Ren'Py - Completed - Helping the Hotties [v1.0.4.10.5] [xRed Games]

I'm having trouble rating this game! I have so much to say about it... I'm leaning towards 4 stars when comparing it to my top 10, but I know it deserves 5. I won't repeat what has already been said; the girls are stunning, the visuals are great overall, the uniqueness of the voices, etc. Firstly, what bothered me the most, and it's a very personal thing that detracts quite a bit for me, is the MC... my goodness, he's so clueless! I can't relate to him at all... and when he gets into that "investigation," what a disaster that part is... it feels forced, and there were so many other natural or believable ways to introduce that. The writing has its ups and downs... sometimes, with Eve, it's great, but when the MC talks, oh my... for the plot, it's a shame; there are repeated phrases, passages that we skip quickly because we've heard them before, or we can predict what's going to be said... it takes away from the immersion. With the concept of "correction" or a camp-like scenario, there were tons of more original activities to explore. I think if the MC were more assertive, it would have gone smoother for me. The last issue that bothers me is the choices. I love that they have a real impact on the story and give a unique path and approach for us. But we never know why a certain angle is taken... we think a choice will lead us to do something, but it doesn't... if I go home to sleep, well, I miss a sexy scene with this or that girl, oh wait, one is in my room, and sometimes, no, there's no one. The branching is peculiar, but missing scenes bothered me... not the fact that they can be missed, but the fact that it's not what I intended to do. And the MC is so indecisive and contradictory that it's confusing... I loved Eve, and I'll come back to that in my positive points, but sometimes, she's contradictory too. She charms, teases, flirts, makes sexy innuendos, but when someone other than her does it, she takes offense or doesn't get the humor. I know why, she has age-related insecurities and is a bit jealous, but that doesn't justify her sometimes contradictory statements. And don't tell me that everyone in life is contradictory; there should also be consistency and credibility... especially since it's not real life, it's a very short moment in their lives. As a neutral point, I didn't understand the sandbox aspect... I struggled with it; sometimes I turn it on, sometimes I turn it off, not sure what to do, it's not well-defined... when it's turned off, we understand that our directions are also choices, and that's excellent gameplay! Frustrating, but well thought out. So, onto the positives! The sex scenes are superb, they're well-presented (not at the beginning, but they improve quickly), and since we're tantalized by the camera angles and images during the day, the payoff is great. Very well staged! Not just on that, but overall. And finally, it's a joy to see a game through to the end! It's complete, and that's a relief. The search for panties is a good idea; I've created my own scenarios to justify finding them here and there. However, sometimes it distracts from the image or the text; we sometimes miss it so much that we have to choose between searching for them or enjoying the story. It's like a sort of new game +... not bad. The girls have their own psychology based on their experiences and lifestyles, and there's a lot of work done on their mentality. Especially with Eve, I find it compelling. However, when you see the MC, it's such a letdown... I think that the majority of points that can be given to this game are saved by all the girls that make it up. And that's great for an AVN, but to have a flawless score on the girls, all of them, is quite rare for me. Bravo. In most cases, I agree with all the positive aspects that people find in the game. To be honest, I'm a big fan of Lewd Island; it is, I swear, my very first AVN, and even though it's not in my top 10, it holds a special place in my heart. I had high expectations for Helping the Hotties (Redfalls, which I played for 2 episodes), so I'm a bit tough and demanding because I appreciate the work the team puts in... I can't wait to see the project. Please, give us a better MC, keep the depth and teasing of the girls, and you'll reach perfection, I swear.

story seemed weird although followable. It has decent enough writing to put it a step above the usual shovelwear VNs here. the premise of the VN was meh, although they did a good job on telling their story so 4/5. the animations were 1.5/5 though, basic loops not much to bring you in, not really fap material either, even though they brought fap material concepts in. so for that alone it went from 4/5 to 3/5. ending seemed rushed kinda, and lack luster, didnt seem like it was a decent way to complete it. for that it goes from 3/5 to 2/5.

This isn't a review of the full game, just the first couple of hours. Which is enough to see what is good and what is awful.

The girls are the good. They are uniformly gorgeous and have characters whose personalities are clearly defined, which is more than I can say for 99% of games on this site. I'll also give props to the setting. Having your game take place at a camp is a great idea since it gives opportunities for natural outdoor scenes, instead of the lazy "wander around a house" approach.

The bad is the MC. Fuck this guy. Seriously. I don't know how so many devs can't seem to get this right since its so basic. The MC is the player surrogate in the world. They are the vessel for enacting the will of the player. And since this is a spank game you can safely assume that your players want to fuck the hot girls. So why, for the love of all that is holy, would you have your MC spend the entire fucking game actively avoiding having sex with the hot girls?? The writer has created an MC whose actions directly contradict the desires of the player. Which makes the player despise the MC because just the fuck the girls already you pussy dipshit!

Take note of this other aspiring devs. Nobody likes a frigid MC. Nobody likes an MC who gets pushed around by the girls. An MC who is constantly on the back foot, embarassed, and apologising. Who never takes any initiative. Who, when presented with easy opportunities to get laid, throws his hands into the air and cries "oh my god, this is so terrible, what do I doooooo??" This is 100% the wrong way to write an MC in a spank game. And yet we see it again and again and again.

I call this phenomenon the Bitch MC and they are a plague visited upon games by bad writers. This particular Bitch MC whines about how he's surrounded by hotties who want to fuck him. He moans like a fucking ten year old at school assembly about how many erections he's had that day. He's happy to peek through windows like a pathetic nonce but won't accept the hottie literally throwing herself at him. And for what? Because he doesn't want to cheat on his girlfriend we know nothing about? A girlfriend who goes full-blown needy bitch mode in her second scene? Seriously?

This writer does not get it. Which is a shame because the artist clearly does. We're given beautiful girls, looking sexy, constantly. Other devs - this is what players want. Show us hot girls looking hot throughout the whole runtime. But this writer slaps our hands and says "oh no, you mustn't touch, that would be wrong!" Well fuck off. I hope for the next game they get a different writer who understands what players want. Do that and you might have a bonafide must-play on your hands. As it it, this game is just wasted potential.

Totally underrated game, undeserving of all the criticism done my nitpickers and probably better than 90% of the games out there. Just the voice acting alone, differentiates it from all the other games.

The renders are good, the animations are very good and the sex scenes with the addition of the voice acting makes them GREAT.

NGL, I am not much of a story Andy when it comes to sex games (romantic fantasies aren't my thing) but the fact that this game has actual voice acting made me want pay attention to the story instead of just skipping everything like I usually do (most games have terrible stories).

I didn't finish it but I thought the story was above average and that's good enough for me.

There is a lot of content in this game, special renders, x-vision, different angles, etc.

One of my favorite things was that it comes with a walkthrough, because there are actually many different choices in the game and you can choose between sandbox and VN mode, which is great because I HATE sandbox in games (you can also disable the mini-games).

The cast is numerous, diverse and beautiful. And I can't praise enough the fact that it has voice acting!

Overall, I can't say enough good things about this game. And I wish there were more games like this around.

5/5

Good renders, good scenes, god progression and a simple story over the course of a summer at a recovery retreat. Lots of complaints about the ending, but it never felt like it was going anywhere bigger than it did. If anything it hit the inevitable realistic conclusion (which is weird to say of a fap game, but take it for what its worth). I' getting kinda sour on the threads always complaining about how the story isn't what they would do.......then go make your own game. This one isn't the best, but its not abandoned and its wrapped up and has me interested in what the dev might do next with lessons learned and such.

"Helping the Hotties" left me with a sense of disappointment as the overall experience turned out to be rather mediocre. While the initial concept had potential and managed to catch my attention, its execution fell short.

One noticeable positive aspect of the game was the voice acting, despite some distractions caused either by the lack of proper direction or the choice of voice actresses. I commend the effort of small developers to include voice acting, as it's an area often overlooked in Western visual novels. Although imperfect, the attempt at voice acting did add a layer of immersion that some players might appreciate.

However, the game's lackluster and unremarkable storytelling, coupled with poorly executed sex scenes, greatly detracted from the overall experience. The narrative felt rushed and underdeveloped, and the sex scenes lacked the polish needed to make them engaging and enjoyable. It's crucial to highlight that the Peak-End Rule, which dictates that the most memorable aspects of an experience are its peak and ending moments, was sorely missing in this game. From start to finish, everything felt mediocre without any captivating moments, and the ending, in particular, left much to be desired, providing no sense of satisfaction.

In conclusion, while "Helping the Hotties" had the potential to be an intriguing visual novel, its weak storytelling, and poorly executed sex scenes ultimately hindered its success. Although the inclusion of voice acting was a commendable effort, it wasn't enough to salvage the overall experience. For future projects, focusing on improving narrative depth, character development, and polished scenes will be crucial in creating a lasting and enjoyable experience.

I will admit I never made it past the tutorial after the M/C arrives at the camp which I guess by the dialogue was his familial home and his "mom" is the camp therapist/operator. All of this was removed by the developer according to the forum comments in the rewrite from "Red Falls" to "Helping the Hotties". Big mistake IMO. The way it is written now it screams incest tag and familial relations and makes little sense without those existing. Two stars for the effort put into the UI and the renders. I played "Lewd Island" and was hoping this one would be good, so I waited until the completed tag with anticipation. Bah, the writing without the familial relationships is pointless, so neg 3 stars and 2 stars total out of 5.

I have seen this game rated 5 stars and 1 star and I think both are extreme, but I think I would rate this game a 2.5 if I could. Another reviewer summed up my thoughts on this game pretty well. While I was playing it, I enjoyed the other characters a lot, I think they are great and pretty unique, with legitimate flaws that the writer does a great job of exploring, the problem with this game, just like Summer Scent, and games of this caliber is that the writers put all of the stat points into the other characters and make the MC at best annoying. In this game, he makes a lot of decisions I disagree with and is pretty dumb but is nowhere near as bad as some other games, but it does drag this game down. I think if the writer had put more effort into making an MC that didn't suck this game would have been something special. I think a lot of it boils down to the MC making decisions without our input, and it becomes a tedious frustrating prospect to continue watching the MC blue ball himself. The renders and other characters are great, and the setting and the MC drag this game down. I would definitely play more games from this writer if he fixes either the MC or allow more choices, I am not against playing a shitweasel if it's a choice, but having it rammed down your throat is stupid.

What to say about this? I guess I will start by saying that I really find this game with tons of potential. The models, the interface, everything about this game is clea, hot, and professional. A virtual cornicopia of tasty eyetreats.

In this game you play as a guy who is going to college, but gets called back to his "Home/Old workplace/????" vaguely defined previous residence, in which he's expected to work, which is some kind of rehabilitation camp. Why he is called back is still a question for the ages, as it was never really explained but whatever.

The characters range widely, although they are cookie-cutter cliches. You have the Princess, the Sporty, the Nerd, the Nympho, the closet sex maniac, the obsessive girlfriend... etc.

If i had to describe this game in a few words it would be "slow burn". Even on VN mode and skipping quite a bit of text, this MC cucks himself over and over and over again, without any real content happening for the better part of 10 hours playtime. See, the thing is, he has a girlfriend in the beginning of the game, and his morality will not allow him to cheat on his GF (which is right, and I approve), except this is a porn harem game. In my opinion it would have been much better not to write a GF in so soon so that hes free to engage with the other girls sooner, then introduce an old GF suddenly.. might have been a better way to handle that.

I definitely recommend this game to anyone, as the models are just simply drop dead gorgeous and the eye candy is worth the wall of text.

This game is an odd one.

There’s a lot of effort here but it ultimately feels shallow and misguided.

The girls, their design and the story feels almost irrelevant. The story premise has the MC trying to avoid fucking them because of his existing gf, but does a poor job to build that up or utilise that ‘tag’.

In spite of all this effort, the girls feel like muppets.

And what do I mean by effort?

There are a lot of sex scenes and reward renders. The sex scenes often have a lot of different angles to them which is nice. There’s also full voice acting!!!

There are some minigames, there are hidden items and ‘achievements’ to unlock more renders, but they don’t really feel that rewarding.

There are lot of sex scenes and choices that encourage replayability too.

However, all of these elements are solid, but implemented in a really bland way.

For example, with the voice acting, I couldn’t really tell if it was AI or just the same voice actress doing the subpar delivery. The render quality, animations, UI are also solid, but poorly utilised.

3.5/5 - sometimes less is more.

The people who are downvoting this game are crazy, giving it one and two stars. The plot is not great but almost all porn games have nonsensical plot lines. The girls and the scenes more than make up for it.

It's rly hard to enjoy this game because of MC. He is obedient total wimp and coward scared of girls. How is it possible to create something like him i have no idea. It's rly hard to call him even a "boy" i rly feel sorry for him and his poor existence

Good renders and good animations.
For the plot if you like that girls do whatever they want with you without consequences and that the MC is a softy who permits everything this game is for you, In my case it is not for me.

The game's storyline lacks coherence, as previously noted. The assets utilized in the game appear to have been sourced from free options and are paired with default lighting. Although a few costumes have been added to enhance the visuals, they do little to compensate for the overall lackluster and sometimes confusing storyline. In addition, there are instances where the main character seems to forget that he is the only male in a camp full of women.

Furthermore, the voice acting in the game is subpar. The developers could have utilized free software like Descript or other Text-To-Speech tools to imitate the narrative, resulting in a more polished and immersive experience.

If the unnecessary images were removed, the game's file size could be reduced to a more manageable 2-3 GB, as opposed to the current 16 GB in version 0.9.0 Part 2.
Overall, a rating of 3 stars is the highest I can give.

The plot decisions were incoherent to me. "let's hide behind this building and easedrop"... Why? we could just go join them
The MC is a bit of a wimp that fustrated me by trying to hide/spy when he could/should of just talked... though the times he confronts people the writers have him be a moron about it.
Choices often are just a yes/no to seeing a scene. Meaning if you the player decides you'd prefer being with someone, it is just turning down the scenes with all the others (or not doing so, since it seems to make no difference)

But hey the character designs is great also the art and renders. So while I Like the characters, I just hate the way the writers have the MC interact with them.

I really don’t understand why this game is so low. Maybe because they rated this game before the rework. This game is definitely a 4,5/5 or even a 5/5 but not a 3,3/5.

Great animation + sex sound

Story is ok

Great character design

Great Models

It's a self insert with too many renders and too much exposition. The writing is atrocious and plentiful.

The only saving grace here are the models and the sex scenes, but the world these characters inhabit and it's scenery are juvenile. The grass is crayon green, the water is dyed food coloring blue. The characters rarely show emotion or expression, and there's so many renders. Thousands of lifeless barbie doll faces really takes a toll on you when you're trying to get off. It's depressing.

There are an impressive amount of expository renders in this game. Maybe thousands. But less than 0.5% of that is sex scenes. The rest is expressionless dolls with their mouths sewn shut staring at each other for long, pointless drawn out scenes. The sex scenes are actually great, but the pacing to find them is exhausting.

The twist in this game is that the hot goth barbie is in a weird cult that's really poorly written. Your dialogue options to her and to the rest of the characters are nonsensical and it's difficult to understand what choices you're making and what kind of effect they'll have on the story. When the majority of the writing in this game is so poor, you'll be left wondering why you're playing in the first place.

This game needs a serious edit, a lot more porn, and a lot less of the MC's face.

2 stars.

The premise of this game is completely unbelievable.

MC gets an emergency call to work. Then he's flung into sexual harassment lawsuit territory as he - not the two available female employee's - is repeatedly put into inappropriately close contact with a bunch of girls who have mental challenges.

v0.8.9

This is up there with some of my favorite stories on f95. Maybe one step down from that category.

Art: 5/5
The setting and everything in it was well chosen and portrayed. The space was easy to imagine and follow.
The clothing changed, which is a very nice touch many games don't bother with.

Models: 4/5
While I loved the style of the models and found them visually distinguished, their body types were all very similar. Not identical, as I could probably tell who is who from the neck down, but similar enough that describing their body types would sound rather samey.

Characters: 5/5
Each character is super unique. I love that. Visually, background, story development (for the most part), dialogue, choice of wording, all different.
I was a bit sad that
Dialogue: 4/5
As a plot oriented story, the dialogue is practically all side tracking and off the path. Which makes for a more day in the life of a person kind of story, which can feel very fluffed/filler-like.
As a story of people having real discussions every day, it was very, very good. The dialogue between characters felt very realistic.

Story: 3/5
The plot itself is kind of mediocre, and really there were moments I was straight up bored with it but the characters interacting saved it. Kind of like a bad episode of a show you like, but the characters are still characters you like so, it is doable.

Sound: 5/5, 10/10, the part that was best for me.
The music choice was kind fo whatever and sometimes not the best, but that doesn't matter.
The voice acting. Every line is voice acted, by what I assume are different voice actors. And they did so well.
I could listen to Violet all day. Any topic, don't care. Such a beautiful voice.
(Violet is the waifu for me, hehe).

Sex: 4/5
There are times when the sex scenes are amazing. Decent animations, good pacing, good dialogue/lead up.
Then there are times when something is not done well and it lessens the scene, comparatively.


Lewdness frequency: 4/5
Would be 5/5 but most of it is teasing or just dialogue. There is that little xray button to see nudity on demand, but honestly I feel like that was overly available.
My main critique on this subject would be the frequency of sex or in general orgasm ending events. There are not many of those at all.


Enjoyment: 1/5 it isn't finished yet.
jk.4/5
I stayed up for a few hours reading this (slowly due to actually listening to voice acting). Only dropped a star due to not quite raunchy enough to be perfect but it's still hella good.

Recommended?
Yes

I am quite impressed with this game. And i dont get why the ratings arent higher. There are beautiful girls, in depth story, and pictures to find along the way. What more are people wanting. Anywho, good luck to the developer, hope that this one picks up some traction