VN - Ren'Py - How to Fix the Future [v0.3.2] [mr.moonmi]

I don't like to trash games. These are really hard to create and I am a failed dev myself so I usually just don't bother to review things I don't like. However, this dev is so damn talented and I know they could produce a really great game so I felt I should at least say something.

On a positive note, there is a lot of great diversity. Not just in the characters, but in kinks as well. My problem is really with the story.

First of all, the MC goes from sort of a loser with doubts about who he is and what he wants out of life to the Chosen One and a sudden burst of confidence. The women just throw themselves at the MC even if he behaves like an ass and the MC is just supposed to fall into line with this whole scenario, which is filled with a convoluted, barely coherent story. I mean, what is the point of the corporation? And why do they need the agents? At one point the MC says something like "Finally! We can work towards our goal." I was like "What goal?"

There are so many story fragments... like the weird thing with the news journalist. From stolen tennis shoes to her freaking out during the broadcast to then meeting his mother who wears the same sad grey dress the entire time. Or his ex who randomly shows up in memories and tests. And nothing really explains how or why the President is the way she is. Then they are all surprised when the MC pushes back on anything. I mean they are the good guys right? Why wouldn't the MC want to be part of this great endeavor to "Fix the Future"?

Don't even get me started on how the MC finished the game and became the Chosen One and then of course his "friends", after playing the same game, both become the chosen one as well. Now Mom and the journalist are playing the game so what.... are they also going to become the chosen one? How about the ex? Is she going to come back to visit, find the game, play it and become a chosen one? I am waiting for the "Avengers Assemble" scene when all of them are together in their futuristic outfits to save the future. Because it makes total sense for people of the past to be able to save a future they don't even want to be a part of or know anything about.

The President is just a spoiled brat who is used to getting her way. The brother and sister team, who aren't even really agents, as just sad. I mean, what was that whole scene where she was getting yelled at from the president and the brother (or the MC) were forced to step in and save her. I still don't understand what happened there... and again, she was not even a full fledged agent so who's fault was it really? Not that I even understand what she did wrong.

Then there is her assistant, Liu, who was told to go make the MC happy and comfortable on his first night here and if the MC turns her down, she is all butt hurt he doesn't like her. I mean... what? Of course, that leads me to the cringy dialogue. It's just painful.

TL.DR
I understand I am in the minority. There are obviously a lot of people who like this game, but for me, it is a brutal slog through mediocre dialogue and lazy storytelling.

Wow. Just wow. Not only the game is super hot, but the scenario is really good too. It's not often that I don't skip through all dialog, well here I did.

No watersport content yet, at least with the choices I made, but some squirting and spitting (very well done at that). Most fetishes are optional so you can choose what you'd like to see.

NTR warning.
The only real reason i cant go above 3 stars even temted to go to 2....its due to what i see as NTR and i bet alot of others will to so ill try to explain that before the review of the game it self.

Since the selection is very low with girls that has smaller tits i found Liu to be the best choice for MC and a relationship also game is not a harem so kinda got to pick the one you like the most.

Problem with Liu is that shes a slave to the mistress bitch boss, and thats where i see it as NTR, Octavia uses Liu daily to satisfy her sexual needs which she also tells MC about the day after you have sex with Liu,not only that you also know the Octavia uses Liu as a whore sending her out to have sex with whoever she wants her to have sex with, Liu to me also feels absolutly brainwashed by Octavia.

Game review:
Lets start with the main story, its pretty decent and i dont mind the sci-fi type game with time travel and what not and i did enjoy how MC could respond in some scenes that was something the supprised me, the girls though looks good but its main focus is big tits which i dont like at all.

Now about the MC, i am just getting so tierd of playing MCs that are either brainless or has no balls and acts like a 12 year old virgin, already from the start when he gets kidnapped then drugged it starts to turn to shit, first woman he sees all he thinks about is her boobs like a 12 year old, alot of MCs in games are like this i dont get why its almost the standard, all it does is ruin the story, what he should be thinking is "how the fuck do i get out of here" or try to fight back atleast, but ALL MC does is think about is "ohh tits" and how every girl is cute which makes it all feel stupid, why not stop this kind of thinking and let the players/readers think for them selfs if they like a girl or not instend of having a MC that loves anything and everything no matter how ugly the LI is.

The crazy female dom boss with big tits, worried me alot its proberly the worst combo there could be for me, but so far game supprised me for the better, and i did love that you could talk down to that bitch and so far not been forced into anything with her which is a huge lets hope it stays that way.

I also like that you can turn of stuff like futa or dom and such, so some choices do matter others dosent but aslong as the importen choices works it will be great, just hope it stays like that so you 100% can deside who you want to fuck or not.

Graphics and Girls 4/5
It looks good overall and LIs looks nice even though i might not be a fan of most of them since i am not in to the big tits, i saw some reviews saying there is something for everyone but dont take that at face value, i havent seen anything below a high c to d cup and i am more into a nice firm b size and theres pretty much only Chloe that comes anywhere near that and maybe the slave Liu which i already explained why shes a no go, so it makes the game a bit boring when 95% of the girls means nothing to ya, so if your not into big tits keep that in mind or play something else.

Story 3/5
Main story is good, but cant rate it higher since it as NTR in my eyes and no tag for it.

Animations 4/5
Animations looks good, above average thats for sure but there arent really that many since its not a harem game.

Music 3/5
It has music but ive seen/heard alot better, it dosent really set a mood its more like a general music playing in the background.

Choices in game 4/5
Choices does matter, you can pick who you want to have sex with or not, in normal story some choices dosent really matter since it will have same outcome, but aslong as the importen ones matter then its all good.

It is a shame really this game falls short of being perfect by an inch just because some dev decisions.

As to break it apart:

+ Audiovisuals - 5/5. The renders, animations and soundtracks are all movie-tier production quality. OUTSTANDING.

+Characters and Relationships - 5/5. I like the overall roster. There is an option for everyone. Every major character is good-looking and different per se. Romance with Cathy is so good, it is one of the reasons to play this game.

+Lewd content - 4/5. Satisfying. Some lewd SFX would be appreciated though. Mostly casual vanilla sex. The introduction of certain kinks was a bit over the top and crass imo.

+UI and Polish - 5/5. Very good. Looks like an AA title. Couldn't be better.

+Dialogues - 4/5. Generally readable and not boring.

-Plot and Setting - 3/5. (Chapter 1 - 2/5, Chapter 2 yet, 4/5) As I typed above, all the ingredients are good quality. Only thing left is to execute and consolidate them in a suitable fashion. There were bits which I found very good and sections that were so meh.
Chapter 1 is mainly the intro sequence as the roster finally takes shape that will drive the story forward. I have problems with the methods in which way the elements are incorporated into the plot. The way of getting gaming buddies, the news anchorwoman etc. to the main story tests the limits of credibility (deus ex machinas all around) which doesn't suit the overall tone of the novel. Logical errors presenting themselves everywhere literally distracted me and killed the enjoyment that I had. In chapter 1, the novel cruised back and forth between the lines of a goofy teen drama and a serious scifi drama. As you can guess, I was not fond of teensy parts.
It seems writing in Chapter 2 continues in a serious tone as it should be. Hope that we will not encounter the convoluted mess that was in Chapter 1.
The fact that this is a time-travel game makes it also walking on thin ice. Only thing this game needs is consistent plot and character development, complying with the tone that dev has set. Juggling between different themes kinda breaks it for me and hope dev stops doing that.

- Also gallery can use a hint to locate locked scenes.

I have a lot of trouble writing reviews for games that everyone likes, because there's usually not much you can say that hasn't already been said.

Given that - I'm hooked. There's something special about this game. I enjoy games like these where the plot drives the sex scenes as opposed to the opposite. The renders are absolutely beautiful, extra care was taken with the lighting and composition of shots. The character models are spectacular too.

That being said - this game has been out for 2 years now and we're only through one chapter (albeit a long, action-packed one). I worry that this is a dev who has bit off more than he can chew, and that we're never going to see the end of this one.

I'm normally not a fan of science fiction in these types of games so i didn't expect much from this game but DAMN... One of the best game I played. There is "only" one chapter for now so its still a bit early to completely make my mind about it but I at least know for sure it won't be bad. I say "only" but the first chapter is still a good amount of content and you can really begin to enjoy the game and get to know the characters. Overall the story is intersting, the characters feel deep and different, the renders are AMAZING. I am looking forward to the next chapters for sure, great work !

Amazing renders, hot girls, interesting story (although also confusing) and decent replay value between different MC attitudes (dark, light, neutral).

There is only one negative which I unfortunately consider a bigger negative, and that's the insane push for one of the girls.

There are only so many times I can say "No, not interested", or act like a jerk towards that girl, or ignore her, or let her hanging, before I start getting annoyed at game pushes.

There is an unavoidable "romantic" scene with that girl (not H, but pushing towards romance), which also annoyed me, since it came out of the blue since my character literally disagreed with the girl on EVERYTHING up to that point. 0 points, no mutual interests, yet the romance is blooming. WHY?!?!

It feels like a game is pushing for some kind of twist with that girl that will test their relationship, but it's overdoing it in my opinion.

Other than that, I'm impressed how easy it is to avoid unwanted content. Futa content? Select "Nope" option, disabled. Dom content? "Nope" - Disabled, etc.
Genuinely impressive there are options for all kinks for when you do, and don't want them.

Great job so far, and I can't wait to see where Dev takes the story, probably most confusing part since I genuinely don't see which direction it will lead to.

Cool dynamics between characters and nice renders Quite like how trans stuff is handled, also nice to see possible future relationships between characters you are not going for, this might change though. Its only chapter 1 atm. Poggers!

Great game! The quality of the models and backgrounds is on top, as is the story, the dialogues and lewd scenes, I would like better and more animation on 4, in any case it is not critical.
At first glance, it seems that this is a typical visual novel about the future, of which there have been more than a few dozen over the past 1-2 years, but the presentation is extremely different for the better, one feels the reality of what is happening and immersion in what is happening due to the logic of the narrative and well-described characters.

A+ game. This is how you do porn games right. It might be a slow burn, but it actually has an engaging story and likeable characters, which makes the steamy scenes 10x better. The fetishes are also great and include olfactophilia, which is so often overlooked. Given the pace the game is going right now, it feels like this is going to a very long game, but if the quality keeps up, I'm very excited for it.

One of the best games I've played recently. I was really sucked into the game and felt attached to the characters.

Visuals 5/5
Not just the models are superb, also the backgrounds, lighting...top quality

Story 5/5
Very captivating with real depth to the characters. I really have no clue where this story is going to end but I'm looking forward to finding out. Also the choices you make have real impact later on in the game. Futa content was great and makes me longing for more.

How to fix the future v0.2.4

Good game with good graphics. Beautiful models and story seems interesting. Bdsm isn't my thing but it's avoidable. And there are many other kinks. Characters have their own characteristics. Game also got humor elements. Big plus of the game is renders they are well polished. Writing isn't bad either. Overall I enjoyed the game looking forward to next updates. Keep up the good work dev.

+ Renders
+ Models
+ Animations
+ Humor

Kinda broken English. Took me out of the story.
Some of the character models look great but it's not like there's much to see so far anyway. Don't really even feel any kind of attachment to the characters.
The stats and branching are kind of confusing. Doesn't really make for a smooth playthrough if I don't know what I'm missing or what the stats even do. It's not complicated, it's more like there's no real direction or point.
Renders look great but just kind of mediocre overall. It's gonna be a "meh" for me.

Just excellent...

Very nice Renders, in fact i like the models of the girls most out of all games i played so far aorund here.

Interesting story, i dont like timetrevel stories... most of the time i hate them... but if you keep them simple they work fine, like back to the future, the time machine... they are held simple in a small environment without getting to complex, and than its works perfectly. Other movies or books want to tell too much complex things and than its getting ridiculous.

So an advise to the DEV, keep the timetravleing thing SIMPLE. Or it is getting out of hand an than just absurd.

So back to it... many different girls and characters, with different background and behavior, i like that... of course, everyone follows a certain stereotype for itself, but thats ok.

The dialogues are very good, nearly flawless english too (if you dont use mods, dont blame the DEV if you use mods and get engrish... its not on him) with a good portion humour, and everything needed to get you entertained. time flew by reading this VN.

Different kind of kinks are served too... not everything is my thing, but you can avoid everythign you want, and see what you desire... perfect balance.

As i get it, there is no option for a harem. And i like that, harem games are kinda dumb, they are just for the fap... story driven games with harem are making no sense at all. But i can sense that there is a way to be with more than just one girl in the end...

Getting to the lewd scenes... for this amount of content in a story driven game, there is already pretty much lewd going on. I would say, the scenes are ok, nothing that i rember long i think... the lewd content is not the strong trait of the game and the DEV.

The animations are above average, but most of the time very short. But put really effort in them and they are a plus to the game. I like them overall, but they could be much better. But for a one-man-crew with not that good hardware as he states, its okay like this.

Background music is nearly perfect, like that very much... adding very much to the mood and fits perfectly every scene, keep that up!

The characters are all likeable, some more, some less, but everyone is at least interesting (besides Jacob, can do without him so far... but maybe he wil get his part too in the future) and you can already start to care for everyone, even the dominatrix.

Overall its a 5 star game so far, but still at the beginning. Its more like an intro, a pretty long one.


pros

- perfect renders
- interesting setting and story
- good background music
- likeable MC with decent looks, and kinda "average" not the "perfect buffed muscle girl magnet" we can see in so many other games. Well of course he has a magic dick... but that was to be expected.
- interesting characters with really good looking models
- decent animations (maybe the only part of the game whit lot space for improvement, but it doesnt matter that much to me)
- decent amoutn of content so far its only 8 months since the initial relase...

cons:

nothing comes to mind so far.


Hope the updates will come in. the DEV is doing everything alone, ok he is by far not the only one out there, but not many are trying to deliver this high quality as a side job, hope he can pull it off in the future.

Amazing renders, so high quality and good amount of story
Great credit to you as a new developer, love the different options and can't wait to see what comes next in any future updates. Absolutely smashing it so far keep it coming and I hit it the patreon too man

It's time for storywriters to move on from stupid MCs who doesn't know what he wants (other than to bang his mother), always can't tell what's happening around him and keeps asking stupid questions, yet inexplicably have everything fall into place around him, and he's somehow a hero even though he didn't do anything. The side characters are great, even Octavia, who can be divisive amongst players, have a strong direction of who they are and what they want (and it's not like we're given agency to make those choices either).

This mirrors the game itself: the worldbuilding develops really well, but the main story is a bit lost, it doesn't know where it's going. The overarching big idea is there, but the substance and the details need to be fleshed out quickly.

Overall 10/10

Not every game is for everybody. I am reading some of the other reviews and, honestly for some of them, I really don't know what they're complaining about. The games art work is visually stunning! The writing was GREAT. I didn't have any issues with the characters or their backstories. If the main character was this Rockstar at life then he wouldnt be so accepting of being thrust into a position to change the future and, save the world. He would be too busy trying to get back to the life he already established for himself. I only wish I had more choices and more chances to put people in their place. But I am 100% Keeping my eyes on this one. This could easily be Top 10 Games on here, arguably Top 5.

To the DEV: Great job! Keep up the good work! You've got a fan!

0.2.3
It's pretty good. Story seems to be a primary focus, so the sexy stuff is secondary, and that's a bit disappointing. It's difficult to avoid comparing to other titles, because it's got a whole bunch of ringing similarities, which is actually a positive in this case.
I will be watching, this could eventually end up being one in the top 5 on F95, or it could slip into obscurity. Will depend on the dev. I wish him/her/them/it good luck and godspeed.

Character design and renders are very good but almost every other aspect of the game is bad. The story is dumb and the character personalities and development is abysmal. The animations are bad and the game would be better off without them. The dialogue and story feels very immature. Would not recommend at all if you care about any thing other than the visuals cause it's bad.

6/10 Overall
4/10 Animations
3/10 Story
8/10 Character design
4/10 Character development
8/10 Quality

Game gives you options to reject some things but in the end in doesn't matter, This Octavia seems to be more focused on her fantases and kinks than actually saving the world, and story is quite incompletre and weird, The renders are nice tho, we will see where it goes from here because it is in its early development. Meh