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

Play it for the story. Dev knows how to build up characters so that you care about what happens to them. I didn't love the renders. Classical HS models. Still, scenes seem to flow in a believable pattern.

I look forward to this Dev's next project.

Review for 0.26.0

I downloaded this title with some pretty low expectations. A zombie/outbreak VN using Illusion models immediately gave this title two strikes against it. I certainly wasn't expecting to give it a 5* rating.

The story centers around a man (you can choose his name and surname) in his thirties who lives with his adopted daughter, Carol. Important, pre-pandemic backstory is explored via flashbacks throughout the entire story. Carol was adopted as a teenager, having been in the foster system for years. Hesitant to adopt her, the MC eventually caves after a friend of his late wife, Lori, keeps pushing him to think about it. Having adopted her, Carol has helped fill the hole in his heart, left by Lori's passing due to pancreatic cancer. He does everything to give Carol the life she deserved to have. Five years later, and a few months after a pandemic has crippled civilized living, the two of them have been holed up in their apartment with the MC doing regular patrols and supply runs.

On one of these runs, the MC comes upon a young woman being chased by the Infected. Rather than try to help her, he hides until the coast is clear. Later on, on another supply run, he comes across her corpse which immediately starts to weigh on his conscience. Whenever he tries to sleep or relax, he keeps seeing her. He struggles with Lori's passing and fear of Carol getting hurt or killed, blaming himself for the girl's death due to his inaction. Meanwhile, Carol stays in the apartment complex, occasionally scavenging rooms that the MC has cleared previously.

Carol has, during this time, begun to struggle with her feelings towards the MC. She has long toyed with the thought of being in a sexual relationship with him but has never acted on it, figuring once she graduated and went to college, she'd meet someone. However, with the pandemic, that option was no longer possible. One night, she sneaks into his room and pleasures him while he sleeps fitfully. She is eventually caught and hides in her room, ashamed and afraid she has ruined their relationship. Eventually, the two sit down and discuss things going forward. They agree to not care about old laws and taboos that are no longer relevant and choose to enter into a romantic relationship.

From this point on, the story really begins. The MC finds someone important to the both of them, they're forced to relocate a few times while coming across other survivors, both good and bad, while dealing with other dangers. I won't spoil anything after the first couple of hours.

I found the way the author chose to use real places and brands a nice change from most stories. like, they drink from Coca-cola cans, wear Calvin Kline underwear, etc. There are tons of references to real world bands, movies, music, etc. It beats the parody names many writers tend to use. And speaking of references, I was pleased to know most of them. I found it humorous how often the MCs jokes and quotes kinda go over the younger characters' heads. And the dad-jokes and bad puns the MC occasionally use are very endearing. Of course, the other characters have their own comedic moments, such as Carol taking off her shirt with an accompanying "BAM... boobies!" to lighten the tension a little.

Story-wise, I found this VN to just shine, despite the dark tone of the setting. Characters felt very human. They truly sound as though they care for one-another. Each of them also struggle in one form or another. The MC pushes himself too hard to ensure Carol's and other characters' safety while beating himself up over his failures at the expense of his mental well-being. Carol regularly battles her self-doubt. Other characters are dealing with the loss of loved ones, trust issues, deluding themselves about the reality of the situation, their feelings about killing in self defense, etc.

The writing is also very well done. The number of typos is minimal and the flow of the dialogue is great. Short and clipped single sentence replies are practically non-existent. This isn't a porn game. It's a story with pornographic scenes being part of it. I'd estimate a length of around twenty hours to complete it, not counting the sex scenes I skip through.

All characters, aside from the MC have three stats to keep track of. Love is a character's affection towards the MC and is affected by the MC's responses towards them when it comes to how he feels about them. Trust dictates how much they believe in him, which is affected by the MCs honesty and how he acts in dangerous situations. Nerve is how well the characters deal with what's going on and is affected by how much the MC tries to shield them from danger. Sugar-coating something to spare their feelings will decrease nerve while being upfront about something, such as finding the remains of someone they cared for will increase their nerve. Each of these affect dialogue and other scenes but you can always see current scores at a glance if you want to micromanage the stats.

All-in-all, I was greatly surprised at how much this VN held my attention. This is one of those titles that I will keep on my tablet for future playthroughs.

Solid game with a great branching story. Lots of decisions with consequences and a nice build-up. It was a good ride and it was cool to follow the characters on their journey.

Story 8.5
Writing 8.0
Models 7.5
Art 7.0
Characters 8.0

7.8

So, I get this is a little pointless as it's completed and obviously one of the best stories on this site. This is also the first 5 stars I think I've ever given anything here. It's actually kind of funny how simple giving an adult game/novel a well written story completely elevates it to more than just dumb smut. Legitimately, if you take out most of the sex to make it like R-Rated instead of X, your like, Mom that loves The Walking Dead and romance novels would like the story to this. And I can't stress enough how refreshing it is to just have something pleasant to read.

The story is simple, the TOTALLY NOT COVID virus outbreak makes people zombie-esque and the world ends. You, I wanna say take the role of, but sometimes it does feel a little 3rd person-y, MC, a single adoptive father to Carol. Just trying to survive. Long story short, your wife died, you didn't wanna date, your friend gets you to adopt Carol, she grows up and fond of you, the world ends and one drunk night you explore those feelings. That's a broad oversimplification, but I don't wanna spoil this too much.

For a while, you and Carol survive, holed up in your apartment until you find her best friend Naomi out on the streets and bring her home. Relieved, you three try to keep safe in the house until you forcefully have to relocate to their old high school where you eventually meet Sydney. She's an agoraphobic recluse hoping to wait out the pandemic or for her family. The school section is very drawn out and honestly the part of the story I find a little boring and too long. Essentially you're once again forced to relocate, and come across a group of women survivors that hate men, but find an old friend, Julie (my favorite, but oh well..), and Naomi's mom, Alice.

The reunion is cut short because they try to kill you, so you escape the city to find a wet dream for doomsday preppers that you learned about from Naomi's father. There you meet Hana, spoiled rich girl that didn't want you in the house, but you do eventually meet on common ground. Eventually, you explore the nearby town, hoping to live there instead due to tensions at the house with Hana. You meet McCreary, local sheriff and help with things in town to gain trust and such. Hoping to gain footholds for a new home.

So that is the VERY brief synopsis of characters and locations in the story. I will say there is very little I don't like about this, so I might come across as nit-picky. There's a part near the beginning where MC talks to his "inner dark self" that I find a little tacky, out of nowhere, and abruptly stops. I'm assuming it stops after MC finally has sex with Carol the first time. That shouldn't be a spoiler, there's LOTS of sex in this. And the woman that tries to kill the MC is Cassie, but then is later called Carrie. I think it's a typo because Hana's sister was named Carrie, so I think it was just a mistake of similar names. But who knows, it was a little confusing. Also, you got the year right, Dev, but the best car ever was the '69 Z28 Camaro I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL SO HELP ME.

I do wanna say just how refreshing it was to read a story that wasn't stiff, in broken english, or have the same boring plot as 80% of the "games" here. There's double contractions and just very human dialogue. Instead of "Hello. How are you?" it's more "Hey, how're ya doin'?" You know? Like how actual people talk to you? And out of the whole story I think I could count the typos on my hands (and maybe my toes...) For having 20k+ lines that's impeccable. And if I'm speculating right and a possible "next" project if it is in universe It'd obviously be about Gregg, which would be interesting, but I also would love to see what else you could cook up, Dev.

I also don't know if I like or am embarrassed that I understood most, if not all, of the references the MC made. Or some of the more esoteric nods in the story that I don't know if they were nod or my brain was reaching for something. And I'll be honest, there were a LOT of parallels to story beats in the walking dead, but done in a way that transforms it enough to be original. On top of creating characters that I ACTUALLY GAVE A CRAP ABOUT. It's novel, I know. Yeah the personalities are a little porn-plotty, meaning a little too accepting, and they use the harem word which is usually a bit concerning. But it was used in a believable context and the story situations help explain stuff away.

So, Dev, thank you for setting the bar impossibly high for the other shovelware on this site. This one's gonna stay on the hard drive, most definitely.

Review of 0.26.0
By far some of the most well fleshed out characters I have seen yet.
The unique story telling is great and got me really attached to the characters.

Apart from a few odd inconsistencies in the rendering the graphics are great and nothing seems either missing or superfluous.

The endings are good but I think the game would definitely benefit from a true harem ending.

This is as close to a masterpiece as we can get.
Overall excellent.

This is a very well written story with huge character development and witty dialog. The pacing is pretty good with a few suspenseful events that kept me immersed. It has tons of H scenes which are part of the story and not just thrown in as an after thought. The MC is a good person trying to survive in a world gone sideways and not a sex maniac douche that is only interested in getting in the pants of every girl he sees. It is most definitely worth a play through.

Yes, It is Honey Select. I only mention this because I guess other folks are sensitive to this rendering style. I don't mind it at all or think it takes anything at all away from the enjoyment of the VN.
If HS is too much for you to handle then I would suggest moving on, but it is your loss.

[v0.26.0]

Now & Then was bittersweet. Initially I skipped it due to a certain tag (not to yuck someone's yum) but I am glad that I decided to give it a shot.
I thought the set-up and premise was interesting, but going to be a throw away excuse as nothing more than the reason for MC to bang his (adopted) daughter. How wrong I was.
The post-apocalyptic setting, compelling character narratives, witty dialogue, and gripping overarching suspense all meshed to make a standout experience that delved into some deeper and nuanced topics which; I enjoyed from start to finish

H-scenes
While the animations and statics are simple, due to being HS. There's a certain charm to them.

The "worst" complaint you will find is the fact it is HS, so there's a bit of jank here and there. Nothing outlandishly immersion breaking. A bit too dark in a few places/scenes.

Mostly vanilla in terms of kink variety; though a few choices early on will set a flag for either:
Incest-play (roleplay in a much later scene)
Schoolgirl-play (roleplay in a earlier setting)
Anal (option comes up with a few characters, even if you don't pick it)

Outside of those few it is mainly some threesomes, lesbian action, or different positions

In conclusion: A genuinely beautiful journey from start to finish, and I have a feeling of saudade now that it's over. As the saying goes: You know you've experienced a good story when you read the last line and feel a little as if you have lost a friend

There is a good, lengthy story here framed in a "zombie" apocalypse setting. But the real hero here is the character writing – from the MC with his dumb dad-humor to the ladies with their own desires and issues.

Also noteworthy is the unlockables for successive playthroughs and the reactivity of the events. There are some bugs – references to things you didn't choose - but overall it is laudable to even try to make reactivity to this degree.

Everything is not perfect, the HS graphics are dated and the lighting is in some parts way too dramatic. However the desire the characters show for each other make the sex scenes hotter than they look.

There are dramatic moments and the tease of real reprecussions, but in the end it is an easy-going experience. However, this was fine by me. The end was earned and felt great.

Will be re-playing this again and again over the years thanks to the new scenes. However, being a hugely long game, you won't be restarting immediately.

This was a game where I can say that it was a nice ride.
I will keep this simple and sweet, the game is about zombies and the girls you encounter. Keep this in mind that you may need a walkthrough over which girls get which scenes. Either way, the models are great with the story supporting the characters and settings,

I highly recommend this! Also to ease your worries, this game can be harem or solo up to your choice.

Version 0.26.0

Excellent game, with emphasis on story. Writing is top notch and many of your choices will reflect in dialogue much further in the story. Only minor complaints are the inconsistent lighting (this is particularly bad with characters' hair color), numerous but relatively forgettable sex scenes (sometimes with poor looping or arm popping), and a chapter or two I felt didn't line up with the rest of the story. Regardless, fully recommend to anybody curious.

Reviewing V0.26.0

Short Version: Excellent game under almost every aspect(for a VN of course), glad to played it, will surely replay it in the future ^_^



The Good

- The Story is simple and it works, no convoluted plot-lines that create holes in the story itself, some may say it's a bit of cliché but again it just...works, why adding random stuff when the main point of the story is telling...a story...that makes sense XD? I won't spoil it but it's cliché but it works(and i'm repeating myself XDXD)

- The Graphic is good, i've nothing to say about it, i enjoy it(RIP Sydney's hairstyle in the epilogue, her first hairstyle was better than what she has in the ending XDXD)

- Consider this an addendum to the story-point: The dialogues just work, i mean if you have a good story the dialogues tend to make sense and viceversa, i just wanted to mention the dialogues

- Related to the story(more or less directly) i like how the developer used flashbacks here, which is something impressive because it's rare that i compliment a story or a movie (or anything with flashbacks) for their flashbacks XD

- There are romances and i'm very fond of them and i'm glad we don't have tons of romances, it would have prolonged the game and ruined it.

The Annoying

- (Nitpicking) The ending...well there are tons of sex-scenes which are enjoyable but at the same time the bad way of unexpected but yes i would have loved like one or two sex-scenes but i hoped that the epilogue would have focused a bit more on the life of the characters now that they've settled down, maybe with a 10years time-skip...let me phrase it in another way: i wished we got some "described and narrated" version of "and they lived happily ever after" you know something about the life of the characters after several years of peace

- (Nitpicky) the sound of the orgasms...it's ear-piercing, you can tell me to just mute the sound and i did...and i discovered that while i hate that "Kiiiiiaauhuh" it's also a necessary evil because without it the scene doesn't feel completed XD

The Bad

- Nothing really...Maybe the fact that you must replay the game a second time because the first run unlocks extra scenes...which if you're a "one-run only" kind of person can be annoying...but at the same time if you plan to replay the game in the future(like i will) is also a good thing because you get a "surprise"

Conclusion

Oh boy, this one felt like a journey! i'm going to miss waiting for the releases of this game, i'm going to miss Carol and MC(and the other characters too but Carol and MC the most u.u). It's one nice experience, despite the drama(which i usually dislike) of zombies and bandits, this one is being one of my favourite and relaxing VN so far, weird how i felt at peace...in a story about ambushes of zombies and raiders even during the moment of stress(in the game). I applaud Kinderfeld for his work, seriously thank you for your hard work, congratulations for completing it, i'm eager to explore your next project(if you have one) and i wish you well ^_^ Thanks T_T <3

A wonderful game the story grabs you and never lets go until the end. i hope the dev comes back to this world down the road maybe 10 to 18 years in the future. To see how the cast is doing and how the world is rebuilding.

Sad it's over. Best game on this platform. Loved it entirely.
Developer had regular updates with a good length.
Great balance of story and lewd scenes with cliff hangers every episode.
Can't wait to see what comes next.

Phenomenal story, characters, sex scenes, character growth, and ending to a great game. Some of you might be put off by the outdated honeyselect style graphics after being spoiled by many of the amazing Daz renders some other games have and with new honeyselect assets recently but let me assure you the story will pull you in and you will be unable to notice and will come to appreciate the charm.

Boring cliche with ugly renders, from light to camera angles.
Tried to force myself to play the entire game but theres no way I keep after about chapter 12, I simply dont enjoy this VN

Story: 5/10
Dialogues: 4/10
Characters: 4/10
Graphics: 2/10
Animation: 5/10

very compelling story with lots of detail into the character backgrounds of basically everyone involved... sometimes I do wish that the game would give some harder choices (pick either A or B at the expense of the other) to give some tension, but I love the game overall 5/5

Good story, good visuals, and zombies... I mean the afterworld is always better with zombies and cannibals. Really enjoyed the decisions actually affecting storylines and also Julie's abs. Top 10 game for me.

It's a good one. Renders look good, story is solid (few typo's here and there, but eh), the animations are good, not just a few frames on loop like some ren'py games, the characters are fleshed out and interesting for the most part. It's a solid game, if it catches your interest give it a shot. Interested to see where it goes.

A slow start-up that leads to an engrossing narrative. the setting is typical but the plot stayed very interesting. the route choices that felt most natural to me typically seemed like the only real choice in a given scenario, but even seemingly-natural decisions often led to plot twists.

occasional short-comings with a scene's graphical look were a hilarious distraction, but the general use of facial expressions etc. felt pretty good for the visual medium. even the music helped convey the harsh and somber reality of the story.

discovering each new personal relationship felt very organic, even with the genre-typical use of semen-as-panacea. the efficient use of the "Now/Then" flashback sequences give well-nuanced insight to the characters and situation deeper without slowing the action.

this is real adult gaming: sex portrayed as part of life, in abundance.

I'm gonna keep this short, otherwise this would be a huge wall of text that would need me to fill 3 whole posts. Additionally, people grade this game differently. So I will tell you what I go for and why I like it.

#1: The narrative!
The inspirations this story draws on is unmistakable and is some very good source material. I have the utmost respect for the writer's choices and couldn't have done it better myself. I love the focus on the psychological aspects of a post-apoc society and it's effects on the human mind and cohesion.
#2: The plot!
I just commented the story right? True. But the overarching plot of this is something we all can relate would be important to cover in a crisis. Physiological, safety, belonging and love needs are the main themes here. Food, water and good health; shelter from the elements and dangers; the sense of belonging, being a part of a small or large group and the feelings of acceptance, respect and love as well as intimacy that we derive from them. Maslow would be proud. Perfect execution!
#3: The characters!
I don't care for the models, I don't care for the graphics. The characters are what make this game the diamond it is. The amount of time, research and development that went into making the characters is absolutely insane. Period! And the bonding that is done with them is amazing. Mad skills!
#4: The setting!
The scenes couldn't be depicting this story, the characters and the narrative any better. It's not a thriller, but it isn't a light hearted and easy take on survival either. The creator is really good at inducing the feeling of hopelessness and danger, which is greatly contrasted by the love the characters share with each other.
#5: The skill!
This creator, yes creator, not just developer, made something unique with the limited assets he had from the HS studio and the mod base. I generally disliked HS games because they felt like a rip-off, but this title made me give such games another chance. That, and the fact that the characters are charming and absolutely amazing for HS models. Kudos!

#Verdict: TL;DR: AMAZING GAME WITH AMAZING CHARACTERS AND A GREAT PLOT!