Ren'Py - Desert Stalker [v0.16b] [Zetan]

One of the best. Zetan puts a significant amount of effort into his characters and world-building. Every story piece seems to serve a function, and the scenarios that play out make sense for both macro and micro narratives. Zetan has lampooned, to a T, the vibe of a hostile post-apocalyptic world that regressed back to ancient traditions and customs. 5/5

It is quite simple, this is one of the best VN you can get here in every way.

Plus there are no tedious "free-roam" or sandbox (even in desert !) sections.

It is quite gore sometimes but you can choose to turn off those visuals.

Absolutely amazing game that focuses on being dominant and powerful for a change, with great characters, worldbuilding, and the story to surround it.

The lack of casual highschool drama is so refreshing, with great dialogue and interesting characters that have an understanding of the world they are in instead of being constantly surprised and jealous of MC every step of the way.

This is one of few games that actually had choices that I would want to make, unapologetically brutal and efficient, and conquering the world one step at a time.

There is no mechanical gameplay per say, however I'm impressed how there are several locations from where you have separate quests. With so many interesting choices and characters, the pacing works great for an advanced VN.

All in all I'm definitely going to be following this game closely, it takes the first spot for games with proper Dominant MC .

Score:
Renders: 4.5/5
Sound: 4/5
Story: 5/5
Choices: 4.5/5
Originality: 5/5
Gameplay: 4.5/5

Feedback:
-MC looks a bit silly in the initial cinematic and few scenes. Just making him look a little bit less derpy and more badass could help.
-Eyes sometimes look quite bad, improving the textures and the materials could go a long way here to get a better look. Re-doing old scenes is probably too time-consuming, but I'd suggest it for the first few scenes as a hook.
-More content please and thank you ♥

1 of the few games where Gore is used effectively.
The story is quite good with a badass MC .What attracted me the most was the LI as all of them r quite entertaining especially from the perfect wife to crazy raider sisters,though my fav is Shion as it was quite enchanting to watch their love blossom.
As of 0.11 my Fav is the Raider Arc especially the way General's end was depicted was so freaking EPIC!!

One of the best games overall. Top in the maledom category and top in the post-apo category. Enough said.

Despite the game being inspired by Fallout and the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and possibly Mad Max, the story is both original and interesting.

Renders and animations are good overall. Music is excellent. Each important moment has chosen music that greatly supports the experience.

Characters are different both in appearance and personality. I didn't see similar models in other porn games.

I found myself playing it about 10 times both to check all possible outcomes and simply enjoy, so playability is rather high.

Game has an enormous amount of content.

Weak points:
Some renders are of low quality
Some animations are of only passable quality
Far away from being finished

The game ticks all the possibilities I would like to see in there, simple as that. Immersive story, interesting characters, unique universe that has its own rules which are depicted in a very good space.

I like sandboxes and this one delivers with the gameplay without any scent of grinding. The missions as well as side things happening are amazingly written and set up.

Although some choices might be irrelevant they still serve their purpose of setting up your character and your attitude to the others.

Even the little notes of NTR (totally avoidable) bring the realism of choices and the diversity of kinks.

Of course, it is not flawless, with the sex scenes being mostly static and rough. Still, there are some animations and 1 or 2 even smooth (I guess bj with different even one-scene characters are all stem from one animation done).

Solid 5/5. It's gonna be hard to play other games after that

Holly shit this is the defenition of a porn visual novel.

I have never had so many boners in a porn vn before and at the same time being on the edge of my seat watching how the plot is progressing.

If u are reading this and u haven't played the game yet STOP wasting your time reading reviews and go fucking play the game this shit is a banger in so many ways i really fucking doubt u will regret it.

Little review of my thoughts about the game so far (v0.11c):

Main character:
This is the first time i play with an mc that actually BEHAVES LIKE A FUCKING MAN for fucks sake, the literal defenition of masculinity and holy shit it feels so good to have a main character like this after so many other vn's where the mc's (even tho they are ok in many way's) are complete sissys. The perfect example of cool headed and warm hearted.
Literally my favorite main character.

Girls:
Just wow the girls they look fucking alive, their behaviour considering the supposed ancient egypt look of this game is soo fucking similar that it hurts(and yes there were pharaoh women in ancient egypt).
Literally every single one of them feel like they really have a personallity and more that catches the eye, every girl is so well crafted that every time a new girl is apresented instead of feeling overloaded i feel exited for it.
The models are the literally defenition of perfection, i still cant believe that in my current state a girl without SOME HUGE BADONKERS gave me such a hard boner that i had to take my pants off.

Queen Merneith (Submissive route) best girl fuck u all who disagree. t('-')

Plot:
This game's plot is one of the most immersive I have experienced so far, it doesn't feel like a straight line it feels more like you are creating your path, and at the same time you don't know how to build a path so the girls build it for you. Their problems, ideas, resolutions, challenges that's what makes you go forward with the story and the amount of immersion that this kinda approach gives me its just unmatchable.
The choices are what u should expect from a game like this, other than the "normal" choices the real big choices are not afraid to block huge amounts of content from the player and thats so fucking refreshing to actually come to a discussion with a friend about the game and having a complete diferent story to tell in some parts, and that really does put a smile on my face. But please if any of the devs ends up reading this dont overwork yourself i can only imagine how insanly hard it gets to manage so many variables and the last thing i wish to see is an [abandoned] tag on this masterpiece stay healthy devs .

Other aspects:

Facial expressions:
Hot dam the facial expressions are soooooo fuuuuuuuuucking gud the only thing i could point is the lack of blush but in general they work so well even without it that i only kinda noticed it close to the end, probably one of the best facial expressions i saw in a adult vn.

World and animations:
This game world and scenery are insane, It's so well thought and worked on and the animations(also the best animations i have seen so far in an adult vn) compliment the world so well that it feels like a fucking movie.

Final thoughts:
A complete banger 9.5/10 im not giving 10 because the game hasn't ended yet and the last 0.5 is for the conclusion. So hyped for future content and projects keep up the absolute masterfull work ZetanDS .

I think it's one of the best VNs in terms of story, choices and hot sex scenes. The game just sucks you in, it's like you're really there, making hard decisions that take you some time before picking and the game doesn't force you to things like "NTR" The only thing missing are voice overs and more animations, but this game deserves a 5/5.

Ok this is my second review ever. I will cover the pro's and con's of the game and give each section it's own rating. The over all rating is, 4. It is a good game that I feel falls just a bit short mostly because of the two cons I will get to below.

Pro's
MC - I typically don't like male protage games because they are either over the top dominate that they come off as more rapist than powerful men, or they come across as clumsey cringe worthy guys that are dumb as a box of rock, yet the female NPC's for reasons I can't fathom throw themselves at the MC.

DS is different, the MC comes across as a strong dominate male, that has a softer side to him if you want to show it. He can be hard at times at other times he is not. He comes across like a real person with depth to his personality. I also like how he often makes threats or dominates others in very subtle ways. It is obvious what he is doing but it is delivered very subtly which is nice. All and all I give him a 4.5 out of 5. There is a couple of spots that I thought could be a bit better, and there was a couple of times his actions I felt where a little off from what I expected by the choices given to me.

Renders - all and all great, there is a couple here and there that are so so but most are very well done. Again 4.5 out of 5 as while great I don't think is perfect at least not all of them

Music - , typically I mute the music in almost every game. I often find it annoying or just not fitting to what is happening. I turn this music down but still leave it on. Which says a lot. So 5 for the music.

World building - . I honestly really love the world and how it is set up. I have no real complaints about it at all. So 5 out of 5 here too.

Story/quest - , this to me is the first slight stumble for the game. The story is nice and the quests are nice... but the quests are short. They are often only a few scenes and then over. What it has is good but I think to short, because just as I really start getting into it, they often end. So which each quest was long to get more into them. Good but not great so 4 out of 5

Now the cons that IMHO is what hurts the game.
sex scenes - , they are not terrible. But they are also not good. they are often short and very limited. I would like more options for such a dominate MC. More choices on what kind of sex and how you have sex. Be gentle or be hard. As it is I struggle to give the sex scenes at best a 2.5 out of 5.

no choice choices - , I utterly hate these in games. Luckily there is not many but when they show up they just break immersion completely. I won't say when for spoiler but in one fight you are given a choice. If you choose one of the options a NPC dies and then you have to replay they scene and pick the other option... why have two options in the first place if one leads to a game over that forces you then back to choose the other option. It is a pet peeve of mine but I HATE those things. I am hoping there is not many more, I have not finished the game yet. This is a 1 out of 5 for fake choices

As a whole with all the good as I stated I am giving this a solid 4. Remove the fake no choice choices or better replace them with actual choices that leads to slightly different outcomes, and improve the sex scenes and this could easily be a 5 star game.

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It's been a while since I played Desert Stalker, but so far it has been the only game where you can be a believable dominant MC.

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The world building is great, the music is very atmospheric and like somebody else put it in his review - the dev should give courses on how to make beautiful faces.
I love the tone of this game where it's just normal to use girls for pleasure, instead of being concerned with impressing them. Sadly rape is only featured in the first scene.

If you have to cringe everytime a MC tries to impress someone, this game is like a fresh breeze at the ocean. Truly pleasant. *insert nicolas cage meme*

For me personally, Desert Stalker has some of the most arousing erotic scenes I have encountered. One in particular comes to mind, where the MC explains to his new young slave how she should always come silently to him to pleasure him whenever he makes a certain gesture with his hand. I generally enjoy him making only few words.
Or how he just normally gropes his youngest daughters breasts even if his wife or visitors are around. Her only role is basically to pleasure him. The game is really good at portraying the MC as the man of the house in a believable way. And the wife for once is the obedient supporter she should be.

Sadly, the sexscenes are not as satisfying as they are arousing, but still better than in most games. Like mentioned before, I personally would've preferred if the game stayed as hard (-core) as it is in the beginning.

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TLDR: If you are tired of spineless MCs and a feminist world - here you get a genuine dominant confident MC instead of the usual try-hards, and very arousing scenes.

5/5 - for making my dick stand like seldom before

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The concept of the game is amazing. The quality of graphics, renderings, animations is top notch. The main character is not a sugary schoolboy who lost his father, but almost King Leonidas from the world of post-apocalypse. You can touch your daughter's big breasts and this is considered normal. Crazy world, but you believe in it. I wish this game would be updated more often.

It is a great game. The background for deprabations are well displayed. 100 recommended game.
The developer has the talent to narrate a story in which he introduces different fetishes that are difficult for players to receive, but he does it masterfully, taking advantage of the lore and maintaining the quality of the narrative. Version 0.11c

Love this game!!!! I've played 40ish avns at this point. This game still has (to me) two of the hottest girls in the genre. I just can't get enough of the exotic/Egyptian look...seriously I have not found more unique character models anywhere.

So far I have really enjoyed the storytelling and writing. You get to do some cool things that ive never seen any other games of this type as well. There are branches and good choices and while I am not a huge fan of sandbox type games this keeps the annoying bits of sandbox minimized and makes it overall very enjoyable.

I frequent avn reddit and rarely see this title suggested. THIS IS A HIDDEN GEM pick it up!

A game that really stands out as truly different from the rest . Good worldbuilding and a story that does not feel like an afterthought or that I have read it before. Characters that stand out both visually and conceptually

Everything feels very polished and intentional an engaging story with lots going on. Although it is a little too edgy at times

also girls got big boob and it make my weener go yahoo
v good incest scenes

TLDR: This is one of the best game with repeatable gameplay, sandbox VN. You get to enjoy censored(violence gore content off) don't worry sex is not censored.

Now in detail, the models are great they have their uniqueness and all babes that you really would like to fuck. Wife and home is awesome and repeat contents makes you want to play more knowing they will be continued.

Quests, side quests all have good quality renders, good story content, and playability, and ofcourse good sex animations.
all 5 Stars.

For 2 years in development this is one of the most advanced and complete games on the site. Models are amazing and there is alot of potential for interesting game mechanics and alot of work done for future additions. It seems like every assest was made for this game and if there are any reused assests like other Renpy games I haven't seen them. Unique and thrilling music, scenery and setting is unique and gorgeous.

Story is interesting and engaging but may be getting a bit frayed with alot of new additions rather than following one thread at a time. However these additions are interesting and make sense in context if a bit of a small stretch to get there.

Looking forward to the rest of this game as it happens!

damn this game is good, really like how the female characters are very well made, the animations are top notch, wish we can speed up a bit in some cutscene, but most of them are well made and fairly good, can wait for more extensive release for this one!

The worldbuilding is very immersive and very well grounded and the writing is great. The characters are likeable as well. I am looking forward to more. The hardcore stuff had me hesitant at first, but it is very well done and not edgy for the sake of being edgy.

I will start with what I'm sure everyone knows.

This is one of the best games on the site.

I hold all other games to the standard that this game sets, more or less.
The game has one of the best stories on the site, and some of the best characters. Each lewd scene manages to feel novel and earned instead of becoming a copy and paste or revealing a rather obvious skinner's box pattern underneath.

The setting is rather unique, but even if it's not the first, it has succeeded so well that it owns the space, and similar games have to live up to it.

One of the most enjoyable MC's on the site too. He has a lot of personality, and some people can argue he's too strong or competent, but believe it or not, that archetype is rather rare in the genre, where most MC's are just stupid and spoonfed plot results or sex. It's incredibly surprising how rare a competent MC is, or competent in a manner where they earn their wins rather than just being too strong.

Minor complaints for the game is that the body types of lots of characters can be too similar. I mean it's the perfect body type, at least for my tastes, but a lot of them are similar. Also the saturation and color of the locations can make everything blend in too much. It all looks like some shady of sandy. Finally, because of how specific the renders and animations are, and how high quality they are, it can end up eating into the dev time, where one update may be rather short.

But all in all, I keep coming back to the game, and it consistently holds my interest.
Shani's interactions with that house in the zone was rather great, and the dev's have managed to add literary elements in a way that folds rather nicely with the rest of the game rather than sticking like a sore thumb, dragging the rest of the game with it and ruining the lewd content, being too in your face, or being plain bad. Where others fail, Desert Stalker excels.

One of the great things about Desert Stalker is that it doesn't need to overly rely on it's plot. It already has egyptian Mad Max harem down with fantastic setup imagery, hot character design and decent writing. All it needs to do as a game is focus on it's core set of characters and avoid getting too anime-y or too self-indulgent in it's own plot.

And that's exactly where it struggles.

There's a real fine line the game walks attempting to balance it's anime styled characters with the stylized middle-eastern ones. I would argue that the more characters the game introduces, the more likely we are to run into more of these Dead or Alive Volleyball style anime characters that pull you out of the experience. Jamming in themes like vampirism and roman coliseums while we move back and forth from STALKER style desert settings to perfectly preserved egyptian tombs, there are real moments where you lose your sense of place as the game bombards you with a cool new characters that only get one sex scene.

The constant new side content feels like a distraction from the core characters and hinders this game's sense of scale. There are four perfectly fuckable characters to interact with from the start of the game, yet for some reason we keep adding more and more characters onto the roster. Introducing all these characters invites plenty of narrative fodder that's drawn out to a degree that sexual content takes a backseat to uninteresting plot development every update.

There's a lot of gimmicky content that tries to add a level of depth but ends up falling flat. Exploration sections of the game have too many options that only play out with two unimportant outcomes. There's a village on a bridge where you decide the fates of each villager just to tap into Fallout nostalgia and the payoff is sexless slides in an unskippable cutscene. There's an anime lab where special races of characters now enter the fray because... deus ex machina?

When there's already so much richness in the middle eastern-esque parts of the world, why sideline the plot into cringey setpieces? We want to see these elements evolve and our choices matter. Knowing how small these independent game developers teams are and how slow the update cycle can be, the focus should be on that core set of content unless we're prepared to wait several years to see Desert Stalker release.

My recommendations are simple. More sex scenes of core characters that push the plot and introduce us to new characters, less distractions and random anime-fantasy-sci fi content.

4 stars. Good.