Ren'Py - Come Home [v8.18.1 Premium] [R.J. Rhodes]

it's good in a sort of "just chill and relax" kind of way.

The renders are good, the characters are INCREDIBLY varied. There literally is something for everyone in here and the dev really really should get credit for actually putting the effort in to make the characters each have a distinct flavour. Each of them are quite interesting so there's a desire to get to know them better as opposed to simply "click the button that leads to sex"

In terms of negatives, the subplot with Daddy is absurd. It's incredibly unnecessary and feels out of place. It's almost like the dev played another game with a tech-mcguffin that I won't name here, and was like "aww yis, this is the perfect thing to make my MC come home to kickstart the story" when really they could have left it at "dad missing" and let it start from there. Wonder where it will go but at the same time it seems almost irrelevant given so many other characters to interact with.

There's also a low key part of me that's worried that the sheer number of interactable characters will lead to a situation where to actually get somewhere with a character will take like 7 updates. I've only just played this game on the latest update (chapter 9) so my fears could be unfounded but there's.... what? 20 characters in total? Alot of characters fighting over screen time in an update

So yeah, in summary, it's a lovely game. There's very little thought involved to push the game forward, the "main" story line is absurd and forgettable and the wealth of different characters on offer means it's rarely boring, although I fear if you get to the point where you have a favourite then you might be disappointed if the focus is on other characters in a particular release

Torn on this review. I want to give it a 4-5 star based on all of the ideas and mechanics used (some things I think can make a great H game) but my experience was more of a 1-2 star. It really boils down to this game being a little too "real". I'm playing an H game, I'm here for something more imaginative than reality, but all the girls and interactions are just... so believable that they come across as bland to me in an H game.

The models have realistic bodies, realistic expectations, realistic families, realistic life problems, realistic variance in personalities, etc. Honestly it's an interesting concept, the dev has done a great job at portraying some human qualities, but it just doesn't make a great H game. Example, the game has 20 different love interests you can "heart" to indicate you are interested in seeing H content for them (great mechanic idea) and I only had 6 hearted when I ended. 6 potentially interesting characters is great!... but not when they're only 30% of available girls. It's also unfortunate that, because there are so many girls, the amount of content for them can vary a lot. One girl has quite a bit. At least one girl has nothing. Most others have "something" that isn't anything you'd fap to.

And on their personalities, I am usually super into incest, but the (step) mom and sister characters were some of the most boring and at some points unattractive characters in the game. Like literally I often filter games for "incest" on this site because I enjoy it so much, and this game somehow managed to make me disinterested in the "incest" content. The mom is (sorry) unattractive and boring in the context of a sex game. She would be very sweet in real life but I don't want to fuck a very sweet mom, I want to fuck a sexy depraved mom. The sister is actually quite hot/cute, and her story/personality seemed like it could be fun, but man I was not willing to risk wasting time on her based on what I was seeing from other characters.

And, all of above could be exactly what you (reader) are looking for. It just does not do it for me at all. This game is trying to break the mold, which is admirable, but imo this is a failure that can hopefully serve as a learning opportunity for later success.

Great game! Once I started I literally couldn't stop playing it.
The grphics are good. Not to usual models, but look like actual people. Wish the animations were better, but theyre still fun.
There is a ton of of dialogue with the characters so the leveling up don't feel grindy. I need to know what Mari's secret sex fantasy is like yesterday!

Don't like all of the chars, skipped on the guy and the boss, but they are easy to avoid, so that's nice.
The music is good too, sometimes carries over to the next scene, but mostly sets the right mood.
5/5 will come home again!

A mediocre sandbox game. There's a long grind to unlock scenes with each character who are weirdly all fine right from the get-go about you fucking all the women in town. The story is mildly interesting but not very exciting.

The visuals need a lot of work with inconsistent lighting of scenes that need to be fixed, characters are bright in one scene and then dim while some move up and down with the light.

Come home is a fantastic sandbox adult game that incorporates a solid main story, a large number of interesting characters and love interests, and a wide array of kinks and fetishes.

The game is pretty straightforward (you do not need a walk-through or a mod to help you navigate through the stories - yes, it has a main story and plenty of side stories), and you as the player have the choice to either pursue someone or just ignore them (if they are not your type/kink).

On top of some great writing and plenty of content, this game has good renders, animated sex scenes, and unique back ground music for each character.

All in all, I would totally recommend this game to anyone and everyone that wants to have a great time!

PS: My review is based on my experience playing till the chapter 8 of this game.

Update, Version: Chapter 9

The more I play this game, the more invested in it I get. The characters are so grounded and, again, the writing really takes it to another level. You feel like you like (most) of these characters for who they are and not just cuz they're physically appealing.
Add to that some super hot sex scenes (I'm as sucker for group and DP), again NO GRIND TO SPEAK OF, and you've got yourself a fantastic game.

Can't wait to see what else in store!

Version Played: Chapter 8

I believe the writer is a woman and I feel that really adds to the believability of the situations and characters as well as not making the MC come across as a complete prick who probably couldn't actually score in real life. The women are fleshed out with some interesting personalities.
The overarching story is a little silly with its pseudo-science/metaphysical bent, but it definitely gets points for trying something a little different!
The individual character stories are overall very interesting.

Positives:
+ Well-written, likable characters
+ Trans and gay content available if you're into that. 100% avoidable if not.
+ BUSH! (could use more though)

Negatives:
- Nothing major stands out.

Like This? Try!: Dreaming with Elsa
Note to Dev: Please keep the quality of writing up. Looking forward to seeing more content!

Here’s my first review ever of Come Home (Chapter 8) by R.J. Rhodes

Story [Grade B]
The main plot is decent enough and it’s about the MC coming home to discover the mysterious events surrounding his father’s disappearance. It’s hard to say at this point what satisfying conclusions the main story will provide. The only gripe I can say about the story is that the MC isn’t very interesting all by himself. However, it’s the 20 love interests that make this game exciting and carry the overall story in my opinion.

Playability [Grade A]
The main reason this VN is so much fun is that you can play at your own pace. No need to jump heavy into the main story if you don’t want to. There’s plenty of quality love routes to play through and explore. I like that there aren’t any consequences of dating multiple characters. And you can even get extra dialogue options if the girl you are on a date with is seen by other girls you know. The 7 day system makes it easy to hangout with the characters you want to at your own convenience.

Writing [Grade A]
I may not be completely in love with the main story line just yet, but there’s a lot to like from the writing in general. Each of the 20 love interests have a story of their own to tell and it’s written in a very easy to understand way. The dialogue you get from dates and phone conversations can tell you many things about a person including their likes, dislikes, main goals and motivations. I can’t really think of any other VN that the player can ask the characters what they are afraid of or what’s their biggest disappointment in life. Overall, you can tell the dev handles each character with care and nothing is rushed in the writing department.

Amount of Content [Grade A]
The amount of content here is plenty as it took me several days to play through it all. When it comes to sex there’s plenty of blowjobs, handjobs, and titjobs here. Most characters don’t have full sex scenes yet, but the animation quality of the scenes here are decent and pleasing to the eye. So even though this VN doesn’t have the highest quality of renders, what’s here is certainly above average to say the least. Also the look of the characters are made well enough to be unique and not be off-putting to the causal player.

Performance and Sound [Grade A]
I’ve played a ton of VNs and when it comes to performance many of them have bugs you just have to play around with. Fortunately this game is well polished and I didn’t encounter any game breaking bugs in my playthrough. The sound is decent for a game like this where the music tracks played match the setting and places the MC can go. As a person that usually likes to listen to his own music while playing a VN, I didn’t feel the need to do so as the song selection here is pretty solid.

In conclusion, I give Come Home 5 stars out of 5. There’s plenty of content to enjoy and I look forward to more.

I've played it only for 3 in-game weeks, because it's boring. Mostly it's just short scenes, with little to no meaning, devoid of depth or emotional engagement.

Most of women are not attractive.

For those more attractive ones, I got no sex with Mi Cha or Rodrigues or Tammy, and Kendra's sex scene was unimpressive.

It's not a high quality game, e.g. models are often just mechanically placed against backgrounds, with no regard of scaling or lighting.

Even the coding is clumsy: always increasing indents; calls with no parameters; repetitions of the same blocks for every character; pointless pieces of code (like trying to add affection before attraction could even start, which results in immediate return from the function).

[Ch.8]

Request to the mods... can we get a rating system that goes up to 100 stars? this game needs it.

with a cast of 24+characters, you would expect them to lack personality, and you'd be wrong.. here we're faced with amazingly flashed characters with great personalities (some of them are bad people but that's a different topic and I wouldn't want them any other way)
let's talk about the renders....what you see in the previews doesn't give you the full picture, characters (not just the girls) get better, hotter their clothes and hairstyles change giving you the illusion of reality that Top tier AVNs should provide.

the sandbox in this game actually helps pacing the story in a way that feels organic and natural, although often we may find ourselves forced to chose where to go and who to meet.
Speaking of story, each update has the right dosage of story progression and relationshipn development. And you never feel like the pacing is dragging.

Finally let's talk about the lewd part; sure the sexy times are fun and nicely rendered but sometimes the journey is the best part... for example doing those silly dates with Brandi can be more satisfying than full sex in other games.
and keep in mind that nothing is forced upon you

I've played this for over 26 hours at the moment of reviewing

An excellent game!

I was not expecting much given the plot summary (which sounds painfully cliché), but I was very positively surprised:
The writing is good, the whole thing seems in some sense "mature" and the people feel real in some way.
The MC is reasonable! (He *knocks* at a bathroom door! Instead of barging in with his 1m cock hanging out of his boxers!)
Most LIs are actually nice and relatable!
Even the stereotypical roles are filled well: The "bitch boss" is not just an archetype that has to be fucked into submission with said 1m cock, but is a reasonable and interesting and smart character. (Btw, the MC can get on the receiving end of sexual workplace harassment; but that can be avoided I think.) The hillbillies were a bit too stereotypical for my taste, though.

I think there is optional gay contents (did not follow it, so I am not sure),
and there is mild pressure to follow (well made) trans contents (but it can be avoided). If your manhood is threatened by such things, be aware.

Of course the story is completely unrealistic (or, to put it bluntly, stupid), starting with the harem setup (with a harem of ridiculous size) and continuing with some ridiculous many world quantum physics scifi;
but I found that quite forgivable.

The renders are fine but not fantastic. Several times the placement of characters in the background ore relative to one another seems off
(e.g. Kendra Toilet scene, or sitting on park bench, or the councilor touching the MCs shoulder which looks more like her hand hovering in front of him;
the characters on the title screen seem to have inconsistent head sizes;
MC does not remove shoes on beds and sofas, I assume because it would be more work to render?)
The facial expressions are sometimes exaggerated or strange, but that is OK.
The models are fine: Even the "MILF" type (a type I usually hate in AVNs) is done better than normally (she still has humongous tits, but at least combined with wide hips, leading to a more human-like overall impression)

I do not like sandbox mechanics, but here it is done lightly and did not annoy me at all.
Only sometimes the navigation was a bit confusing (I never found back to garage to try to repair the car, or the the backyard to mow the lawn?)

(Did I mention that there seem to be too many LIs?)

All in all a very good game, I am looking forward to updates...

Surprising amount of content considering the size of the game, with pretty good graphics, though the animations are not that good.
The writing is also pretty good, a lot of characters and each of them feel quite different and well written. I loved some of the interactions with character through the phone in the game.
There is lewd content in the game, some of them pretty good, others not so much, especially since most of them are not explicit enough imo. I almost always felt like that most of the scenes could have been a lot more exciting with a few extra camera shots and angles.
Also i was quite annoyed by the fact that almost all of the characters i was really interested in barely have any lewd content or none at all, like Jez, Juliana, Mrs McGee, Gertrude, Mrs Mills, Brandi, Whitney.
Overall the game is absolutely worth a try, and im looking forward to future updates.

Great writing with realistic characters with personality, albeit with a little "porn-world" progression to get things going. Models are pretty varied and hot.

Pretty big fan of the fact that there isnt any real, heavy drama in this game as well. I'd say that if you are a fan of games like Summertime Saga, this would be a great game for you.

There are not many games on this site that I would support via Patreon. This game is the exception to that rule. Amazing dialogue, fantastic array of characters, and great assortment of kinks/fetishes/sexual preferences from which players can choose. Absolute 10/10, for me. Check it out! You won't be disappointed!

I am Brazilian, and one thing that makes me laugh in this game, it's them talking about him going to a university in brazil being a good thing. Man the schooling here in brazil is horrible, most of teens learn english because of the games, most of people here is almost are almost killing each other for one chance to go to a "bad" university in the US.
This game make laugh a lot! Thank you.

Was not expecting to become attached to this game so much, much less a sandbox....but nevertheless I am

There's a deceptively large amount of content to go through with a very clear explanation of how things work so you don't need to worry about not having enough to play or knowing how to play. There are plenty of love interests to choose from that range across the spectrum and I'm all for that open acceptance of sexuality.

While renders I wouldn't say are the best, they did grow on me after a little while, especially with Kendra and the school staff. Dana, Mari, and Reba are all top notch baes.

Only thing I will say are that the animations need some work. While there are some that look fine, some of them either look like bobbleheads or demons being exorcised. The head/neck movement is herky jerky and irregular and a little offputting at times.

All that said, I still believe this is a pretty quality game that deserves its fair amount of attention

I'd give it a 5 for Izzy's butt alone but it also has more butts, some just as hot.

Let's put the butt's behind us and get to the rear end of the matter.

There are a lot of girls ranging from swinging wives to the girl next door, all of them have their own story to tell.

This isn't a harem game in the strict sense, you aren't collecting them all for the MC's own use and some girls tell you straight up they will have sex with other people and if you don't like it you can leave.

Everything is optional but if you do turn down swinging and sharing it does close the route for that girl down.

For instance, Izzy is the easiest one to explain, she likes sex and she will fuck whoever she wants. She tells you on day one she isn't going to stop so you have the choice to keep seeing her or move along. I am a very weak woman though and she has a glorious arse, no way am I turning that down.

Similar thing with one of the MC's teachers. She's married and is into swinging, she asks if the MC would be interested and you get the choice to pursue that route or shut it down.

Those aside it does have those girls more typically associated with harems being sweet in nature, here being Mari. She works in the burger shack, runs a farm and is a complete star. I adore her. She does flirt for tips though and if you try and stop her she'll tell you no.

Jamie is your girl next door. Long time friend of the MC and clearly loves him.

It also has a bisexual choice with Bai and a trans woman, Adrian.

It does have a lot to offer and a little something for everyone. For the more open minded there is a ton of content.

Running behind all this is the plot itself with the MC's dad going missing and lots of science.

Investigating his disappearance is Detective Rodriguez who also happens to be really hot.

While the game is not finished yet, so far it ticks all the right boxes for my entertainment. Lovable characters, check, some humor sprinkled in, check, diverse selectable kinks, check, good writing, check and the most important thing for me, no non-consensual content. As long as this holds up, will remain a personal favorite and will continue to garner my support.

I usually dislike sandbox games. But this game has no grind and is very well made. the characters are well written and well designed and are all loveable.

The individual characters' stories are great and get you invested and make you excited to play more and learn more about the characters. Awesome work Rhodes.

Dev deserves way more love

Let me just say first off, Sandbox games? I hate 'em. Usually requiring ridiculous amounts of grinding plus the whole what the fuck do I do next scenario. This is a sandbox game BUT has no silly grinding to progress with girls, just talk to them and advance the relationships in a normal way.

The characters are great, there is a lot of hot girls in this game. My favorites are the pretty redneck girl, the waitress, the skater girl and now, a new char who is a cute, shy asian girl.

The renders are top notch and really do add to the hot factor of the girls. The story is fine, if not a bit minimalistic but then it is a sandbox porn game. The ability to call your love interests at night is pretty cool and also allows new scenes to unlock naturally, as well as taking them on dates.

I like how the MC can be fucking around with lots of girls with no penalty as of yet Some girls will notice your dates like the waitress when you bring another date into her diner but thankfully it seems okay so far.

I cannot wait to nail the sister, she is hot but a bit bratty. She needs railed hard and learn her place in the harem.

Totally recommend this sandbox game. Its hot as fuck, easy to progress and quite fun overall.

5/5 for me.

really enjoyable and straightforward dating sim. An excellent variety of good looking and interesting girls. The game is a sandbox but it's very simple to navigate and you never need a walkthrough and it's never really a chore. Very good writing especially the sex scenes which are almost uniformly excellent with nice animations. The game can get a bit repetitive and the "main" story kinda feels a bit like it takes a back seat to all the girls but over all a really entertaining and enjoyable experience.