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

Hotel Harem has a ton potential. Renders are good, characters actually have personality, gameplay is better than most of what's out there. V0.2 already has a ton of content as well. I'm looking forward to how this game comes along.

(Review for 0.6.1) Observations, from scratch game.
-Story:
Ashley's storyline when delayed can cause the Twins to show up at the hotel, this ended up confusing me with the story until I got that far into the section and then the twin storyline made since. I can relate with the character due to experiencing several panic attacks before, and the panic attacks are done correctly. The Latter slaves storyline looks beyond promising. All other stories went into a logical conclusion. I would have liked to redo or have more scenes with Ashley and the other girls of just walking outside the hotel.
-Gameplay:
The dungeon and grind... I read all story progression scenes and thus was initially not going to go skip happy. This changed on several scenes that needed Exhibitionism, a certain trait, and/or Submissive at 10. This was greatly seen in the latter half of the Lin storyline. One thing for sure the scenes are near perfect when you are up for them, but the gap from the scene loading slowed down the grind quite a bit (and despite a high RAM priority was noticeable). If there was a grind mode or something similar to bypass the motion scenes that would have saved several hours of my time. The UI has mostly stayed the same from 0.3.0 except for the quick access to front door from room, if memory serves.
-Graphics:
As mentioned earlier in my other reviews, great. The models are not shiny and all of them have almost realistic looking skin, it either did not have or I do not remember if any of the character model's skin indented slightly when interacting with the characters arm being around them. Something I've started looking for after seeing a certain marble statue.
-Conclustion: 5/5
The loading is a common issue with Ren'Py thus, should have no impact on the game itself. Thus, the story, outfits, features, and all other gripes from earlier editions are fixed as best as I can tell. My old saves did not work correctly but as you can see (0.3.0) they were quite old.

(Review for 0.3.0) Observations, from scratch game.
I am enjoying the UI update and the re-arrangement of the shower, hot spring, and Utility room. The only gripe is no quick access from the utility room but only to, the new UI could be implemented with another button to deal with that, but I am enjoying the streamlined look and operation. Ordering items used to take up a time slot, but this timeless update is greatly apricated.
There is a slight pause between some scenes from loading which is (can be) fixed if you put the game on a higher ram priority. Perfect from a story and gameplay perspective, looking forward to the new content.

(Review for 0.2.1) From new game, without save manipulation, and reading every line this time because I had a fully free day and wanted to revisit a story that had me thinking for quite a while after last playthrough. I like last playthrough used the scroll wheel on my mouse to backup dialogue and choices to choose a different path or order.

-As I said before exquisite storyline. The blonde's storyline that I was confused about before is mostly clarified once you look closely at the first few interactions and see that she is in a private university/college (those can have dress codes and can be similar to public schools with suspensions). My suspicion on the scene miss was cleared up on this playthrough. I did not miss the scene I just delayed it behind two other characters scenes and did not remember it being the same scene the second time I saw it.

Note: Ren'Py is not recommended to be played on the lowest RAM priority and/or while running multiple different games at the same time. When doing so I have run into snafu's, overlapping characters and duologue, from all games that use this engine. My computer was custom ordered with settings that programs marked non-essential programs that are not on my NVidia/Steam game exception list will be set in low to lowest priority. and thus unless you have similar custom settings it will most likely not happen to you.

(Review for 0.2.0)
-Story: Though the game is still in development, the storyline is quite exquisite. I do not normally post spoilers on my reviews so ill not talk about most of the story. I have a few gripes with the Blondes storyline as is, especially some of the café scenes. The main gripe was the scene did not make complete sense, though that will probably change next update. I think I missed one scene when I visited a person in the shower, during the morning, instead of triggering it. This may not be the case but its a suspicion I had about ten minutes latter when the autosave had no backup to reload.

-Conclustion: On the whole, wonderful, when it updates there is nothing that would not make me play it from start a second or third time from a fresh save. Keep up the Good Work!!!
- Update 3/13/2021 I found out why I was having the glitches I was... in this game and others who used Ren'Py... my windows install was slowly corrupting itself. I replayed through the version I reviewed and did not run into those problems... unexpected, my apologies.

(Review for 0.2)
This game is not finish but people still do review on it anyway ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

At first i thought this game will be another big title & have less content when it released like every other game developer done it but this surprises me after finish v0.2

The main 5 characters for this version in this game has their own story, personal traits & H-scenes can be unlock easily than i expected but it takes time but i mostly enjoy every each one of them. Especially the Loli one jesus game Devs.... well anyway lets talk about the characters.

For the 5 girls are pretty cool & one of them a bit wacky. we got 2 maids, a normal adult-teen working at mcdonald, an Android, a loli & her naughty friend. Take Character like android for example. She has a lot of "potential" by mean that "A lot of things can be done to her since she's robot lol. Add more features & scenes would be amazing. Pretty soon Runey will add more.

The harem hotel itself its pretty neat, everyday each characters individuals doing their own things from morning to night have event from room & every floors that can be unlock and repeat scene whenever you like & sometimes more events that haven't triggered yet can be done but it will take time.

Overall the game is great, even though its v0.2 & it will take forever for an update but that depends on the devs itself. As long the patreons supporting this game to continue & all the fans who loves it very much then everybody wins. i would love to support it too IF the game doesn't take more than 2-3 years to finish but that just my speculation on other game developers that abandon their project & working on a new one. >:/
Hope this will finish with a great Ending or alternatively for each girls at the end of the version completed.

Thx for reading my shitty review on this game for version 0.2 & have wonderful day ~

I was curious about the game from the ratings and from the comments, but after playing it I see why. This game has a frankly ridiculous amount of content already and it is all extremely well created.

If you were to show me this and some games at version 0.90+ i'd more than likely say this is the game closer to a full release.

Great game!!
The contents are mind-blowing for a 1st and 2nd game version.
Nice graphics and animations, lacks sound and the back ground music is really low, but that is a minor issue.
The story is pretty good and the characters personalities well cared for.
I give it my best possible rating with hopes the projects continues on and flourish.

This game is one of the better harem game out. Love how dev listen to feedback and reworked his game to make it look more realistic. The game plays like and rpg but not the oldschool rpg. Each girl has their own story to tell.

story: good

characters: well done (edit and a ñot)

gamplay: click adventure (meh)

draws(cg): very good.

scenes (erotic ones): really hot.

conclussion: ok this game is 60% "OK" but lets focus on the good parts... THERE IS A YANDERE!!! (if you guest wich one is, just to see the portrait you win a car) dude... nothing and i mean nothing make you go to "WTF" to "i need to save this person" like a yandere character. this review was made in the version 0.1, and already feel that this game is gonna have a lot to see in the future.

(edit: the only thing to add is that the game it got LIKE A LOT of characters and content...and the yandere character is still cute as bat-crazy-fuck)

this game TOTTALY deserve your time and money. and it TOTTALY deserve to have your support.

(edited on vers 6.2)

A diamond in the rough, game has extremely fast updates, great art, and a storyline that keeps you guessing. I've never supported a game on patreon before, this game changed that fact. Maybe it'll be your first patreon too.

One of the best WIP games I've played. Already better than most free games and the creator is clearly very active and dedicated. The characters are diverse and well fleshed-out, with plenty more planned. Promises to be an amazing finished product.

A lot of content for a V0.1. The game as a time system as do a lot of games but without the obligatory (boring) grinding for money/stats.
Also features a nice variety of characters in the Harem (4 of them are fuckable at this moment)

If you like harem oriented games you should really give it a try. Sex content arrives quickly without feeling rushed.

This game has a large amount of content for a version 0.1.0, it will not punish you for choosing an incorrect response which may discourage some people to try this game but there are on going plans to add a stat that if a girl is abused too much, they will move out. At the moment the new girl that is currently being added is a shy robot maid that can be customized to your preferred body type, there are five female character concept coming in later updates.

I have just recently begun to enjoy games of this genre. I have tried quite a few recently and this one one of the very few I found enjoyable and had enough potential to be come a patreon for.


This game strikes a good balance between story, character development, and lewdness.
The dev is quite active on his discord and posts regular updates quite often, which is great.
Personally I would like to see a greater variety in character types, but it looks like much more content and characters are planned to be included in the game.

I feel very confident in giving it a high rating it its first release. The game has so much potential. Overall It is a great game and I look forward to the next release.

For a first release, I must admit that it really well done. Very happy to see that it actually has minimal grammatical errors and models that don't look bad. Too many times have I seen games in Honey Select, or in general with these issues.
I like the mix of girls in the game so far, but I must admit that I love Kali and Lin so far. Maria reminds me of Velle from Mythic Manor, and that's not bad, but does not put her high on my list. Ashley, frankly scares me. Props for writing such a creepy and unhinged girl!
Gameplay wise, while there are a lot of times where you just click around the house to see if anything is happening, you really only need to go to a few places. That's not bad, and I expect in future updates for some areas to have either more events, or daily events that are short. I know some people want consequences for their choices, but I think that for their first game, that might be asking too much. If there was a background point system in place for the choices, that would be fine.
One fix that the game could use is the ability to pick up multiple packages at once. Which, speaking of packages, there seem to be scene jumps if you purchase outfits too soon. Not a big deal to me.
The last thing I want to touch on is something I know people have been talking about: Shadow Man.
I'm not a fan of it, but if it is what the dev wants, that's fine as long as the girls are great. A suggestion I would make is at least using a penis mod. If the dev adds in a full body and impresses me again with the overall content of the next update, I will absolutely give it 5 stars.
Best of Luck Runey!
*Update: simply amazing, here's the promised 5 stars!

love the rare yandere character Ashley dont see many of them in games and i just lose the character also love the masochist maid Lin really makes me want to punish her lol plus amazing amount of content for a first release if every update is like this then will quickly become one of my favourite developers

I am really enjoying this game. I like the art, the models, the story, and the premise.
Lin is absolutely adorable- shy, demure, and sweet.
Ashley is cute and equally bat-shit crazy.
Kali has a rebellious, nerdy, flirty attitude- she's a li'l cutie as well.
Maria- is spicy and a bit of a wildcard.
I like the interactions that they have with one another as well as the MC.

+ n1 game, "First content is amazing"
+ rly n1 chars, "first 4 Chars full of extra"
- need better rendings "bad renderings sometimes, but it isnt rly bad"
5 Stars "my first review"
I hope the dev, bring with next version next floor, and more Items, new Clothes

The following review is based on the 0.1 version.

Strolling along on the forums, I came across this little game and it managed to peak my interest, so I decided to give it a go. A few hours later, I can definately say that I am glad to have checked it out.
The game doesn't try to re-invent the wheel with its story or gameplay, but it still manages to be very entertaining and seems to find a decent balance between grind & reward, even if the grind can feel a bit tedious at times.

So, let us dive into the good and bad of this game.

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GOOD:
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- Visuals: This is definately one of the best looking games I have tried, which is based on Honey Select. Sometimes the models looks better than many DAZ characters I have seen, which is to be commended.

- Character personalities: The game currently offers 4 girls available for courtship, and all of them are pretty different in their behaviour around you. One is pretty shy and submissive, one is fairly stuck-up and stubborn, one is pretty much a slut and one is a borderline psychotic/obsissive virgin, who threatens other girls with a knife if they talk to you and then proceeds to do her best to manipulate you into getting her pregnant. (Boy, do I enjoy the last one. She was definately the defination not judging a book by the cover).

- Amount of content: For a 0.1 version, the game managed to provide me with about 2 hours of playtime. This is about the same amount of time I got from the release version of Milfy City, and while this game does not get near the same quality of content, it is definately very nice to actually have enough content to have the time to get invested in the game. Nice work on that one, Runey!

- Pregnancy tease: Okay, this is obviously subjective, but I really enjoyed the pregnancy teases in this game. Sadly, the story ends right as it got to the really juicy parts, but I definately got the feeling that at least one of the girls is going to end up eating for 2 before too long. Runey, you better have this storyline result in some good shit, because I will hate you if you teased me this much and then deny me a satisfying ending!



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BAD:
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- Lack of punishment for being a dick: While the game gives you several choices to be a dick towards the girls, they will pretty much always like you even more afterwards for some strange reason. You have a girl, asking nervously to spend the night in your bed and you basically tell her to get the fuck back to her own room? She will like you even more for this. Why? No idea, it doesn't make any sense. Why have options to be an asshole to the girl, if she basically reacts like I treated her like a princess? It cheapens the choices you make, as you might as well just pick an answer at random. The odds are 10-1 that the choice will have no repercussions at all, which is a big problem for me.

- Time skips are too random: Many of the interactions with the girls or other things ingame makes the game skip forward to the next time-zone. This is not a problem in itself, but I am highly confused as to what actions will actually forward the time. Having a conversion with a girl for a minute or 2, doesn't forward the time. Spending 5 seconds to buy a dildo online? SKIP! The purchaces on the computer is an easy way to waste time. Each purchase will cost you a part of the day, so better make sure you really need what you are buying! I feel that it would be much easier to allow the player to buy multiple things at once on the computer, and then have the game skip in time when you log off. Or just don't have purchasing things cost time. I can understand it if you had to walk to a physical store, but having a time cost for buying things online is something most games don't have, because it is a silly restraint to put on the player.

- Nighttime is useless: Pretty much this. The game has 4 time periods, but in reality it might as well be 3, since you can't do anything at night. You want to spy on the girls, with the spycams on your computer? *Yawn* "I am too tired". Want to buy something, to make sure it as the front door in the morning? #TooTired. Want to sneak out and spy on the girls in their sleep? No you don't, go back to bed, like the exhausted old man you are. You can't have a wank either. You can go to sleep. That's it.

- Story inconsistencies. I noticed a couple a places in the game, where the game suddenly take a little leap, without explaining how you got there. I will give an example of what I mean: I have money to burn, so i decide to buy some outfits for the girls, even though I have no idea when i will be able to make them equip them. The first girl is presented her new outfit and is very grateful, which is fine. The next girl doesn't have the option to give her the new outfit, even though I know the outfit is made for her. I shrug it off, thinking she will ask for the suit eventually. Well, not really. One day she just randomly asks me if I got her the suit and then takes it from me. She didn't ask me to buy it, so how the hell did she know I had it?!

- Invisible protagonist: I don't mind playing in first person at all, but when I see the classical "magically floating penis" I just can't help but sigh in disappointment. I am not gay, but I don't think i would die from actually seeing my character's full body.

There are a couple of other things I noticed that annoyed me a bit (if I order 3 items from the computer, why da fuq do I need to open the door 3 times to get all of them? Why can't I just grab them all at the same time. You know, like a normal person? ) but I won't go too much into details about that here.
The biggest of these concerns is probably that I feel like the game is pretty much assuming that you are interested in every girl, seeing as how many scenes involve multiple of the girls and seems to bottleneck you into a path where you will eventually end up with a complete harem with all the girls. I don't mind harems, but I would prefer to have the option to only focus on 1 or 2 girls if that is what I want.


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FINAL THOUGHTS:
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Harem Hotel is still in it's infancy, and you can feel it. However, it manages to provide a solid foundation for more content and establishes some interesting characters, even if they are all the defination of "stereotype" (hmm, maybe Ashley is not the classical stereotype, but she is definately a psycho!). The game has plenty of rough edges to polish, but it feels like the developer actually desired to make a worthwhile 0.1 release, which is highly promising for the game. I will definately keep an eye on this game, and wish Runey the best of luck with the development.

(This game has come a long way since my previous review, which is thoroughly outdated. In appreciation, here's a new one.

This game, while not perfect, definitely deserves the five star rating on this site, in my opinion. If things were more fine-tuned I'd likely give it a 4.5, or a nine out of ten, but in absence, a five is very appropriate. It is clear that a huge amount of work has gone into this game, and into the characters that populate it. It is much appreciated.

Firstly, the characters. At first, they all appear to be simple, though endearing, archetypes and fantasies, relatively simple. Most of them though become more apparently complex the more time you spend with them, the more interaction is had. There is more to them than meets the eye, and as quirky and fun as they can be, they can also get really serious, and address deeper problems and themes. They can even show themselves to have desires and needs that you didn't think of, but make sense in retrospect. In my opinion at least. The farther you go with them, the more depth there is, and I appreciate that.

The world is interesting. It doesn't fascinate me, because it's mainly an alternate universe modern world with more technology and elves, but it is it's own unique world, and that means that there's even more that could be done with it in proper time. Most interesting to me about it is the sexual slavery of elves, for reasons of kink and fetish, and it for me is one of the most interesting storylines, tied in with one of your characters storylines of course.

The sex scenes are good, in my opinion. Mainly what I like is the aspect of corruption tied to them, how having sex and performing sexual acts with the girls in different ways, leads to them gaining traits that can unlock further lewdness, and change their speech and actions. Not much right now, but that the mechanic's even there at all works for me, and it's a major player in at least one girl's story, just how well sexed she is and in what ways. My favorite sex scenes are the bondage ones, of which there are multiple options when you get to them, though that's my personal fetish.

The commerce is a bit grindy, though I don't mind that. Money is basically just the way to advance to the next stage when appropriate. And upgrades, to, are more about unlocking story and scene than anything else. If there's one actual flaw I'd put with the game, it's that ultimately, there's only one 'right' way to play, the way that unlocks the girls stories. And that requires your guy to have the personality of a 'pervert with a heart of gold', though really what that means is other options will hurt their opinion slightly and you'll have to buy them gifts or spend time with them to get that opinion back up.

Ultimately, that is a minor criticism for me. The game's strongest point, and what it's built around, is the girls of the Harem Hotel, your actual 'Harem' as it were, and I think they're done brilliantly. Even one I didn't like, after learning more about what she goes through, I've started to sympathize with, and appreciate. All in all, this is an excellent game, and I think you would be served for playing it.)