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

Excellent adult visual novel set in a zombie/pandemic world where society is breaking down and people are adapting, some just trying to get by, some becoming bandits, etc. I skipped this one for a while because it looked depressing, but really it's well done, worth trying, and isn't relentlessly bleak.

Relationships have excellent development and make good use of flashbacks to fill in history with a sense of nostalgia. Writing, characters, and conversations are great. The world is a bit limited in what stories can be told, so a lot of interactions are built on top of daily chores, survival, and some danger. Still it kept me engaged the whole time.

The art is not particularly unique, but it's good enough. Sex scenes usually have good animations although can be a bit off sometimes. The scenes usually have great buildup and interactions which significantly improve them.

There's a lot of text so this really is more of an adult novel than a porn game.

I really liked the story, it flowed really well and made logical scenes for the most part, I also really liked the character development. However that being said the ambient sound effects in some areas could use some work, such as the rooftop of Glenn Davies the second time you go up there, the bird sound effect loop is really noticeable and happens every 2.5ish seconds. Other then that a few of the animations also have noticeable loops and sudden cutoff's, if you were to change the cut off to be a bit smoother as well as the looping it would make the scenes far better. There already brilliant but that would improve them substantially, another thing, I noticed an occastional mistake in wording such as adding an extra word. For example writing "then then" (I did encouter this early on, between chapter 4 and 6 I think but I could be wrong) , I understand it's an easy mistake to make, just suggesting to look out for it a bit more during proof reading or playtesting. Other then that everything else is really good, thanks for the great game. Looking forward to it's final release.

This game is one of few I've found that have fantastic writing, and good sex scenes. The protagonist is smart, he isn't an asshole, and he isn't a wimp. The girls have dazzling personalities to go with their raw sex appeal. The dialogue is witty. Sexual acts without emotion are empty, and this game evokes emotion brilliantly.

Good stuff I actually didn't hit skip from start to finish wow. The characters look amazing, sure your choices don't really impact too much (there is definitely a level of linearity) but at the same time, the way little choices actually affect the story was actually surprised me since they usually took place further down in the story line but really its neat stuff.

Dammit I love this game.

I'm not much for flashbacks normally and back and forth in a story but I just love Carol and Jack and their relationship that I can't seem to get enough of it.

It is a game that requires patience to be sure. Jack is a bit of a thinker, but it builds a relationship between the cast that pays off so much.

Inside gallery you will also find a christmas and halloween, they do a great showcase of Jack's fathering style

I cannot recommend it enough, on my 3rd playthrough in 4 days, just sitting and reading this brilliant story.

Took a look at this when it was discussed on the discord of another game.
One play through impression of version 0.13.0

Short Version: 5 stars, mostly due to the writing and characters.

Detail
This is an AVN with emphasis on the N.
Linear, no sandboxing. You're in an IN-PROGRESS-apocalyptic world with strong romance and story elements. Branching is very light although there are a few choices that have some effect in later scenes and dialogues.

The adult portion is widower/young woman relationship building into harem (technically late adopted daughter in one case, but that didn't feel so much like a father-daughter thing, more just scene setting up front than anything.)

This is slice of life during the zombie apocalypse. You see what the characters do every day and what they encounter every step along the way, down to cold showers and doing laundry. You watch and occasionally direct them in their activities and decisions (some of which haunt them), but you are often along for the ride rather than directing the action.

The Good
- Story 5.0
The story is really good, there are a few things that are a bit contrived, and some things are a touch obvious. Humor is a present but not overwhelming. Various references show up, but are not a focus. The story is the focus. Interesting take on the 'zombies'


- The Characters 4.5
The main characters are relatable and well written, and reasonably realistic all things considered. The bandits are pure bad. The infected seem to last longer than I would expect. There's also a bit of the usual shallow parental unit stereotyping in play, but that's arguably in part from the 'teen perspective' .

The Meh
- Rendering (4.0)
The rendering has some odd moments (washed out white skin at times, odd elongations). These are noticeable when they happen but don't distract from the story.

- The THEN of "Now and Then"
1/2-2/3 of the way through the playthrough I found myself starting to skim the 'Then' cutscenes. At first they added a lot of needed background, but in later chapters i found myself much more interested in the progression of the main story than memories of the past and was anxious to get past them.

The Bad
Nothing about this qualifies as 'bad'

Overall
5.0, a very enjoyable AVN with a solid story and good writing. If you like your AVNs story rich and with plenty of content, you'll want to check this one out.

Review of version 0.13

This is probably my favourite VN storywise. This is not only a zombie postapocaliptic story, IMO the infection per se is secondary here, it gives me a lot of vibes from The Road.

This is centered in the survival part itself, the decay, how characters always try to avoid engaging in dangerous situations, the difficult to trust other people or to settle in a permanent location. No trigger-happy characters or zombies slaughtered all the time, it's really focused in people and how they struggle with apocalypse.

If you like a good survivalist story this is a must, even the adult part is greatly done, slow paced and totally coherent.

Not a fan of HS models but once you get used to them you find what a great game this is, and animations are really nice.

5 stars for you

About the reviewer:
I’m playing or have played over 130 games. Roughly 30 of which have been completed. I generally don’t play games early in their development but I watch for new games and if their reviews are compelling from players whose opinion’s I respect I will play them early. Even if I don’t use a walkthrough, I’ll often skim it to get a better sense of the structure of the game to determine it I think I’ll enjoy playing it.

The Review: NowAnd Then
Version: 13
Time played: Played through multiple updates but roughly 8 hours
Current progress: End of current content
Mods: ZoeyRaven walkthrough (not always followed)
Cheats used: None
Walkthrough(s) used: Both walkthrough on the OP (used as reference not always followed)
Bugginess: - Clean game no exceptions encountered very smooth play
Observations:
This a solid piece of work. Well written and reasonably well plotted. Quality renders and an organic growth to physical intimacy between the characters. The MC and his adopted daughter already have developed a close emotionally intimate relationship so part of the flow is watching catastrophic events bend that to a physical relationship as well. The addition of Naomi and Sydney is handled in a (given the circumstances) believable and equally organic fashion.

Flaws:
In any “survival” plot the writers must balance introducing potential threats with the actions of the protagonist to address those threats. Both in dealing with the bandits and the infected the MC fails to make reasonable defensive preparations that would occur to almost any thinking person. A simple example would be to channel any intruders into traps and kill zones. Throughout the game (to date), while he does barricade various access points, he fails to think of handling intruders in any way other than confrontation with weapons. He also fails to take adequate steps to identify potential threats. Consider his failure to track down the smoker at first detection.

However, while annoying, these are relatively minor flaws in an otherwise well written and entertaining game.

Summary:
A high quality well written game by a developer that has demonstrated consistent releases over a reasonable period of time. Well worth downloading and playing.
So a 4.5+ star effort with the potential to hit 5 stars if the plot tightens up a bit.

What a fantastic game and story! So well written, and so engaging. I became completely absorbed into the story, and with the characters. The story seemed really professional, and totally believable. I loved the girls, and the struggles of the MC. The erotic parts were very good, with animations.

One of the best WEGs I've played, by a long shot. The characters are believable, lifelike, and interesting. I appreciate that none of them do anything really dumb and that their characterizations are consistent. I also like that the cast is so small, it really gives time for all of the characters to develop. The relationships between them are also satisfying. The models aren't anything groundbreaking, but they're still really good. The writing is really, really good, in my opinion. Even by non-WEG standards.

Honestly, one of the best games out there, just in terms of story. The renders, for HS, are pretty good and don't distract from the setting and style of the game. Which, frankly, is a genuine concern here. But this game does a fantastic job of making use of the tools available and giving a solid, interesting story of survival in the apocalypse.

The characters are interesting and engaging, and so far the writer hasn't relied on the trope so common in zombie apocalypse scenarios: characters who do dumb shit for no reason. It's good to see the MC and other characters behaving in a smart, realistic manner (for the most part). I don't always agree with the priorities shown, but they do make sense in context.

Definitely worth your time, especially if you like the genre.

[Based on ver 0.12.0]

So this have been in development a few months short of a year and it already has more content then some games that have been out for years. I'm not saying it has tons and tons of content but there are multiple sex scenes.

The setting and characters have been done before but at least the way the dev's approaches this content doesn't make it boring. I don't need twitch based combat in a porn game. just give me story choices and consequences and sex and i am happy. And don't give me some stupid mini game either or grindy survival mechanics. This dev doesn't do any of it. I get a story, choices, consequences and no grind, no mini games and no half assed combat systems added to the game that take away from enjoying a porn game.

The cast of characters is limited to 3 plus the MC in the NOW portion of the game and multiple characters in the THEN portion of the game. The two characters in the "NOW" part of the game are fuckable (well at least 2 are now and the third will be I think ) and there are two character in the "THEN" portion of the game that you fuck through memories and fantasies. The fewer characters means the game is allowed to develop said characters and doesn't feel like you barely get to know anyone because you are jumping to the 23rd character now.

The game has animated sex scenes and most sex scenes are not rushed but some lack a variety of angles. Most have a decent amount of sex to the scene. The games has promise and I look forward to playing it again after a couple of updates.

I played a lot of the games from this site, and Now & Then is one of my absolute favourites. Like in top 3.
You got excellent storytelling
You got beautiful girls
You got hot scenes
ZOMBIES
and very nice music (which is often overlooked)

Serious Walking Dead vibes. The models may not be everyone's cup of tea but the animations, writing and facial expressions make one of the most realistic games out there.

One of my favorite games so far.

*v. 0.11.0 review*

Excellent game. Now this is the sort of developer I'm happy to get behind on membership platforms such as Patreon. Rarely do I encounter games of length on this site that can make me play through all in one sitting (Ch. 1-11). I've always been a sucker for zombie apocalypse stories so Now & Then drew me in as soon as I discovered it. This is one of those gems which I play through purely for the story and character development, and much less about the H-scenes. Fantastic writing and pacing combined with highly fleshed out characters really brings what is supposed to be a pretty standard zombie survival story to life. The well thought out dialogues between characters feels natural without any unnecessary exposition, and I'm especially impressed with the way the developer is able to constantly switch between characters to tell the story from different perspectives, providing us further insight into their personalities and psychological states. The way with which the developer is able to smoothly ease the traumatized Naomi into the tight-knitted pandemic lives of MC and Carol, to make her not feel like a simple third wheel - pointless character, has so far been for me the highlight. With introduction of new characters comes new challenges in the writing, so I highly look forward to seeing how Sydney will add to the dynamic of the story. Thank you Dev

Story: 10/10
Dialogues: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Graphics: 8/10
Animation: 7/10

Fairly decently executed father creeping on his daughter game. There's a lame plot that serves mostly to render the daughter powerless and give her no options but to fuck her father, setting up the "implication." If you're into this fetish you're going to appreciate the writer trying his best to create emotional content between the pair. 2/5 stars

And of course the teenage daughter and her friends are the first ones to come onto the father, so you feel no guilt. Attractive but no longer technically advanced art and minor interactivity, no bullshit VN. +1 star

I really enjoyed the unusual kinetic plot. The story keeps a good balance between the postapocalyptic scenario and the relationships with his girls. The graphic could become better, but I am looking forward to play more updates. I´m giving anyway 5 of 5 stars for this very nice game.

This is the only game I've played on this site that's managed to make a father daughter relationship not seem creepy, predatory or just completely unbelievable for that alone it deserves 5/5 and then on top of it they address the gravity of incest/inseki relationships instead of just casually breezing through it. Feels like there is actual love~

The characters are well made they act a lot more like human beings than most games which is just great and seem to actually have flaws??? crazy stuff. The characters mesh well as a group and it was overall pretty easy for me to get invested.


I guess the biggest flaws in the game could be that the choices don't appear to do anything and that it's slow and very romance/relationship based instead of just big ol' sexy sexy times which some people probably don't enjoy
(I do it's sick)

Review v0.10.0

This game is very good, that is it.

I'm kidding, so, this game has a nice art style and shows a side of HN that I had not seen, really top notch quality there, the story is also pretty good and I like how the relationships developed this is one of the few situations where I'll not be requesting a polyamorous relationship for two reasons, one I think the dev would give us a choice if the time when one of the girls starts liking each other or someone else came, and second there are very few characters so it makes sense, I really hope I'm right about the choice thing, and I understand if the dev wants to make this the "male" fantasy thing, but I still hope for choice.

I've liked this game very much so far, and it is refreashing having an adult Mc and I also liked how the choices were implemented, most likelly because it goes close to what I think in real life, yeah that is it I guess, I like the relationships, the graphics and the story so far.

took away 1 star because I can't take away half, just one comment "I hope is the only one" when talking to Naomi about his dick, it goes against a previous choice "you are a grown woman" that implied that the Mc wasn't gonna be hypocritical, I would call it a slip-up since the game andresses it immediately but it did turn me off the entire scene because I tend to overthink stuff.

I don't know ... Lots of boring text and a couple of equally boring sex scenes. I mean ordinary zombies, banal bandits, banal survival, boring characters. Sex scenes take place according to one simple scenario: undress, kiss (optional blowjob), have sex. Standard characters from HS, standard sex animations.
Where can I find something attractive in this game?