Ren'Py - Lucky Paradox [v0.9.3f Public] [Stawer]

Version: 0.8.0 Public

Lucky Paradox is a sandbox VN that is hard for me to recommend to a lot of people. While I find the characters endearing and the story...acceptable, it suffers from "being as wide as an ocean, deep as a puddle."

While I did not hate my time spent, I found myself frustrated and frankly bored during times, and often confused about why I was doing anything. Also, if the author would like someone to look over the script to try to localize it more, please let me know. While I understand the author is not a native English speaker, it did make some of the dialogue really hard to understand and I think the author found a lot of inspiration from anime base on how certain characters talk to the MC.

Play for some fun characters and decent looking lewd scenes, as long as you can overlook the really bad script and very strange plot.

This game struggles from a repetitive gameplay mechanic and a story that is tedious.

I give two stars for the art, it is very good, but I can't give more than that. There were times I found myself, wanting to quit because of the monotony o the gameplay.

I couldn't get past that, and it was a deal breaker for me, that and a lack luster story. There are some nice moments, but there is a lot in between that just didn't feel very coherent. YMMV, it seems a lot of people enjoyed this, but I'm giving you my experience.

I really like this game, it's a heartwarming experience with some mystery attached to it, to discover what happened at Argleton, you can play the game at your own pace, there is not much of a grind and the girls are likeable.
There is still much content to be added and I am really forward to it. If you want a game to sit back and relax with some mystery, then this is for you.

One line review: huge variety of animated scenes, but the story meanders.

The girls all feel unique and there are numerous animated scenes with all of them. The story elements started off interesting but each update seems to bring more loopholes and plot lines and the only one that I can think of that got resolved ("Where's Anton") is maybe a bit of a downer. I don't mind games where the author is ESL but if you do that might be something to consider.

Let's start in order. Version 0.7.5.
The plot is very entertaining, although predictable from about the middle. I hope that the creator will still be able to surprise us.
Beautiful girls with diverse characters, but very similar models. There are average quantity obscene scenes for each, however they are appropriate and in total they give enough pleasure.
Enough humor and drama. To sum up, the game balances between 4 and 5. However, for a night with ghosts and references to Monty Python, an additional star.

I'm not a native English speaker, so I'm sorry for any possible mistakes.

I want to like this game, the content seems fun and enjoyable, but every single time the game violently wrestles the controls from my hands so it can progress a story I do not yet give a damn about when I want to fill in some story on another character that I've now been two weeks in-game unable to do anything to proceed with because someone keeps bothering me after work, I want to punch the baby jesus in the face.

And if your game makes me want to punch the baby jesus in the face, you've done something wrong.

Lucky Paradox was one of my first ever big games I got from here and it is to this day still one of my favourites, it holds a dear place in me even with its flaws.
You arrive at a desolate town in the middle of nowhere only to find yourself surrounded with lovable characters that only want to see you grow and the game puts real effort in to making this relationships feel real and have a really sad touch that at some points got to me, they show real problems.

But this is not why most people are here playing a porn game so I'll also talk about how well made the sex animations are and how varied they are. There is just a ton of them, the game is huge and it is a pleasure to interact and get every scene.

The big downside there is on this game for me is that what girls have in unique attitude they lack in different models, they seem a bit generic at some point only changing hairstyles and eye color. Also some of the dialogues are not only corny but really bad making it have big downsides to an otherwise a really well written game.
It has 4 stars tho because I love Maxy.

TL;DR: amazing and huge game. It requires some time but it is worth it. Some girls sadly look alike but feel really different. Also the goth girl is the best thing in here for sure.

[v.0.7.0]

I really like this game. It's my favorite on this site so far. I love the characters and their stories. The music is very nice too.

I did not expect to like it so much when I downloaded it because I didn't really care much about stories before and was basically just looking for porn. But this game changed that. The story, while sometimes a bit confusing, is very interesting and I actually got attached to some of the characters.

I just wish that the attributes had more uses. There are so many ways to increase them but there doesn't seem to be much use for them. There isn't much to do with all the money you end up earning either.

But it did not bother me that much. I'm really glad I gave this game a try!

v0.7.0

Lucky Paradox is about a young man who moves to the town of Argleton and meets all the weird babes who live there. It's one of those map-based VNs where you have to go to the right place at the right time of day to trigger the next event. The renders are decent, and there's different costumes you can unlock for the characters and the game side seems well crafted, but the writing is where it struggles. A lot of the conversations are long back and forths that don't really go anywhere, and I found myself confused sometimes about what the characters were even talking about it. In a dialogue driven medium like a VN it's hard to stick with a game like that.

About the reviewer:
I’m playing or have played close to 300 games many of which have completed. I generally don’t play games early in their development but I watch for new games and if their reviews are compelling from players whose opinion’s I respect I will play them early. Even if I don’t use a walkthrough, I’ll often skim it to get a better sense of the structure of the game to determine it I think I’ll enjoy playing it.

The Review: Lucky Paradox
Version: 0.7
Time played: 30-40 hours over the various releases
Current progress: Playing Day 145 at the moment
Mods: None
Cheats used: None
Walkthrough(s) used: None
Bugginess: - Clean game no exceptions encountered very smooth play

Observations:
There are a large number of girls who you can pursue. Stats matter and there is a bit of a grind, however you’d be hard pressed to find someone as averse to grind as I am and somehow it blends well enough into the story that it isn’t objectionable.

I generally hate sandboxes, pretty much with a passion, to the point that, of the hundreds here I only play four. Lucky Paradox is one. Sandboxes are very difficult to do well. This is one of the exceptions. The hint system, which in most sandboxes is a joke, is extremely well designed. The interface allows you to check on the next step for any LI, and more importantly tells you when you’ve reached the end of their content.

Flaws:
The flaws mentioned here are relatively minor but do have an annoyance factor.

Like all sandboxes of this type, you have the eternal tradeoff between conflicting time slots to interact with various girls. As great as this game is, that still grates on me. I also find the continual pursuit of appeal somewhat annoying.

Money early in the game can be a drag, but eventually it becomes a non-problem.

Summary:
The only time I even bother to consider playing a sandbox is when the reviews and support are overwhelmingly excellent. I drop them at the first problem navigating the UI or the game.

This is a fantastic game. Excellent in every aspect. Solid plotting and writing, cute girls with differing personalities, and a bit of mystery to work through.

Even if you despise sandboxes as I do, this one is well worth your time to play.

I've been following this game for months and this is hands down one of the best games I played as of yet. Good animations, great characters, great premise, nice execution. Definitely deserves a recommend from me. I can't wait for the completed game.

i remember when i first played this game back in the beginning i liked the
story and characters but the dialoge was just off and the sex scenes where
poorly made and boring so i stopped playing but recently i found it again
the [v0.6.504 Enhanced Edition] and i played it again at first i stayed at
primrose i wanted to complete 1 girl at a time they did improve the sex
scenes i mean the frame rate is better and the models look better but still
that was it so i stopped then the next day i decided to play maxy's story
and to my complete surprise the 1st sex scene was completely different
the developer changed the entire sex scene better quality different angles
better animations and longer i was completely surprised that's where i'm at
now i may update this review when i completed this version i'm saying all
off this to speak of my experience with this game i am so happy that i gave
this game another change about 2 years later everything i disliked has been
improved the dialoge is better the gameplay is more fun the characters
are more flessed out and most importantly the reason i download porn
games in the first place the sex has been drastically improved the game is
made with Honey select and i gotta be honest i don't like honey select but i
always say this to myself honey select can be really
good it all depends how the creator uses Honey select if you just use the
vanilla Honey select with the vanilla animations character models etc. then i
stay far away from Honey select games but this game uses it well everything has been modified i don't know how these developers do
it because this game barely looks like Honey select anyway that's my review i hope the developer doesn't abandon this game because this is one of the better porn games that use honey select

first of all this is the best game ive ever played

the plot is so good it made me appreciate virtual novels even more
the models are so well made i love them all so much except charlotte lol sry
the performance is good but not perfect cuz i need to wait for the animations of h scenes to load before it move smoothly
its slow at first then becomes smooth after but i dont mind

there are not much bugs on android

it works pretty well but in order for me to launch the game i have to wait for a minute without touching anything in order for it to work or else it will crash but its fine

overall its top 1 in my hgame list cuz of its unique models, interesting plot, and amazing animations.
5/5
10/10
100/100 lol

nice small town setting, mostly attractive female characters and their diverse body types, good visuals, repetitive yet passable sex scenes and animations, decent music, well implemented in-built hint system etc, but all the positives have been spoiled for me big time by the endless, stupid, meaningless supernatural drivel. i found the main story neither interesting nor plausible or ralatable even in sci-fi/fantasy lit standards. it bored me to death reading about parallel universes, mayors, dragons, fireflies, the grand machine and whatnot. also dialogs, be they about the supernatural crap or the daily lives of the characters, often dragged on and on and fucking on needlessly. what we could get in two sentences have often been offered in 10+ sentences. far too much unnecessary and uninteresting reading overall.. i really can't believe the average rating this game got.

What a strange strange little gem we have here!

The MC comes to a seemingly paradise like city, and find himself with a harem. Isn't that a lovely and generic dream?

Then stuff gets weird. Like... borderline SCP levels of weird. It never quite takes that large leap into creepiness, but can definitely give off that "larger than thou" energy.

That's all everything is tied together too. It's the spice that makes this game stands out.

Lucky Paradox is a slow burn, but an intriguing one. A harem game with fantastic girls that make you care about what's going on. Example: If my french girl was like "ayo, I'm ditching you to go created the greatest restaurant in the big city, peace" I'd be 100% supportive of that.

It goes against harem upkeep, and that's a sign of solid writing.

There's a weird fluffy and cozy feel the the game given the paradise like location, even the UI and music add to it. The UI is very round and the textbox isn't visible. It's just a bold soft text.

The H scenes are nice, and well animated too. So the game has a quality feel to it. We also have a dope gallery mode in the free roam.

Oh yeah, there's a free roam. It's actually not bad at all since there's a guide and no time limits. Also, you earn more cash as your certain stats go up, so don't worry about $$$.

I do find it pretty neat to have an MC who has this angsty teenager past that got roped into gambling and stuff. It gives a nice flavor to interaction that isn't just "MC has a big handsome dong" (which still happens). There's a couple times where I'm like "oh no, pls no drama" and I felt like Stawer knew, and resolved the drama like adults would... by talking about it. A+

Lucky Paradox has some awesome takes on the Harem formula, and is definitely worth the read and support.

This game is starts off a bit slow and almost dreamlike, and then it unfolds into some really intriguing.

I appreciate the MC being a person with a past. It's refreshing in this sort of game when the MC has a lot of cards he hasn't played yet. It also helps that he resolves things based on himself vs. being too good at everything.

The girls are all distinct and have great personalities and backstories. You have all your tropes, but they have heart behind the characters.

Definitely a recommended if you want a slow paced, but intriguing H game

This is my second favorite game on F95zone, though with enough time and content added, it might even be able to eclipse my current favorite in the long run.

Art:
HS1 models but touched up in a way I've never seen in any of the other games using that engine before. Best looking characters (made from HS1) ever. 5/5

Animations and H-scenes:
4.5/5
Great looking animations, and a decent variety of characters to view them with, but at the moment (as of October 5th, 2021) I do feel like there could/should be at least a few more scenes with each gal than is currently available. That's really the only thing holding me back on this one. The scenes all look great and there is a decent number of them when totaled all up together, but if you break it down character by character I just wish there was a little bit more (and more variety) with each one. Over time I'm sure this will change as the game continues to be developed and more content will be added.


Stories, Plot, and stuff:
5/5
It starts off with a bit of the typical h-game trope about being the new guy in town, but then takes a turn off into the weird end. And as the main plot line continues it just keeps getting weirder. Also there's some pretty funny stuff going on that actually got me to laugh a few times as opposed to the typical "funny" stuff you see in most games where you're just like thinking to yourself "eh, I guess that was funny".
The characters are all pretty great too with a decent amount of actual character to them and some of the best parts of the story occur when the different cast members are chatting with each other or picking on the MC.


Overalll great game. highly recommend.

While the overview description is pretty generic, the story that unfolds as you delve into this game is anything but. As you progress a mystery that wouldn't be out of place on the si-fi channel or SCP begins to unfold.

When I first started up the game I was kind of put off by the dialogue and interactions with some of the girls, as it just felt random; like the writer was trying to make them, as the overview says "quirky" without any real depth. This completely vanishes as you get into the game, and each character gets fleshed out with interesting backstories and interactions with meaning. Finding out what makes the girls tick becomes just as much fun as finding out what's under their clothes. Speaking of which, the dev has somehow managed to create the cutest damned Honey Select girls I've ever seen, and I never get tired of looking at the characters. The game seems like it still has a long way to go in development and story, but there's already tons of sex content, which is quite nice.

I am very much looking forward to watching the continued development of this game.

I kinda already reviewed it and didn't expect this system to require an actual typed out review so I'll just copy paste the most relevant part of my post I did about it.

"Stawer I swear, this game is one of my two favorite adult games of all time so far!!! The other one being Harem Hotel hehe. And I could never decide which one I like best, each game is so special in it's own ways and both tick so many boxes of top quality adult game traits it's insane! But anyways I digress haha!

So yeah I have to take a moment to kiss your ass for a moment here lmaooo. The story is so great and interesting and intriguing. I has so many plot twist and turns and even gut wrenching at times in the best ways possible. I legit cried with my fucking dick in my hand Stawer! That's no small feat dude x'D.

Also, each character is very distinguishable from each other in their personality: looks, demeanor, the way they think and act. Everything! I got really attached to all the girls that is romanceable so far. I saw in the UI that not only some girls that were evident that you would be able to at some point to romance one day, but also some really less obvious ones that made me so happy! Like a certain Lady dressed in red that has such a cute and particular face. I can't wait to see how that is gonna work out! Without spoiling anything to anyone, lets say I just LOVE "converting" characters! Especially when it's progressive and so nicely done like for all the other characters. Man...the writing is just too good.

The art style is to die for! I love the way the characters look! It's so unique and really hits a sweet damn spot with me! First time I saw the images on this thread I was so hyped to try it out right away! Also the details you put on their body, like the nipples for example, look really good! And they already have so many costumes which many are really dope as hell and gives a nice incentive to revisit a ton of H-Scenes! Which by the way are just delicious to the eye. The poses and animations are *mwah*chef's kiss hahaha.

The map layout is really fun and easy to navigate while being also interesting to navigate. The UI was already pretty nice and now I can see it's going to be baller as all hell once it's all done and is already so useful too.

Also I already had played the whole game not long ago and just came back to see you remade the WHOLE ASS GAME with a fresh coat of paint and a reworked and well oiled engine. And it was already so damn great and you made it fricking next level it's ridiculous. I already replayed through the whole thing the other night. It was, in my opinion already such a polished product and now it's basically nearing a mirror finish in terms of features, stability and ease of use. I'm not even kidding hahaha. "

Story:

In Lucky Paradox, you miraculously wake up from a long coma. Beside you, a letter from your best friend tell you to go to the small coastal town of Argleton. For some reason, you can't see your reflection anymore. As you begin a new life, you start to realise there's a lot more to that small town than meets the eye.
What starts off as a seemingly unassuming story, develops into a creative, unique and intriguing plot, as the misteries of that place start to unravel.
Complementing the great plot is a superb cast of characters. Each of the main girls is unique, fleshed out, and captivating in their own way. What's more, each of their individual stories adds a bit to your understanding of the big picture, which adds a "puzzle-like" feeling to the game.

Design:

The game follows a fairly typical sandbox formula, with days divided between four times of day. You can interact with the girls for events, or do activities to raise stats or make money.
However, as of right now, stats only influence how much money you're making, and money is only needed for optional costumes. So if you want, you can stick exclusively to story events. So if you're afraid of grinding, there really isn't any. The costumes are nice though, as the more expensive ones can be worn for some sex scenes, which is a nice feature.

Presentation:

The game is made using HS, so the game ends up being limited by that engine. If you've played a lot of games using HS or Koikatsu before, you know what to expect, and you've seen most of these sex positions before. Still, this one has one of the best visuals you can get from a HS game, with high resolution and smooth framerates.
The music is also worth mentioning, as the game has original tracks, which set the mood nicely.

Conclusion:

This is a game that makes me feel bad about giving it a 5/5. Because it makes other games that I've also given 5 stars look rather mediocre in comparison.
It is as vanilla as they come, so if you are looking for this or that kink, you probably won't find them here. But if you are looking for a good story, good characters, and some heartwarming and soul-crushing moments, it's hard to go wrong with this game. 6/5 if I could.