VN - Ren'Py - My Dorm [v0.23.1 S3 Ch.3] [Tropecita Games]

Very good fun mostly lighthearted game in the slice of life harem genre, with a good cast of characters, improving graphics, humor, few to no bugs and even some story.

Not recommended for players that want a strong antagonist or corruption or an extreme grind, but very much for those who can play a game without that and enjoy a feel good moment or two.

Also an extra shoutout to the dev for his willingness to go the extra mile to offer a choice in who you do wish to have a romantic relationship with. Pretty rare for a dev to give you the choice to have a relation with everything between 0 to 28 ladies and respect your wishes. Kuddos.

Game is a VN (clearly labeled as such) that has lots of text to read as character backstories/personalities/motivations are devleoped in far more depth than most games/VNs. If you don't like to read, or if you prefer content with lewd scenes every few clicks with no consequences, this game may not be for you. But if you enjoy realistically paced relationships where characters do their best to be respectful of one another (MC included), you will likely enjoy this game. There are LI's of many different kinds, so there is something for everyone (or many somethings). Well written, with some humor, lots of well developed and well-rendered LI's, and - most unusually - nothing absurd that takes you out of the game or forces you to suspend disbelief. Game mechanics are smooth. Only thing missing that would be a big improvement at some point is an in-game reference to help keep track of who all the ladies are and what MC's history with each of them is, because when coming back after a while (maybe skipping an update or two) it can be hard to remember who they all are. EDIT: this was added and I just never noticed because me is dumb. There is a button to open character info, but if you play with icons minimized like me the function of that particular button is not obvious. So there you have it - nothing is missing from this game (other than the standard misogyny and general meanness prevalent in games enjoyed by boys who need to feel powerful).

Unbiased Review of My Dorm, part 1 & 2

Part 1 - ⭐⭐⭐
Part 2 - ⭐

Pros
-Great ensemble of characters, nice variety. Its a buffet done right.
More commonly seen in Sandbox genres, its a nice little change for linear VNs.

-Pretty solid amount of content especially for Part 1.

-Sex scenes probably use some stock animations but I actually think its better in this case, many other VN's scenes feel like clunky 15 fps robotic movements.

-Renders have improved in Part 2.

-Writing is very beefy and most of the girls are done quite well. They don't always feel like reskins with the same personality save 1-3 girls.

-QoL for all you kinky bastards out there

-Bless thy in game Walkthrough.


Cons
-The story falls short, it tries to do too much and include too much without being sure of its identity. It tries to be deep or meaningful at certain moments but that illusion is kinda shattered when all the women literally throw themselves at him with some of the most strangest dialogue.

-No gallery in Part 1.

-Some characters are just completely and absolutely forgettable and unnecessary. Like the girls that were protecting your house from.. um bad guys. Yes.

-Dialogue is overkill in Part 2 considering that you can't skip it like in Part 1. Especially for characters that you have no intention of romancing or getting involved with since Part 1. (there is a skip function apparently but regardless the dialogue is still monstrous for characters that have no credence to the over arching plot)

- The pacing is very erratic, there's no proper transition to how fast or slow things progress. You're just kind of thrown a new bone from all sorts of angles. That tends to happen with a large group of characters, lots of writing to sort out so its understandable to a degree.

Overall I want to make it clear that trying to have beefy dialogue to making your story have multiple subplots isn't wrong. Its just not very well executed here, games like Stranded in Space are even more dialogue heavy but that tone was established from the get go and hinted multiple times as to how much more twists there might be. You don't feel like you got slighted. Would still recommend it, its got good content and a plethora of girls to choose from.

This review might trigger some fans but objectivity isn't a lost art for me.

One of the best Harem VNs on this website.

Big range of characters, with different personalities and body types, all sexy as hell

Story is different than the rest of the harem VNs, it's more focused on the spicy scenes but the story is always there which in my opinion is the correct balance for this type of game.

MC is not the usual retard or weak-spined loser from 90% of harem games and even though he isn't john wick he will still try to protect his girls.

You have the option of not going for specific girls if you don't like them, it's good that the dev gave the option since I know some players can be more picky. Personally I went for all of them, yes even the grandma and I will go after the chubby, big titted aunt when the game lets me too.

Really liking it so far, I hope it continues on this path and good luck to the dev.

SUCH a fun game! Out of the 41 games I am currently playing, this is in a tight running with Grandma's House as my favorite.
The dialogue is usually pretty good as is the art. The reasoning behind the whole harem situation and even the !ncest is believable and sensible. Plus, happy to see Bellingham, WA mentioned as I used to live there, 25 years ago.
And the clones? Fun! Granted, there is a lot of ignoring scientific fact for this, but I have games with vampires, goblins, Necko-girls from space, demons, wizards and a guy trapped alone, Stranded in Space(tm) on a ship with a thousand horny women. After that, clones are an easy thing to accept.
Even the ability to be able to choose who you date, who you can impregnate, etc, are great inserts to make a game you can truly have a unique path of your own in.
My only quibble is that the MC doesn't seem to get much repeat encounters with the girls he's romancing. Granted, that would cut into time for other story elements, but makes me feel the girls might start to feel a bit neglected.
Keep up the good work, and can't wait for the next installment.

My opinion of this game changed part way through part 2. Based on part 1, I'd rate the game between 4 and 5 stars.

Core Game Problems

It's an overly long story that drags on so long that it becomes boring. Most visual novels are a summary of the story and events. The game makes NO attempt to speed things up or to summarize anything. It's just endless dialog and text that goes on for ages.

After you've added the 8th girl to your harem, it just gets predictable and boring. I thought part 1 was well done overall but after getting part way through part 2 it felt like a never ending soap opera.

I can see that the author put a lot of hard work into this game but some players aren't interested in reading a 500 page fiction novel.

The cast is way too large and because of this it feels like once you add a girl to your harem they become side characters and you're off to your next conquest.

Another major gripe is the huge emphasis on trying to make the whole harem concept believable. Very few harems are believable. In most cases they only occur among the ultra wealthy and men in positions of great power (kings, rulers, etc.). With harem games, we accept the fantasy and don't need the harem concept to be constantly justified by the author. I love harem games, I just don't like the constant story emphasis attempting to justify it.

The MC is a perfect white knight! He always has the right answer and can easily squash any problems with his harem. Always the hero and rarely does anything wrong. He doesn't feel human as a result because he is too perfect, nearly all the time. I understand that the MC is a good looking charismatic guy but the whole white knight thing is over the top and goes supernova at times. Too many cringe moments in the story as a result.

For me, the game would be close to 5 stars had the author summarized the story and had a smaller cast with deeper character development for each of them. Removing all the harem justification would be a huge plus also. Making the MC human instead of the perfect white knight would be more immersive for me.

If you're going to have a huge visual novel you have to be able to keep the player's interest and it faded the more I played through part 2. I never finished part 2 because I went from loving the game (part 1) to being bored and uninterested in continuing it half way through part 2. The same recipe played out for most of the girls (meet them, have an event with them, take their viriginity or fuck them, add them to your harem, move on to the next conquest/girl).

What I liked

Good renders and character models
Good sex scenes
Good character development
Unique characters and personalities
Harem game

Conclusion

I recommend playing through part 1 and ending there. I only recommend the full game for players who love to read and love verbose dialog and very long stories (slow burn, 500 page novels).

I love this vn. Love the characters, but obviously I like some of the more than others. Samantha, Debbie and Kate are my absolute favorites. Looking forward to see more of Kate. The renders look great, most of the animations are also great.
There is a lot to love about this vn, and i am looking forward to see more. The story can get a bit convoluted at times, but all in all it has great moments for everyone, and i do want to see how the story evolves with everyone.
Highly recommended.

very fun to play, has def good humor, caught myself chuckling from time to time. would recommend to play, mc looks kinda weird at the beginning of he game, but after the hair cut, he looks def better. the girls have different personalities, some of them eperienced, some less, you know virgins, no sluts. the animations are ok. the story is a little confusing, but so far i'm still following. plot is a little cliche and overdone. you know guy comes home from college to visit his family, because his father dissapeared. but i don't mind that kind of story.

8/10 recommended

The best game I've played so far. Everything is almost perfect. It's hard to imagine a game with a huge character line and meticulously built characters. One thing I really like about this game is that the ladies are built in a diverse way, some of them have physical flaws, but they are all beautiful in their own way. Furthermore, a plus point for Dev is that girls can improve their appearance through exercise or makeup. The characters' costumes and hairstyles are also meticulously and regularly cared for. The two female characters I like most are definitely Samantha and grandmother Olivia. Samantha is perfectly shaped and attractive, especially her vagina. As for Olivia, with a breast full of milk, I wonder if she can be pregnant or not =)). And I really hope to see Olivia dye her hair, she looks so hot with her deep brown hair in one scene. And it would be even better if it was possible to get all the ladies pregnant and turn one of them into a sex slave, instead of most being romantically inclined.

So, love the game. For a minute, the game looked like it was going to be a rather hum-drum story following our MC through the meanderings of a semester of women at the family's homes/dorms. I wasn't entirely sure where the story was going to come from, but the developer has done well integrating a wild tale of science fact--even if we aren't cloning people yet, cloning is real--with action/adventure.

Oh, and the MC is on a quest from God to produce more children than Elon Musk. To his credit, the MC is clearly more efficient at it.

Going to give this five stars, but I do have one question...

Why are all the women so tall?

Even the shortcakes--the shortest is Olivia at 5'5"--are taller than the global average for women (5'3"), while the majority of women in the game are between 5'9" and 5'11". Pretty sure Debbie, the lanky champion swimmer, is actually taller than the MC coming in a full foot higher than the global average for women (6'3").

It's a HAREM game, a lot of the negatives seem to be against the fact that it is what it claims to be. It also does the harem correctly, the LIs know and learn about each other as the story progresses., without the need for a massive orgy.

There are a LOT of LIs, but each is individual, if it is too many you can close off paths to keep the number more to your liking. I won't say it's too many because I'm looking forward to the additions moving forward.

It's IMHO one of the best Harem games you can find. The story is nice enough to keep you engaged. Character growth for each one so far is a very nice consistency. The timid virgin is not grabbing a whip and strap-on. They're actual fictional characters not just cock sleeves with no personality.

I'm just laughing at the recent reviewers who are all up in arms over the unfairness of the MC in a porno game telling his harem not to NTR him while sexing up everything with a pulse.

Maybe they should make a sign calling for "equal rights for fictional porn game love/lust interests" and march up and down the street in their nations capital chanting and blocking traffic until someone takes them seriously (could be there for a while). The greatest generation had WW2, the boomers had vietnam, and these folks have......equal rights for female shaped pixels in video games..... . Every generation has their battle, I suppose...

Anyways, if you ignore those people, like you should, it's a fun game. Nothing new or ground breaking, but the girls are cute and there's a good amount of action. If you like harem games and don't have trouble remembering it's a game and not real life (like some people), then check it out. Don't expect the great novel of our age, but that's not why most people play these games.

Yes, it's the millionth adaption of the same old concept. It's literally like watching the same movie forever. I am not sure how you guys do it. BUT I can't really fault the game about this, since it's pretty clear what it tries to achieve. It's yet another harem power fantasy. It's all it is meant to be and I assume that's why you are here anyway.

It's one of the better versions of TEH HAREM. The plot is still beaten into submission with a crowbar. The girls still fall in love with the MC for no reason whatsoever and say things no living woman would say or think. So far, so similar.

Unfortunately it eventually loses all cohesion with a flood of faceless women coming in that all go through the same bullshit (Oh, I love him, Oh he has other women, Oh, I accept it anyway, Let's fuck).

What it has going for it though is that it is fairly entertaining and the characters are different enough to be interesting - at least the first dozen or so.

As far as Happy Meals go, this one is at least still warm. Enjoy.

Edit: I have to add, that the "I can have anyone, but you can't kiss/look/smile at anyone but me" really bothers me. It's ok to not show it or even act on it on the girls part, but fucking around as the MC and disallowing the women the same freedom comes across as really incel-ish. Meh (-1 Star).

I give it a 5/5 because the story is fun and the characters are quite good. Those two aspects are so good that they honestly carry the game despite a few shortcomings and flaws.

Game is not perfect, but nothing is. The overall atmosphere is good and very fun. A lot of things are not realistic, but, honesty, if you want realistic go outside.

My main gripe is that there are some images/scenes that need quite a bit of polish. There are a few but the worst example is the scene on the beach with a specific girl where her nipples look like they have been through a meat grinder and then clumsily glued back on. I exaggerate for effect of course, but it really looks bad.

EDIT:
I have to change the rating to 2/5, the "girls are not allowed to date other guys because of stds, but MC couldn't possibly get std from a girl he is dating, what??", completely ruined it for me, Dumbest thing i have ever read.
And the more i play the worse it gets with elaborate harem/porn logic that is completely unnecessary.

Old review:
It is obvious that this is a porn game first, and as such i rate it 4/5.
If I were to rate it as more than just porn game, it would be more like 2/5

The good:

• Renders are OK, not the best, but improving. Animations are not the best in the beginning, but for me personally if scenes are erotic enough with just writing then i don't really need animations, and that is definitely the case for this game. Some other reviewers mentioned that animations improve later on, so that is also good (i only played part 1 so far)
• Writing is really good, especially considering that English is not devs native language.
• All scenes with girls are erotic, it not just porn, i like that
• Pacing in both lewd content, and other content is also good
• Girls have different personality, they are not basically one person that just looks different like in so many other games

The bad

• Too many girls, even with just "family" there are way to many LIs for my liking, but they each get lots of content so that makes up for it at least
• MC is 21, but looks 40, which would have been fine, but then he also acts like 40 year old, he has 20 years of life experience just from going to college, not really realistic

Some thing that i dislike, but wouldn't necessarily have it as a con for this game, since it is a harem game after all:

• None of the girls will reject MC for any reason, they all lust after him like he is the only male on the planet
• Most of the girls are single and/or virgin, the ones that are not single have asshole boyfriend that MC takes care of like a hero that he is, or they haven't had sex in decades, etc.
• The only other male NPC, on top of being gay (which is fine) he is also disabled. I feel like this was done to make him not competitor to MC
• MC doesn't want to be with any girl that is also involved with other guys, but he himself whats to be with multiple girls, and they all accept it. I dislike this because it just shows that MC doesn't care about any of the girls as much as they care about him, they make a compromise while he doesn't.

Just competed my first run through and found this game to be absolutely excellent.
There a quite ridiculous amount of LI's but the creator has somehow managed to make them all entirely distinct and uniquely interesting...not to mention that they are all wonderful eye candy.
The writing is top notch and has a really light touch with a wonderful sense of comedy underpinning the whole thing.
A+++.

This is definitely a five star game, but the main reason for a three star rating is owing to "Too much of anything is good for nothing" too many characters, too many kinks and too many situations, I think this game is good and then logic is all great, but if only we had fewer characters and were done with one story that would be nice, a few characters is fine but this is too much.

This game is perhaps the most cliche game I've ever played. I'm about 30 minutes in, and I've seen every single cliche in the genre. Walking in on the LI in the bathroom (or vice versa), every single LI being an inexperienced virgin, the LI's boyfriend being abusive, the aforementioned boyfriend revealing his infidelity in front of the MC, the random person calling the MC and the LI a couple, the random guys hitting on the LI so the LI has to call the MC her boyfriend to get them to back off, et cetera. I just listed 6 off the dome, there are certainly more. Not to mention that the lewd scenes aren't very good, the MC is ugly, the quality is poor even on the HQ version, and the writing is not very good. To be fair, I am only 30 minutes in. Maybe it gets better. But I don't want to sit there bored for so long hoping for something that mught not happen.

This is the fifth best harem game for me!

very atmospheric and cozy game. I’m glad that there are beautiful scenes and girls, with each update the story becomes more interesting, it remains to advance the plot a little and find out all the stories with the clones.

The animation is getting better every time, especially in the second season the quality has noticeably improved, we will be happy see how the story develops longer, especially when the girls are already pregnant, the plot will become even brighter!

Love the story arc, characters, and the way it has been progressing. Love that you have the option to choose relationships, or to even just see the relationship arc after certain scenes in case you were on a different path.