Ren'Py - Horton Bay Stories - Jake [v0.4.2.4] [Lumphorn Games]

  1. 3.00 star(s)

    Kezza329

    seems like everything of worth while in terms of the sleep sex itself, and the interesting characters are still in development. so when theres more of a game to review, ill review it. however as it stands, animations are good, but the loop could be smoother to be less noticable and more immersive.
  2. 4.00 star(s)

    Grizzzzly

    Version 0.4.1.6 Another difficult one to review, so much to comment on and it swings wildly from poor to great to meh. So I'll give it a shot.

    Graphics - well..different can only describe it. Quality is good, some animations and rather well done. The models, are extremely different and kinda weird, but it is throughout the game. Personally I initially didn't like the models at first, but found after some time it worked and I got into it, and some of the models got better. Many weird faces, large hobbit feet and such...bizarre.

    Gameplay - so there is a ton of content in here. It has a sandbox, which is not the easiest to navigate, once you start getting locations they show up on the map (most of them) others are difficult to find and the navigation when walking is kinda messed up and very difficult to use. As for the "Ton of Content" that is probably the entry into one of my problems with this game, finding everything.

    Interactions are based of specific times, places, and other actions having been done. Now there is a in game mission hint, and the characters have a simple hint system in the character cards - but there is so much, finding things is a chore - and there is literally dozens of NPCs. The hint system is really burdensome and not intuitive. I keep on playing this game, and I have never gotten every scene as I get bored and can't be bothered to go write down all the times, places I need to be to progress certain LIs.

    NTR - this one is interesting, so I am not a NTR or Cuck fan at all, don't even like the swinging thing, cheating is fine, but I do enjoy the stress, and adventure of the possibility of losing the girls. So I leave it on, it really helps with the story line. So with it on, you absolutely see your girlfriend getting fucked by the teacher at the beginning...kinda the main plot moment. After that all the NTR moments I have found can be avoided by doing the right things and the girls don't get fucked...screw up and they do. (there is another scene where they teacher and ex phone you as well) but don't worry, it seems we will be getting revenge on him with his daughter and wife in the future.

    So after all that, still a 4 star game for a pile of content, decent graphics, a storyline that is reasonable, good english. Pregnancy system is in place, a few milfs (could use more), impregnation and lots of fucking.

    A little fix on the navigation, and a easier hint system would be better it would make this an excellent game. i.e. when with a LI a character card is visible and hints readily available, or even mark a certain LI and her hints and timings would be visible during normal gameplay until you selected another.

    Solid hours of gametime if you can get used to the models used.
  3. 2.00 star(s)

    zeratul108

    has sleep sex in the tags, there is only like 1 scene with sleep sex. has rape tag but very little rape content. MC has extremely boring good buy sensibilities. But most of the scenes are decent, though highly repetitive. The models' face look very strange on some of these.
  4. 5.00 star(s)

    sauron93

    Really underrated game. One of the very few games that I binged to complete. I really really like the Christine character model. Even though it was a sandbox game, it did not feel grindy (also cheat system available to check out other paths). Looking forward to the next update with Christine, as well as the interesting main plotline. Possibilities are endless :love:
  5. 2.00 star(s)

    MikesDK

    My review is for the none NTR path where you have it turned off.

    From the very start doing the intro/prologue it already starts to feel off, MC and hes girlfriend and hes friend get into a small arguement which ends with MC trowing them out of the room/house, next MC changes college and moves out due to never wanting to see them again, this is waaay overkill compared to what happened and its extremly clear that its not the real story meaning the real reason is due to the NTR path where hes friend fucks MCs girlfriend.

    The problem with that is that its just to easy to spot and its like there has been put 0 effort into making the none NTR path work or make any sense.
    Also even with NTR turned off the first time you go to sleep you can pick to dream about your exgirlfriend where you see the hole scene of girlfriend cheating on MC with hes friend....so even with NTR off scenes still shows under dreams which i also found a bit idiotic since it dosent have anything to do with the none NTR story path, it even happens in the game like if you sell a video it will show the NTR video in the none NTR path which is really bad if you dont want it.

    Some girls will pretty much just trow them selfs at MC, but atleast most you need to build up a relationship with so thats nice.
    In the start i couldent get used to the girls they where/are just ugly, weird looks, some almost look evil, it does get a little bit better later on when you meet a ton of other girls so get past the start and you might find something you like since it does get a little better.

    It has one huge issue wich effects the game in a bad way, and thats to many LIs, alot will only have very few scenes and arent given enough screen time and you will also run into "in development" alot, i only just got to the the college and proberly seen it 10+ times, it feels like dev just kept adding stuff but at some point it just gets to big so progress will be very slow with to much that hasent even started yet, like 100% of the teachers and some girls are "in development" right after meeting them for the first time.

    Its a bit disappointing to see considering game is more then 2 years old now and so many things hasent even started up yet, even main story has barely got anywhere and same with the main girls gets hit by "in development" pretty fast, no pregnancy yet other then a sign saying they are pregnant, so there really isent all the much in game after 2 years, at this rate it will take another 5+ years to finish.

    None NTR Story 2/5
    The start felt a bit off due to the missing NTR which made it weird, but atleast the rest of the game it rarely feels as stupid as the start when having NTR off, you will however see NTR like sellings vids it shows worng vids with NTR in none NTR path which is just a no go, alot hate NTR so it just shouldent be there when NTR is off, and it does ruin the story as well since it dosent match up with the storyline in none NTR path.

    Animations 3/5
    They are pretty decent but not great, some are a bit off and jumpy but most are fine.

    Girls/LIs 2/5
    Got to say i dident really find many if any of them hot, the faces just seems off to me or even ugly in most cases, some look like aliens with very tin bodies and face dident help either, Adel looks evil and old not sure if its the eyes or the weird facial expressions most LIs has but man to me they just feel off and look worng, it does get a little better later on atleast.

    Music 3/5
    is average background stuff, no bad but nothing special either.

    Sandbox 2/5
    It is way to grindy to get money, you use more time on that then anything else, the sandbox works fine with out any issues, the hint system is mostly ok as well.

    All in all its not a bad game there just to little content and to many LIs which results in...yeah you guessed it, to little content and to few scenes with the LIs, it really hurts the game when there is to much, and its just not fun to wait for more then a year and never see any content with the girls you want.
    Also it makes you waste alot of time trying to raise points with girls that has 0 content but dosent say "end of content" so you wont know there isent any.
  6. 4.00 star(s)

    Every1sGrudge

    Rev @ Horton Bay Stories - Jake [v0.3.7.3]

    Art's alright, bit amateurish but passable. The faces though are all Brown-Bag Specials and all the girls need an IV drip of sammiches.

    Writing is weak, just like all of these are. Scenario is Mom + 2 Hot Daughters subtype 31: 'mom' is Sister #3 and relations are coated with thin veil of Patreon-pleasing.

    Porn's alright. Too much peeing and anal, needs more pregnancy that isn't swung around like Damocles.

    Gameplay makes my brain hurt. Unironically. If there's a polar opposite to the Scouts' Orienteering badge I nominate whoever made the map for it. Cardinal directions trade off from screen to screen, and it's entirely possible to walk south so far you wind up at the northernmost screen again, and then walk east far enough to wind up on the northernmost map again. Noneuclidian cartography is this game's most noteworthy contribution.

    TLDR: Do you suppose the maps hit the faces and that's why they're all so fucked up?
  7. 3.00 star(s)

    Splitzzk

    So im going to keep it shot this games story is pretty good but navigating the game is just awful also i wish i could make is so some of the missions i dont want to do wont pop up like some of the male characters side missions
  8. 2.00 star(s)

    spacezombie

    The game isn´t really good but has potential.

    First there are a lot of characters, but most don´t have enough scenes.

    The gameplay is trash, it is too user unfriendly navigating is confusing, you can´t change the time except in cheap mode, and the UI is awful looking.

    The characters are all pretty boring and have little personality.

    The models are either okay or just weird, but I didn´t mind anyone except, Adlen her face look awful as if she was 90 years old.

    The sex scenes have okay animations.

    There is a lot of NTR so if you don´t like it play something else, there is a option to disable NTR but it feels wrong like it isn´t the way it was intented to play, so I would recommend turning NTR on.


    But I wouldn´t recommend it the gameplay ruins it for me.
  9. 3.00 star(s)

    every10min

    A solid story and solid visuals held back by clunky progression once you get past the first 70% of the game and some issues with the UI. With either more linearity or more clear directions that were less ponderous to use this game would be top-tier... Also for the love of god someone please make the prequal VN of the GFs becoming sluts in HS.
  10. 4.00 star(s)

    Dudush666

    Well, let's be honest... The blonde is scary as hell... A skinny woman with a piercing seems to have escaped from Buckenwald... And NTR is either you're a cuckold or an alpha... Why you can't fuck girls together, etc., it's not clear... But of course the game is not VN and it is much better than most of the "games" here... But only it is not completed... [v0.3.5.3] if we take the finished version 1.0 and 2021 as a start for the value... Everything is sad. .. I hope the game will be completed and improved...
  11. 5.00 star(s)

    Sukebe_S

    I've downloaded and played this game about three times in two or so years, so my perspective of its progress has changed in large steps. Initially I thought "meh," the second time I thought "hmmmm," and the third time I thought "this is getting great." I wish I could give it 4.5 stars because it's still not perfect. However, there's so much truly inspired and extraordinary content that it comes closer to five than four stars.

    Let's start with the "less than perfect" stuff:

    (1) the navigation stuff is still a bit wonky. The devs have done a lot to make it easier, adding hot buttons and a very good map, but early on in the game, before the locations are unlocked, new players should expect to spend an hour or so clicking confusing arrows to navigate through town in the free roam setting. What they were trying to do--immersion in Horton Bay--was ambitious, and I give them credit for that. But my sense of what the cardinal directions were kept my internal compass spinning wildly. I think it's gotten better, however, and I expect further revisions to be made in future updates.

    (2) some of the character art, particularly with the earlier characters, takes a while to get used to. Much has been said of this, so I don't really need to go into it. I like how the devs weren't going for "photorealism" but rather a cartoony/caricature feel. It's a fun and unique way to use DAZ. But the characters the MC encounters later in the game are far more easy to look at than the characters encountered earlier in the game. It kind of feels like the artist was improving as the game updates kept rolling out, which is completely understandable. But I'm often left with a feeling that the side characters, because they tend to be much hotter, are more compelling than the main characters who were designed earlier in development. I would almost suggest an artistic overhaul on the first three characters, but that would be a huge pain in the ass given the amazing amount of content the game has.

    And this brings me to aspects of which this game is doing great:

    (1) The afore-mentioned content. There's SO MUCH here. So many stories, side-stories, places to explore and get lost in. Oh, and lest I forget, a cast of characters that seems to stretch into the thousands. It's a truly impressive accomplishment. And the devs do a great job of connecting everyone together and weaving the stories into each other. The in-game directory of characters really helps keep things straight and points me in the right direction (most of the time) for pursuing character storylines I'd like to explore further. It's taken them a while, but the devs have created an immersive universe which can be explored and enjoyed. Bravo.

    (2) The artwork. Yes, I know, I'm contradicting myself. As I said, the earlier artwork and character design felt a bit rough and poorly conceived, but in later updates things have smoothed out to a very impressive extent. In particular, the devs spend a lot of time on animation, which can be a huge headache to pull off in DAZ. But the animations are (generally) well-done, plentiful, and well-integrated in the story (it never feels like, "oh, now it's time for an animated cut scene").

    (3) The pace of updates. This is something I was never able to handle, but these devs seem to have found a great production groove. The framework they've established lends itself perfectly to small updates here and there. Devoted fans can upload every update to see what story arcs have been pushed, but more casual players can skip a few updates and then be blown away at the accumulation of content.

    (4) The writing is solid. It doesn't feel long-winded or "too talky." Instead, conversations tend to be punchy, brief, and entertaining. The game doesn't take itself too seriously, which I appreciate. There's a lot of content here that caters to many different fetishes.

    Overall, this is a fun game, well worth a download and support.
  12. 3.00 star(s)

    Xonra

    This is a hard one to rate but I can at least give my opinion and review of it.


    - Story is stock standard, and I don't mean that as a negative, but more so factually speaking. People did some bad things to you, you moved away from them to start this new life where you won't assumingly interact with them, meet the new roommates, etc.

    You won't find anything that's going to surprise you, but that being said you at least have choices, and that's probably the biggest selling point.

    - You can walk yourself into a corner and run into NTR or just be a jerk, or perhaps you want to be the nicest chill guy and ignore all the corruption and the so on and so on and you can do it all. It's a big plus, but I feel that it's kind of what the game was built around and things are built on toothpick supports from here.

    - It's one of those "grind for stats/money/affection" games, and sometimes that works, but this one it feels a bit more grindy because I never felt the pay off was worth it. Yes you can get the girl and get the thing and so on but, it just feels hallow and I don't know why, perhaps it's what this game made me realize, which is the next point.

    --------------------------------------------

    - This game, as I eluded to, made me realize how I thought I played these games was way off; I am a bit shallow and I'm not in fact able to push through if the story is good enough. The female characters in this game are ranging from not bad to borderline nightmare fuel looking like they are literally not human beings with their facial bone structure. Eyebrows creeping up their faces in unnatural ways, eyes looking as if they are simply not humans, random still shots during conversations of faces that look like the characters just pooped their pants in the midst of a sentence with awkward expressions. It really took me out of the game more often than they pulled me into it.

    They are certainly unique, which is something I've praised other 3D games for, but this feels like it was trying to simply be different and forgot that these games aren't just random RPGS, they are uh, well erotic games for tickling the brain meat, and when a character walks up and smiles at me and I'm like "Do I need to call your sponsor, cause you look like you fell off the wagon" and not "oooo I'd like to get intimate with you pretty lady", feels like it's missing the entire point.

    Not every character is this bad, but there were far too many times that I almost stopped playing altogether because of how off-putting a character model or an expression was.

    --------------------------------------------

    - I know this is an unfinished game but it really FEELS like an unfinished game more than others at times. I saw another comment saying this wasn't immersion breaking, but I felt exactly the opposite.



    I don't hate this game and there is something there that could still make this really good, but I just can't in good conscious recommend it as is. The people rating this 4 and 5 stars just to "balance out the low ratings" are really doing people a disservice, because it's not a 4/5 rating game right now.
  13. 2.00 star(s)

    asfdas78adkljc0-903$#

    I'm finally giving up on it.
    The whole thing is just too grindy and too convoluted as the story goes.
    That the girls all look like dogs didn't help either.
    It's Monday morning 11am and I'm going to the supermarket by the gas station to buy pills, and the store is simply closed.
    Can't be bothered doing business I guess.
  14. 2.00 star(s)

    Luckzor

    Good story, the NTR scenes are well implemented, the characters are fine, good animation, this game has a lot of good things, but my bad review is because the hint system sucks, I wasted hours until I could "level up" my relationship with Christine because the hints don't help at all, some times it gives you like 4 task to get a better relationship with a girl and you have to do all of them because you don't know which one is the one you need to do and some times looks like they even didn't help, I'm stuck in Attraction 14 and I can't progress, I did everything the hints say "Meet her in the backyard, invite her to watch tv, join her in the bathroom, give her a massage" and I can't progress because her score is capped to 14 until some event happens, I looked into the walkthough and looks like I did everything but that event never starts, so clearly I'm missing something that the walkthough nor the hints in the game explain or fail doing it.
  15. 4.00 star(s)

    _Utakata_

    review for 0.3.8.4

    Character renders look better in the status screen then in the game when you play
    they all are around the age of 19-20 But look like 50
    NTR can be turn off
    Sandbox navigate is good
    To much WIP characters
    Story is good
    No bugs
    Cumming in a girl seems to be a bad choice
    to much useless sidequest
    moral thing is dumb
    there is a cheat menu that ifnores slow grind
    No way to get rid of lucas witouth cheating with NTR off
  16. 5.00 star(s)

    Éama

    So, let me begin by saying that this game is clearly made with a netorare audience in mind. This is not the reason why I played the game and it's not a kink that I'm looking for. But if you are, this is a very well done netorare game.

    Large parts of this VN are sandbox and the sandbox feels unfinished as of this version (v03.3.3) but it's still playable. You'll just stumble across "this is still in development" plenty of times. It's not immersion breaking as it only happens in sandbox mode.
    Many reviewers criticised the character models and I disagree completely. I find them very unique. Not every woman or man looks like a supermodel, some even look like they have a history with hard drugs, but every character has something going for them, both in terms of visuals and character.

    This is the type of ntr game that allows you to play a good guy and not be punished for it. So, while there is a very strong and constant ntr theme going on, you have actual influence over what happens. You can stop scenes unless you have acquired too many naughty points, you can decide to intervene or walk away basically.
    If you play the way I did the ntr feels rather relatable. It's not over the top and not forcing you to suffer. It's just the consequence of your own actions and in many cases doesn't even happen to you but other people. The ntr in the prologue will happen either way though, even if you disable the ntr it will happen offscreen.

    The story itself is pretty standard - move to a new place after being wronged, start new, prepare and finally visit a college, do college things, have criminal people try to walk over you and steal people you love with drugs and tricks - kind of plot. It's not revolutionary, but I want to repeat that I enjoy that you have a lot of agency in how the events unfold. And not just accidental agency, you can pretty clearly decide what you want to happen. At the same time, it feels rather organic, it's not just a click simulation but logical cause and consequence scenarios. (still porn logic though)

    So overall I think this is a minimum of four-star game and I give five stars to compensate for some of the negative ratings that seem rather mean and superficial. A lot of work went into this game and I think it deserves to be appreciated because it's actually pretty decent.
  17. 4.00 star(s)

    big_hawg

    damn this game is really underrated and i know why, you really have to go out of your way to figure shit out. The UI needs a total overhaul to make the hint system just 1 click (no need to put it in the phone). The main story ending basically bricking your progress in the game till the next update isnt helpful either - there is TONS of side content that the game doesnt explain well (luckily i had a save before going into Pies Pies because otherwise your fucked considering the last mission just needs you to be in your room midday).

    Theres a really good game here, it just really needs some TLC on the finer points. Also yes some of the earlier models expressions can be a bit off-putting but it improves over time.

    This game is really fun and has some very hot scenarios in it. I would def recommend but be vigilant with completing the side stories before the you complete the main story.
  18. 4.00 star(s)

    rvlfycpydgdcttfren

    This is hit or miss, it does some things well but suffers some genre tropes too:

    The good:
    - The bodies are all good, no forced milfs or alien-proportions for breasts/ass
    - the background story and things like how cameras are introduced are excellent compared to the genre in whole and they didn't use the MC being immasculine and afraid of women to control pacing/morality
    - Its sandbox, I like sandboxes

    The Bad:
    - Terrrrible faces
    - The sandbox navigation with arrows is awful. There is a second way to navigate but its still fiddly. So is the computer
  19. 5.00 star(s)

    Grservices

    I like this game, but a pity that there is no incest in the story for example with one of the girls from the apartment or from the university

    otherwise it's a great game I'm waiting for the next update and I'm delighted to see the evolution of the mc on his relationships
  20. 5.00 star(s)

    Crowangel

    While my initial review and opinion of this title was some what negative.. My recent playthrough has done a complete 180 on that..
    Yes the visuals on the girls NEEDS a MASSIVE rework to stop most of the main cast and others looking like they have a rapid aging disease at times BUT in terms of Quantity over quality, then this title delivers..
    A LOT is still hidden behind 'In Development' BUT there is still a vast amount of content if you work hard to uncover it..
    Originally i was a little frustrated with the inability to find anyone or anything to do but on a replay i found that id missed a crucial story start point and had glitched myself into a no way back situation..
    The game is far from perfect but it has a lot of potential and once more of the development on various characters and activities is complete it will be a VERY Addictive title.. Hell i gave Hogwarts Legacy a few days off to get immersed in this title lol..
    Animations are a little clunky at times and could use a slight retune, as said before the girls could do with a little beautify session here n there.. but story and content is right on the money..
    Id love to see a few mini games thrown in there for optional play if the dev team can work out the programming.. Ie Being able to play the darts are snooker/pool to earn extra money or maybe a poker table in the pub or clubs etc..
    Overall This title is well worth the time put into it and I'm glad i gave it a second chance because its become a firm fav