Ren'Py - Completed - My First Love [Ep.12] [CeLaVie Group]

Once you master the game mechanics, the game is actually quite enjoyable and rewarding in its own way. That said, "mastering" the game (i.e. basically figuring out the patterns that unlock events) requires some doing (without a cheat mod/hints system), so for those lacking patience and seeking instant gratification, I can see that as a definite barrier to enjoyment and this is probably not the game for you.

V2.03

The real title of this game should be "Olivia is Not Here", because you're going to see that message a ton while you arbitrarily click throughout the home. As per usual with CeLaViGroup games, the rules are incredibly vague, and it matches the game design.
Not to mention, the beginning of the game is a a literal hellscape, where you're trapped in a void of nothing to do except guess where the stupid love-interest is, where every other room contains nothing except the message "Olivia is Not Here".
As per usual, like "My Bestfriend's Daugther", My First Love could've been great! Hell, I would settle for mediocre from this dev, but instead it is a vague mess that has you doing the same dang thing over, and over again, with very little in the means of feeling satisfied or rewarded.

Update V2.04

My First Love is still COMPLETELY unplayable. If you look at the thread here on F95, you'll see that pretty much everyone who has played is either asking for a guide, a walkthrough mod, or begging others who have bumbled through this mess for a save-point. I ask you, CeLaVieGroup, directly, after all the complaints, and just sheer confusion as to how your games work, why not shift gears and try some other game mechanics? Obviously, this type of game-play isn't working for your games.

In a sea of recycled VNs/kinectic novels, with no gameplay and dumb plots devices as excuses to show some porn CeLaViE games are between the few that actually bring some refreshing elements to the table.

Instead of having to read through 20 pages of weak dialogue between each image, the game is actually visual based, meaning the gameplay is in focus and the plot is delivered subtly alongside with only a few lines of dialogue here and there as necessary, this works much better for erotic games already.

Teasing is always the focus of CeLaVieGroup, nip slip, downblouse, flashing, skimpy clothing, nudity, foreplay. If you enjoy any or all of those this game is heavenly. The ammount of teasing it delivers is exceptional, games like this are designed for people that like to take their time and enjoy the ride instead of explicit gratuitous sex the teasing is much more rewarding, not only that but it also augments the value of actual sex scenes when they end up showing later.

The sandbox elements and the slow burn also help with both teasing and voyeur elements a lot, with each day only slight variations in behavior can be observed, and only by exploring around and interacting with her that you will start seeing these changes.

I understand that this style of game is not for everyone (longer games with lots of teasing are always love/hate around here), but for those that do enjoy that I highly recommend checking this and its prequels out.

[Edit: Updated review after playing the "complete" version]
While the game teasing was as good as expected I was disappointed by many bugs and programming mistakes left in the final version.
I had to manualy fix several silly bugs left that locked progress and unless you edit the game yourself be prepared to skip chapters when nearing the end of each episode. Good game but messy programming.

It's just like the guy bellow me wrote, typicall celavie work...

Horrible writing, like if machine programmed the game, it's not rare to find dialogues like "Are you a patient here? - Yes, Ive got cancer. - I see. Your husband know? - No. - I see. Bye. - Bye."

Grind without a proper reward, day after day you watch the same scenes, changed only by some tiny detail like her night gown is a bit lower and you see her shoulder, the next day its 2 inches lower, the next day another 2 inches, and repeat....

The characters are interesting to my eyes but that's the only good thing I can say about the game.

the gameply itself is incredibly boring, like the guy before said.
check beach-olivia isn't here. check dinning room-olivia isn't here. check pool-olivia isn't here. ..... check bedroom-Hi,time to wake up olivia-ok bob.... check beach-olivia isn't here. Check dinning room-olivia isn't here. Check bathroom-knock,knock-please don't open the door-ok, breakfast is ready... and repeat.

It's his/their 3rd game yet they keep doing the same style and mistakes dispite the fact none of their games have rating above 2,5...

First I should warn that the game is unplayable without a walkthrough mod! Not sure what the dev had in mind here, but unless you enjoy an unending grindfest where you're just clicking different rooms and progressing time without any indication where to go, I would strongly recommend to play this with a mod (if one becomes available)

But that aside. I play most of these games with a walkthrough mod, so I figured: 'if grinding is the biggest problem here, how bad can it be if I play with a hint system?' - Right? Wrong, the hint system is useless

Well, even if you don't care about...
...the MC being an old creepy pervert.
...the fact that the story is extremely unbelievable and the writing in general is just terrible.
...the renders being average at best.
...your choices not having an impact on the story (with the exception of getting a 'Game Over')
...and the endless grinding.
...even then, the game is still just super boring and very predictable!

The story is about corruption, not through blackmail or abuse, but real corruption. And that's fine, even if the whole process takes a long time, but there is absolutely no originality, no element of surprise. First you want the girl to wear less clothes, and little by little you succeed in getting her naked. Then you try to kiss her, and again little by little you achieve your goal. And after that you try to lick her pussy, get a BJ, have sex, etc, etc...

All these things happen in an extremely slow, predictable and linear order of events. Exactly the same, time after time. You try, she refuses. You try again, she gives in a little. You try again, she gives in a little more. You try again, she gives in a little more than the time before, and so on, and so on.... Until you achieve your goal and it starts all over again from the start.

In this case the slow build-up does not create suspense, it only makes you lose interest in the story. Not because it's just slow, but because it's so freakin' slow that it's almost moving backwards!

GAMEPLAY IN A NUTSHELL: Go to Beach "Olivia is not here", office "Olivia is not here", guest bedroom "Olivia is not here", dining room "Olivia is not here", living room "Olivia is not here" bathroom "Olivia is not here" Master bedroom "Olivia is not here" living room "Olivia is not here" pool oh, hi Olivia bla, bla, bla, end of scene. Go to Beach "Olivia is not here", office "Olivia is not here", guest bedroom "Olivia is not here", dining room "Olivia is not here", living room "Olivia is not here" bathroom "Olivia is not here" Master bedroom "Olivia is not here" living room "Olivia is not here"...repeat 1,000 times to get bookmark 21/59

This game could have been nice. But after a couple of hours I just couldn't take it anymore and stopped...