Ren'Py - Deeper [v2.1_b96a] [Thundorn Games]

1. the best thing about this "game" is that the renders are nice, the kid looks pretty weird and the mother looks too young to actually be his mother but they aren't ugly/misshapen
2. The story has an OK premise, but then you come to conclusion that there is nothing else but the premise, since this is both terribly written and VERY incomplete. there is Very little structure and 90% of you are just clicking the skip time button.
3. This is possibly the most boring grindy game on this site. like mentioned before the amount of time you just click skip forward because there is simply nothing to do for whole weeks of in game time.
4. This "game" has no/very little erotic content. Hell there might be some here and there, but if its is there the developer has done a fantastic job of hiding it. Kudos!

Some constructive criticism, take out the grind, that is to say take out 95% of the game within which you do nothing.

Learn what pacing is please, to keep people interested in your shit you got to give them something OTHER than clicking a timeskip button for hours on end.

The UI is clunky. The mechanics are confusing the interact with. It's not clear how to progress. Many of the items you can buy are pointless, such as comic books. Money seems scarce, so wasting it is irritating. I found myself aimlessly wandering around an alternative version of reality. where everything is extra tedious. There's gardening in this game, if you are super into that (I never got it working). The mom seems interesting, but that's about it.

Okay, I've been watching this title for a while and thought I would give my honest opinion.

Deeper seems to be one of the most original games to come out in a long time.

Yes the mechanics are broadly similar to other titles in the genre but the storyline and characters are refreshing and well designed.

I like the little touches here and there and the subtle nods that Thundorn gives to other devs and the way that the game is shaping up makes me feel like it is going to be an amazing game when it is ready.

That being said it is not without its problems. There are a few bugs that rear their ugly heads once in a while but Thundorn is probably one of the fastest dev's for getting bug-fix versions out.

The artwork is great and apart from a few dodgy renders here and there probably in my top 5 games for visuals and once the bugs get ironed out I really can't wait to see what comes next. Will def support this dev on Patreon if he continues to impress me

This game had and my still have promise but not for me.
The concept is great but the dev seems to have major issues with executing that concept. Although he claims this is still in Alpha it is not a good excuse any longer for the problems that come up with each release. Such as changing variables at the beginning of the game on events that should have already been firmed up. Dev seems to try to think on the fly and just adds something without regard to what impact it will have on game play. Right now there is no way to find a good save point so you don't have to grind it out from the beginning.

I don't think the dev understands the concept of using a flow chart to plan out what he wants to do. I also think he should have by now had the game out of Alpha and to the point where you should have been able to save at a point where Sarah has had her surgery and Jake as graduated from high school instead having to grind it out again, again and again.

Dev is also having issues with Patreon which calls into question whether he can even complete the game or at least as of yesterday they haven't been resolved and I haven't checked today to see if they have or his P account has been given a perma-ban.
Edit: Just checked, page is still up but issues not resolved.

Alpha....is for testing, grinding is for game play, this alpha game is a grind there for will not test it anymore for the dev till he can come up with a better system to allow the story to progress other than sitting and grinding for an hour or two....sorry even in real life. Recommendation make cleaning the pool a daily job like in real life, not weekly forcing the player to grind out several weeks just to get the three items the NPC wants, not tho mention being able to use the monastery. This is a poorly executed game forcing the player to grind excessively, had more fun watch grass grow and paint dry.

It has an ok plot. The script is second rate. I have yet to see any type of sex act. Mostly voyeurism or exhibitionist. If this does have any sexual scenes I did not come across any in the 4 hours play I gave it. By this time I was so bored I gave up. To much grind for so little reward. Slow story progression. I am giving it a 2 only because I think that it might have potential and I even hope I can give it a better rating in the future.

As of right now the game is average for being buggy and it needs a lot of work done to fix it. The story and characters seem to be pretty good for what it has so far.
If the bugs get fixed and with more updates this game may be 5 stars.

Art 8/10
Story 7/10
Sex 0/10 no sex yet that i seen
Character 8.5/10

This game has a different feel than many games, I like the trap character, and I also like the fact that this game has complicated relationships, I think it is going to be an absolutely great game as it progresses. It is a little early to really rate it, but the author deserves encouragement.

V0.0.2 is type of game like modern art, nobody gets it but its author tells that it is masterpiece worth millions. All events are random.. so, I can play this shit for weeks and not get any event or miraculously get events one after another.. This shit with "I'm starving.." gets on my nerves couse it stops me for a second from clicking through this grinding time.. Once a week.. work?! Cleaning pool?! Thats it?! Some events which are not even remotely kinky. Almost paralyzed sis.. it demands some content with her. Touch her, make her lough.. etc. Yet we got shity log in bed. She has needs like piss and poop, yet all day stays in bed. Who cleans it? Who cleans her and how? For now, we have nothing of those not realistic, not kinky. Just NO.. to all things a game needs.. we have GUI.. its something

no content even on the 2nd build, very bad concept, buggy game, bad behavior of dev with people comments, don't like the characters. Actually this game is unplayable and judjing by the dev beahvior, it'll never be.

the game has one of the best starting it was both sad and nicely done the music also really complements the atmosphere and the dig at MR. silver was priceless fuking laughed my ass out, really hope the developer sticks with his vision. This is a gem in making you heard it here first. Really hope this game does well

Oh boy, where do I start with this one... I'll make it short: standard models; the same story as usual; tons and tons of bugs; unclear progression - and on top of all that, a very cocky dev who can't code but acts like Kim Kardashian of software engineering and story telling.

That's Deeper for ya.

slow to somewhat not as much entertaining in term of action and choices
but stil nice & havin more in action twists an some mixed lusty actions would make it more interesting in my opinion
thumbs up

The following review is based off my personal experience with playing this Game/Visual Novel... I try to be as brutally honest and detailed as I can, and these are my own opinions and thoughts, from one or more play throughs...


(01/19/2018 - Original Review - v0.0.1)

This game is riddled with bugs that keep you from getting very far... Plus it is yet another in a long line of overused Family Sex themed visual novel/games...

The visuals of the characters are pretty good for the few characters you meet... The backdrops appear to be unique... The user interface is different, but I'm not a fan of how it operates... The font is really small for both sides of the text box, with the right side being the choice selection box... You need to ensure you read the text on the right side, as you will only see immediate responses in the left side main text box... And with the font being so small, be careful to select the correct choice...

The script has a very minor amount of broken English, and the occasional spelling/grammar error... The plot revolves around a male protagonist, his mother, and his sister (which I'm not sure she is an adult or not because the warning in the beginning claims all characters have no age, yet the story line makes it appear she's younger then the protagonist yet still in high school, which runs the risk that she is not the proper age for this genre of VN/game, since the author/s did not clarify enough about her actual age)... The plot then revolves around the fact that all 3 of them are now homeless and living on a beach, where his sister has become ill... I chose to have the protagonist go look for work, but this is where the game breaking bug occurs... If you take him to High Street, after the squabble, during his conversation with the prostitute, the game gets a non-ignorable error and freezes at that point... If you restart the game and try to load a game save from the main menu, sometimes you get a similar error... Only if you load a save from a newly started game does it work correctly every time, but the High Street error is still there... Couldn't get to any content beyond that error...

Found another bug in the mother route at the motel, as once Laura (the prostitute) shows up and talks to the mother and protagonist, during her talking to the protagonist another in-ignorable error screen occurs... This game is just riddled with bugs...

I can already tell, based off previous developer warnings, and what you can actually experience in the game so far, that this game plans to have violence... There will probably be some other odd fetish's as well...

Overall, I'm not that impressed with this VN/Game so far, as I'm unsure if it will contain under-aged porn with the sister (which I find completely offensive if she's not 18 or older), there are hints at actual harmful violence, the bugs, the font choices, and I get a sinking feeling about what types of directions the plot might go with the family being homeless... I think the game takes place in Cuba possibly, based off some comments about the prostitutes shoes, but even then, are there not government run homeless shelters or hospitals they could go to in that country? I dunno...

In any case, I'm not sure I will re-visit this one or not... Have to wait and see if the bugs can get fixed, so we're able to get further into this introduction... Only time will tell...


(02/26/2018 - Review Update - v0.0.2)

Ok, definitely a big improvement over the first time I played this game in the prior version... I didn't run into any bugged out screens... Both story directions worked without a hitch... The script text has also improved... Several more locations have been added, some work and some don't for the moment... We also get a better idea of the game play style for this game... There isn't a whole lot of content, so don't go into this game expecting a lot of things to do, but it's still under construction...

The game system appears that it plans to go a grind route, with each day broken down into hours... The navigation system is pretty simple to use... The UI is minimalistic but very functional... I can see a lot more potential in this game then in it's first version... Unsure for the moment if it will be story driven type content, or porn driven, since there is really not much of either so far, beyond the introduction story content... We'll have to wait and see once more content is added, how this game will actually play out...

In the mean time, I've raised it from 1 star to 3, as most of the basic game play system seems to be in place and working correctly... Just need to wait and see how it goes after some actual content gets added... I'll probably wait for a few updates before revisiting, to give it some time to grow...