Recommending Lists of Not-Too-Shabby Ren'Py Games/VNs According to Liquid Tube Technology (3DCG, Completed & Abandoned)

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Mar 21, 2023
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Disclaimer - This is just one guy recommending the games/VNs he has found to be good based on his personal preferences. The next guy might totally disagree with my opinion expressed below.

I have a sort of similar thread up already, but it is one where I'm SEEKING games, completed or abandoned, and using Ren'Py. The original post of the thread gets updated every-so-often where the list of games played gets increasingly bigger. And that got me thinking, "maybe I should create a separate thread RECOMMENDING some of the games I've played so far, because I've found them pretty good." The truth is that I've tried to add the "recommending" tag to my other thread, but it seems that I can only have one tag for a thread, so its "seeking" tag will have to be left alone.

The first post of this thread is going to be a simple list of the games I have enjoyed playing. Now, I have noticed that there are other fine users here who have started similar recommendation threads, and coincidentally the way they have set up their threads may be quite similar to my own. Well hey, great minds think alike, isn't that right? :cool:

But before we get started, the following criteria are based on my personal preferences. If you're like me, then the chance of you enjoying the games below may be decent (but I'm not guaranteeing anything).

- Male protagonist
- Romantic/wholesome themes and characters
- Story-driven (heavy topics, humour, adventure welcome)
- Long play-throughs preferred (I'm talking more than a few days)
- Small breasts preferred
- 3DCG (Honey Select welcome)
- Respectful (and heterosexual) MCs
- Average-sized penis preferred
- Vanilla sex welcome (even preferred)
- Completed or abandoned

With that introductory babbling out of the way, let's get right to it. In the alphabetical order:

- Completed games -

Acting Lessons
After the Inferno
Alexandra
Alive
AlwaysFan
Ataegina
Avalon
Bare Witness
Callisto

Chasing Sunsets
City of Broken Dreamers
DMD
Elsaverse (start with Elsaverse Omnibus vol.1)
The Entrepreneur
Leap of Faith
Long Live the Princess
Melody
My Fallen Angels
My New Family

No Expectation
Now & Then
Once in a Lifetime
Petal Among Thorns
Sorcerer
Sunshine Love
Terminus Reach: Sentinel
Timeless Island

- Abandoned games -

A.O.A. Academy
Our Fate - A New Family


Honourable mentions (completed)

A Few Days
Apocalypse Mutant Erotica 1
Apocalypse Mutant Erotica 2
Something To Write About: The Author
Become a Rock Star
Darkness Revenge
Dreaming of Dana
EraStorm #1 - SandStorm
Fates: Determination
Follow the Leader
Forgotten Paradise
The Fosters
Going Rogue
Life with Mary
Lord King
Love Season: Farmer's Dreams
One More Chance
Picture Perfect
Reclusive Bay
Retrieving the Past
Secret Summer
Sisterly Lust
Solvalley School
Sunbreed
Through Spacetime
Toro 7

I have begun making separate posts below to offer my thoughts on the individual games from the above lists as well. I figure that, this way, it may further help you decide whether the games you're contemplating on playing from the above lists are for you or not.

LTT
 
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Mar 21, 2023
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As I said in my initial post, I'll start briefly talking about the individual games from the above lists. I'll just keep the alphabetical order to keep things simple, but as it is these lists keep growing, especially the one for completed games, so let's just play this by ear, as it were.

Alrighty, let me kick it off with:

Acting Lessons

Gotta love this one. The story is very good in my opinion, and the choices you make can really change the outcome. It's been a while since I last played it, but basically you play as a man who meets a young and aspiring actress named Megan, and the story proceeds to take you on a pretty interesting ride. Liam is such a great character, and if you love the element of bromance in these games like I do, you won't be disappointed. I feel like he's definitely the heart and soul of the game. There are some parts that make you rather emotional (if you're like me, anyway, lol). Some parts are definitely not easy to experience, but I personally thought the plot was pretty well-written. You get romance, comedy, and even a suspense/thriller nuance thrown in here.

You can choose to hook up with different girls, but this isn't a harem game so do keep that in mind. I personally just pursued the Megan route, because I found her attractive.

DrPinkCake also has been working on Being a DIK, which is another highly rated game. I prefer to wait until the game is all finished before playing, so I haven't touched that one yet by choice. But I'm super looking forward to playing it as well. I've heard it's also got a pretty good story.
 
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Mar 21, 2023
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Next one up:

After the Inferno

I find the production of this game to be pretty impressive. The characters aren't necessarily super-realistic visually speaking, but if you can tolerate the "Alita: Battle Angel" style faces then the game just might surprise you. The fact that its general theme is kind of medieval fantasy also helps make your LIs appear more attractive in my opinion. The game even has actual voiceovers in various animated parts! The story is not too shabby either.

I also really like the fact that there isn't too much emphasis on oversized breasts in this game, too. There is one character whose boobs are pretty huge, but she seems to be aware of the fact and is even somewhat self-conscious about them? It's been a while since I played it, but even she is an pretty cool character. My favourites are Cressa and Aurea, though.
 
Mar 21, 2023
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Let us continue. Next we have:

Alexandra

This one, I almost missed because I initially didn't find one of the female leads, the titular character Alexandra, visually attractive. I mean, she's pretty, but just not my cup of tea. I love the way Isabella looks, though. Anyway, I decided to give it go, and I wasn't disappointed! The game is about a man (the MC) who goes to work for, I suppose, some sort of mafia family, and ends up meeting many people, both good and bad. Throughout the story, your character experiences various events, and there is an element of mystery/suspense as well as some strange horror-like nuance at different points.

I appreciated the storyline and the long play-through because of it. As the story progressed, I found myself becoming more attached to the LIs, especially Alexandra and Izzy. I even began to appreciate what may be considered as something akin to bromance between the MC and certain other characters, too.

Still, nothing is perfect as this game has no audio. But that is easily remedied by simply going to YouTube and playing an extended instrumental music that fits the theme while playing the game. I think I chose some instrumental noir jazz that played for several hours. Also, there are a couple of unanswered questions at the end, but I guess one can use one's imagination and come up with one's own interpretation of the whole story. Actually, that's not a bad thing now that I've put it like that, lol.
 
Mar 21, 2023
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Here is another one:

Alive

I thought the storyline for this game was pretty decent. The MC has been out of work for a bit. He goes to his favourite coffee shop one day, only to meet a girl by chance. But he also has noticed that the barista is always nice and friendly to him, too. Soon, a couple more girls are introduced in the game. As you get to know them, and interact with your best friend, you must make some important choices.

The main love interests are charming enough, and I also appreciated the suspense/thriller element as well. To be honest, though, I played this one with the walkthrough mod, and I feel like it kind of ruined the experience a little bit. But for me personally, Mary was the only one I found to be truly attractive (maybe I'm biased because I'm a metalhead like her, lol), so essentially I probably wouldn't need a walkthrough in the first place: just focus on Mary, avoid Stacey path, so on so forth, to get the ending that satisfies me the most.

But all in all, I thought it was pretty entertaining.
 
Mar 21, 2023
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And here we are, one of my new favourites! :cool:

AlwaysFan

I have only played the love/harem route. Not interested in the other routes to be honest, although, maybe I could try the Emilie monogamy love route later, who knows... But at least for the route I've played, the MC becomes the photographer for a number of LIs including the main girl Emilie, who become models for a website called AlwaysFan (a fictitious version of OnlyFans basically). If you choose to play this, just keep in mind that in the game's universe, the employment rates are absolutely horrible, and finding a job is pretty much next to impossible (hence seemingly quick to resort to posting photos on the internet for money).

I'll be honest, when I first came across this game, my initial reaction was to avoid it because I'm just not into big boobs. There were also other reasons not worth mentioning here for my reluctance to play it, but after reading some reviews, I decided to give it a try because I read that it had a good story. SO GLAD I decided to play! Like I said, I went with the love/romantic thing, and the more I got to know the LIs, the more I felt like the harem route was the way to go for me. I opted out of including two LIs in my harem, one being Megan and the other Carmela, but I feel like things were better this way at least for me. This game got me feeling all emotional at various points as the story progressed, and I actually found Emilie to be incredibly charming even though her boobs are very big. In fact, that's one of her insecurities and I ended up feeling super bad and like an asshole for not being accepting of them, lol. The more I got to know her, the more I began to realize that she is one of the loveliest LIs you could meet in these VNs. She's the heart and soul of the game for sure!

Apparently this is the developer AtemX's first attempt at creating a game, and I have to say I'm impressed. I even enjoyed the ending as it didn't feel rushed. I legit clapped my hands when I saw the "The End" appear on screen because I felt the whole thing was so well done. In fact, I wish the story kept going so I wouldn't have to stop playing. This doesn't always happen, but in the past, Callisto made me clap at the end, and more recently, Bare Witness also managed it (I'm missing a few others). I really hope AtemX holds on to the same principles used to create AlwaysFan for his future projects.
 
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Mar 21, 2023
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Let's take a break from the "completed" list for just a moment...

A.O.A Academy

Here is an abandoned but well-made VN a lot of people have said great things about, and for good reasons. The story is very good in my opinion, and the love interests are all rather likeable. My favourites are Ashley, Rebecca, Aurora, and Valery, but all the LIs have interesting backstories and personalities. The MC is a young fellow who arrives at the titular university from the countryside. Despite his young age, he is a very mature guy with admirable qualities. He is respectful toward the ladies but does not appear to be a pushover either. This makes him a very personable character in my book.

There is also an element of suspense in this game, and the antagonists are depicted as just the way they should be: *in Eddie Murphy's voice* can we say, scumbuckets? lol This is not a harem game, but the walkthrough mod lets you pursue all the important LIs. I kind of did something, or didn't do something, and somehow couldn't develop an intimate situations with a couple of characters, but maybe I could try again to see if I can get a different results next time.

As this is an abandoned project, the story ends on a huge cliffhanger. But it's a really good game, if you can get past its current (and possibly indefinite) "abandoned" status.
 
Mar 21, 2023
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Now, back with the "completed" stuff.

Ataegina

This is a medieval/fantasy-themed game where you play as a young wizard with some serious af potential. The main antagonists in the game are actually devils from various areas of Hell, or something like that (I played this one a few months back). But worry not, you have pretty cool allies.

The actual playthrough of this game was pretty enjoyable for me. I have read that it allows you to skip the battle scenes, but I never once skipped those. Especially in the second half of the game, I started to really enjoy them because I could see the MC becoming stronger the more the story progressed. I even developed my own little fighting strategy as I went up against all these opponents. Alexander Nakarada's "The Great Battle" used as the battle music further set the mood. So good!

There are many beautiful LIs in this game. The female orc, Yotul, may be one of the cutest female orcs I've seen in these games so far. Aside from Yotul, Mida the main girlfriend, Cerea, Koneko, Ryo, Jen, Isabella, Enainia, Kat, and Halana are also my favourites. But I just can't help but lust after Bredita's body, it's the kind of body shape that makes me drool: curvy, but with non-exaggerated boobs, and also enough bodyfat to make her soft-looking.

Now, one thing that confused me was the ending. However, someone has mentioned recently that the dev is trying to release the epilogue for this game. In that case, it makes more sense. I shouldn't give away any spoiler here, so let's just say the journey may mean more to the player than the final destination may at the present time.

Bonus point: if you are a metalhead like me, you may appreciate the dev Kthulian's use of Metallica song titles for each ending, and naming one of the characters "Kvlt" (black metal term).
 
Mar 21, 2023
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Coming up next...

Avalon

Here, you play as the titular character Avalon's adopted uncle, who takes her in to live with him when the girl in question finds herself in a very difficult situation that causes her to leave her home. Throughout the game, you learn what exactly happened that made Avalon have a faling out with her mother and leave home in the first place. Just a little warning: the subject matter gets heavy here. You also meet a number of people along the way, some your LIs, some not good people, some definitely good.

Now, if you go into this game with a very realistic mindset, I doubt you'd enjoy it nearly as much. I think the important thing to remember here is that this is fiction, and in the fictitious universe where this story takes place, the kind of thought process that Avalon goes through and some of the things she chooses to do, just might make sense, even though they might not to us. Besides, it could also be that the perception of time may even be different in that universe compared to our own as well. With that in mind, I'm sure this game will touch you in a more meaningful way than without. I certainly ended up teary-eyed at various points during the playthrough.

I have played this one twice so far, because it kind of is recommended that you do. Now, I can't really remember if Lockheart the developer actually recommends that the player chooses Dallas as your "other" LI for the first playthrough, but I sure picked her for mine. She's Avalon's best friend and a lot of fun. The banter between her and the MC is hilarious! But then there is Octavia, who is kind of mysterious and more reserved than Dallas is, but also a very cool character (and holy shit, Maize!).

I think I had to make Leah sort of related, because the story just wouldn't make sense otherwise. Leah is described as someone who is "busty" but what I really appreciate here is that her boobs actually aren't excessively massive. If you ask me, she's still got big ones, just more realistically so.

Some quite appropriate selection of music to go with the playing experience, too. Also, I really appreciate the inclusion of the "What If" segment as well, considering the main storyline. I'm sure many of you will agree.
 
Mar 21, 2023
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And now we have:

Bare Witness

As the title may suggest, the premise of the game involves the MC who witnesses a horrible crime, and goes on to enter the witness protection programme because of that. I must say that, while this is a VERY well-made VN, the witness protection programme aspect of it is rather downplayed here. I would have been totally okay to have more of this aspect woven into the game in the place of some of the sex scenes, but that's just me. I personally think it's still really good, so don't get me wrong.

I have not played the routes other than "MASH". Let me explain; when I first found this game, I saw the sample images and knew right away in terms of whom I wanted to pursue as my LI. It was Heidi from the get-go. It was just her appearance that generally drew me to her at first. This meant that any ending with her in it would have been alright with me as long as I got a nice, romantic, wholesome experience out of it. I've observed that some people don't like her, which is fair I suppose. But in my case, as I began playing the actual game, I started to get a good idea as to whom I did NOT want as my LIs. Basically all the romanceable characters except "MASH", I ended up steering clear of. I think I've been able to see the Zenda ending maybe because I used the walkthrough mod, or something like that, but it only confirmed that I'd been right not to pursue her. But that's me. I've observed that a lot of players seem to like, for example, Valeria. Fair enough.

But for me personally, the heart and soul of the game just has to go to Heidi. And maybe Athena, too. Gotta love that tattooed sweetheart. Bonus points to the developer for making the endings (or at least the MASH one) not seem rushed, and for making the game share the same universe with Leap of Faith!
 
Mar 21, 2023
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Didn't mean to neglect this thread, but as it is I have been playing a particular, rather tedious sandbox VN as of late, and on top of everything else in life, I just couldn't have the time to log on here until now.

At any rate, next we have:

Callisto

A really fun sci-fi themed game that also might affect your tear ducts here and there (or, maybe it's just me, lol). I love this game. You play as the captain of a spaceship called Callisto. Along your journey, you meet your love interests while you also try taking on various assignments/jobs. If you like the sandbox-y stuff with elements of management and (a little bit of) strategic battle simulation, you might get a kick out of this one.

The story is well-written in my opinion, and I found myself becoming emotionally attached to the LIs as well as the ship herself. I played it with the multi-mod that allowed me to see all good endings, but there was really one or two endings that I really liked out of all of those. Don't get me wrong, they are all good endings. It just comes down to personal preferences, I guess.

I even thought the very last part was great, even though I was sad that the game had reached the end. The heart and soul of the game: Callisto the ship herself!
 
Mar 21, 2023
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I feel like the continuation of this thread is way overdue. In my defense, I have been busy. But I have played another game recently that I really liked, so I shall add that to the list in the original post. In the meantime, the next one up:

Chasing Sunsets

I just finish playing this game towards the beginning of last month, for the second time, and for now (because there will be the epilogue to this game that's apparently coming up, as it should). I feel like I should elaborate on this, but before we get to that.....

All in all, I think I've been lucky because majority of the games I've played so far this year have been pretty good. Chasing Sunsets is no exception, and it definitely impresses me. I think the writing is very very good, and the visuals are superb as well. The story really is about the growth of one young man through his adventures and interactions with various people, and finally his relationships with two ladies who are connected to him in special ways. Expect mystery/suspense/thriller type stuff as well as a smidgen of sci-fi/fantasy, on top of everything else. The element of humour is awesome, and Stone Fox Studios did an excellent work capturing some very nice facial expressions. There are also parts that gets you all emotional, too. This old fart cried during a number of scenes, lol. You'll also most likely appreciate all the pop culture references and cameos by characters (though I could count three, apparently there are more) from other games as well.

Okay, so allow me to explain something here; the first time I played this game, it was labelled "Completed" but it said the version was "v1.0". So I downloaded it, and generally had a great experience throughout the game. Here's the kicker; I downloaded this version ONE DAY BEFORE they released the version "v1.01". And let me tell you, between these two versions, the final outcome is/can be COMPLETELY different. When I finished playing the "completed" v1.0, apparently I got the Mallory ending, or at least the game implied that I did. The second time with the updated v1.01, however, I ended up getting the "most eligible bachelor" ending. Maybe I should have played the v1.01 from the beginning, or maybe I should have done something more specific at various points in the game... Still, I'm sure the epilogue will answer some of these questions that we have.

Bonus points for sharing the same universe with certain other games, such as Leap of Faith (which means also Bare Witness, but perhaps indirectly/unintentionally?), Artemis, and others. As for the heart and soul of the game, you can't just have one here. I personally pick the MC, Jaye, Mallory, and Amanda!
 
Mar 21, 2023
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Let's move on to the next one while I'm here:

City of Broken Dreamers

I see a lot of people complaining about this one, saying that the story becomes less than stellar after a certain point. For me, though, I really think it's a well-made game. You get to play as a mercenary who saves a very important girl and goes up against an evil corporation, so there's lots of action and suspense in the game. There are also parts that may make you teary-eyed, and feel various kinds of emotions, too. For my own playthrough, I just kept my depravity points as low as possible and tried to go for the most romantic route. In my case, this meant Katie. The very first sex scene with her actually made me cry.

I think one of the aspects that a lot of people are complaining about is the endings. I can't really say much because I have only really done the Katie path, but I didn't really think it was that bad. Maybe rushed, but with these games, endings more often than not feel rushed, anyway. The dev finished it, which is already something.

PhillyGames also made Depraved Awakening, which I've also played in the past, but I much prefer City of Broken Dreamers. In Depraved Awakening, the emphasis on rough sex and other kinks are a bit too much for me, despite the storyline being pretty good. Still finished it, but I remember having to fastforward the sex scenes. In City of Broken Dreamers, however, you actually have control over what kind of sex scenes you want. Again, with my depravity points as low as possible, I could get the kind of sex scenes I preferred this time. So that's actually a bonus point for this game over Depraved Awakening.
 
Mar 21, 2023
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Let's get one more in, moving onto the letter "D" now:

DMD (Dating My Daughter)

The very first AVN I ever played was Melody, and it was a lot of fun. I kept seeing this other game by MrDots during my search for these games, but I generally don't actively pursue incest material, and also I'm not into big boobs. So, I kept avoiding DMD until I couldn't find anything else that fit my preference. For the most part, I enjoy MrDots games. There are certain aspects concerning the personalities/actions of his MCs that aren't my cup of tea, but I can tolerate those usually.

Now that I've played all three of his games, I can say that DMD's story is in line with his other two games, and you are reminded that the three games share the same universe. It's cool to see characters from his other games making cameos. The premise is more or less the same with the other ones, just this time Dee becomes a successful model instead of Melody becoming a successful musician, or instead of your hotel becoming a five-star establishment. But that's okay, it's all part of the fun. There are antagonists that try to get in the way of you and your daughter, too. That's another element that makes a game more entertaining, and his games have that.

The main love interest, "Dee", is attractive, and at times comical. But my favourite is by far Elena. She's the heart and soul of the game as far as I'm concerned. Maybe I'm biased, though, because this is a character that has small boobs. Still, a great character all the same in my opinion. Also we get to learn that Martin has a brother, and some of us might know who he is!
 
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