VN - Ren'Py - In Her Service [v0.65] [Blue Factory Games]

I had my eye on this game for some time but didn't play it until now because of the mixed reviews. I get where the criticism is coming from but man... am I glad I gave it a chance anyway! The dev did something a bit different story wise and I must admit the result is far from flawless. But for NTR / voyeur lovers this game is an absolute must play.

Below I made a list of pros and cons. If you read them you might wonder why I rated this game 5 stars, but for me the positives easily outweighed all the negative points. At the same time I understand why someone with the same arguments could also rate this game with 2 stars. Just give it a try and decide for yourself.

POSITIVE:

• exciting NTR game with original character relations (not your typical loser MC, slut GF, alpha antagonist)
• fantastic animations and well-crafted sex scenes
• slow burn with a good build-up in suspense and corruption
• smoking hot women with nice tits and realistic bodies, no generic Ren'py models
• the new model of Iris is gorgeous! If she's ever included in the NTR/swinging route I'll write a letter to F95 and request this rating gets bumped up to 6 stars
• lots of content (even if you skip the boring parts)
• choices matter

NEGATIVE:

• weird setting, strange story and somewhat inconsistent character roles
• render quality (especially at start of game) isn't always optimal
• not sure what the dev had in mind with Iris, but her storyline floats completely apart from the others
• most of the (background) story and side characters aren't super interesting
• too much boring filler text and dialogue that's written like you're reading a book (although this also contributes to character development which makes that you actually care for them)

Long story short:
The slow burn burns a bit too slow at the start of the game, but once the fun starts this is really one of the most exciting NTR games out there. You can easily click through most of the boring parts and still understand what's happening. You'll need some patience at the beginning but eventually this game delivers.

PS: recommended to play with the Walkthrough Mod so you don't accidentally get locked out of certain routes.

I am enjoying this unique story. Completely different tone and ambiance than most of the games I have played here. I don't really have anything negative to say. The developer updates regularly, usually twice a month, which is extraordinarily quick. They aren't huge updates but at least you know the game is in active development.

This review is written during the development of this game. Review for v.0.64 of this game:

• Render: 4/5 Characters aren't extremely jaw-dropping like the ones in Inceton games, Because I Love Her, Fetish Locator, etc. But the characters themselves are rendered that way to highlight and stereotype the personalities that they project/perpetuate - Sylvia is unconfident but caring and faithful (unless you corrupt her); Talia is condescending, haughty and wanton; Iris is youthful, energetic and innocent
• Setting: 2/5 The game is centered on the mistress (Talia) estate and it makes certain sense that the MC (a slave) is stuck in the household doing chores, but it could be better when Talia brings the MC outside to do errands and stuff. Seeing the same kitchen and rooms after too many times can kind of drive you crazy.
• Story: 3.5/5 Story revolves on the difference between nobility and the common folks' approach to love and life, but it gets somewhat uninteresting because the whole game is you being stuck in the household. Story can be improved on by creating scenarios for the MC to venture out of the estate . However, I like the fact that there ARE CONSEQUENCES to infidelity, the corruption, and how the characters navigate in their uncertainties. Given the many alternative scenes that you can encounter due to numerous different decisions you make during the game, it'd be helpful to have a guide or include gallery unlock tips in the gallery. A good takeaway from the story is that you have a powerful female figure that actually actively involves the MC in her debauchery acts, instead of making the MC a bystander or just a prop in the background. Definitely way better than other games where there's a more powerful female character.
• UI: 3/5 The gallery feature only has scenes without the dialogues. What it needs is to include the dialogues and also let you select the variables that are dependent on the choice you make, so that you can have a more tailored experience when visiting the gallery feature.

I think this game is heading in a good direction, but it needs some kind of rework to iron out some of the flaws highlighted above.

Really didnt like the look and feel of the game. Characters loo kinda "cheap" and the writing is dull. The story itself is rather predictable. I would like the creators to revisit the beginning and make it a bit more interesting, the fact that there is a black screen with text doesnt make it appealing at all.
Im happy to try it in once more in the future after a few updates, but intil now its not good.

This is a surprisingly good game. A lot of sexual tension between the characters with a good progression to more and more explicit scenes.
Often I see games either go all in from the get go or keep the player hanging with only promises of what may come. This game, in the current state (0.63b), strikes a great balance between those extremes.

The render quality may not be the best in the world, and it's clear that the bodies of your wife and your "competitor" weren't the focus of development. The scenes with your "mistress" clearly stand out in quality, but that actually helps the game, since it is mostly about the tempation of the exciting "other woman". So it makes sense that your wife is rather plain in comparison. And the game actually manages to make her sexy enough in the actual scenes involving her; it's only her standard clothing that appears kinda bulky.

I'l also not the biggest fan of the whole noble/slave background. It feels tacked on to the modern setting, and I don't think it would habe been necessary. A servant couple vs a rich employer would have worked just as well imo.

There is a bit of genuine netorare, although you really need to work to find it (at least I did). But mostly it's about sexual temptation of both the main character and his wife, and of course the resulting infidelity, mainly involving the main character. But even the most obviously netorare path doesn't (yet) devolve into pure "alpha"/"beta"/"omega" clichés, while on the other hand you neither get to be the all conquering alpha male. And that is certainly a good thing for this story, so I hope it stays that way.

Review as of v0.62

Visuals
They’re OK, nothing is going to blow your hair back in terms of the character models or the renders overall.

Poses are lazy, and it’s pretty evident the dev is just taking the characters and placing them front and center with no depth, using the environment as a backdrop essentially. These begin to feel cyclic, and boring.

First lewd scene sees the characters with plenty of privacy, but they keep their clothes on? Seriously, wtf?

Animations exist, they’re relatively fluid and not bad. It’s a shame that’s overshadowed by inferior renders/textures etc.


Characters
Sylvia has an attractive body but she’s not very pretty. Typical wife/mother figure. Considering she’s one of two main LIs I can’t believe how boring she is.

Iris is pretty generic, both in appearance and demeanor. LOTS of missed opportunities with her.


Story/Dialog
The writing style of this one is odd to me. It’s cold, emotionless, and nearly everything is just a blunt statement. All text appears italicized, which is also odd; generally italics symbolize inner monologue/thoughts or narration.

The initial setup of the backstory/plot, while easy to understand, fall a bit flat. We don’t know why the family are slaves, we don’t know why their mistress chose them, etc.

Minimal lewd content. Disappointing. In fact, dev goes out of their way to avoid showing it to us!
As you play through, each day feels like a repeat; there’s just nothing exciting happening.

Other
This is one of the few AVNs I’ve played where you can’t change the MC’s name/set it at the beginning. Disappointing, as this is such a standard feature anymore.

There is music present, but the choices are honestly bad. Adds no value to the game. It also...like...shifts between the same 2 tracks in the same scene? It’s just bad. Dev has no clue about what kind of emotion you want to evoke out of a given scene, and clearly hasn’t circled back to actually play their own game to see how distracting it is to constantly alternate between generic tracks. Play this one on mute.



Final Thoughts
I can’t recommend this one. It’s rough. The story concept is fine; great, even. But 100% of it feels rushed and unpolished. I’d give it 1 star for the concept, and generously another star because overall it’s not among the worst I’ve played. It’s just not good. I wasn’t able to finish the end of this update, and even with skipping a lot of dialog, I tried.

The distinctive visual style makes this VN stand out. The play of light and shadow, the intimate atmosphere, the sensual scenes all create a unique experience.

The characters are well written and really feel like real people, with their own vices and shortcomings, which gives room for their corruption.

If you are interested in swing, corruption or cheating, I recommend giving this VN a chance.

I like where the story is going . Keep up the good work . It will be good if you add some more characters into the story which may give us more tags . So far its going good . I hope the slave guy in the story raise up to Nobles lol . Cheers

a modern world where nobility exists.. kinda odd... but the story and the concept...DEV clearly has talent the design the graphics the renders are rally good definitely a good game with good potential

Introduction was rough. Who is sylvia, who is iris? why do i need to be awfully called jack? Ok now I know who sylvia cow-lady is. Why am i forced to be her partner? Oh wtf, I have a mistress who 'acquired me'??

Models are varied, one very slim, next one built like a buffalo. Oh but might as well forget the slim one exists. You only get forced to mount the buffalo and the masculine mistress

Writing seems ok, but it is really jarring to have things like "said iris" as if reading a book, when the ui already tells you who is speaking.

Renders arent bad, but they are odd. The characters look like cutouts over the scene because... well I suspect they are. That's not too bad except the lighting rarely matches

Amazing buildup of the story. Unique art and quality animations. This game is one of the gems that rarely show up in a year. Hope the artist will hold course, stick to the quality delivery of regular updates and not get intimidated by impulsive reviewers that dont understand the tags. Keep up the good work !

At first glance, a decent enough story. I like sharing/ntr games, so I happily gave this one a try, and.... it was okay. Average.
Pros: There's a lot of content.
Seems like NTR is avoidable, for those who prefer.
The female renders are solid - the MC's wife in particular is excellent.

Cons: First off, there's a lot of content.... and most of it's pretty dull.
The world is extremely uninteresting and nonsensical (knights and noble families and slaves in the modern world.... how original...)
The *male* renders are ATROCIOUS. The guy who the MC's wife cheats with looks laughable - genuinely, as in I laughed out loud when I first saw him.
There is a (step?) daughter who disappears halfway through the game. Maybe it's explained? Idk, by then I was pretty bored.

I guess if you can get past the renders, this might appeal to you. It's not the worst story, not the best, and the islands of excellent content get lost in the ocean of mediocrity.

It was a really good game, great start and hopefully it will develop well into the future. At first I thought that the renders of the character looked a bit stiff but once you get playing I was very surprised on how detailed some of the expressions were.

A lot of people will be curious how it handles certain tags, so I'll start by saying this is one of the minority of 'NTR' games that's far more just a swinging game and isn't an abusive betrayal fetish thing like most. There are more intense paths if you want them, but for the most part you just play a romantic couple who are indentured servants for a horny noblewoman and you all start to get an eye for each other. Nobodies trying to seduce your girl away from you or anything like that, and though the mistress may primary have an eye for you, she's fully willing to bring you both aboard.

Overall, it's a good game of exploring love in a complex master-servant dynamic where nobody has to be evil. The girlfriend is sweet and wifely, the mistress has a very seductive aura yet is reasonably respectful of boundaries, and the other male, Henry, is a pretty good bro. Good characters all around with a great premise.

That said, the game has some issues with story and choice. Mostly in that it feels like the writing expects you to be more a cheater than you can be. You get choices either to fall for the mistress early, or resist her temptations, but regardless of what you do there's still a mini-arc where your girlfriend gets angry at you thinking you betrayed her. If you did cheat on her this of course makes sense, but if you've been picking the resist options then she has little more to get angry over than feeling like you're cheating. This unintentionally ends up making the girlfriend seem unreasonable and unlikable, which is really bad for a player who's on the girlfriend 'route'. I respect the game needs some drama for arcs to happen, but it needs some larger path differentiation there. You pretty much get very similar reactions to having cheating sex as you do giving your owner a foot massage, which seems like a pretty normal duty for an indentured servant.

As for art, the girl designs are pretty hot, the girlfriend in particular has a fantastically soft inviting body and as a bush lover I'd also like to voice my appreciation for their inclusion too. However, as for the renders themselves, I looks like they're using Virtamate or another real-time renderer rather than Daz, and it's older assets and weaker lighting definitely show (ie. the poor bumpy normal map texture of the mistress' breasts in the first preview image). The posing and light arrangements aren't bad by any means and have a pretty noir style I like, but the dev may need to step up his game even more to compensate for the asset limitations. On the other hand though, Virtamate lets them more easily use thrust vectors and mocap resources for the animations which puts them a big step above many of the crudely animated DAZ scenes out there. Overall, not the best renders, but they're certainly servicable and get the job done.

I'll be really curious to see how this one develops as it goes, hopefully it's able to maintain it's sorta mutual corruption loving swingers thing, as that's a real rarity of it's genre. This feels like it's setting up a nice story where a group of flawed characters all sorta help each other find something they're missing, and I'm eager to see that if so. It's definitely a game I'll keep an eye on.

I don't write many reviews here but this gem tickles me just on the right spots..

PRO's and CON's for me:

+ Animations 9 / 10 (rarely seen better TBH)
+ No harem , Preset story (the developer, as far as I understand, had shaped the entire thing in mind and won't slip into mindless stories with additional characters and try to milk patrons on and on and on. Hopefully you jump into another game after this ends).
+ Replayability (different routes have exclusive hot scenes)

- TL/DR at some times (minus half a point, suggestion; instead of eavesdropping with a still screen for example, there could be voyeur screens with crossed legs, upskirt, nip slips etc. just please don't make entire dialogues with black screens or just one image. I know that it could be time consuming though it would be worthwhile in my opinion).

- Why not add some squirting finishes as well?

All in all, a great game so far. I was struggling between a 4 or 5, but this game deserves a lot more attention from the crowd IMHO)

This game/story is just odd. The graphics are okay, the characters are okay and the story is okay. It's just weird. I don't know how else to describe it. I tried playing it and it just did not grab me. There was nothing really that grabbed me and made me want to continue. It was just kind of boring and odd.

The dev has some talent and I am hopeful people like it, but it's just not for me.

Story/Character:
The story starts with an interesting premise as you and your partner with a daughter are brought to become slaves for a rich noble woman. As time pass you begin to lust for your master, and the master-servant relationship becomes blurred. This is honestly such a refreshing writing, the pacing feels great. The slow corruption of the main character having an affair with her master is done really well. It’s such an interesting premise that I haven’t seen in many games, a master-servant relationship blurring the line. Unfortunately, at times the dialogue is riddled with typos and inconsistencies. It just takes it out of my immersive reading experience.

The main character is a great loving husband that looks out for his family but slowly succumbs to the lust of an affair. He is mournful yet enticed by the nature of an affair. All the characters in this game are great, except for the daughter. Girlfriend is loving, yet a stubborn and affectionate partner. The master is a seductive and teasing character that continues to lure the main character in.

Content:
There is a chunk of content in this game. However, most of it is mostly writing. The sex scenes, I feel like are quite hit or miss. It’s very much largely inconsistent in its qualities, at times it’s really good and at times it's just so bland. Currently, the game has currently cheating content and sharing, albeit it’s small. However those scenes are exceptionally hot and wants me craving for more.

Gameplay:
It’s just your typical adult visual novel. There are choices throughout the game to pick whether to stay faithful to your wife or have an affair. All choices lead to an affair, which I felt like the option to stay faithful to your wife is pretty much useless.

Visuals:
The visuals are an absolute let down. At the beginning at the game, the visuals are awful. The characters and renders just look terrible. Honestly, I'm not sure what models they use, but it looks like screenshots from the sims. However as the game progresses, the renders of the characters and visuals do become better. But still felt below average. The only redeeming factor is the sex animations are quite good and smooth.

Sound:
The sound design is average. There’s background music and it changes depending on the mood. Honestly the lack of sex sounds and moaning, especially when eavesdropping the master, just made the scene flatter.

The game has such an interesting plot with as equally engaging characters. However the visual just made the experience feel flat and uninspiring at times, the lack of moans and sex noises especially during those voyeurism scenes was really needed. I reckon if they did a remake of this game in regards to it's visuals, we would have a great game on our hands. If you're looking for an interesting cheating/swinging-themed game that's starting to spice up you might wanna try this out.

v0.54
Very strange game. It's somehow similar to Japanese novels, where you read a lot of boring dialogues but less action happens. The story is full of heavy, melancholic feelings; it brings me into a depressive state. And it's not the NTR that's the problem, but it just has no fun at all—just four people suffering in their own way. Also, the girlfriend model is not attractive to me. Lost time, will not come back.

My Rating for (v0.54) is:

Pros:
+ Nice Graphics
+ Nice Beginning
+ interesting story
+ many paths
+ Getting Hotter with each Update
+ Gets updated often

Cons:
- Nothing

Conclusion:
I find this game interesting although there are not many scenes that are Hot the way I like them, but the Game is just starting and has already shown potential, if the game starts getting spicier, then it would be a game worth supporting, at least for my taste, there is no need to change anything in the game...characters and story are nice.
worth the download.

a game with huge potential. the setup for the story is great. the characters are interesting. the dialogue feels natural and real. the kinks are incorporated in a meaningful way. tight cast of characters.

there are some teething problems. like another reviewer mentioned the first two lewd scenes could use some work. some issues with the renpy UI being let's say experimental, and the usage of periods to denote the passage of time.

in summary, i'm sure this game will be a success.