VN - Ren'Py - Completed - Now & Then [v1.00.0] [ILSProductions]

Review of game to v0.09.0

Now & Then is a visual novel, and that's a great thing because the storytelling is top-notch. I'm not going to write a book but will rate this according to Sex, Graphics and Story.

Sex - the sex is wholesome, romantic sex - it's clear that things might become more complex in the future but the sex here serves the story, which brings us to...

Graphics - the graphics take a back-seat to the story and this VN doesn't use a graphics engine known for being photorealistic, so look at the screenshots to determine if you can live with the graphics. If you can, you'll be rewarded with...

Story/storytelling - the story doesn't break new thematic ground - living in a near-future post-pandemic world - but the magic is the way that it's told. The story is paced well, is internally consistent and progresses in an easily followed, normal way - none of the bizarre motivations and actions that no human would ever have in the real world that we see in so many games and VNs. The dialog is written the way that people think and speak - it's normal, conversational language that conveys emotions and touches you inside. Emotions such as fear, love and anger feel like they're your thoughts and that's what makes this VN so immersive.

TL;DR - it's involving and touching - a must-play if you like good storytelling.

If there's one place I'd look for caress on the soul as last, it's a zombie apocalypse. And yet, such a wonderful story full of touching moments. Where other games create spectacular (absurd) constructs of stellar careers, in this game we can enjoy the little things of everyday life at full, thanks to the plot chosen by the developer.

Thank you, the developer, for this simple but flawless gemstone.



Although the graphics are simpler, the depth of the narrative and characters allows for deep immersion with the characters, experiencing their happy and less happy moments at full. The atmosphere is perfectly complemented by music.

I recommend with all my heart to everybody who builds their experience of the game on the story and its characters.

said I would sober up for this review, sorry [mwah mwah]
Dev is a kingred spirit, so it's ez to love this.
Pro's : everything if you're in the mood to invest time in a well-written VN
It is pretty wordy & that's not always what I'm after, It's a mood thing
I'm not a doomsday prepper, but I did spend a long time in the mechanized infantry. I see nothing stupid about the MC's choices.
Short note about the 1911, it was used to great effect during Banzai charges
when the Japanases were high on morphine. Only pistol with the stopping power. Think bullet that hits like a baseball bat.
Cons the Artificial Girl models from Illusion. They're so dated it makes me think the game was started 10 years ago & is about 30% now. makes me scared about the pace of development. Could be just that the dev has shit-tons of stuff from the modders at hongfire, Upgrading to Honey Select at least would be better visually.
I seriously enjoyed all the animated scenes. in particular, Carol running across the hall.
Best get to writing ILSproductions & thanks


Full disclosure: I'm high too

(edit) OK been almost a year since my review. I've been donating a buck a month since then and am not disappointed. The few times I reached out to contact directly on Patreon were met with prompt, non-generic replies.
Case in point, the decision to use the dated Illusion models was simply because the glut of pre made scenery that any starting dev would embrace. (especially since the location changes were planned out long ago)
I've not played since Ch 17, I've fanboyed myself into hating titles doing that, so with the release of 20, I'm ready to dive back in.
I also nominated the dev forF95 best dev last year. I think he took 3rd place.
That's a great feature that F95 provides Looking forward to this year's. (/edit)

Now & then feels like a visual novel where the creator knows their capabilities, and has carefully calculated where to push their boundaries and where to play it safe.

The graphics are... fine. Good, even. It feels like an older engine used well. The graphics support and develop the story without ever feeling like they're holding it back.

The plot and setting are serviceable as well. It's not groundbreaking, but it doesn't need to be. The main page description tells you almost everything you need to know, and that's not a bad thing.

The interface is Ren'Py. It's serviceable and comfortable; you've probably used it before, and I suspect most will be fine with using it again. The developer hasn't tried to do anything overly clever that failed.

Where this visual novel really shines is in the writing. The pacing, the development and reveal, the use of flashbacks, the sense of emotion. It's definitely an adult VN and the sex scenes are quite explicit (and have emotional connection and context which is a plus for me), but with some tweaking this could be quite an excellent young-adult novel. The characters are engaging, interact in believable ways, have distinct personalities, and are supported by laudable strengths and understandable flaws.

This is, first and foremost, a story. There are other things, including some explicit and quite enjoyable sex scenes, but the core experience is a solid tale well told.

This game is proof you don't need top notch graphics if the storytelling and character development are on point. The use of flashbacks to fill in backstory for the characters lends history to their personalities and relationships, making them feel just that much more authentic. Great writing for the storyline and dialogue between characters as well. Rock solid game, one of my personal favorites.

-You can actually play the game for the actual plot only and skip all the sex scenes and it'd still be brilliant!
-The renders and interface are very stylish and relatively original.
-The dialog and narration are very well written, even poetic at some points, I'm guessing the dev is a native speaker, which is not very common around these kind of games.

A really nice game that tugs your heartstrings at times while keeping the spicy parts alongside a horror story is a very much welcome approach. Although the story is very linear (mind you the writing is really well done! Gotta love the references too), the choices does somewhat leave an impact on the later parts of the story which adds to the experience of playing a suspense game.

Finishing the current game build makes me anticipate so much what happens after the current turn of events. (and probablysome surprises here and there.)

The writing is superb. Characters are beleivable and the story is captivating. The biggest con for me is the model choice. It could be so much better with another daughter model (but that's just my personal tastes). Still waiting if MC would meet Alice and could bang her. Plus I'm not a fan of bushes. Like at all. And his daughter despite her age has one of the biggest bushes I've seen in games. Really it's just HUGE. Big turn off for me. So that's why 4 stars. But will be following this one waiting for hot mom and for the girl to shave and have nose surgery. Wich is a bit difficult in post-apoc I know.

i don't often post a review.
but dayumn !the writing is top notch (imo) and would even be great without the adult material ( not spoiling anything).
keep up the good work !!
the use of Honey Select works and the models are used at well the most potential for HS.
think if this dev would ever get a good graps of daz etc it would deffo be top 20 material ( again imo )

If you like a good story with romance and hot sex then you are in for a treat
I tried it hoping for the best and it was a really nice surprise
I'm not an expert but judging for what I have seen on this site the renders are on par/better than the vast majority of the games I played
I don't like these kind of models that much but imo the dev did a good job with these characters
I love the fact that your relationship with the main LI is not driven by an inexplicable and sudden sex drive that makes the Mc irresistible to all the females on planet earth.
We can see the mc and the girl(s) building this relationship through a series of flashback first learning to trust each other and enjoying their time together and then starting to realize their mutual feelings might be changing into something else.
The sex come from a place of love and trust and that's good stuff if you ask me.
I also find the teasing and fucking scenes really nice and well done and that's another plus
You still got the usual tropes of this kind of game but I don't find them annoying(horsedick mc comes to mind) cause I feel the story can still keep things together nicely.
The general theme of the game is dark but you got also some funny dialogue/situation.
It's vn with some choices but if I remember correctly most of them will have consequences in an unforeseen future. There's a good amount of content and you can definitely have some fun-time with it
Finally looks like the dev is a Slayer's fan and that alone seal the deal for me
Give it a try folks it

[v0.08.0]

The writing is generally pretty good. There are decently captivating moments. Dev does a good job making you care for the little girls. There is a pretty organic feel to their relationship and how it develops. All in all, the writing is definitely above average for this site.

I didn't look extensively under the hood, but the walktrhough alludes to many dialogue variations based on the girls stats. I thought the Nerve stat was pretty novel.

The "now and then" storytelling is done quite well. Providing flashbacks at opportune moments to flesh out the characters and backstory.

I personally would have liked more focus and thought put into the horror and survival aspects. There is very little tension and suspense during the scenes. Some attention to the lighting, camera work, music, and lighting during the zombie parts could have gone a long way in making things much more suspenseful, raising the stakes. The survival aspects are bit off too. Expiration dates on perishables don't quite match up with how much time has passed since the outbreak. Looting should have been rampant where almost everything is cleaned out, but all the stores seem to have things to scavenge. The threat of zombies and gangs are not emphasized enough, written to seem more like a nuisance than a life threatening entity.

Still, I played it through in 2 sittings and had a pretty good time with it.

Love this game! Carol is adorable, the story is catching, and even with few LI it's almost impossible to not like them. It's rare to find a good post apocalyptic game and that's one of them (better yet it's about zombies).
This is a story I can't wait to see the completion of. I hope to make some babies with Carol soon!

[Reviewed v0.08.0]

One of the best games currently in development.

The setting / circumstances has been done before but the specific spin this game puts on it is well done. The characters are well-formed and the story itself is gripping. Enough horror / action to keep your attention between the story progression and h-scenes.

The developer does the best he can with the Honey Select models and the female characters are all attractive in realistic ways. The animations are also well-done in that overly-gyrating Honey Select way. MC seems like a good action-movie star -- knows what to do in every situation but things play out in believable ways. You feel the stakes.

Excited to see where Part 2 goes.

First and foremost the story that is told is amazing enough that even it had the h-scenes removed it has me hooked. Everything from the pacing to the world building is done very well and I have zero complaints. This game is easily one of my favorite games to have played.

Updates have been steady and the developer is great at communicating with the people on this site.

This game is what a game should be striving for. The Dev puts thought into the dialog, and choices make a difference for what dialog you get. The graphics are excellent for this game and the story telling is original and easily relatable. On top of that the Dev does about a chapter a month and is a good 30 minute play time per chapter. Code is tight, and rarely needs rework or patches.

ILS Productions is a great dev group and I hope they continue to do this kind of work into the future as I will definitely be following them going forward.

(I didn't catch up with the last updates and I'm not sure what update I'm actually at so some things I say might not be relevant anymore)

Love the setup and the characters. Even tho I wish the MC was a little darker at times. Not pervert kind of dark but like desperate, and that he would get over it when he realizes how happy he's to be with Carol and how in love he's. That would be so cute.....(re-reading this, what I may actually want is actually more romance I think or a more convincing one)

Renders are good enough to not be a turn off nor to make the setup look ridiculous.
-contains few spoilers-
I enjoy the plot. it was getting a little boring when MC & Carol began to have sex and then the timelapse.
But it got interesting again when MC found Naomi. It made things move, differents emotions/problematics etc.
Carol is my favourite tho don't get me wrong I'd never trade her.

Anyway, try this game out, I'm sure you'll like it !

Very well written storyline. I like how it drags you in like a novel really should not having to deal with 30 choices and 30 women all at the same time barely being able to keep up with it all. Sometimes has you sitting on the edge waiting to to if something bad is going to happen because you become connected to the characters. Not all sex all the time but enough to keep it believable in the storyline and plot. Love the characters and the renders and animations aren't too bad, will definitely be looking forward to the updates.

I've been following this game for a few releases now and I think it's time to write a review.

PROS

- Amazing Honey Select renders. I've used HS myself quite a bit and have played many other HS games too and I can safely say the dev has done an amazing job with getting his renders looking of this quality. The characters and environment look great and the dev has done a great job with showing the post-apocalyptic environment.

- Fantastic characters. We haven't met a lot of characters yet (which makes sense since a lot of people are dead), but the characters we have met are fleshed out well and I assume will continue to be as the story progresses. The MC is written well and has the traits I like in an MC, especially for a post-apocalyptic setting. Smart, Leader, Caring, Resourceful, etc. Carol who is my favourite LI has a great personality, design, dialogue, etc. So the characters are very well done.

- Well written dialogue. The dialogue for this game flows and immerses you in the story. It's coherent and makes sense as well as balancing a lot of key elements. Post-apocalyptic survival, romance, intimacy, interactions, daily life. I also judge dialogue based on whether I think what the character said aligns with their personality and I can say that the dialogue in the game does. All the characters have a unique voice and personality which perfectly correspond with what they say.

- The overall story is great. It is very interesting and appealing. It balances all the elements involved in the game perfectly and is seriously engaging. The premise behind the game is interesting and so far all the scenes in the game have been fun to read. I have high hopes going forward with what is to happen and I think the story will only get better from here.

- Great choices. You don't really make many choices in the game, but the ones you do make, matter. I like that the choices we have to make carry weight and aren't purely pointless. I also like how you're not forced to be with other girls, but can choose based on your choices who you end up with which was something I wasn't sure would happen.

CONS
- There are a few minor things I think can be improved but I wouldn't consider them enough to be a con so I don't have any cons for the game.

OVERALL GRADING
Story 5/5
Characters 5/5
Graphics 5/5
Dialogue 5/5
Overall 5/5

Cliche boring zombie story.
Girl has no personality, pretty much an empty sex doll with a small talk.
Main character is a creep with no redeemable qualities except every woman finds him sexy for no reason, since hes also a bland self insert. We know nothing about him, except hes a typical westen "progressive" simpleton and had lost a wife(which is only there so this adoption premise isn't even more creepy and unrealistic).
Lives in a city full of bandits and looters, doesn't even bother to board his windows, stands around on a balcony every day like a retard and lets everyone in the mile radius know that hes living there for months, by openly burning light out of his windows every night. Doesn't bother to secure his apartment in any way for MONTHS. Goes to look for supplies with a tiny girly backpack. Has a gun and ammo, doesn't bother to shoot a couple of times to save a girl from certain death because hes such a coward, but isn't afraid of riding in a muscle car around the city or run around looking for a
bra.
Sex is typical incel fantasy where every girl wants his dick(big dick naturally) for no reason.
Renders are below average.

Captivating storytelling, beautiful characters, nice music, good dialogues.
Great usage of Honey-Select, great atmosphere, great H-scenes.
Absolutely well-made game.
Highly recommended.