VN - Ren'Py - Completed - LustyVerse: Shackbang [Final] [Inceton Games]

All it takes is a bad ending to ruin a game.

This game had everything going for it. I do wish there was some more actual choices early on. We continually got forced into making absolutely braindead decisions and rolling over every time there was a chance to find something out, but the graphics of the game, the whodunnit aspect and the dynamics with the other characters made up for it.

And then we finally reach a point where we might actually get some answers, and MC might actually stop being a fucking moron for 10 seconds, and it all comes crashing down the moment a new character is introduced. MC is back to being a fucking bitch, no one acts like real humans, and the final reveal of the game (which could have been good if we were able to get there naturally, rather than the hamfisted plot-driven stupidity that all the characters spontaneously suffered) lost all of its effect.

And then finally, at the end of the game, we get to a minigame in which we make some of the only meaningful choices in the game, a tiny ending, and that's it.

Had the game kept progressing in the way it did, had us get close with the LI's so the final revelations were more impactful, had us figure things out, rather than have some random plot-insert character tell us everything instead, had some actual endings, where the characters actually discuss things, this could have been a great game.

A shame this project didn't have more competent writers. Endings are hard, but it's more disappointing when the first 50-60% of the game set things up so well. It's not like the final reveal was even bad, it's just everything that led up to that point, and how little time you get to think/discuss it before the game abruptly ends after a short minigame in which you make random choices and hope for the best.

I can only give an average rating on this.

The characters look good enough, as do the renders and animation do.
The story is a bit odd, but that's fairly normal from this dev

The click to progress some sex scene is the usual pointless annoying garbage, and is unfortunately still present in the game.

What really is a big issue however, is the lack of facial expressions in every renders outside of the sex scenes. Having proper expressions shown would increase the game's overall quality. Right now, you'll be staring at expressionless faces throughout the vast majority of the story. They don't really smile, they don't frown, they just keep the same blank expression virtually all the time during the dialogues.

As such, the game is not bad, but it's not good either.

This story is still very early on, but it has all of what I am looking for. Interesting story, hot characters, some spicy scenes, good animation, beautiful renders. Giving it 5 stars for potential. Given that this is a dev who is experienced and knows what they are doing, I am expecting great things.

Edited after playing the complete version.
Let me start with telling you, the endings suck, all three of them.
The story becomes an incoherent mess, all the big build up ends with basically the big threat being nothing but a lie from Maxine.
The sweetest of the girls becomes a deranged psycho, Maxine already is a psycho, considering she actually lied to their friends, solely because she wanted to preserve her family name.

IDK, to me, it feels as if they ran out of energy and just wanted to end the story, because a lot of it makes no sense considering part one and even most of part two.
This game was trying to do something different, but due to the miserable endings it failed, and so I have to correct my rating downwards.
I am so close to giving the game 2 stars, but I like the visual look of the games and the sex scenes are well-made and extensive and until it all falls apart, I was entertained and even intrigued to an extent, so I'll stick with a three-star-rating.
My original review can stay as it is, for the first part, but this ends my thoughts on the game as a whole.


I swear, I will never understand the way reviews here come together.
You get games with barely comprehensible English and with horrible, monstrous character models, which barely have any story, that have five - star after five-star review.
Why? How?
And then you have a game like this one, and it has barely 3 stars.

This game has a story, this game has great renders of beautiful girls, which actually look different.
Yes, the choices so far don't change much, but there are choices and at least one that offers you significant information.

Also, this is like the first version of the game, and yet it offers hours of content.
Where is the rationale to rate this with one or two stars?
I just don't understand it.

Anyway, this game is something different again from Inceton.
His last game offered us what started out as a Ground hog's day like Ren'py gameplay, which then turned into an apocalyptic SF story.

This one starts out like a B-grade slasher film, but then turns into a whodunnit.
Basically, the MC by accident gets stuck in a lonely, isolated cabin, with the four girls (his sister and three of their friends) he just drove there.

After a night of drunk debauchery with his sister, of all people, the MC slowly realizes that this is more than just a reunion of high school friends.
Not only are there conflicts, secrets and hidden relationships, no, the MCs best friend disappeared five years ago, when he was with his girlfriend at the same cabin, something that the other three girls know, but no one else.
Because they hid any evidence and claimed their friend was with them the whole time, and never left with her boyfriend.

From there, we follow the MC on the path to find out what happened five years ago, what is happening now, and how he can survive it, while at the same time dealing with constantly lusting after his sister (and she after him) and also re-kindling a love-hate relationship with one of their other friends, who also has a huge secret of her own.

Honestly, as the story went on (and it is a huge amount of game already), I went from being completely uninterested in the crime plot and only trying to get the sex scenes, to really being interested in solving this puzzle.

It's not a flawless story, not a flawless game, there are many scenes that only set-up atmosphere but aren't really necessary, there are also definitely scenes where all curiosity and suspense are lost, and they just seem like filler, but the game always found a way to get me into it again and at the end of part 1 I was seriously annoyed, because I wanted to know how this continued and of course how it will end.

This is a game that mostly tells a story, through this the actual changes from your decisions are mostly cosmetical (at least as far as we know now), but otoh, that story is also what made the game interesting for me.

I think that Inceton games get rated unfairly, some of the criticism is valid, but both here and with his other games I've read horrible reviews, where I honestly thought the reviewer and I were playing a different game.
Part of it is due to people not understanding that player's choice and agenda are not always the main point of a game, Inceton actually tries to do more than just pure porn games at times, with one of his previous games he not only tried an innovative story, but also an innovative gameplay for a Ren'py game, with Shackbang he tries to tell a story and so far the player choice is secondary to that.

And people need to get it in their head that this doesn't make either of the two a bad game. It might not be a game that plays to your taste, but that's just subjective, not an objective reason to rate a game low.


TL,DR: This is at first a murder mystery, a story that inceton and his team are telling, it's a porn game only secondly and your choices also aren't the most important factor (so far).
The renders are great, the girls are beautiful, and again, they are different types, even if not really original characters. The sex is there, and it is done well, but it is not the main focus. In my play-through the MC had sex with his sister several times, also with his frenemy, I chose to watch lesbian sex twice and worked towards being part of a three-way (hopefully) in the future. There is also quite a bit of nudity unrelated to the sex.

So while I agree with some of the complaints here I also really appreciate someone doing something new and different. I appreciate it when having sex is something that happens.. as opposed to being the entire goal of the VN.

I do wish it was a little less KN and the MC had more of a backbone but how can you not appreciate a game where your best LI long-term is the

I saw some people bashing on this game here on F95, so I decided to write my own review. Why is there so many negative comments? The story is interesting, there is a lot of content (about 3 hrs of gameplay) and the girls are hot. If high-quality visuals and animations are a must for you, and you like mysterious stories, try playing this game.
I will be reviewing the game in the following three sections:
1) The content
You end up in a cabin with 3 of your, well, let's say friends, and one character that can be your sister/girlfriend, whatever you want because you can choose the relationship with her. Even though you weren't planning on staying for the whole trip, someone messes with your car, and you suddenly realise that there is a dark secret hidden somewhere in or around the cabin. The girls are keeping it to themselves, but things start to unravel. The plot twists are great, and it was very interesting to follow.
2) The visuals
This game has high-quality visuals and animations. The models are beautiful, but the only thing I kind of disliked was the fact that their expressions don't seem to change much. The MC looks quite young, but as it typically is in these games, he is pretty endowed.
3) The playability
This is a visual novel where you mostly follow the story. You don't have many choices, and they don't really influence the progress of the story. I didn't mind that, because the story is interesting enough.

Mc is not stupid but not smart either.
He understands that something is wrong, but does nothing but talk.
For example, he does not take the gun with him for his own safety.
The storytelling is not really well planned.
You make love and then you go on as if nothing happened, there is no feeling.
In order to expand the game in terms of content, they added a lot of filler scenes to the story that did not serve its purpose, which makes the poorly planned story boring.
The transition between scenes is really bad.
Choices don't really affect anything other than wanting or not wanting to have sex.

Graphics and animations are in good condition.

This was a tough one to rate, that's why I went down the middle.

Renders are good which is to be expected from Inceton but the story just fell flat for me. Not just the dialogue but there is barely any emotion in any renders, all the girls are just dead pan all the time and it seemed to start halfway into the story, like just threw you in the middle of a night out, didn't explain who was who or what's going on, just here, drink this.

It's really made me think about my own games and how expressing emotion through the art is a must and something I need to work on.

The game is a complete hit or miss.
you are kinda thrown into wolfs den in the beginning, like you are late to your own story, with very little actual introduction. Characters look good, but in terms of their physical looks, their body types are... almost identical.

There is an easter egg, the hidden buttons on top right and middle right, but when using them you are just thrown into ,,why are they not wearing this in the main story'' feeling, and their bodies look very much alike. also IMHO the buttons should like glow or something, as its really annoying to break immersion after every 2 shots to check if the buttons were there, and many people will probably miss on some great angles and shots if they dont pay attention

aside from the similarity of their bodies, i think we should of had some kind of warning for what type of game this would be (the title screen is kind of a warning but im stupid and ignored it), like mad world did. The game itself is dark, very dark, playing it like a basic porn game is not even possible.


In conclusion, the game does not really do much to make us feel connected with him or other characters, girls and MC are really bitchy from time to time, but if you do manage to connect with the story, cliff hanger will just be a mace to the dome. The game itself isnt bad, renders are not bad, animations are ok (my standards for animations really lowered recently as publishers have started making powerpoint presentations).

(also one last advice, for the publisher, make a scene gallery, as scenes are really nice but short, scrolling trough the game or making 20 saves for them is not convenient)

This has its flaws but it surely isn't a 1 or a 2. Yes, the name might be garbage. Yes, the sex scenes may be a bit rushed or forced way too hard into the plot (but it's a porn game anyways why is this an issue?). No music and only like 3 sound effects for what is a mystery game kills the mood a bit though. And the endings are... yeah, not good.

However, renders and animations are great, writing is way better than average with all characters feeling quite distinct and it has a lot of content with no sandbox crap.

As of part one I'm giving it a 4 just because of how much convoluted crap is shoved into it. You gotta suspend some serious disbelief. The only saving grace is theres no point where the MC could just bail because he was trapped which is good because no one would've just sat through that much bullshit and let it happen. I get what its building to and I like where its going. The characters let clues slip from time to time that not everything is being told to the MC and he clearly gets more and more pissed as this keeps going on and a lot of the bitchy quips they make at each other make way more sense toward the end.

Its told well, the dialogue isnt bad, the animations are good and the girls are hot AF. Honestly they need to answer some serious questions and hopefull this isnt like 6 parts because it feels like it will drag. We got our solid beginning, just need a middle and end. I can't wait for part 2.

Interesting, original story, decent art. It's definitely not your standard landlady game, which is refreshing. Story is mostly linear, and perhaps not entirely plausible, but what do you want here? The girls are hot.

Honestly I'd say it had a good start but in the end it wasn't worth the time I put into it. The set up of characters and plot is nice but as the story goes on it goes downhill. The models and animations are great. The scenes are decent but too spread out which is made worse by some of them getting interrupted. The story and characters start decent but get worse over time. Maxine is the bitchy character who has had a secret past with mc. Lydia is a girl who wants to seem harder than she actually is. Lexi is bubbly and ditzy but can be cunning or pushy. the sister is timid and clearly in love with MC. Mc is a protective and caring older brother. However these characters become horrible over time and the story really feels like it's trying to drag it out by creating more drama through secrets and problems.

All in all, the only good thing the game has going for it is the quality of it's models and sex scenes, but that's sort of screwed over by the fact that it feels more like watching a really frustrating soap opera than an actual porn game.

I have conflicting opinion about this game.

On the one hand, there is a huge amount of story content, good renders and the atmosphere of horrors of the early 2000s,

But overall, I didn't like the dialogue. They are boring.
The plot is good, but only if you don't give up and see the last 5 minutes of the game.
Without that, the motivation of the characters is questionable.
This is a kinetic novel.

I take this chapter as a prologue, and expect a good story in the next update, and hope that all problems will be fixed.

Came here for rape tag, stayed for plot. Pretty interesting story, unveiling gradually. I really like constant change of emotions & trust/distrust you feel to all characters. Great renders too, aside from some outdoor locations. Totally worth playing, and I don't even like Inceton games.

Damn, reviews are all over the place. To me it was pretty damn good.

It check's a lot of boxes. Good Renders, good characters, good story and mostly good animations

What this did for me was that it made me feel a ton of different emotions and some not comfortable to feel. If a story can do that, then it is doing something right.

Edit: 09/05/2023

Lowered to 3 stars because of the story going all wonkers in the second half.

I'm not a fan of this kind of game where everything is forced. Moreover, as other people say, it's very long, you get bored quickly. It would also be interesting for the women to be less alike and for the background of the story to be more surprising. to think about next?

Visuals look good, but story and gameplay are terrible. Characters and their dialogs need a lot of development to become interesting. I know it's only the v0.1, but it is one of the first chapters that made me unsatisfied the most. It has potential, but the person who wrote the storyline made a terrible job on using the games potential. Honestly, if it was a Russian or a Japanese game that had no translation in English, it wouldn't make much difference, because the only thing that is not bad are the visuals.

Really shallow visual novel. Every thing is shallow, the characters, the romances, the dialogs. It feels like ChatGPT could've made a better script. The mystery around the plot is kinda interesting, but not good enough to hold my interest. Besides that, there is no development between the characters, the sex scenes just pop up with no build up. Also those pictures of one of the girls hooking with that Lucas guy really threw me off. So I would recommend people to wait for the next updates, unless you don't mind a shallow story, shallow characters and shallow choices.

I really like the mystery concept behind it, but it was realized on the poorest way possible. I hope the dev brings depth to it on the future builds. I could've been a great mystery/thriller VN, but it wastes almost all its potential.

Having a script mod that rewrote the dialogs, made things avoidable or optional, and gave more depth and charisma to the characters, it could add at least 3 stars to this game.

Having played the game through, I'll chime in with my 0.02. Renders are solid, healthy amount of adult content if that's what you're here for, and an intriguing, extremly unique story, relatively speaking. I say relatively because the plot isn't all that special in terms of all the media that's out there, but it's nothing I've seen in a porn game so far.

The mysteries surrounding the plot are really interesting, and the devs have varied it up with a number of twists.

It's one of those games that steal the spotlight from the actual porn, IMO. By that I mean I'm more interested in seeing the resolution of the mystery, and not as much the sexual content. At the same time, that isn't necessarily a good thing all the time. The sexual relationships that occur aren't completely random, but they do feel pretty shallow - again, the content is there, it's just a bit emotionally dull.

The game is definitely above average, but it falls short from being excellent. I'll follow it and adjust my review if necessary down the road, although I wouldn't be surprised if it is the sort of adult game that is upstaged by the storyline as far as hot content goes.