacked. But, it could be argued that black men's portrayal is a bit racist. Too many are presented as thug tropes, who happen to be successful, though that's never really explained.

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My biggest problem with the game is two-fold:

1) There is an annoying amount of grind even in the revamped version.
2) Narrative problems

You have no control over the characters and what they do. In the original game you made choices early that affected the game. But, aside from initial choices in the revamped version, you actually have little control over who is corrupted and how. Sadly, that was a prime selling point for me in earlier development of the game.

You cannot save any of the women, not even by having them in the control app and choosing not to corrupt them. The Dev has made this choice for you. In the revamped version everyone in your app is corrupted whether you want them to or not, and even ones you say you don't want to corrupt, I now suspuct based on email exchanges with Jenna, will eventually get corrupted despite your wishes.

So, basically play this game if you want to corrupt everyone and be berated for doing so by Jenna, the Wifeapp avatar itself and others. And if you didn't add them to the app, they will get corrupted if they are mentioned at all, and that's your fault to . . . or so Jenna and others will tell you.

3) The email exchanges are now tedious and annoying. Why can't I just tell one of the husband's they're being cheated on and end that path? Why am I forced to carry water for others. If the character really doesn't care, why am I forced to protect the cheaters.

Now, I was just fine with the NTR and cheating aspect of this game. But, I wanted to control who cheated and how. But, I'm not given that power. The Dev controls that.

So, play this game if you just want to be along for the ride, but know this is mainly a kinetic novel and that all of the paths are pre-determined within a narrow range of options (Dominant, Cuck, Male to Female, Sissy MC). Once you're on a path, you have no control over what happens, and you still have to deal with annoying text chains that make no sense.

I've downloaded, played, and uninstalled this game a dozen times since it started development. This last time was my last. I suddenly realized how boring this title has become--at least for me.

Details:
One immersion breaking flaw was the central role of Jenna. She is the architect of your character's downfall, appears to be responsible for many of the behind the scenes machinations with family, and yet, despite the MCs on-again off-again annoyance with her, she has access to you and your entire family for the most part, mostly w/your consent. Yes, the MC whines about things she says, but you can never block her.

Everything you know comes through the phone so some of the NTR aspects come from her. But, this could be handled with effective use of the camera phone or other people sending you images and videos. But, nearly all is from Jenna or the wifeapp persona. Stupidly you could block her and still get that content from the wife spy app since she constantly contacts people you follow and you get regular contact from the wifespy admin??

So, I can't give this better than a 2-star rating. The Dev has chosen a lot of good images, and quality porn, and it will please NTR lovers, if they are on-board for the direction of the story/path. You can still fast forward through the inane story. The email chains are annoying and add to the grind.

Ultimately, the game is undermined by a messy, inconsistent, and incoherent story, and is annoyingly repetitive too often. The grind for this title is epic. There are a lot of bugs that thwart any attempt to save your family from their inevitable downfall, if you want to. So, despite the claims, current bugs in the game mean little of the corruption is actually avoidable and you're forced to consume character content you may not care about. There were many charaters I simply wished would go away: Christian and George for instance--vapid and annoying. I still don't understand why I was forced to convince George to stay with his vapid wife. She obviously hates him, so why?

You will inevitably have scenes that make no sense. If NTR is your fetish, you'll avoid many of these flaws, but you still won't be able to avoid the grind, inane text chains, and narrative inconsistencies.