VN - Ren'Py - Eternum [v0.8.5 Public] [Caribdis]

got to say this is one of my favorites out there right now, the story is great and I just love the characters. I totally understand why its one of the highest rated out there and look forward to see what new worlds and twist will happen next.

[0.3] You know how reviews for every other game on this website are always saying "wow these characters are so believable! this game has the best plot ever!"
Then it turns out to be just a giant carousel of degenerates? Eternum is not like that.

This is like the one game I've found so far that actually has a thought out plot to it. When others say the story is captivating, they were actually right for once. I was so surprised. The writing is not only hooking at times, it's genuinely funny too, I've laughed out loud at plenty of points.

Not to say there aren't times the dialogue does not slow down, but the game has been interesting enough to try to see how far I can go until the end (there is a lot of content).

Oh and the NSFW scenes are hot

Exemplifies what it means to be a VN game.
The renders are excellent, the writing is *Chef's kiss*, and the humor shows that Caribdis knows their audience very well. There are an incredible number of memes and jokes slipped in for the benefit of us gamers and otakus like us. It's fun and genuinely a joy to play.

The story being written here is actually captivating to the point where I want to keep reading and forget that this is an Adult VN game. When you do reach a lewd scene, it kind of pulls you back a little bit even though it eases you into the scene. You forget that you are playing a lewd game because the story is actually good.

The girls are all hot too. Like, smokin' hot. I think Nova is my favorite at the moment but it's hard to decide with such a fun and attractive cast. They are all fun and sometimes relatable personalities too. For instance, .

So far, there aren't a ton of lewd scenes which is fine. I mean, this early in a well written story, why would there be? But the ones that are in are good and actually seem to add to the story quite a lot in my opinion. We've all played a Caribdis game before and so you should know by now, they don't add lewd scenes just for the sake of being lewd.

Overall, even in it's current unfinished state as of 0.3, Eternum is by far my favorite VN, period. It's got a lot going for it and knowing Carbdis, there is a lot more to come. I'm jealous of the person in the future who gets to play this one without waiting on the next update.

TL;DR Play the damn game. You'll love it.

Plot and setting is the best in business. Adult content might be a little far and between so far for some but it adds to the flow of the story really well.

Simply put this might be the best game on the site. Maybe not the best for pron but the best overall.

Version played: 0.6.2

Just a quick sharing of my thoughts:
I will be approaching this as a porn game so keep that in mind.

Let's start with the story. I feel like this is one of the strong suits. I would describe it as good for a porn game at the very least.
It progresses nicely, has a decent amount of power fantasy going for it and works well enough. If it were an Anime or regular VN I would tone it down a notch and would probably call it okay.
But for a porn game it is definitely great.
I will say that the girls get a bit of fragmented attention, jumping from one to the next without too much depth.
Character development is also not at the core of the story, often it's more about the world and the protagonist.
There is a good amount of story too.

In terms of renders, those are not original models so some sense of familiarity will exist but the renders are great for a porn game.
Actually somewhat varied environments certainly helps. a minor note to me is that the cat is kind of ugly and sticks out because of it, as do some other objects.
(We have all seen that bench with the tunnel), luckily I have not found scenes like these here.

In terms of scenes, there is an okay amount of them but fairly few per girl due to there being too many of them.
The buildup also does not flow that naturally. I personally would have much preferred a smaller main cast with a slower buildup in addition to some faster side characters.

The girls themselves are great, and cater to my tastes well enough, even the large breasted woman are still somewhat proportional.
Just the protagonist has to suffer from a needlessly oversized dick, that seems to be a tech limitation if I remember correctly.

Animations of the scenes are also fine.


In terms of gameplay, it is quite the linear vn without much bs, which to me is completely fine. I did use a walkthrough mod though.

Overall I would say it's great, but I wouldn't place it completely at the top. Due to it's fragmented nature and scenes. Still good enough to keep following it.



----- old review below ----


Version played: v0.3

The plot is pretty good on it's own and really good for a porn game.
There girls may not be the best renders here but they definitely are not bad, the girls themselves are all quite well grounded and I found them all at least attractive, even the milf, this is quite rare for me.

I really see no drawbacks to it, just know it is a slower burn so don't expect a million scenes, there are however still quite a few.

Edit: added played version:

I FUCKING LOVE THIS GAME IT IS SO GOOD I AM PRETTY SURE I HAVE READ A BOOK THAT WAS BASED AROUND A SIMILAR CONCEPT. I LOVE THIS GAME SO MUCH IT IS NOT JUST FUCKING IT ACTUALLY MAKES YOU BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE GIRLS IT IS SO GOOOD

Eternum is an incredible game, simply incredible, that's all I want to say. Words can't describe how much I love this game and how good this game really is. It's a combination of top - notch quality renders, animations and very exciting plot. You know normally games have one or the other, but this game is a rare gem which has both of the qualities. I love every single second playing it, the game for me has no weaknesses. This game is definietely one of the best adult games ever made, Eternum has been in my top 3 so far, but it has potentital to be the best ever. Thank you developers for creating such a great game and bringing to me many memorable moments, I will buy it in a heart beat if it is released on Steam.

Edit: To add. A game that you almost forget is an H-game until something comes up. The story brings you in, the H-scenes lock you in.

A fun game with an interesting story. Something that feels unique and new in the harem game world which is refreshing.
Enough content to keep you interested, not so much that you are getting bored.
Some good humor, and a story telling that feels organic and real.
Excited to see what comes next.
Worth supporting, and playing.

I was reluctant to try this one out when I saw the Honey Select models, as I was afraid it's going to be a juvenile wish-fulfillment of some self-insert Sonic OC character but I'm happy to say it couldn't be further from the truth.

Only as I write this do I see who the dev is, and Caribdis is bringing his usual humor, great talent at setting a scene, satisfying pacing.

I can see that Caribdis learned a lot of lessons from making his previous banger, and improved on every aspect: the humor is great, no freeze-frame record scratch abuse, even though it would have been easy to do with his style of humor.
The story is set up wonderfully, and it progresses without cheap cliffhangers or coincidental blueballing. The choices you make matter, and they follow sound logic: no esoteric bullshit logic, you should be able to make an educated guess to get the outcome you want.

As for graphics, this is the first time I scrolled back in a game because I thought a render of a girl looked just....beautiful. I'm fairly certain you couldn't squeeze more out of this engine.

But truth be told, it would not have mattered if it was drawn in paint or with ASCII art, because the characters actually have their own personality that is consistent, different and interesting. There is a lot to like about every single one of the girls.
I have no criticism to offer. I feel like a food critic trying to say something original about Ramsay's cooking, so I'll just shut the fuck up.
gr8 job m8, I r8 it 8/8

Amazing so far.

I'm surprised how it's not so focused around fucking every girl you meet yet but slowly building that relationship.

The only weird thing about this game is that you can't access the scene gallery from the menu and at the end of 0.3 I wasn't prompted to create a save file nor did the game make one for me

But really interesting plot nonetheless and amazing renders with some lovely characters.

This game is AWESOME!
Also have played part of Dev's previous game (once in a lifetime) and can say i like it so far.

The story, humor, animations, render quality, it's all great.


You should totally play his games.

This game is truly AWESOME!
So is this Dev's previous game (once in a lifetime).

The story, humor, thrills, animations, render quality you name it, it's all great.

Also the Dev himself (almost) always replies to comments or DM's.

You should totally play his games.

Never have I laughed so hard in my life while playing a porn game. The story is very enjoyable and the humor gets me every time, especially the dark souls scene and the two repeaters in class, and their mafia like vibe.

I can't stop thinking about this game. Once in a Lifetime, previous work of Caribdis, grabbed me in a similar way. But Eternum is even better, at least for now (not that I doubt Caribdis, I know he's gonna deliver). And just like before, I can't choose one girl, thank god it's a harem.
I really want a time machine so I can jump forward and play finished version.
It's the one of the 2 games on this site that I would gladly support, if I had money. I will buy finished version though, if that would be possible.
Reviewing version 0.3

Well written, immersive story with top tier renders and relatable characters. Everything that you would expect from the developer of Once in a Lifetime. This is the kind of story that comes alive as you read and experience it.

If you thought the creators previous work Once in a Lifetime was good then you have seen nothing yet, This title not only surpasses it but sets a whole new benchmark for quality and storytelling, The music featured it chosen well and the humour is side splitting and some of the best i've seen in a VN, The characters are memorable and created well so that you actually care about each person and as always in quality Vns.. the lewd serves the story not the other way around and when it does occur it is of the highest quality yet again.. Definitely a VN to enjoy, keep and be glad to support..

I love this game, it's a great game, both the visuals and the story. In-game comprehension You don't have to press any guesswork. Easy to play and the animations in general are considered another very good game. Looking forward to watching the next update.

The story of the characters is written super well and you just have to know how it goes from there. Aside from the story, which is just addictive, the H-scenes are very stimulating. i can hardly wait for the next update! Many thanks to the dev for this masterpiece! 5/5

What a delightful day that we can enjoy another game from Caribdis, I say it's more immersive world than before, you can play it with awe and fun, also spend your time with this game won't result in regret but joy, I wish for the developers the best of the best, thank you

Cannot wait for more content.
Pros: Some of the best visuals and animation in RenPy, well made characters, sucessful use of humor/comic relief (honors the intended pacing, rather than detracting from it)
Cons: Currently short, and essentually a kenetic novel where you can opt out of each characters arcs if you want (and thats respected in game world, rather than just "happening off screen).

″OASIS was much more than a game or an entertainment platform.”
Ernest Cline. "Ready Player One"

OASIS was many things. So many things in fact, the film and the book couldn't show them all. Some of the things should be probably left untouched, but some, well, one in particular, is rather interesting.

ETERNUM *IS* OASIS.
Except it isn't.

If one is given two smartphone models, of different brands, for example, can it be said that those phones are the same thing? Surely they are used the same, they have the same functions, but they were made differently, on different assembly lines, by different people. One can be different from another in many subtle things, yet these subtle differences are what makes us prefer one model over the other.

ETERNUM is different. Yes, it is clearly inspired by OASIS, no doubt here, adressing the elephant in the room. But it is different. Caribdis could definitely make minimal core design changes and achieve the same result. But the changes were made. Are they for the better? For the worse? No matter, their intention was to create some distance between the game and it's inspiration.

The setting
Minor spoilers ahead.
It is actually closer to our daily world as it could be. People still use cars, go to universities, meet with their friends, engage in outdoor activities. Nothing of the extreme exists in this world. Nothing but ETERNUM. The precise elaboration is not present, but to shorten things up, there are neural implant chips which allow the user to connect to a different world while physically remaining in a sleeping state in real world.
"With a neural implant that recreates the five senses, it becomes impossible to distinguish between the game and the real world." - so the main question is solved here. ETERNUM is seamless. OASIS wasn't.

This seamlessness allows the users to abuse the virtual world, as no law and order from the real world applies here. So, while original OASIS was a teaching program and later developed in all kinds of things, ETERNUM instead focused on providing a refuge for people with specific interests to gather up and communicate with each other as if it was real world.

"With power comes responsibility" - where has this quote ever worked? Not here, at least. For that much attention ETERNUM is getting, it is surprisingly underdeveloped on the infrastructural level. This may have been a negligible letdown, if the same problems weren't already solved by Cline in his novel. I could never understand why would the developer of ETERNUM game take on such a massive setting, if he either couldn't or didn't bother shaping the worldbuilding properly before digging into the plot. Here are some of few things which stand out and completely ruin the story:
* Levels, which are obtained by earning experience, and as quted by one of the main characters, are only for show-off. 5 seconds later, and the protagonist is told that the best stuff is literally gated behind a level requirement. Why? What is the concept of levels in real world? There is literally none. One does not have to get some abstract experience to suddenly get substantial benefits from just that. It wasn't in OASIS, why is it here? The problem I have is that it is never used for anything, like come on, why go all this way to never adress the protagonist's level and why EXACTLY should he want to increase it?
* Questionable authority. In the 0.1 chunk the protagonist meets the representative of local authority acting as if she was a god, or, more precisely - Judge Dredd. Unstopabble and undeniable justice. Later, in 0.2 chunk, THE SAME representatives are killed by the protagonist left right and center, without any consequences whatsoever. This was the plot point which ruined the setting for me.
* One last thing before we move on. The servers, and how they are accessed. Yes, for the sake of plot the protagonist had to meet "The Hackerman" incarnate and use her abilities to personal benefit. For some reason, this involves hacking the game so badly that the hacker takes over several characters and dumps them into otherwise inaccessible server. Now remember what chaos are hackers in GTA Online able to perform with but a fraction of such powers? I doubt the game would even remotely be playable or interesting, if you could login one day and become teleported to some killbox where you would be killed and looted, and then maybe even stuck in deathloop or even lose control of own avatar? Terrible! Ok, this is just one person, this is an exception, noone else can do this. Aaaand, here comes the skeleton man, woop woop, your stuff is gone. And law enforcers literally do nothing about it.
* Ok, I lied, this would be the last thing. Remember how in OASIS every perk, every power was from an actual artefact which gives some advantages, can be farmed somewhere and more precisely, can be countered with something else. (MAJOR SPOILER FOR "READY PLAYER ONE AHEAD") When the nuke-bomb went off in OASIS, everyone but the protagonist died, because the protagonist had an artefact granting him an extra life. Everything there was self-explanatory. But not in ETERNUM.
How the hell does protagonist posess some sort of magic? Why is one of the artefacts having a key role to the plot in an unfinished server and what exactly is it's purpose? Why is the antagonist unkillable for some reason? Why is the protagonist literally invincible?

The setting is like a house of cards. Make it simple, it will be more resilient, but nothing special. Make it complex, people will admire it, but one mistake and it all falls down. It did it. It fell, for me at least.

The plot
It differs from the setting in such way: setting is where stuff happens, while plot is what actually happens. And what actually happens is one big mistery. I don't want to talk much about the plot, as in current state it consists of so many inconsistent events that it is very hard for me to weave them together into one picture. A lot of characters are introduced, the player is dumped on a lot of events with those characters, however the timeline is not complete, the story jumps a day or two all of a sudden, and the events are so unevenly distributed, that it somehow managed to look unnatural. It really does feel like several separate lines of events at once, with poor attempts to connect them together. This impacts the character development, but more severely it impacts the meaning of a lot of text lines. Why talk about something which then gets skipped entirely? Why state it as meaningful information if it does nothing but further confusing the player?
In short, the plot is as follows: the student goes to different city, gets in a new university, gets a neural implant and goes on enjoying the game which the implant gives access to. But then everything goes downhill - solving problems, mysteries left and right, dealing with some complete bullshit in both worlds and so on. For me it is rather hard to understand what is going on currently at any given point in time, what was before and what was after. If it wasn't so for the developer, he then failed to include the crucial information into the release version. Some calendar maybe? A timeline? A phone notification menu? Where are we even?

The art
It pains me to say so, but the art is outright bad. The render quality is lacking, the lighting is botched, many clipping mistakes and seams on textures are visible. The worst thing is that to notice this and make a point out of it, all I had to do was to launch up another game from the top of this cite rating (which I unfortunately am not allowed to name in this review according to guidelines) and it feeled like I advanced 10 years in render quality. There are many great games with low quality 3D renders, of course. But the same time there are many great games with significantly better renders, significantly more detailed backgrounds, smoother lighting, cleaner animations and more polygons in clothing and hair. The bar for 3DCG games was raised so high in the past years that currently someone unwilling to sacrifice a half of own life to compete with those at the top, will inveitably be compared to those at the top and lose in that comparisson.
For such an amazingly complex game surely it wouldn't be a problem to do more thorough renders, hire someone with better experiences with setting up light in scenes, doing animations? I hope the renders will be remade, as we all learn by making imperfect art and then perfecting it with practice. There are games in which either some of the worst events were re-rendered and animations done from scratch, and there are even games which after 6 long chapters stopped and remade the first one entirely, marginally increasing the quality.
Here also the art is sometimes really good, but, when it comes to the art of ETERNUM itself, what it feels like is in attempt to make the scenes more vibrant the artist may have pushed too far. The scenes in 0.3 batch were especially painful to watch with all the magic effects beaming from them. God damn.

The adult content
7.
7 scenes.
In 3 giant batches. Underwhelming? Absolutely! Is is "quality over quantity"? Well, how about no? The quantity of everything else is theough the roof, while the reason for this game being "adult" - not so much. The quality is also lacking in those scenes, half of those are shallow and don't have much beyond talks and some naked body renders. Those with miscellanious characters are not interesting. Those with main heroines are sometimes lacking the obvious PoV.
There are games with few sex scenes. And they are great games. But they make up for it in the length and quality of every scene. Dozens of renders. Several animations of different actions. Several PoVs for every action. Adjustable speed of animation. Name it, it has be done... elsewhere. Major letdown, I have expected way more either quality or quantity judging on other games of similar engine and genre.

The summary
Are we there yet? No, not yet. A great game with a great potential, but a lot of problems.
The setting and plot both have more holes than a strainer, several things don't make sense even as for now, I fear it may be getting worse as the plot grows in later chapters.
The text is massive, but it's meaning is not quite there. Not everyone is Lev Tolstoj or Alexandre Dumas to write giant tomes on any possible theme, and an attempt to extend the text doesn't quite give the expected results when viewed from the lense of importance to the plot.
The art is decent, but not perfect, the lighting is unbalanced - scenes may be either very bright or very dim, the saturation aswell. The animations are good but not polished enough, some crucial PoVs are not there when they should be.
Finally the amount of sex scenes is not enough, their quality doesn't make up for an abcense of quantity.

I have rated the game as 3/5 (Average). I could rate it as 4/5 as for now if the setting had a little less holes in it, now it is like 3.5/5 for me, but I cannot quite justify giving it a solid 4 yet.

I really hope to come back to this review and change it in the following updates, improving the given score. This game is already at the very top of weighted rating on this site, and, well, it is a great game. But being great means being great at everything, which I do believe this game will eventually become. But not right now, let's wait and see.

I do recommend playing this game, but perhaps not in current state, rather when it has more content.

Thank you all for reading!