Ren'Py - Abandoned - Lab Rats 2 [v0.51.1] [Vren]

The dev tries to make a managing game and is making the gameplay so complicated that I lost the interest after one hour trying to figure out how to play...I hope in the next updates he makes it better, but so far, in the 0.4, I wouldn't recommend spendding your time to figure out the game

I like the direction this is heading. I'm certain the game will get more complex as it moves on. Hopefully it reaches it's potential, but it's nice to see a true sandbox and not another slide show graphic novel where the user is just playing choose your own adventure around dead ends.

Lab rats 2 has updated graphics, so that's a plus I guess, but in terms of gameplay everything is pretty much the same as in the previous game. For me, the main problem with this game is that the grinding takes so much time and the "reward" you get for your effort isn't satisfying enough. I mean, all you get is images of a "sexscene" where we can't see the MC or his dick for that matter, he just magically fucks his employees.

In my opinion, the dev should think about adding more realism in to the game. so that scenes won't be so blunt. Also, game needs a better balance between the grinding and the content players get for it.

As of V 0.2, this looks like a promising start to the sequel of Lab Rats, the business elements are fun to mess around with. Here's hoping the sexy stuff gets as good as LR1. Biggest complaint-- needs moar Alexia.

9/10 of the characters in the game are not attractive whatsoever, and there is no story to get attached to any of the characters. Completely different game than the original Lab Rats. Disappointing to say the least as I spent an hour trying to find something good

The following review is based off my personal experience with playing this Game/Visual Novel... I try to be as brutally honest and detailed as I can, and these are my own opinions and thoughts, from one or more play throughs... The version this review is based on is v0.1.1...


Not real sure about this newer take on the Lab Rats game...

The visuals of the characters are weird, as most of them end up looking oddly shaped and typically huge... I understand that in this version of the game there are randomly generated women characters, but so far they look either way unattractive, or horribly not proportional... The backdrops are a mix of ones from the original game, and a few unique ones...

The script isn't really much but I didn't see that many spelling/grammar errors at all... The plot revolves around the same male protagonist as the first game, but takes place after the first game... He runs a company that researches and produces similar formulas to the original game, and meets random women now and then... For the current content, it is mostly proof of concept stage as the author/s develop the game mechanics... But it is far different from the original...

This version of the game appears to be more grind based open choice, rather then the first game which had a bit more story to it... Not sure I really like these massive changes... I definitely find the navigation screen annoying and sluggish... The randomized women models usually end up with completely odd shaped women in constantly changing clothing... The game mechanics for the company HQ are also a bit clunky... You can pretty much seduce any female character very quickly into sexual situations without the real need for the formulas, which is odd... Just keep kissing them over and over until they are ready for more...

Overall, I'm not liking this new setup for this version of the game... I thought the original worked a lot better, and felt a little more story driven then this one... I understand that this version is more like a test bed to try out ideas, but most of them seem clunky, tedious, and not all that attractive... It is still in it's infancy as far as development goes, but I personally think it needs a re-think... I may revisit this one way later into development, just to see if it improves or not... Mostly because I sort of liked the first one, and would like to see this new one be better then it currently plans to be...

Okay, I played it, since I liked Lab Rats 1.

First of all, I can't say anything about music (my speakers got busted). I heard a lot of bad things about previous one, though, so please beware and if it IS that bad, there is always a "mute" option, so no big deal.

Next, the elephant in the room: models. As many people stated they look bland at best. Also, some of the randomly generated parts don't fit wery well. That's a common problem with random generation of characters, and I don't think it's going to disappear soon (just like CGI in anime).
Bigger problem lies in the fact that, (in my opinion) one of biggest charms of LR1 was characters. Usually, combining randomization and fleshing out characters is an uphill battle.

It CAN be avoided by, for example, making several heroines (like girls from first game), and combining it with randomized "drones". This will allow for fleshed out characters at leading roles (for eg. letting sis become leader of HR), and to satisfy random fetishes by getting girls with said appearance by randomization.

I have to mention here that I'm not a big fan of sandbox, unless it's a "play through story, then you are free to grab all that you missed and mess with things" kind.

Also, as a side note, I don't mind "Casper dick" problem, but H scenes CAN, and should be improved on art front. Adding more positions or animations would help greatly.

Lastly, I belive it's just a problem of tech demo, but a better way of traveling, like a map that allows for bypassing not needed nodes (for eg. straight from lobby to bedroom) would be a big help, as would be displaying info about the room ONLY ON FIRST VISIT!

Overall, there is a room for a great game, but we are far too early to tell where it will go. There are to many troubling decisions to let me give it higher grade at the moment, BUT IT CAN (and I hope it will) CHANGE.

An excellent game with a very hardworking author that deserves more way recognition in comparison to the number of abandoned games/shovelware everywhere right now. 100% recommended to anyone and everyone that can get over the MC not appearing in images.