VN - Ren'Py - Completed - Once in a Lifetime [v1.0] [Caribdis]

An awesome game with beautiful art, gripping plot, great characters, both main and side, an equally great MC as well as a nice touch of humour with gags that are gut-wrencing and aren't overly intrusive. 10/10, first game I've ever commented on and reviewed here. You won't regret playing this.

Truly the best in its bracket.

No other game, let alone an H-game has made me laugh as many times as this game did. While the game is filled with situational humour I never felt as though it was too much. To some this may be simply amusing, but I don't believe that one could get annoyed by them.

It isn't all laughs though. There are meaningful choices to be made and while a small minority may be obtuse, most do give you the expected result. A lot of the alternative choices are simply there to make you laugh. Some branch out the narrative (although it is mostly small things, the game is quite linear), which, in Caribdis's own words "wasn't stretched out" and it shows. You are given a complete package, a full story which is quite entertaining.

Any mistakes you make can be painlessly worked-around with either a load or a replay. There are no sections, awful minigames that would make that a chore, no. A big plus to those of us that want to play without a guide and minimise the pain of replaying a game.

In an industry filled with try-hard stories that have no ounce of humour in them this is a welcome breath of fresh air. The mechanics are simple and transparent. I found no technical, or graphical errors during my playthroughs.

If I were to nitpick, however, it would be perhaps that the story could have used a bit more seriousness. At times I felt that there were too many things happening for the sake of convenience, but never too much to truly take me out of it.
It could have also used some more variety of choice, where there isn't a clearly 'best' answer. This isn't to say that there aren't any impactful choices, no -there are a few that change the ending dramatically. There could have been more of that, though.

Once in a Lifetime is technically solid, narratively intriguing with plenty of eye candy to go around... With an unusual, shitpost-esque humour that makes it truly stand out as an original work.

With no hesitation this game is a 5/5 and one of the best VNs out there... and I've played quite a few. My only wish is that the author doesn't fall into the mould this title has shaped for him in his new project.

And it's over. What a ride it's been. Before the actual review of the game, I have to praise the developer.

Meaty periodic updates, fullstop. All developers can make promises , but it's another thing to deliver. But even when they do, quality like this is hard to come by.

Captivating backstory, beautiful characters, and hey! even the MC doesn't look like a prick, which is more than you can say for most games with this particular brand of assets.

As an adult game, the scenes and dialogue certainly hits the spot. Even though I usually dislike multiple routes and endings. This game is simple enough to let you know exactly what you're gunning for. Either a dark ending of your choice, harem, or solo girl that you like. Also, there's absolutely no lockouts of any girl unless you choose to drop her route.

Game is short though. Which is fine, given that most developers actually drag the story and extend update timings to earn more money. There's a decent amount of scenes in the gallery, not as extensive as some games, true. But a crisp story with a good ending almost always feels better.

What I would have liked is a bit more of the pregnancy content. There's snippets of it, and while that's hot as fuck. There isn't enough of it to scratch that itch if you're into it like me.

Lastly, developer mentioned that he will be making a new game, which is amazing news. If you're reading this review and feel like you want to start this game, or their next one AND is financially able to support them. I implore you to do so as they tick every box of a legitimate developer who makes great games and will go far.

v1.0
The Good
Great game, good story, ending was on point.

The Bad
The requirements for the harem end are a bit of a pain you need to get the correct potions alone with a bunch of other stuff.

In conclusion game is a solid 9/10
Stabby for president 2024

Play this game. I don't want to hear your excuses about not having time. Quit your job, divorce your wife, leave your kids at a random gas station, whatever you need to do. Play this game now. The story is intriguing, the characters are interesting, the sex is frothy and steaming, and the humor is top notch. Go make whatever poor life choices you need to in order to play this right now.

This is easily one of the best games that I've played in recent memory. Easily in my top 5 and I doubt it's gonna change anytime soon.

Also feels nice that the game actually had an ending that was decided by the player's actions.

Quality is top tier in every metric and I'm excited for what the developer will come up with in the future.

11/10

Masterpiece.

Sure, this game has many flaws here, there and over there. Plenty noted, already. But, overall it was very balanced and satisfying fun experience. thanks devs. Keep it up. I really mean it. 5/5

In the context of ostensibly one-person-show indie adult VNs, OIALT is a masterpiece, if only for one very specific reason:

In a slew of titles on this site using scope creep as a convenient excuse to become vehicles for milking patrons year-over-year, OIALT has accomplished exactly what it set out to: tell a compelling, sexy, and funny story with meaningful choices over 10 parts, with room to keep growing in the future.

With the successful conclusion of the main plot, it's become self-evident that not only was the project rigorously planned out start to finish from the very beginning, but - and more importantly - the developer had the discipline to stick with that plan without generating a million new and "wonderful" ideas in the interim of development, burning themselves out in the process and all but guaranteeing the kind of delays you can't go more than three clicks from this review without finding.

Exceedingly rare with this style of game or not, while this is all very dry and boring stuff, it's also hardly the game's only quality. Overall, this is the Goldilocks indie adult VN. Not too long nor too short. Not too horny nor too much story, only a little gory. No skipping entire in-game days to trigger the next event. No grinding. No absurd fridge logic. No crappy stock music (very good audio design overall actually, do NOT turn the sound/music off). Just a solid, fun ride through a guy and his (step-)family and friends' battle against evil.

No, the plot doesn't have the grandeur of Fate/stay night. No, you won't find the kind of character development Lessons in Love is working on. No, you won't find the (riveting, if you're into fishing) gameplay of Hero's Harem Guild. No, you (thankfully) won't find the same bottomless wellspring of dumb humor as in Four Elements Trainer. No, you won't find the same amount of lewd content as in Being A DIK.

But only one of those games is finished or even close, and none of them are fair comparisons, because in terms of a complete package, where you get a balance of everything without needing a week to find all 5 endings or 12 years A Slaveof development to wait for, I would really love to hear of anything comparable.

...And if this is what Caribdis is capable of, I can't wait to see what Scylla has in store *ba-dum tss*

This game is great. It's also very heavily reviewed. Most of those reviews also say it's great. Humor, lewdness, story blah blah. You don't need me to tell you it's great. Let me tell you why this game isn't bad.

There's a clear beginning, middle and end. A story is actually told. This is probably more of an indictment on games like this than anything. But it's remarkably rare and it's a trait the best games out there all have. The story is interesting enough to hold your attention. It won't change your life, and it thankfully doesn't want to. The scenes are great, they progress naturally and incredibly erotically. You could recommend this game to someone who is a JP VN purist and not feel bad. That puts it in the pantheon of western VNs. It deserves the spot.

That said, there's a few weak points. The beginning is rather amateurish, likely because it was written by a former amateur, and the ending is abrupt likely because the scope of this thing was too large to be anything else. There were a ton of different possible ways you could have ended the game. You can really feel how optional characters are when they're left out of important scenes for poorly defined reasons. It's excusable.

The one thing this game does that none of the other games do that it does not get nearly the praise it deserves for. That is the semi-sandbox modes. They do an excellent job of blending in mystery/puzzles that point you in the direction you need to go in order to get the "best" outcome. It's simple enough to do, but engaging enough to keep you on your toes. This is the real wheelhouse of this game. Where almost all sandboxes and sandbox games meander, this one tells you to sit down and pay attention.

If I were to deduct points for any reason for this game, the lack of a memories/cg collection/recollection room would be it. It's so frustratingly common, however, that I just can't bring myself to do it. I can only really ask nicely. (Edit: there is a gallery. It's weird to access. It should probably be less weird to access, but even having one just highlights how rare a game like this is).

In closing, you can tell the author dramatically improved over the course of doing this. The story at its peak is easily on par with any of the other western VNs you can find. It maybe understays it welcome a bit, but understandably so. This will likely be the game I recommend to people who firmly believe that there is no such thing as a good western VN. Over any of other games (yes, including the one you like the most). You have to be excited about the future of what these guys are going to make.

The best of these kinds of games I've ever played, hands down. Expertly written story, extremely sexy girls and many hot, replayable scenes. There isn't anything else I could ask for, really.
I will recommend this game in as many places as I can and I can't wait to see where it goes in the future.

I guess I am in the minority of people, who does not understand all the 5 star ratings of this game. In short, I think this game is average - enjoyable, but there are much better games out there. I don't really like the anime-like-models, they all look kinda the same, but that may be just subjective. The graphics is on the level of pioneering http erotic games of 2010th - right now it looks like a visual choice, like pixel art. The story is good, I like a bit of mystery, but again nothing special. The writing is also not bad, sometimes funny, but also not great. Each element in itself is not critical, there are some great games with worse graphics after all, but taking everything together makes this game just average.

Holy shit, this went completely under my radar. I went in expecting another honey select harem herder, but was pleasantly surprised. Main plot is interesting and keeps you engaged in the story. The game has creepy supernatural sections, light hearted and comical sections (that made me genuinely laugh, the author knows how to set up jokes without using too much words), hot and steamy sex scenes with plenty of build-up.. And the models look hot, each girl having a distinct personality and behaviour in sex scenes, if a bit look alike in body department (and sisters having very similar faces, though that is easily forgiven for obvious reason) the different view angles and sex positions are there, but not overdoing it with just porting honey select animations over and over. With some posed CGs interspersed in between, making each sex scene feel unique.

Anyway, I give this incest fetish 4 Kindread:The redburns out of 5 , the quality and variety of girls the 4 Waifu Academy out of 5 , and original honey select VN plot 5 out of 5

Caribdis, you are doing great, keep it up!

Truly an amazing game! The characters are great and differ from each other. They also feel relatable which adds a lot of structure to their personalities. The story is pretty solid and manages to stay interesting throughout the game. The in game choices add enough depth while not seeming overcomplicated. Overall just a good game and definitely worth a play through.

Yoooo, that was nice, that was great really, I like the characters and the plot keep me interested, I really enjoyed and now I just have to wait with high hopes for future upgrades and a finale, thanks for the game

This is the best Adult VN game ever made.

I've played the top 10 adult VN games (Being a DIK, Treasure of Nadia, Summertime Saga, Mythic Manor, Harem Hotel, etc etc etc) and this VN is by far the best one ive played

Plot: 10
Writing: 10
Animation: 9
Graphics: 10

Awesome visual novel game in which your choices matter and can be fine tuned to your own vision on who the character should be. Story and writing is excellent, and the art style is a breath of fresh air from the usual Ren'Py renders in which the same locations, and sometimes even characters, are used.

What a fucking masterpiece. It has one of the greatest and funniest dialogue ever in a story driven game. This game made me laughed and horny at the same time, nice. I don't know if I can ever forget the looks of Judy, Lauren, Carla, Aiko, Iris, Jasmine, Rebecca, oh them sweet cute faces uhh. Salute for you Caribdis, what a legend!

I love it!
Its the most funny game and has an really good story!
I love nearly every charakter and it has someting all the
other games dont have.

Based on the (as yet) unfinished v0.9

My usual disclaimers when writing reviews on here are that A. I am here for the "plot" not the plot and B. I am very picky with visual novels and think broadly they can be very subpar. So, take both of those into consideration for my review when thinking about this game.

Pros

• Top tier fap material – The porn in this game is absolutely stellar. The animations are sometimes minimal but do the job, the girls are all super hot. The writing, however, for the H-scenes is fucking great. There’s just the right amount of building and sexual tension followed by the writing in-scene being absolutely class. It also caters to a decent amount of non-vanilla kinks, which appeals to me a lot. If anything, I’d say I’d like them to be a bit longer, but in terms of fap material this is up there with the absolute best on the site.
• Rock solid atmosphere – The game at times tries to dip into territory that’s actually more reminiscent of a horror game than anything else, and when it does that it actually works surprisingly well. It’s obviously never going to compare with a proper horror game, but given that it’s basically a book with pictures, it could get surprisingly tense and spooky. Top marks there.
• Genuinely funny – Caribdis has a very clear sense of comedic timing which pays off in spades here. It’s one of the few games on this site to actually make me genuinely laugh out loud (by which I mean more than just smiling or blowing air out through my nose). It has a very dry, sarcastic tone which I really appreciated. Far too many games seem to feel they need to be super brash and crude to be funny, (e.g. the overdone trope of the female harem member who constantly insults everyone) so it’s nice to see something different there.
• Dialogue – Moment by moment character dialogue is (usually) very good and well-written. It’s coherent, makes sense and draws you into the scene.

Mehs

• Similarity of body types – Now I’m a big fan of tiny waists and big tits, so I’m never going to complain about that. However, I do think it’s a bit silly that you have 3 girls you interact with (Judie, Lauren and Iris) who basically have exactly the same proportions. Judie and Lauren are ostensibly ALMOST twins so there’s that, but then the best friend looks basically identical too except for her hair. They’re still hot, and actually unique in terms of character, so it’s just a “meh” rather than a “con”.
• Needs more roughness – Just a personal preference here, but at least at first the game is very vanilla, but it's only after you start seeing Jasmine more often that it gets kinkier and kinkier, so hopefully there will only be more of that as time goes on.
• Choices – Choices tend to be the very simple “be a good guy and get sex” or “don’t” stuff. Thus far there seems to be very little in the form of far-reaching consequences or decisions. This is normally a huge negative for visual novels where there is very blatantly no actual illusion of choice, but in OinaL it successfully masks the poor choices by having decent writing around it, so you can forgive it. Also the choices tend to be “be nice” or “be neutral” rather than “be the best guy in the world” or “be an absolute cockgoblin” (something which far too many VNs think is what constitutes “choice), so in that sense it actually makes a little more sense.
• Slow starter – This is something I’ll come back to in the review body.

Cons

• Terrible segues – While individual scenes of the game are great, it seems pretty clear to me that Caribdis basically is coming up with scenes on the fly. You’ll be sneaking through an abandoned hospital and being spooked by a monster one moment and then you leave it and you and your girls IMMEDIATELY go back to snarking at each other and flirting. Or you might spend one scene investigating a cult that is about to take over the world, being deathly serious, and then when you find the objective you then go “GEE NOW I’VE GOT TO WORRY ABOUT MY HOMEWORK TOO”. All this is to say that there is a serious tonal disconnect between big chunks of the game and even individual scenes which can be a bit jarring. For instance, having your girls all be joking around with you while their lives are literally under threat is a bit… Odd... This is something else I’ll come back to.
• Hypnotism of Tom – Man, I dunno, I think it’s worth it for the laughs, but as time has gone on I just feel bad for the dude…

Once in a Lifetime is a weird one for me. I remember finishing episode 9 and thinking “damn, this is probably one of the outright best games on F95. It’s an A-tier game (not quite S-tier) and has some of the hottest H-scenes around.” But upon revisiting I actually wasn’t having as good a time, which was odd. However, I think I might stand by both estimations and there seems to be a pretty good reason for it.

In the game’s intro Caribdis states that making OinaL was initially a hobby for him and judging by his Patreon this has now evolved into his full-time job. And I think that this shows in the game itself.

The early one or two chapters have some of the worst writing in the game. The characters are cliché and honestly a bit annoying. It’s also pretty boring and takes ages to warm up and get anywhere, both in terms of the plot and in terms of H-scenes. As an example, the game largely follows the protagonist investigating the existence of the Cult of Astaroth and the way this is introduced is by one of your sisters going. “Haha, you’re an idiot because you failed your exams. By the way have you heard of the rumours of the Cult of Astaroth that used to possibly exist in the town?” It was just really very silly.

It’s not until the beginning of the middle of the game, where the actual players of conspiracy has been revealed that it suddenly feels like it picks up. It also helps that this coincides with a rapid increase in the quantity of H-content, which as I’ve already said is some of the hottest around. Seriously, it’s largely pretty vanilla and yet seems made to suck my soul out through my dick.

It’s not just a case of more STUFF happening (although that definitely helps) it also feels like there is a surge in confidence and ability in the writing and style of the game. Even the animation steps up a notch, from a few frames per H-scene to now multiple positions and speeds.

I mentioned that the overarching plot and individual scenes of the game were a bit rubbish and this specifically doesn’t actually improve. However, while at first this seems like just jarring tonal shifts and bizarre lurches in dialogue, later on though the game and writing seems to lean deliberately into the absurdity, treating it as a comedy and this is 100% the right decision because suddenly it’s much easier to take the whole thing less seriously when it is also not taking itself terribly seriously.

Whether it is the tonal shift that saves the game or the addition of actual events, I think the key point is that Caribdis seems to settle into the groove of making the game. If the first couple of chapters are the shaky steps of a new-born deer, by chapter 5 he is bounding along gleefully and the game just absolutely sparkles.

Overall I think the game deserves a 4.5/5 on the F95 scale (rounded up to 5 because it’s on the higher end here) and I think there’s something for everyone here. The only real thing is that you have to basically force yourself to get through at least the first chapter or two in order to get to the good stuff.