VN - Ren'Py - Harem Hotel [v0.18.2] [Runey]

EDIT: Runey has reached out to me and been wonderfully open about considering my suggestions and opinions.
In the end, I've realized that my hatred of characters such as Vanessa and criticisms of the politics/lorebuilding come more from a personal perspective than from a fair criticism of Runey's writing skill. Although it may be fair to say that the author (especially with games in-progress like most of the ones on F95) should pander to some extent to the audience's desires, I personally believe that Runey should continue creating in the way that he wants - unless he goes completely off the rails someday (which I doubt).
I still firmly stand by my negative opinions, but I will temper that criticism with the understanding that we can simply agree to disagree.
Let it be known that I have no issues with the author nor his game in a broader sense.
As a result, I have changed my rating from 3 stars to 4, which I believe is fair.
Thanks to everyone that liked my rating and supported me.
DDD

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Harem Hotel started out as a decent harem fantasy story.

Then it became a more fleshed out, three dimensional dive into the backstory of the heroines. It was wonderful to be able to see them as more human and vulnerable, as most of us are.

More recently, it's become a mess.

Though politics/ideologies were previously well-managed in previous versions, now it's become less and less enjoyable to read scenes where those things are involved. I had to sit through a side character's political rant for several paragraphs in a scene where I was DROPPING OFF COFFEE for the heroine. I had to sit through a similar "moral lecture" in a elvish history lesson that I was forced into in a scene where the MAIN HEROINE of the event barely got any character growth.

It was enough that I sat there for a few minutes thinking, "Really...?"

I don't care what the creator's actual political opinions are, but the way it's being implemented in the game has sucked it dry of any fun, especially for the affected main heroine's scenes. The previous, more simple methods of implementation served the game far better.

A warning to potential players: the game has also developed a sense of dread and melancholy. Again, I'm not criticizing the developer's story direction choice - it's his decision, but events have recently become heavier and less about good ol' sex and corruption and more about racial conflict and emotional trauma.

The other, unaffected heroines/events are absolutely stunning and well-written. Would have been 5 stars otherwise.

Me starting Harem Hotel: "Oh yeah, I know what this is all about. Sex and debauchery!"

Me finishing Harem Hotel's main girl content: "I MUST HELP THEM ALL SUCCEED IN LIFE."

That is truly the magic of Harem Hotel. Sure, there's that rauchy and wild training aspect to the game that's a whole lot of fun to get into, but holy crap, the characters are awesome.

They turned the most promiscuous girls into the people you want to protect and care for. They have reasons for who they are. That's some skillful writing to turn an almost pure trope into a full fledged person.

That's probably the last thing I could expect from a game called Harem Hotel that has a sex dungeon.

You might be asking me "How'd they do it?"

I guess they must have just kept updating it. Since like 2018? It's been content added on top of content, and it shows. Sometimes the aging shows as a result. The skeleton of the game isn't the most intuitive. There's grindy parts to the game that detracts from the HOURS of content behind the soft wall of grind. Then it's also sort of hard to ensure you have all the points needed during special events for some scenes. The music could use a shuffle and maybe some direction. I appreciate that there are options though.

Despite that, the skeleton is carrying a ton of meat in this game. There is a CRAZY amount of content in this game. Especially H-scenes. I mean, if you want to that porn game experience, it's here.

But let me take you back to the girls. These girls may all start off a certain type, but damn do they evolve into complex human beings with real emotions and backstory.

So much so, that I'm still floored by the transformation.


What they're going through is very well done. There are times where it's shockingly well done. To the point where it will easily outshine other similar stories that aren't hit with the stigma of an "adult VN."

For something so absurd as a "Harem Hotel" to be so very human and wholesome... It's a honestly amazing.

Even the side girls are top notch. I'm sure there's TONS of request to have one of them become a main girl. They're like... fantastic toppings if the main girls are ice cream. I don't really know what I'm doing with that analogy.

And don't get me started with that lore. At first, I had a vague excuse to run a Harem, later, I had world politics, corporations, AI technology, slavery, and magical beings all rolled up into a package that legitimately works and adds to experience. Nearly all the girl's stories will be affected by the lore somehow, some way.

As for the MC? Well, he's just an all around kind dude with a glorious dick. A trope for sure, but one where he plays the role of being a rock in their lives more than telling them what to do. This makes the Harem experience absolutely quality. He's not there to rule over them, but rather, plays the role of a gardener. He's just making sure they get what they need when they need it. And if that means they need to leave to truly succeed, he'll support it. Truly a great way to make the generic MC play out.

Maybe somewhere in the future, there will be a tighter and better directed Harem Hotel by Runey. Runey certainly has gotten much better over time, so there's no question the next project will be great.

But as for what's here now, it's fabulous and worth the experience.

1 of the best HS games I ever played! it's been 3 years since I played this :3, such a good time.
The story is great, a lot of historical stuffs, gonna blow my mind.
The girls are beautiful, cute.
And many more things that I love.

A game that's capable of making you care for the characters while also giving you plenty of fap moments. Game is still under development but has enough content for literal days of play time. There's no sign of development stopping any time soon as the developer appears to be very dedicated to their project.

I've been around on this site for a while now, and though I don't post all that frequently even I have to admit that some of the things I've said in the past might have been a bit overly critical. Harsh even.

With that in mind I decided to write at least one positive thing somewhere on this site. That in turn got me thinking about what games featured here actually deserve some praise...

So let me just say it now, loud and clear:
This game is in my opinion hands down the best game on F95zone.

GFX:
For a game made with Honey Select characters, it's got some of the best graphics around. There's only 1 other game on the site that makes the girls look better imo, but we're not talking about that one here, so I'll give it 5/5 for the graphics.

Animations & H-scenes: Again, another 5 out 5.
Most of them are silky smooth and well shot. Sure there's a couple older ones that don't quite meet the quality standards of the scenes in more recent updates, but Runey is doing an amazing job here and keeps getting better at it over time. Also, there's a ton of them and most of the scenes are replayable which is a huge plus in my book.

Characters, plot, story: 4.5 out of 5. There's a wide variety of main casters and side characters to choose from (or choose all of) and each of them comes off as their own unique individual (even the clones/twins are very different). The plot is a little hammy/cheesy at points, but all in all it serves it's purpose well enough.

Harem Hotel is one of those games that you clearly see get better over time just by playing it.

I was easily disarmed by the title alone. I was expending something so simply named to be "simple" and it's anything but simple as the updates rolled in.

Characters begin showing massive amounts of depth. Characters become conflicted, have conflict, and have far more realistic resolutions than anyone would naturally expect. You will end up caring about many of the many girls, if not all of them.

In addition to that, at this point, there's a deeper lore of Elves, conspiracies, and even Geo-politics.

Sure, the beginning is rather grindy, but once the ball starts rolling, it's easily hours worth of engaging content.

I suppose the world of Harem Hotel is at an interesting point in time.

"Save the Maid, save the world."
"The little Maid that could."

Of course, It's also still a porn game, so there's tons of lewd stuff to do also. And as we all know how these games work, the MC's dick/choices will be of utmost importance.

Yet, regardless of the type of game this is, it's considerably more heartfelt and better written than many published books out there. Runey should be proud of that.

The game has a fuckton of content and nice writing. The dev also clearly puts some thought into the composition of the lewd images. The training aspect of it is nicely realised, and the characters are varied enough to make training each one fun. It's my favorite game on here.

Step 1: Lower expectation with horny title.
Step 2: Have surprisingly interesting characters and story, with light management game play and good UI.
Step 3: ?????
Step 4: Profit, or at least a pretty good game.

The game is very elaborated. Story is detailed and for a game that is still on 0.13.2 has a lot of content. The interface and general movement could have been better, but nothing that will ruin your game experience. The art is great and the scenes are well animated, but I felt lack of freedom when it came to these, since there's no camera angle chance possibility for people who has other position preferences.

Hands down, the best H-Game I've ever played. With so many detailed reviews already I doubt there's much I could add, but I felt my contribution to the rating needed to be made.

Lin is best girl, ever.

v0.13.2 Public

A hotel/harem management game sounds really good, but the interface and the early game grind is extremely painful. Basically each day you buy something or upgrade your hotel, then check with all the characters to see if you can advance their storyline, and then repeat this over and over. It became a bit of a chore rather fast.

Played this off and on since early versions. The cast is adorable. There are a good number of animations and scenes for each character. 90% of the cast is very attractive.

Please support this project.
It gives the feels in a happy way, while staying sexy throughout.

I love this game. It has been a really rewarding story that lets you wonder about different aspects of the game world. The characters have tremendously more personality than most games of the genre. You remember key details, and even quirks about them, when sometimes other games meld their girls together into one.

Overall:
This game has a ton of play time, a very likable and diverse cast of characters, and it incorporates fun story telling in a developed world.

Can't wait to see more.

Girls are a bit too submissive and lots of sex scenes but nice game.
Best character are Moon and Felicity (she is a bitch but I like it).
Good backstory on all main character. Ashley is a bit annoying because of her breeding thing...

I've been a fan of Harem Hotel for most of the time in which I've played H games. It felt like a breath of fresh air when I found it, a real cut above the rest of the competition. The girls were cute, the animations seemed cutting edge and it was mostly lacking in filler.

Anyway, I'm not sure whether I've changed, or Harem Hotel changed at this point. I'll admit that it seems like other games have caught up in the animation department at this point. I've seen several games with as good or better animations and while Harem Hotel is still among the top, that's not enough in and of itself anymore. It's very possible that my familiarity has bred contempt. If I had to guess though, I'd guess that it's just started giving me genre whiplash.

Not every H game needs to be a happy-go-lucky romp where you bang happy well-adjusted girls eager for cock. However, once an H game establishes the sort of flavor it aims to deliver, it's really rough when it deviates. Harem Hotel generally provided silly, slice-of-life type scenes. You wandered around the hotel and approached the girls going about their days for some sexy fun. It was lighthearted and silly most of the time; things went wrong comedically, not emotionally or mentally. The girls had small problems with available solutions.

That... has not been the case in the more recent updates. Worse yet, the story has shown us a lot of the world recently as well and frankly... it's about a demon invasion short of a hellscape. It's distopian to such an extreme, it's kinda broken my suspension of disbelief as to how we hadn't noticed earlier.

Now, I don't mind distopias, whether in H games or otherwise. They can provide great backdrops for interesting stories. They're places where normal has been so completely skewed so as to make anything seem if not reasonable, then possible. However, when I walked into the door of the Harem Hotel, I wasn't presented with a distopia. Until recently, it was just a world with a little slavery problem, which was mostly out of sight. The sudden change to in-your-face awful has kinda soured my entire experience with the game to be honest.

It feels like half the cast is on the edge of a breakdown for one reason or another, which is a massive change from the happy-go-lucky fun that was the first seventy percent or so of the story. It just leaves me sitting here with my dick out wondering if we can get back to the porn anytime soon.

The story is good, don't get me wrong. The characters are interesting and more than skin-deep, but the tone is dark and getting darker. I'm too invested to give it up at this point, and I'm looking forward to how it all ends. Just let that missing star serve as something of a warning: Harem Hotel isn't just a story about a harem of waifu.

I hope by the time the game draws to a close that I'll be able to add the star back. I think having the story actually resolve instead of pausing in the midst of misery will help a lot. Until that point, I recommend this game, just be aware that some waifu were harmed in the making of this game.

v0.13.2 Public: Great game, probably for what I've seen it's one of the biggest out there, incredible how many girls and options there are. Sex scenes are nicely done, art is fine (specially the girls) and storywise well, there's a bit of everything. Some aspects are great and even deep and there's also many filling and characters you won't like that much (and sort of sadly you have to advance in everything). I would recommend using Lain's Mod because if not is far too easy to miss many things and get stuck (or maybe I lack the patience), but if you like the challenge you can try it raw. Some grinding elements can be a bit too much for some, anyway.

v0.13.2
This game is about a guy who runs a hotel, sheltering various girls along the way.

The graphics are not really my cup of tea but to me the story comes first.
Even though in my opinion there are already so many girls that the game can feel a bit unfocused, the storyline content is really well done and the characters feel endearing.

There are some point-based systems but grind is not really necessary, except maybe for some side activities.

If the title of this game appeals to you, you should probably give it a try.

Version reviewed: v0.13.2

Pros
+ Great art style
+ Hot sex scenes
+ Interesting story
+ Every single chararcter's development is intriguing
+ Lots of repeatable scenes
+ Almost 0 bugs encountered (at least in my playthroughs)
+ Lots of content (more content coming soon!)
+ Not as grindy as some people say (pro tip: just buy a bar, upgrade it and money flows in)

Cons
- Transitions between pictures and animations will have some delays and frame rate drops for 1-2 seconds during animations (this happens on low spec devices, don't know about high spec devices)
- Lack of *good* male characters/male friends for the MC, most of them are enemies? Seems like the MC is the only nice male lmao. (just a very minor complaint)

Note to Dev: Don't lose that passion when you're making HH, take care of your health mentally and physically. Best of luck to you, Runey.

Great game w tons of fans. I mean 29k posts on this forum so some of us have to be right about the game being so good.

The Dev, Runey, is very involved in here as well as friendly and helpful. He (?) helps out and responds to loads of posts in addition to working on the game. He takes in suggestions and occasionally uses them in the game, and is always a very gracious and decent person. I've seen some devs that are just vicious and foul towards folks.
Also, this forum has some of the friendlier bunch of posters here......

HH is a fun game where the MC falls into a hotel, fixes it up, and has permanent girls staying here. Each one of the guests have been written so that they have unique looks, personalities, and issues... One of the predominant stories is slavery with Elves. There are several other themes as well. It's not too heavy and hasn't been too preachy.

The graphics are fun and easy on the resources. The game is fun to play and you have a tendency to care about the girls and want to keep coming back for more. There are various kinks represented which also helps keep things interesting.

It's also a very easy game to play for awhile then come back and pickup again later without feeling lost.

Everyone here has their own favorite girl, though we all know that Lin is the best.!.

Almost 8 GB of outdated and badly designed door opening simulator. How this game got to top is a big mistery.
Whole gameplay is based around battling a mess of interface and opening doors in architacuraly challenged hotel (no map to help you get about) to unlock any kind of scene, where a girl tells you how she feels and what can you buy to make her feel better. Ux is unintuitive, clunky trash. The whole time management thing is trash heap of bad mechanics. Graphics is hedious, outdated and would be good in 2004. All girls look the same, square faces, weird grims, petite asian clones (no diversity). Their "sexy" uniforms (that you can unlock after hours of grinding) are basically strings; uniforms should be uniforms like secretary or maid dress, shoes, pantyhose etc. and not just differently coloured panties. Their stories are childish, boring cliche with many inconsistencies. Two main components of this game: upgrading hotel and managing relations are very poorly designed and executed even worse. Relations-management is made through opening doors and walking on some girl (taking a shower) or asking her the same questions every day and half of the progress is hidden in hidden events (opening the right door at the right time). As for managing a weird hotel - it's just grind until you have enough money. Buy upgrades. Make more money. Boring, repetitive. How anyone could find that engaging is a mystery. Even bigger mystery is how many people rated graphics in this game - good or very good, wtf!