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

Review of v1.00.0

It's hard for me to review Now & Then. This is a game which makes me feel more emotions than some of the best movies. My heart breaks a little each time I finish it, simply for the knowledge that it's over.

Ultimately it's down to the fantastic writing. Not just the plot, which is gripping (despite pacing issues), but the way the characters talk, think and act all feel so natural. The character development is amazing, and the sprinkling of nostalgic pre-pandemic "Then" memories interspersed with the "Now" makes it all the more noticeable and satisfying. The overall vibe is the same better-than-real feeling I get from the best films.

The game isn't perfect. Kinderfeld does a good job with their cinematography, but nevertheless the low-poly graphics do take a bit away, especially from the character models and sex scenes. The soundtrack is actually really good, but poorly mixed, with some tracks orders of magnitude louder than others. And the sex sounds are silly, though due to my emotional connection with the characters I still find them decently hot. Except when the mc tells stupid jokes during them, but I think the quantity may have been reduced in this final version, because I remember it being more of an issue.

I have more minor gripes with the game, but they don't really matter. The fact is, Now & Then gripped my heart like a vice from the start of my first playthrough, and has never truly let go. I have played games that are hotter, have better graphics and have a better story, but nothing that makes me feel as strongly as this.

This game is a solid 5/5 stars for everyone who is prepared to forgive an AVN a few weak points so long as it makes up for them with it strengths. Despite said weak points I think this is one of the best AVNs ever due to a gripping plot and numerous excellent sex scenes (with great boob physics).

The MC is a widower who is raising an adopted daughter. When civilization breaks down due to an epidemic that resembles a zombie apocalypse, MC and his adult daughter try to survive in their little apartment in the city. The two become a couple, which turns into a mini-harem when the daughter's best friend joins them.

After a while, the situation in the city becomes unbearable and the three embark on a long and dangerous trek looking for a safe rural area suitable for long-term survival. Along the way they pick up more women for the MC's harem. They finally reach a billionaire's prepper villa, where the harem grows further.

Some plot points don't make sense, asking us to suspend disbelief on details where it really shouldn't be necessary. For example, in the real world it would be impossible for a single man (even a widower) to adopt a girl, and adoptions of children don't just happen without a trial period.

One of the women has a little son. This makes a lot of sense in terms of the narrative, but the illustrator clearly struggled with the challenge of depicting a small child.

The end is nice but feels a little weak.

• Most of "then" flashbacks are straight up boring slice-of-life padding.
• A lot of choices seem artificial and superfluous. Most often than not they don't represent roleplay or players preference, but are rather arbitrary and exist solely to give an impression of player's agency (like turn Right/Left or Rush/Take your time, etc.). Often outcomes of these are not obvious or don't make sense. A lot of braindead choices that lead to immediate gameovers.
• Lots of exposition, too much dare I say.
• Everything is "overwritten" like the unholy amount of small talk or that everyone explains past events in detail 10 times over.
• For how long the VN is it has a really modest soundtrack. There is only like 5 compositions and they get old really fast.
• MC feels like a lawnmower boomer with his constant "let's drop the formalities and get to the fucking". He also preemptively mentions like 10 times that he wouldn't judge girl's sexuality (in case they are lesbian), which if it isn't woke then I don't know what is.
• Sydney is a dick connoisseur with an "anchor" up her womb and a butt tattoo, but she also has a social anxiety?? How do these traits co-exist together?
• The side plot line of militaristic female camp that secretly kills off men ends where it starts.

I was already disengaged an hour into the novel and the only things that kept me in are the sex scenes (which are well-made but overly verbose thoughbeit) and curiosity of how this harem situation going to unwind. And I'm not impressed. For an erotic game, especially set in an apocalyptic scenario it lacks passion. Characters are very reserved and aren't willing to to be intimate unless they are secluded. There are lots of sex scenes but they are basically all the same. In a harem VN where you can "collect" up to 6 women (which I did) I haven't seen a single threesome. Not to say there aren't any but you'd probably have to use a walkthrough to get them. And that is also another downside - the need for a WT. Because most of the time there IS the best choice. Majority are tied to character progression variables and you as a player are often not certain whether you will get negative or positive points for certain actions. Sometimes pressing the matter when you're questioning somebody is a good idea, other times not so much. The endings are..... ok? Again lacking in romance and passion, or like any imagination for that matter. Quite boring like most of the novel was.

The story felt amazing for the first 1/2 or 2/3 of the game, and even very well written. But it all went downhill from there and continued on until the end in what felt like a complete slop...

My biggest gripe about the game is that the MC is forced into a sexual relationship with his adopted daughter, Carol. And by forced, I mean that you don't get a choice or say in the matter nor any way to avoid or skip it, which is pretty disappointing if you as a player feel no attraction to her at all. I would be more understanding if this were just a kinetic novel and we were merely along for the ride...

It isn't until several hours into the game that you can finally start skipping or avoiding her scenes, but then you're still stuck in this awkward relationship with her that you had no choice of in the first place. It isn't even until near the very end of the game that you can finally be given the choice for the MC to only love her as a daughter. And by then, it feels way too late.

Though there are so many choices that actually affect things, including your main love interest at the end, your actual control of events outside of choosing if you want to have sex with someone or not is next to none.

Illusion of choice... You're mostly just along for the ride. And no, you didn't call shotgun and you're probably not even in a seat. You're crammed into the trunk of the car on one hell of a bumpy road.

Now & Then....

I want to say this game deserves all the 5-star ratings, I really do... but it just doesn't. Not by a long-shot.

To start with, the graphics are really dated. They are your average HS1 graphics, and compared to HS2, barely acceptable nowadays (This isn't a place to gawk at the ladies in 4K). Still, you could find worse Daz Studio games, so there's that.

But the story - which is the supposed strength of this game - is lacking in so many areas, it quite literally caused me to start skipping through the game past the increasingly tedious middle point.

The characters repeat themselves far too many times, and the writer frustratingly endlessly reused the same exact sentences for the exact same situations. It honestly felt like time rewinded whenever that part of the dialogue was happening, because the MC and all other characters kept repeating themselves ad nauseam.

I started this game off by taking my time to read all of the dialogue, but eventually it became too mind-numbing to keep wasting time reading the exact same sentences over & over again, so I felt forced to give up and enable the "skip unread" text option, just so that the plot can move.

And while it moved ahead, I never felt like I missed a grand revelation or event. Instead, I was glad that I was still skipping, because MC literally started banging all the women introduced into the plot. Far more than I expected for such a "serious" apocalyptic story. Turned into a right harem romp instead of a survival scenario.

Frankly, I am just so frustrated how the game loses focus throughout the middle part, and it never recovers. It quite literally killed my drive to play the game properly, so if there was some deep emotional pay off for sticking through it - I wouldn't say it is worth it at all.

I... my frustration is making my hands shake. I can't keep typing anymore. This is it for my review....

A 10/10 game recommendation to those who want a great story to enjoy that thrilling, great suspense, and romantic interest where it builds off the story through each individual experiences.

Gameplay : Most choices do matter to a certain degree, and affects the ending, which will all turn out good, but just minor differences (how scenes play out). I highly recommend checking out the MOD which highlights the proper choices to get the best ending with most scenes, but you can just use the stats that is in-game *Should come in game or from the mod*.

Story : *SPOILER* This world that the MC lives in is taking place during a "zombie" apocalypse. I emphasized zombie because in the story, the MC didn't like describing the situation as zombies, but just people infect. He lives with his adopted daughter in an apartment in a city somewhere in North Carolina. While scavenging for food, certain events lead to another, as well as his relationship with his adopted daughter. But meanwhile, miracles happen when he reunites with old friends and find new ones, that soon also turn romantic as time passes on. Each character has a different dynamic with the MC, and the connection can be felt between all individuals. Some healing from their past traumas mixed with new ones, while others dealing with much loss that they can't get over until the MC appears in their lives. He embarks on a journey to get out of the city, as each day resources become scare and dangerous around every corner increases.

Visuals : Pretty good visuals that you can tell there was much skill and time put into the game. Lighting was great, many sound effects, and details that you can tell going into the game. Each character looked different (except enemies or infected), so it wasn't just a copy and paste. The physics of the scenes were great, body parts move and even jiggle (IYK, YK).

Scenes : Scenes are pretty great, with a lot of animations. When I mean a lot, I mean like every single scene is an animation. You can see each body part moving, like in real life. Obviously, there are even close ups that can be selected as well, for those who are into that I guess. The only thing I would change is the voice effects, they are repetitive since its the same exact voice line for all characters, but I can't complain.

Customer Support : N/A

Overall, a great game that is worth the try, and the story + its content lasts easily for days. It wasn't boring, instead keeping you in suspense of wanting more. I could honestly see myself reading this as a book, even it without being a VN. The endings are great, scenes are amazing. I couldn't have asked for more.

One of the best games of this type, has a good story, good characters, several endings, something that could be improved are the decisions, such as being able to save the 3 girls who die in the game, or that there is an option to let the bandit of chapter 25 live.

For being so hard to find on Itch.io this is one of the best VN's I've tried. If you like protagonists that think and do things intelligently then this is a game for you.

A post collapse society makes for an interesting setting, and the story progresses nicely throughout the game. Part 2 did drag on a little but it picks up soon enough. The music is good but more variety would have been nice.

Good visuals, good characters, and great writing. Give it a try!

This is a Masterpiece .....
Its one of the best VN can anyone find.
And probably the best dystopia VN you can play.
I admit that i had it on standby for a while now and i haven't played it until few days ago because i didn't like the visuals at first , but later i when i started playing the game they grown on me very fast and in the end i liked them.
The strongest point of the VN though is the story and the characters.
I liked the MC and i loved Carol (Main LI).
Moreover there are 5 more possibly LI and i liked the fact that there where all optional and you could refuse them
(furthermore you can also refuse a Li to become bi and have lesbian scenes with another LI)
The ending is also Very satisfying and i believe the VN had a great ending with multiple possible flavors of the ending (depends which li you choose) although the main location of the ending stays the same but the MC and LI relationships changes depending what you choose during the game.
In conclude If someday i found this game in steam im gonna buy it for sure because the creator deserves the support for this gem.
I truly enjoyed it a lot.

I'll hopefully return to both this game and review, but for now I'll just leave it at three stars. Minor (largely obvious?) spoilers ahead.

The game has a pretty slow opening, but it didn't feel too bad. Essentially it's a story that takes place in the apocalypse, so the first "Part" so to speak (of which there are three I think?) is jam pack full of filler trying to do some small world building as well as throwing in PLENTY of flashbacks (almost too many as it gets frustrating at times).

The way the story works as well is that it's pretty streamlined for the sake of letting different events occur. An example of this is that
Later on your daughter's best friend gets found by the MC and you save her which leads to more slow development. I was still decently engaged at this point since I believed that the high ratings for this game meant that all the world and character building was going somewhere, but it ultimately started to drag instead of feeling beneficial. Something that really upset me was The entire execution of this part just felt completely out of place and pissed me off, and of course it was because that's the only way the author could think of to "progress the plot" instead of like... I don't know, having some sort of more logical character building.

Overall, the animations are pretty decent if that's the main think you're looking for, but it takes a while for any to really pop up. Once they do start though, they don't stop. Due to the nature of their execution it almost was getting annoying at times as well and I'd find myself skipping past them because they felt way too forced.

If you're on the fence and read this far, maybe check out a few positive reviews to see what people liked about this, but just beware that it's definitely a slow burner. I'm somewhat hopeful for it, but I just don't have it in me to continue for now.

I can only applaud this story. I am here to fapping myself. Like everyone else. But... but... then there are stories like this. When I come across stories like this, the erotic content becomes a finger up my ass because it slows me down in the story. There are stories that knock you over emotionally. This is one of them and now that I've learned what I like... I'm looking for stories like this. There's a gallery and you can unlock it. So there's no particular problem in seeing the erotic content. But the story.... I'm reading it line by line. I'm not interested in getting to the next erotic scene. I want to know what happens next. Really good game.

It's just that good. I love everything about this game. It's long, with good plot and characters. And porn is very good. Highly recommended.
Dev is very good, too - we have constant updates with consistent quality.

Now and Then is a wonderfully made Visual Novel. The game excels in storytelling, the experience of raising and protecting the two main heroines are especially remarkable. The character designs are nice, I personally prefer these models, and soundtrack was well chosen and enhances the atmosphere the story creates, nothing seems or feels out of place here. Now and Then is an exceptional journey, a must-play for fans of narrative-driven games.

Looked hella promising during COVID (Chapter 10 at the time if i remember) and i'm not desappointed !

Got emotionaly involved with most characters, rarely and the want to keep ready for several hours just to know what will happen next.
Definitly one of the story that I won't forget

Spoilers for first couple of hours below.

An ambitious story of how a zombie apocalypse forces characters to embrace the day - and others - while they still can. The build-up to the main character entering into a romantic and sexual relationship with his adopted daughter Carol is spectacularly paced and utterly thrilling. His dilemma is masterfully explored through inner monologue; caught between fatherly affection and growing sexual attraction, it's the uncertainty of what the next day will bring that eventually forces him to act on his desires.

Following this excellent intro, other characters enter the orbit of the MC and Carol, including people they believed dead and people they hadn't met before. What develops - should the player wish it - is a harem situation that, for once, feels entirely appropriate. Not only are circumstances the driving force for characters to embrace the idea of enjoying what they can while they can; but the MC is usually competent, wise, and composed. It's easy to see why the women in the game would be attracted to him. The female characters are well written, all with discernible personality and believable dilemmas and motivations.

The game's writing is technically excellent in general: there are basically no typos or grammatical errors while dialogue and conversations read exceptionally natural.

Unfortunately the story meanders a bit too much during its long middle period - between the intro with Carol and the final few chapters - the narrative unable to maintain momentum. That's not to say there aren't many interesting developments and tense scenes throughout, though, and by the end the journey is worth it.

Now and Then is a long game, I'd estimate around 20-25 hours, and if you make the right decisions there's a lot of sex. Scenes are generally good and sufficiently lengthy, though almost all are MxF and vanilla in flavor. Even relatively mild fetishes like anal are rare, and anything involving more than two participants is confined to endings. Things are shaken up a little by a woman the MC meets later in the game, but by and large scenes follow a similar pattern with samey dialogue and repetitive voice samples - though, granted, it can't be easy to write this many sex scene and retain sanity, never mind make them all unique.

The Honey Select 1 graphics look somewhat dated but female characters are attractive, with a range of breast sizes and pubic hair. Thank you, ILSProductions, for full bush Carol.

Wrote more than I intended. I like this game a lot. It's great. Play it.

Top notch: actual branches that affect the endings, that's rarified air. The visuals, pace music and UI are all on point.

Nothing much else, just had to leave this review to recommend a great game and look forward to next one.

Version 1.00.0

It’s a long story with a somewhat satisfying ending that has its ups and downs throughout.

Story
The story is straight forward enough, survival in a post pandemic world with infected “zombies”. However unlike most other post apocalyptic games, N&T focuses more on individuals sharing their daily lives in a confined setting rather than any actual zombie actions which are few and far between.

The format is more reminiscent of Dairy of Anne Frank rather than Resident Evil. The plus point is it allows more time for character development, but consequently makes the story quite stale after a while as we are just looking at a repetitive sequence of patrol, eat, fuck and sleep routine day after day.

The tempo degrades significantly during the middle to late portions of the game as nothing of consequence happens. At the last arc before the finale, the MC is just walking around the house fucking 1-3 LIs randomly on a daily basis.

Game Mechanics
Standard VN with choices. The game has a very well-defined LI point system and the points actually do make a difference to the day to day dialogue, sex scenes availability and ultimately the ending.

The only thing to note is there is no true harem ending available, if you choose to max out points for every LI it will just default to the Carol ending with others as FWBs.

Background / Character Renders

N&T graphics and animations were built with HS1 and the age shows in 2024. However, credit must be given that the developers pushed HS1 to the limits so the end product is still passable.

The general ambience and color tone of the game is mostly dim and sunset yellowish. This occasionally causes distortions in shading and some of the characters look unsightly at certain angles.

Background is very limited as most of the action takes place within the confined spaces the characters are living in.

Character Development
N&T’s strongest suite given the nature of the story. Players will be living through the lives of a small troupe of characters daily and reading their daily banter in great detail. However, the two main LIs’s (Carol & Noami) character development plateaued by midpoint of the game and after that it was just repetitive sex scenes.

On the other hand secondary LIs like Hana, Sydney and Julie were far more interesting and varied. This could be due to time devoted to them being less which gives the impression that the MC makes more meaningful relationship progress with them compared to Carol and Naomi.

Sex Scenes
There are many of them for each LI, so if you are into quantity this is definitely a plus. However all the scenes are tame and consist of plain vanilla sex. It’s also very procedural and gives the impression of a cut and paste job.

Having said that, the level of detail and animation is as good as HS1 goes. All of the scenes feature multiple animations, different camera angles and different positions.

The dialogue is sterile and unpassionate porn like, so the sex scenes run counter to the main story which focuses a lot on relationship development. The use of the same Jap porn moaning sound clip for every scene is also a sore thumb when you hear it for the 200th time.

This can get very boring after a while and if you’ve read previous reviews, many players have also commented that they fast forwarded the sex scenes just to get on with the story. Totally understandable.

BGM and Sound Effects
The BGM track list is short and given how long the game is, you will be hearing that standard daily life track all the time until you can memorize them in your sleep. Sound effects are only gunshots and human falling i.e. bare minimal.

Conclusion
The developer’s take on a post-apocalyptic zombie focusing more on mundane daily interactions is new and refreshing. However the story doesn’t have enough content to justify its length which results in extended mundane moments where nothing happens except going from one sex scene to another.

The two main LIs Carol and Naomi are already stale at the second half of the game once they’ve sorted out their relationship with MC. Thankfully the other LIs that appear at the latter half keep the momentum going and shit stirring Hana (love or hate her) at least injects some drama towards the end and helps players grind through the final 1/3 of the game.

The writing/dialogue is cringy, the graphics are cartoonish (I can't get immersed or interested in them) and the game has a slow and boring pace to start. Overall the game seems weird and I don't like the hypocritical MC. It's the end of the world and they are obsessed with condoms and inhibitions. Even worse is the hypocritical propaganda/brainwashing from the dev...it waffles between woke, feminist and perverted. Ugh.

Overall - 9/10 - Must play if zombie surival genre enjoyer
TWD season 1 - Nails it thematically - Us against the worlds feeling, wanting to protect the girls throughout
Tons of dialogue - gives you plentiful information about characters, who, what, when ,why
Character depth is very good
Encapsulates themes super well - camera work + sound + character depth -> incredibly intense moments
A lot of Hscenes Some scenes + dialogue are tricky to get have to play around options and their feelings sheet - or use a guide
Story - 9/10
Think of TWD season 1 - Vibes of lee and clem. This game encapsulates that lonely, realistic feeling with intense moments.
Zombie apocalypse setting - Step father + daughter combo fending against zombies + bandits + survival needs.
Characters all have their own personalities with problems stemming from the apocalyptic nature.
Not an original story type, this concept is overplayed - however they hit the mark with this.
Renders - 9/10
Models look good
Animations - 7.5/10
Quite simple animations, nothing special but it's good enough
A lot of Hscenes - A LOT Sound - 8/10
BGM is basic - does the job well, but timing on the scenes are very good. Creates tension + suspense in tough moments and peace other times.
Same moans though game
Playbility - 9.5/10
CHOICES MATTER - So many options -> leads to stats -> will affect future options Super long play through
Characters are cool + immersive - you will get the feeling to protect these girls
Many Hscenes

Excellent shit. Really got to care about the characters. Wouldn't have minded a few group scenes but plenty of hot sex and not too stupid post apocalyptic planning. God help them find enough tissues for cleaning up afterwards though