VN - Ren'Py - Harem Hotel [v0.18.1] [Runey]

I've put off leaving a review just because I was not sure how to word exactly what I wanted to say, I think I know exactly how I can describe this game now.
TLDR:
A tasteful harem game with Lore that rivals some novel series. This game is worth playing, and supporting.

First, Runey creates a game that not only do you want to play, but one where you are constantly wanting to learn more about. You get little bits of the lore in an organic manner that makes you want to keep going instead of dumping it all on you like a bucket. You are never bored as you get info on new things in this world you are living in. The Lore could, and honestly should at this point have it's own novel series.

The non H-scenes are well thought out, and fit the story as it progresses. Are there some that feel a little of a stretch? Yes, but no more than those awkward stories you have of some stuff you might have done in your past. (and lets be honest, it's a harem game)

The characters feel real, and each have their own things that they are dealing with. This makes it so you can connect with certain ones who you may feel more emotional to, without completely alienating the others. It's a good balance, and feels well done. Sometimes with this type of game the author pushes you slightly to one certain girl. I feel this game has a nice balance and the content is even for the choices you have.

Story progressing is very smooth for the amount of jumps you have to have in a game like this, and never did I have a "wait a minute, I don't understand/remember/know what the heck is going on" moment.

H- Scenes, we know why you all are here. There is plenty, with plenty of tasteful kinks for anyone. You can basically play it out however you want with the story nudging you in some small directions to keep things rolling. A good balance, without going overboard one way or another.

Grinding, any game has it. It is done minimally, and tastefully here. You progress as one would semi-naturally and it feels right without being overbearing.
This game is worth playing, and supporting.

this game is.. i m just speechless... it have extremely big world. and a lot of things happning in it. it has drama, emotional, funny momments bla bla. animations are nice and one of the best story i think. i would give my top 1 to this masterpiece. everyone should give a shot to this masterpiece. characters have funny backstories or dark ones . 10/10 for me. everyone in this forum should play this game.

One of the best Games I've played on this site
Great girls with a beautiful story
Lin the Best Girl Ever
Excellent gameplay easy to understand and get used to
I should just improve the H scenes a little
More clothes in H scenes
Good Interactions, Add more
I hope it continues for a long time, we are not ready to say goodbye to this wonderful game yet

Prepare yourselves, folks. You are about to embark on a storytelling masterpiece with good porn and heartstring-pulling moments served as the side dish.

Ignore those who say this game is boring and has a bad story, they clearly have zero taste and can't tell a good game from a terrible one

Reminder that Lin best girl

I don't understand the huge hype for this game. I've read all the story related content, and all I can say is, I'm not impressed. Since this game was so high rated, I expected some kind of masterpiece but all I got was media core fiction probably half inspired from something else like manga, novels, or something like that.

Characters and Animations aren't worth mentioning because It's made apparently from another game.

Gameplay is managing a hotel, but all you can do is buy upgrades. There is no real management aspect in this game.

The only thing left is the adult content, and even that wasn't good, sadly. You can repeat most scenes by interacting with the characters, which also is essential to grind stats. But most of those scenes were so boring, that it felt like work going through it each time.

Review of 0.15 public version

One of the best games here on f95.

From the well written story to the hot look of the girls, Harem Hotel is one of those games that must be played at least once in a lifetime.

Harem Hotel starts you off pretty simple. You are a standard MC who's thrown into a situation surrounded by girls. When you meet the women for the first time, it seems like they follow a basic archetype. But quickly this changes. Each girl actually gets a solid piece of character development and some of them get a really strong backstory. My favorite is Ashley , also if sometimes she is scary yandere I fell in love with her knowing her sad past. One of my favorite Ashley's in game event is when MC and the other hotel's girls surprise her with a birthday party. I have to admit that some tears have fallen from my eyes.

The sandbox part Is pretty well done with no difficult grinding for money or girls' love and lewd stats.

Recent Runey's rework of many parts of the beginning of the game or secondary stuff such as menu , map etc has been the key for me to write a review. It seems a different game. With each update we can see how the dev cares about his baby , always listening to people opinions and giving to us a lot of content for all tastes .

Thanks Runey for the game

More Ellen content

Still after all this years, its by far my favorite ero game, i love everything about this game, the world building, the character building, the ero scenes and so on. The girls are created with such an wonderful charm and there is 100% a girl wich catches your interest because there is every casual sexual interest covered like: small boobs, big boobs, medium boobs, exhibitionism, feet content and also for sure things like fantasy races like elves. You also have the possibility to replay nearly every scene and this in several super duper cute outfits (The neko one from felicity is my favourite one ^^)
I just wanna say thank you for this game, its amazing works and the updates never let me down!
Keep working on this masterpiece!

Fantastic game! One of the best in the genre!

Did not expect the amount of work put into each character and their stories given the name of the game.

The only critique I have is that during some of the events in the game the "lobby" music (the soundtrack you hear the most in the game) continues to play instead of muting or switching to a different, more fitting soundtrack. It sort of ruins the experience given how emotional some of the events are.

But other than that it's an amazing game!

This game is nothing short of superb. If you are worried about games where you can not really get into the story or the characters, then fear not. Every character goes through an in depth arc where, with your help, they grow as a person and overcome the obstacles life has put in place for them. Every decision made has a logical and realistic basis, no dumb porn logic. Every character seems like someone you could meet in real life.
Working in tandem with the excellent writing is the great world building. A game like this has absolutely no business being as in depth and thought out as this, But the dev went and did it anyway. Everything is grounded in a rich history that you uncover throughout the game. It is an entirely new world with its own politics, culture, and history, with a spicy twist of the existence of elves to play a dramatic role in the story.
And as for what you probably came here for in the first place, the sexy times, there are dozens upon dozens of scenes for the primary cast, and still plenty for many of the supporting characters. Everything is animated, and anything that doesn't look as good is for sure on the table to be redone.

so strap yourself in, this game will entertain you for many hours, as you come to care as much, or more, about the narrative than what you initially came for.

in short this game is good and has many aspects other games lack such as the great writing and plots for each member of the hotel even some that aren't even main characters, i didn't want to write this long of a review. i was just gonna say something like "good" and call it quits but apparently i can't do that so i'm just filling this place as i can. but in short this game is good and worth playing, compared to other games it feels a lot more fleshed out and it has a lot of events so you can keep playing for a while aside from that it has many other reasons why it's worth playing one of them being the most important reason to play a game said reason being that it's fun gameplay wise it's not too different from other games of the same kind but it makes up for it by having great writing as mentioned before and same as most visual novels the story is the important part though some try to add minigames to the mix which is not always enjoyable anyways many people on the developers discord server say you come for the porn and stay for the plot this is certainly one of the western games i've enjoyed the most together with games like being a dik, once in a lifetime and a few others.

Now for the story and graphic it's not wow and definitely is not 5/5 is overated this game, my personal I didn't enjoy this story after 2h it make me bored as hell. Gameplay it's really painful the same hated system of rewarding the player grind hard to buy X then you can Y go with the story line. Nothing new, nothing original is a waste of time with no worth it invest the time on this game.
Graphic look old it look like a game from 2010 and not from 2022 it's on the limit if a be allow to be honest here.
I can give this game 2/5 the real rating that you really need to know.

So much content to explore, a lot of options with the girls, creator updates a lot and works hard for the game for sure. You can really grind or binge on this one and it does not get old! A large number of different types and kinks are ready to be explored and there are more than a few ways to play through the game if you want to explore different roles as the Main Character.

Great game! Everything is perfect, from the serious story to the hottest moment, it's just genius. I just finished the game at 100% in the 0.14.1 with 37 hour of gameplay . To anyone who reads this review, I strongly recommend that you download this game you will never regret it. I can't wait for the next update!

I was not prepared for how amazing this game was. I do not normally enjoy VN games, but this one was on another level, and it just kept getting better and better and better. I haven't even finished it yet and I've been playing it for 4 days.

I cannot express enough how fantastic an experience this game is.

Best (ero?) game ever.

Brief summary: This is an ero game with a male MC, at least 8 main story lines and even more side story lines. There are a few choices you can take as the MC but most have no impact on the story. The porn content is as the tags indicate and repeatable. The game is in development since a couple of years now and updated on a regular basis. The content is huge, easily 20hrs+ even with fast forward and still growing. You can read all, or just skip to the porn events. Up to you. BUT!

I would not recommend skipping at all. In my eyes this is more a novel with porn content. Since the tags are focussing on porn, some tags are really missing. Like "Drama", "Love", "Emotions", "Plot twists", "Surprises" and more. I never ever played a porn game (well, its NOT a game, its a novel) which had so much depth on the characters, the story and the world they are living in. Lets talk about the details in particular:

Characters
In total there are like 18 female characters. The 8 MC have a unique back ground story each and many of those stories are related to each other. Those back ground stories are slowly revealed and truly logically built up from the scratch. It's impossible not to bond with some (or even all) of them and feeling sympathy, joy, anger or fear with them. Hell yeah, i laughed, cried, got angry or happy with them! When i started to play, I never would have imagined mc's so beautifully drawn in an ero game as it is.

Storie(s)
The main story is about slavery in a corrupted world. I dont want to spoiler to much so i wont go into any details here. I dont know if Runey planned the story at this point from the beginning, but if he did, he did a great job. If he didnt, well, what a curveball. The story starts quite shallow with lots of casual sex and triggering events to get sex. When I started to play 3 years ago it was already really nice. But then...., as the novel evolves the story gets a depth I never saw in a porn game before. From what I know, Runey started this as a side job and after getting enough support on patreon he made it his full time job. It might be only my impression, but I think I can see this development in the game too. If i compare the story events and renders from the beginning with the latest ones there's a huge difference in the amount of text and details. I really have to give credit to Runey at this point, because the porn is nice, BUT I want to know, how the story and the characters within continue their journey. Here and there, there might be some flaws but overall he did a great job.

The world
The world is (technologically) quite similar to ours but with her own history and lore. Little by little the world is embedded and explained in this novel and each piece which you get within the plot finds its place. I didnt find any flaws here and everything seems to be logically in its place. The love to details can also be found in this aspect. Truly amazing.

The male MC
Well, this would be the only point of criticism, if any. I mentioned already before, very few real choices, the novel is linear. So the MC has technically his own character and playes his role in this novel. I could criticise this, but I dont. Because in any book you read, you either identify yourself with the MC or not. What I do criticise though, is the fact, that the MC doesnt play his role properly in this story. Many times I thought "say something..., errrr will he intervene.......,? what?...........Nothing.......? I cant believe!" I dont want to give examples and spoiler at this point. But it was really disapointing sometimes. So I prefer to focus on the girls instead and feel with them. Nevertheless his role is still okay. Not as bad, as it might sound here. Could be better though.

Porn content / renders
Okay, thats why most of us are here for and why we started playing/reading this game/novel.
Most the porn scenes are repeatable with most of the girls. There are like 3-5 different outfits and 10 different porn scenes for the female MCs. Just look at the tags. Its all there. The renders are nice in my eyes. Here you can see as well the positive development from the beginning to the now concerning the scenes. First there were images, then came the animations and lately even the camera moves during some animations (which was really great btw with the F&E event! People playing this probably know to which scenes i am referring). All in all, you get what you want.

Summary
Did I play this for the porn content? - Sure
Did I get what I wanted? - Absolutely and more!
Did I expect a truly amazing story? - Errrrr, nope
Did the story bother me or ruin the erotic side? - Not at all, it made it even more interesting to see, where this will lead to.
Did this game/novel meet my expectations? - Are you kidding me? This exceeded by far my expectations! So much that i started to patreon it lately.

I am looking forward to the updates.

Probably one of the best storylines in a porn game I've come across whilst still adding enough raunchy items to keep you/your genitals interested to keep playing more.

Whilst the latter part of the story (as of 0.14) from around 0.12 onwards starts to get a bit heavy with the usual issues affecting both our real world and this games' world can be depressing (The story getting heavy is understandable considering the direction the MC looks to be heading towards) the way Runey has spun it to ensure if you are invested in the story it should rightfully make you angry about the treatment of characters and their upbringing/situations whilst not sacrificing the core point of the game - that is is an 18+ porn game, a lot of the specific storybuilding sections can be intentionally skipped and you can naturally just hold the "Skip" button for the heavier sets of dialogue if you prefer.

With regards to the art/scene work for a lot of the porn sections it's definitely worth playing just for that if you simply are not interested in story you can just hold the skip button - hands down better than games such as A House in the Rift and Mythic Manor, the only other real contenders similar to this game. (Not detracting from either of those games as they are worth the time as well).

Only real criticisms I have is the branching section between Love/Slave path, but it's more down to my inability to manage my saves and work out which one is which from the initial divergence to see all the content as each new patch gets released.
I'd like to see more development of older area talk/interact options like for example the kitchen options for Android/Lin past their initial options as the story and trust has progressed with the MC (as per an update a little while ago with Lin's additional scenes in the Kitchen) where the original talk options evolve perhaps once you reach a certain level of trust. Cleaning the rooms results in asking for sex menu, perhaps adding in extra scenes where the Clones/Twins decide to help Lin/Android past a certain part in the story cook/clean in a new repeatable scene where you can request maid outfits/sex as per their original scene(s) where they attempt to perform nice tasks for the MC. This could be a relatively easy addition if you instead of adding in 3-4 of the girls simply have it instead do the cleaning then have a reskin of the dual BJ scene on the bed whilst cleaning the room in maid outfits and for the usual threesome option for Lin/Android for example.

tl;dr play the game it's worth the time whether you like story or not.

I came into this game when it was still just the opening bit with just the tenants at the hotel. The actual main plot was a huge wake up call that I wasn't expecting, in a good way because that's when the story really started to rise in quality. This is among my top three games on all of F95 for a reason, the writing is amazing as is the transition from the opening to the real main plot. I won't mark off for it since I don't think it was an option, but the one thing I could say against the game is in the remade content, the windows of the hotel are too solid looking.

A person would really have to work at getting on my bad side and Cornwall and the nurse from this game have done it. It isn't hate like I don't like the way they are written or designed, I mean hate as in I would hate the people they are if I was in the universe of these games. At one point, I legit wanted both Cornwall and the nurse injured or dead and I am a huge pacifist that only takes violent action as a last resort, that's how much I hate who they are.

That right there is a sign of how amazing this game really is. It has earned Runey my deepest respect and it earned this game full marks in this review.

v.14.1 Public

Harem Hotel was an interesting one, as it doesn't do the usual trope of front-loading the exposition and calling it a day. No, you find the story by actually going through each of the unique casts' events. Which really adds a weight to some of the topics, lore, and world.

H-scenes
Overall the animations and statics are simple but it has a charm to it.

The "worst" complaint you will find is the sandbox nature doesn't help with the start, when the hotel's residency is a bit sparse. So it feels aimless. It's tolerable once you've got a few more guests.

Mostly vanilla in terms of kink variety; though plenty of anal, lesbian, and threesome content. There's a Dungeon upgrade that adds a few more options.
A decent selection of positions in each girl's room; alongside a few outfits for each of them.

In conclusion: If you can you make it past the initial "what am I supposed to do?" start, you'll find the gem of a game/cast/story that you see praised. And it's absolutely worth it

I rarely review games on here, so it should be with little surprise that when you see me around you will find me signing the praises of one game moreso than any other: Harem Hotel. Why do i consider it F95’s version of Homer’s Odyssey even if its not done yet and completion generously seems a year out? Because the characters are deep and unique. Even small gripes like “what with the smol booba elf” because you know I am glad they broke the massive booba elf trope and this character, Lin, is a joy to get to know. You care about them and you want to get to know them. Even Maria who I had ticketed for the Akeno/Xenovia, she sets up the multigirl scenes character got a nice character update recently and now even she is feeling alive and deep.
I dont want to blab forever, so this here is my cream of the crop. I chose 5 stars and i have been giving Runey more money than anyone else. Its worth your time to give this an extended chance tenfold. Cheers.

First impressions are not positive, a short introduction for the setup, and basically nothing beyond that. A splash screen with some basic help, but once you're in control you're free to do what you want straight away. And nothing is really explained.

The user interface is awful. At a bare minimum for a game like this being able to navigate between locations in one click is a must. Having to click multiple times to get somewhere is extremely annoying after a couple of minutes, let alone the hours I imagine it takes to progress.

The introductions of new residents are over in no time at all, barely any conversation or anything when they arrive.

Also a very weird setup with elf slavery. Is that really necessary?