VN - Ren'Py - Completed - Become a Rock Star [v1.01] [Mr Jet]

I'll start off by saying that initially, I enjoyed the game. However, several hours in and by in-game Day 3-4, my interest in the game and how noticeable the lack of depth exists within the game and it's characters becomes noticeable and ruins a bit of the game for me in retrospect.

The renders and animations are very nice. Let's get that out of the way. If you want to see the MC bang lots of attractively rendered women, this game is for you. The UI isnt bad, and the font chosen is great, and having the option to easily name your saves is nice. The presentation is there, but that's all I can really say.

I'm just disappointed is all.

The overarching story and premise sounds pretty nice. You're a guy who is the blacksheep of the family and rather than joining in your father's white collared business, you choose to go out on your own to start a band. Your father is insistent that you follow in his footsteps and even tries to interfere with your plans, but ultimately it's up to the MC with what happens.
It's not exactly the most unique and outlandish thing thing in the world, but it's pretty interesting all things considered.
Thats the premise and initial outline. But how things play out is...quite frankly a bit boring.

It starts off with your father giving you a place to stay, and you're basically given an ultimatum: move out, on your own, and if you can't make this dream of forming a band and being a successful musician work without asking for any help from your father or your family, you come back to his company and take up the family business.

Of course thats what you do. But it all kind of just happens...very quickly and with no problem? MC already has a job lined up for being a bartender, and your friend with you in your band(former schoolmate?) happened to find someone to join your band. You need a vocalist and you need a...guitarist?
Those two characters are kind of just pulled out of your friends ass.
There really isn't a huge challenge to overcome here, which is unfortunate. You'd expect with a story like this that there would be some sort of challenges and difficulties for the MC to overcome, but the way the story and plot is set up there aren't really any apparent challenges in place.
I mean, your father gave you one of his flats, you already have a place to practice music, your friend magically finds two characters who can join the band are an immediate fit.
There really isn't much for me to talk on here, and I wish there was.
There isn't any tension building or anything gripping to the story. The game seems like it will make your father a villain to overcome in the story, but that issue is quickly resolved with a polite/impolite conversation a few hours in.
So you'd think, maybe the game will just turn into a slice of life? And perhaps the real depth with be with the characters you meet along the way?
Not really.

All the external characters you meet within the game are almost exclusively female and only exist for you to fuck them. No, I'm not kidding.
If there was one way I could describe playing through the game and interacting with the side characters, I would describe it as "A SFM porn gallery with extra steps".

The characters themselves have very little backstory, nothing complex or intriguing about their personality, and are soley there for you to fuck them.

You can boil down each female side character to a few things: Their profession and a physical appearance that conforms to whatever basic trope or stereotype their character is supposed to be.

You don't get to learn about their interests or hobbies, what their likes and dislikes are. It's not even explicitly mentioned or even suggested. The only character I can actually think of that has something that separates them from the rest is the vocalist from the band, and it's not very substantial. She's studying to be a designer. That's it. I'm not sure what kind of designer she want's to be, just that she's going to school to be one. I think that alone speaks volumes for what every other character is like.

It's kind of how most of the game has been. In-between this bland going through the motions of building a band, which doesn't seem to involve much effort from the MC at all as his band members seem to be doing everything for him as well as his dad, in your free time you get to go around and meet lots of women and fuck them after talking to them a few times!

I want to be clear. I don't think this applies to one of the first women you meet. You basically end up peeping on her naked from across the street and you kind of end up going over to her place for a stranger fuck. Quite the ridiculous situation indeed, but I think it fulfills a fetish and fantasy, and given that it's a video game I think its okay. This is something that happens within the first, I want to say 30 minutes to an hour of the game? You can get an idea of what her character is from her actions, and while the idea of motioning some random stranger from across the street to come over and fuck doesn't make sense in real life, it's a video game so I think its fine. It also caters to the horny players who want to see some sexiness early in the game. Gives them an idea for what to expect.
Anyways, I think it fits for this kind of character. It fulfills a fantasy. It sates a fetish. Its fine as a standalone example.

But thats the thing. It would be fine If it wasn't for the fact that basically every other character is like this. It's just...extra steps.

Its like a gallery with extra steps and useless choices. Perhaps that's harsh, but in retrospect it really feels that way.

Encounters may play out like this: You meet a girl, MC is a pervy bastard, you talk. You meet them a second time, you do some perverted shit. Third time, you fuck.

At first the game offers you choices of whether or not you would like to continue involving yourself with a certain character, but ultimately I dont think the choice really matters. I dont really see any consequences of saying no or yes to any of the choices available. At first, I was assuming that by saying no or yes, it might impact interpersonal relationships and how certain interactions between characters play out. That's what I was basing my choices around-- that assumption. However, going through the game it really doesn't feel like thats the case at all. It just starts to feel like those choices and decisions are just a way for the game to ask if you if you want to see a sex scene with this character or not. If you say no, nothing happens. If you say yes, you get a scene in your gallery.
Perhaps there are some inner workings going on that the game just isn't notifying the player of. Perhaps my choices will have consequences later on? I'm not entirely sure if thats the case or not. So far it hasn't felt as though the choices I've made have had any.
In fact the only time the game has hinted at potential consequences is when you are occasionally asked by one of the female side characters if you are in a relationship or not. If you are, you are given the option to say no. Whether or not that matters later on is beyond me. It just doesnt really make sense to say no unless you just don't want to see a scene with the character.

There are also other things that really stuck out to me as well. The game pushes a relationship onto you with the lead vocalist EXTREMELY early. Basically forcing you to make a decision on whether or not you want to have a relationship with them. You still know very little about this character btw and haven't exactly interacted with them much and the only real connection you have is that you both want to be in a band and play music.

Theres also an issue present throughout the game where the characters seemingly know things that the player doesn't know. Like you'll have a conversation in a coffee shop with one of the female characters that you took on a date after some spontaneous sex, but there really wasn't a conversation to begin with. Like after the coffee 'date' is over, it's like that was great! Lets go back to my place for some sex!
But, it wasn't really a date. There's basically zero dialogue or interaction outside of the date itself. It's like if the conversation was focused on "Hey, look at us! We're on a date at a coffee shop!". And then the subject will suddenly change in order to progress the story.
With the way the MC is progressing with these characters so quickly, you would think they must be having some engaging discussion amongst each other, but as the player we'll never know. It feels like the author had a shit ton of writing and dialogue prepared, but then just decided to cut it out and so the player is left guessing how things progressed. You're left to fill in the blanks for what must have transpired.

It might sound like this is all very vague, but I'm honestly trying my best given what I have to work with here.
The characters and dialogues and girls all seem to soley serve as a way to deliver information and act as a plot device to further the story and engage the MC in sex scenes with them.

They are not characters, they are complicated mechanical fleshlights that require a few hours of fenagling before you can get them to operate properly.
You're not secretly fucking your boss, you're secretly fucking an attractive female NPC labelled "My Boss".

There are so many potential fetishes that are present in the game, but none of them are capitalised on because with how quickly things are rushed in the game all the sexual tension and suspense goes out the window. You may as well be fucking a character based exclusively on their appearance alone, with absolutely no concern with who or what relationship that character has to the MC.

This really kills a lot of the enjoyment I have for the game. I already have several hours in the game already, and I can't say I'm eager to finish the rest of it. Become a Rock Star has already established these characters and let you progress with them to such a point that there really isn't a way to turn back the clock and fix these issues without rewriting everything and changing the pacing of the entire game.

Also, whats with all the female NPCS calling the MC baby? They aren't even in a relationship with them, but it seems like every single one of them refers to the MC by that even if all they're doing is fucking with what seems like no strings attached. Though, given with how fast the game seems to progress with what Im assuming is a ton of offscreen dialogue, maybe the female characters are really just that intimate with the MC despite only talking a couple of times? Thatd be consistent with the pacing of the game at least.
I dont know. Its just weird. I didnt mind too much the first time, but suddenly every other scene someone is saying it. Sticks out like a sore thumb. Even the MC says the same thing. It's like even the MC knows all the female characters are bimbos, so why bother calling them by their actual names. They're all the same anyways.

Version Reviewed: 0.80
This game deserves 5 star. clearly one of the best. renders&story is excellent. especially skins of the characters. i dont think i ever seen something like this before. shading is amazing.

Version Reviewed: 0.80

This is one of those games that if you don't give the story time to develop, you're going to be disappointed if you're as much into the stories of these games/VNs as you are the erotica. If I had reviewed this game earlier in the development cycle, I would have written this game off as a very paint-by-numbers bang-a-thon. That changes about halfway through where the conflicts and motivations become more interesting which results in a deeper investment into the story and characters.

It starts out that the MC is a son of a rich and powerful businessman...who unsurprisingly does not want his son to become a rock star and wants him to follow in his footsteps in the business world. The father comes off as a controlling and unsympathetic character who tries to throw as many roadblocks as he can in MC's way. MC's brother is similar to the father, but his sister is supportive in his quest to become a rock star.

MC's bandmates are Jacob...an old friend and drummer, Lisa the hot singer, and Jade the mysterious guitar player. The MC comes off as a decent guy and has multiple women throwing themselves at him even before he plays a gig. I don't know if there's risk involved with trying to KEEP all the women...I decided to settle on one that became serious rather than continuing to string along many...as I'd hope there would be a bad end for trying to have serious relationships with multiple women.

The primary issue with the game is that there isn't enough attention paid to the amount of work that goes into writing and performing music. Early on, MC and Lisa work through a song together. I would have liked to have seen more collaboration with the rest of the band on original songs. Instead you get "Rehearsal" and "after rehearsal." The secondary issue is that MC is probably a 7/10 but women throw themselves at him before he's ever played a gig.

The visuals in this game are above average. All of the women are attractive (though a bit on the BTS side). The sex scenes and animations are above average.

This is a very good (not great) adult game/VN. I'm happy that the story did develop into something a bit more than a cliché bang-a-thon.


Graphics - 8/10
Animations - 8/10
Story - 8/10
Characters - 7/10
Fun - 8/10

Nice story, nice characters, nice and various girls, sex scenes have a good 'staging'.
Best played with a walkthrough mod, even if the 'harem end' doesn't exist, so it finally give a strange story.
Grat work in any case.

This game has quite a good a variety of girls, which are all very hot since the art is very good. There are animations but they're not incredible, just good.

However, gameplay is quite impossible without a walkthrough. Choices are definitely not clear on what path they will lead to and the variables used mean you have to plan ahead on your choices in order to get scenes with girls. There's just no way of getting scenes with all girls in a single playthrough since there are a couple of choices that block some scenes. Personally, I think that this sucks big time. Lewd games should have their top priority on the lewd parts, not story. If I wanted a game with fantastic story I'd play a non-lewd game. I want sex scenes and I want to play them all in a single playthrough without having to follow a walkthrough or even do multiple playthroughs.

If you don't care about this, go ahead and have fun. The art is quite good nonetheless. But otherwise, don't waste your time.

Despite being one of the most liked DAZ VNs here, on its own it's pretty bad. Model posing is awfully made thus uncanny valley effect kicks really hard, unfortunately. Lines are begging for an editor, vocabulary is not terrible but different characters sometimes using the same catch phrases, they're not consistent enough in general, sometimes stuff written simply too lazy like there was no proofread etc etc. The plot is kinda odd I thought there'll be much more emphasis on well, struggling, creative search and prevailing but instead VN is mostly about stuff around it while 'band developing' goes surprisingly smoothly.

And yet after some time I was able to suspend my disbelief enough, ignore all the awful posing and lazy writing to get immersed eventually (to some degree). It clicked and I had my fun with it for a while. So if the premise is interesting enough, you might give it a chance.

This is actually the game that got me into this whole genre.. At least diving in the way I have. I love the characters and I think the story is also very well paced with some interesting twists along the way. All in all I really enjoy this game and I'm always awaiting the next update.

This game is amazing 10-10 the story is written well and the characters actually have character which is rare in a H-game. The animations are well animated and get the job done there's a gallery to view scenes and multiple playthroughs are possible to unlock all the scenes. Defiantly support the creator if you can and check this game out give it a play and review

I put this game off for far too long and finally decided it was time to give it a try. I was not disappointed!

Pros

• Excellent writing
• Good character models, renders, and visuals
• Good story
• Good animations
• Good sex scenes
• Lots of sex scenes
• Excellent characters
• Good character development
• Game has a lot of content

Cons

• Breasts defy physics - Nearly all of the large breasts in the game look like a cantaloupe or watermelon cut in half and glued to their chest (shape wise anyway). Real breasts don't look like this! Gravity barely affects the breasts in the game. Everyone has 18 year old unrealistically perky breasts that nearly stick straight out.
• Character models and renders don't make any adjustments for age. The MILFs in the game all have 18 year old looking pussys and breasts. None of the MILFs in the game look their age. This was a pretty big oversight.
• Relationship points are all over the place and are very inconsistent. I realize that these variables are hidden to the player but I track them in the code and there is no rhyme or reason when points are given. Some of the girls literally have almost no relationship points when there were lots of opportunities to earn them. Because of this some choices matter way too much when they shouldn't if relationship point earning was consistent throughout the game.
• Penetration scenes often have a short back and forth movement. There are a few that have deep penetration but they are rare. The average vagina is 4 inches long. Most penetration scenes only move back and forth 2 to 3 inches. It looks funny with the MC having a large dick and he isn't using it fully.
• There are no rough animations in the game. Oftentimes the text says that the MC is fucking the girl roughly and the animations are smooth and gentle like silk. The text often doesn't match the animations, especially when the girl begs to be fucked hard or roughly. It is kind of immersion breaking.
• The game sets up the player for failure as it encourages a harem type gameplay and then rips it all apart with consequences in the last update with no warning.
• The sexy banter during sex is very inconsistent and has no rhyme or reason to it. For example, the first time the MC fucks Jade's pussy she makes no grunts when he first enters her pussy and doesn't comment on his size. She takes it with ease. Then with later scenes she comments on how big his cock is and isn't sure if she can handle it. This applies to a lot of the sexy banter in the game, no consistency and no memory of past sex experiences.
• The game plays more like a dating sim than a rock star career with a love for music.

Overall, I really enjoyed the game despite the cons. There are a lot of sex scenes in this game which is very welcomed! The sex comes a bit too easily but I'm OK with some fantasy here. The MC has more game than 90's Brad Pitt. As long as you are OK with that premise you should have a fun time with this game!

The game is not without it's flaws, however I'm giving the game 4 stars due to the abundance of good sex events in the game and the great characters which the player really grows attached to.

I highly recommend it and encourage others to give it a try!

awesome game so far. the girls are beautiful, the routes are perfect. I like the fact that there are consequences for your actions and that every decision is an impactful one. Lisa is one of my favorite designs I have encountered so far and all of the other ladies have tons of appeal as well. I can see myself doing many playthroughs of this as it progresses. 9/10

The first threesome scene is a chef-d'oevre. There's not just sex, but love and care, which makes it very exciting.

In general, pretty good story. Choices are meaningful, so there are different paths. Lovely characters. Cute girls. Abundant and engaging sex scenes.

Yes, it's more about dating and banging girls than about music, so what. In my opinion, relations, personal stories and everything else are more or less balanced in this game. Maybe the emphasis is a bit too much on sex, but still it's a good game.

I recommend it.

[v0.80]

Finally a game with consequences! The love interests actually want a real relationship and not be part of a harem which is inline with their character.
When I tried this game two years back I initially was disappointed that all the girls almost immediately want to have sex with you without much build up. Especially Selina, who I think is the cutest, did not make a very good first impression. But her behaviour is explained later and I liked her even more for it.
So for me this is a very good romance game where the cheating actually raises the stakes and the player can become emotional invested if he/she wants to.

[Review for v0.8]

Back in v0.5 land I loved this game. Supported, and felt that this was one of the best VN's out there. It still has great looking characters and superb animations, but the story and writing is definitely holding the whole experience back.

A year has gone by since 0.5, and I've experienced many more AVN's. Many more great stories. And I feel like BaRS has stayed the same.

I get no feelings from this anymore – everything is just ...there. The sex is just bj, short animation clip, cum. With flavorless text on top.

The MC hasn't gone anywhere, the rockstardom is lacking completely. Where is the nitty gritty of building a following or a band? What even is the MC's role in the band? Just a bassist? The star here is Lisa, and even she seems more like a pop star.

The promise of Becoming a Rockstar got lost somewhere on the way. We seem to just become a bassist in a teen pop-rock band and have a relationship with a girl of our choosing. Instead of a touring single rock star, we become a faithful partner. All in a few weeks.

There is suprisingly little love for music and making music in a game set in this framework. Compare BaRS to Melody for example.

Verdict: Average to above average
Hot models and good animations are what are keeping BaRS afloat at this point. You will not feel like a rock star playing this, you won't feel any love for music. It's all just a window dressing to a middling dating sim.

I'm afraid I can't exactly share the sentiments with those who posted their reviews below mine and I guess you could say I want that smoke. Most games on this site feature characters that are horny or at least thinking about sex, even in the classics that are plot driven, so I don't really see this being an issue. I'd focus more on if the plot makes sense and carries well as the game continues. A good game doesn't need to have dark moments or intense storylines to be good. I also hardly see how it's a horror/thriller when there is no horror or thrill outside of finding Julia getting shot at the end of 0.7. . And saying that you'd know beforehand that you get everyone is not really true at all considering you get slapped by pretty much everyone if you decided to go with a harem route. They all made it pretty clear that they don't want to share the MC with anyone, unless their names were Jade/Lisa.

The renders for each and every character are top notch and, dare I say it, I'll venture to say that there isn't a single render that I don't like. The animations are smooth and fluid. I think the storytelling aspect is well done and flows well in my honest opinion. I too was honestly initially put off with happened to Julia but it served as a multi-purpose plot device. It helped bring a reality check to the MC's father to start treating him differently and understanding the importance of family bond. On the other hand, it also serves as another problem he has to deal with: how he'll manage to repair his relationships as he and the band are moving towards their next big step towards stardom.

That's just my two cents on it. A half appreciation and half rant review

played it and I found nothing exciting. almost fell asleep playing it.
its a typical horny boy that gets all the girls, easily.
so, a harem-kind of game that gives no competition. I already know beforehand that I get all the girls. why bother with a story at all? better to just make a gallery of pictures.
renders are ok, well done. and I like some of the girls model.
but without eroticism its just a teenager wet dream that Im so tired of playing.

The girls are very hot but the story is meh. The MC also acts like a 12 year old but that’s normal so I won’t mark it down for that. The game starts off VERY GOOD but then loses its way towards the end as it tries to flip the narrative on its head by becoming a z-list horror/thriller. Also the characters although unique and different, all say the same shiz. I would recommend this.

edit: another game i rated olmost 3 years ago, the writing has become cringe and it is clear the dev is milking it.

I played it, because it was a recommendation concerning games that I enjoyed very much.

Story short: I don't understand why this game has such a high rating ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The story isn't unique.
The protagonist is the usual horny guy.
The girls are the usual sex bimbos.
And worst: far too much dialogue for too little content. Most of dialogue is completely foreseeable and adds nothing to the story. It's just boring.

I saw good writing (say hello to The Deluca Family).
I saw intense storylines (e.g. Hillside).
I saw touching and funny plots and scenes (Dreaming of Dana, Deluca) and dark fetishes (Fashion Business, games of Combin Ation).

Nothing of it seems to befeatured in BARS.

I usually avoid to give 1-star ratings. Because the devs put a lot of work into their games. Because of that and because there are far worse games out there, it gets 2 stars.

"Become a Rock Star' was for me a pleasent surprise. In short: excellent VN so far (ver. 0.70) and I will definitely wait for future updates.

This game meets most if not all of my expectations when it comes to adult visual novels.
+ First and formost, there actually is a story (sic!). Like seriously, there is a main plot, secondary plot . And on top of it, the choices you make have some infuence.
+ There are many very likable characters,
+ Very nice renders/graphics to support the above,
+ Lewd scenes are an addition to the game/story, not a main engine that drives the story forward.

Chapeau Bas to the developer, fingers crossed for bright future of the project

Very good. Nice graphics and a good story line.
I like the different characters. The friendship and the family plot. Nice done.
Keep on doing the good work.

Musicians, family and work. Music in the game is ok. Maybe some more sounds that works with the animation. But overall very good.

Hot girls, a good story, what's not to like here. The grammar could use a little help here and there but that's easy to overlook. Just finished playing 0.70 and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Time to go give the dev some love over on patreon.