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

I had a really fun time with this game. I played it on and off for several months and often lost track of what was going on, but I still managed to enjoy it.

Initially I thought this game was plot focused with a sprinkling of lewd, but I felt it shifted as it went on. It was 3 hours until the first sex scene, but later in the game you're getting lewd scenes probably every 20-30 minutes. It may be because there were too many characters developing at once early on which dragged progression. By mid-game, it's as if their romantic scenes are popping off back to back at the same time.

At the very beginning of the game it mentions that any bad choices could "divert you from the path." I didn't take this warning too seriously as I did not realize it would completely lock you out of routes without warning and assumed I could easily go back to change my decisions if I wanted. However, at one point when I checked up on my status with the characters, I noticed one said "path lost". I didn't even know what decision I made that caused that to happen or when it did, there was no in-game communication. By the time I realized, I couldn't go back far enough so I started all over from the beginning to change some choices so I recommend saving often or at least checking on your path statuses regularly. At another point much later in the game, I reached a bad ending and it booted me to the title screen. If I didn't have backup saves, I would've lost hours of progress.

I thought raising your relationship status with certain characters would cause others to go down or that making certain decisions would lead to a different type of outcome rather than no outcome at all. The choices in this game are almost multiple choice tests where there is a definite right answer, and I'm not talking about the literal multiple choice tests where if you pass you impress them with your big brain and raise your relationship status. So I recommend trying to satisfy everyone and going for the obvious compliments, at least in the early game.

The relationship with the mom character seems the most forced or cheaply written. She already has feelings for you and all it takes is convincing her to be more open and honest. There was very little persuasion or relationship building necessary. The same could probably be said for all characters honestly, but for a member of your immediate family, she almost felt like a minor background character.

I forgot this as I was playing, but at the very beginning of the game, you're given the option of whether you want pregnancy to be a feature in the game or not. I chose no, so it made all the sex scenes seem harmless. Creampies with no consequence. If pregnancy were enabled, I'm not sure to what extent it would impact the story or character relationships, or if it's purely a difference in physical appearance.

When finally nearing the end and reflecting back on my playthrough, I thought this game succeeded in gradually building relationships so that story moments felt earned and satisfying. I think there are multiple endings and I like to believe I got a happy one. A touching, open-ended conclusion. Unsure what the future holds for these characters, but they don't know either. They're happy and don't care, so long as they have each other.

Mike gets my vote.

Not a great game, but at least original and funny.

An Amazing h game with tons of pop culture refferces and great story with funny and interesting diagolue. The h scenes are well aniamated and easy to unlock, there is a gallery to rewatch scenes. The chracters are all unique and likeable in there own ways and have differt arc types. Deffiently download and play this and support the creator if you can

My First review game on F95zone
Overall is was a decent story plot for me , the reason I'm holding back 1 star out of 5/5 was of the Ending part , didn't go as well as I was expected , I looking forward for the scene with Carla (step-mom) but it didn't show much at the ending. And the sex screen in the game comparatively is much lesser but great quality indeed. Personally , i would say that the game is Overhyped or overrated in some cases , nevertheless it still a fun ride through the game . Hoping their next game will be greater. Cheers

One of the best narrative driven games I've played on here. The characters were great and the modeling work is top tier. The only negative i can give is that once you have played this one, it makes others pale in comparison. Seriously, give this one a shot

Humorous story but there was almost no music or sound during the first quarter of the game. Would also recommend walkthrough mod (For Phones put it in \Internal storage\Android\data\ com.caribdis.oialt\files\game)

Overall? Really, really great.

OiaLt is the kind of game that will mostly make you smile and give some deeper thoughts, here and there, to some subjects. Although I think there's some lack in character development and how the build-up of certain situations wasn't done so well... even though - in my point of view - we also have a serious lack of soundtrack (what we have is good and well placed; but I, personally, would love to have more)... Caribdis managed to deliver a game with a not so simple yet wonderful story. One that evokes interest, attention and admiration.

Animation-wise, not the most top notch you can find out there, but it's damn good and well done! Designs are great.

Now, I can't help myself but to make a bridge here, between this game and Cari's next one: Eternum.

My good friends, here in this game you will witness some pretty good screenplay gimmicks/story devices, tons of hilarious references... But it's in Eternum that this man... reaches another league. There you will witness the rise of what I believe to be one of Cari's most powerful abilities: create insanely fantastic immersions.
Your mind... will fucking blow when you play that masterpiece.

But hey! If you're here reading this and you've never really played any of Cari's games, start with OiaLt. Please do it! It's very unlikely you won't enjoy your time in it.

If you are expecting nice sound choice, a compelling storyline, and artwork of the utmost quality. I highly recommend this game.

Comedy
Decent story, decent art, and very comedic comedy. 8/10. Would recommend.
The models were a bit weirdly drawn. The eye colour made them look like demonic hell spawns but the characters had good stories. I didn't feel bored through the gameplay but i do wish the story was a little bit more realistic to the character. It felt like the world revolved around as everyone seemed to agree with him.
But anyway, great gameplay. Not like typical daz3d vn's. gg

So this is the ... 4th (?) game I bought on Icht.io. It's the first one I really enjoyed, first one I completed, first game that led me to getting a second game from the same creator, etc.

Just Loved this game. Thanks Caribdis!

(also very much enjoying Eternum)

I played this a while ago when it was finished, but I just remembered again how good of a game it was.
Remember the name stabby mike? Yeah, I still remember when he told the president to get down.
What a lad!

Honestly out of all the VNs I've ever played, this has been the only one I've bothered to write a review for.

So, the story was wild, there was a few twists, while also not taking itself too serious, ive laughed so much during this game,

Spoilers:
This game must be played with music!, the musical choices enhanced this game so much.

My only real complaint is the ending felt abrupt but other than that i loved every second of this, In the end this game truly is Once in a Lifetime.

ALSO

Easily one of the best H-games I've ever played. When I started playing this (not sure if it was v0.1 or v0.2, but it was super early) I had no clue I'd be in for something this great. Hell, I even managed to get attached to all of these characters; something I never expected to happen.

Thanks for making this game, Caribdis. I'm definitely on-board for Eternum, and whatever extra content you've got coming our way.

It is a really good game with a pretty cool story. I laughed so hard so many times. I just want to see more game as funny as this one. Even though sometimes there are part of the clothes that clip through the limbs of the characters, the animation is weel done.

Oh wow, what a journey. I enjoyed the game, the story is solid (albeit a bit fast paced). I laughed a lot (some of the jokes really hit the spot for me, I couldn't stop laughing for couple of minutes). And Stabby Mike is now my favorite male character in all the VNs I ever played.
Character art might feel a bit odd but you quickly get used to it. There are no good-looking males though, even MC is hideous. But that just adds to the comedy portion of the game which is a big plus for me.
Easy 5 outta 5, this is one of the games I'm gonna remember for a long time.

Just finish it today, love this game, definitely should give it a try:
*Pros:
- Interesting plot, good plot, there are a few twist here and there, not too impressive, but not too boring or predictable either, the humor is also good, may or maynot your type of humor though.
-Girls are pretty, they have personality, they wont just suddenly love and jump on ur d*ck right at the start, keep an eye on the "Paths" section tho, as it really easy to pick a wrong option and get cancel out of a girl path forever.
- Animation scene are good, it not gonna be as good as some newer games like Ripple for example, but it is good, animation decently long, there are different camera view and position . A few first animation wont be like that , they're short w/o angle change, but it just a few scene at the start.
*Cons:
- It quite short, some girls have too few scene, some have quite many, story are a bit short, feels like there are many ways to extend it with more activity/path. There are some weird/unfinish/unsolve minor plot, like the monster u encounter in places that may or may not still alive and gonna haunted ppl around,certain girl that u meet at certain town that should affect the plot somehow but just completely vanish at 1 point,etc.
-Graphics : scenery/texture not that bad, but nothing to write poem about either, dont compare it to newer games like Eternum,Ripple, etc, it gonna mostly be the same as older games like Harem hotel.

Damn, what a game!

Let's begin by its strongest point, in my opinion:

The plot is really well-thought, funny, very intriguing, interesting & out of the ordinary.
I really loved the comic of opposition, and was very taken throughout the story.
Stabby Mike is an awesome wing man/secondary character.

There's a lot of content & many beautiful places to discover too.

The girls are sexy & endearing & the scenes are hot. I think we all dream a little to be in the place of this kind of hero very well surrounded .


Hats off to Caribdis for this amazing game !!

I just finished this only a few minutes ago, and fucking hell.
Of course, spoilers ahead in the review.


I don't even know where to start. All the characters were well down and lovable. Even besides the girls, there was Fat (later Fit) Jack, post-amnesia Tom, and my personal favourites in the whole game: Asmodeus and Stabby Mike.
The comedy was so good.
That whole gang scene with Stabby Mike in the prison had me laughing like a maniac, legit tears in my eyes during that.
Speaking of tears in the eyes...I won't lie, I also had tears in my eyes when we had to kill Asmodeus. Never would have imagined a porn game would make me cry but here we are.
The only criticism I have was that the ending felt a bit sudden, but fuck, I don't even care at this point.
Such a solid game overall.

Welp I just fully replayed this gem after a full one year break, and I gots to say, definitely deserving of top rated. I always liked Once in… ever since my first play through, but if you laugh at the same jokes and enjoy the story just as much on the second, that’s when you know you hit the jackpot.

It accomplishes something I think a lot of visual novels forget, story and relationship progression. MC ain’t boning chicks right off bat, you go through developing the relationship with each heroine, and it’s really fulfilling to reach the end goal. As for the story itself, it’s well written. It’s never forgotten, but at the same time, it’s not overshadowing the casual dating sim aspect. It forms a good balance of romcom and action/adventure, so you won’t ever get too much/ too little of one or the other.

Now, onto my personal favorite aspects: The jokes are funny. Simple as that, the jokes genuinely made me laugh, chuckle, or at least snicker. The dialogue between characters already flows really well, and the jokes make it much more natural and enjoyable. A lot of Mike’s scenes were my top laughs especially during the Prison and killing/arresting the Pedo mayor. Definitely an easy way to make me like an character. As for the countless references to games and other media, they were a really good way at reinforcing the setting/character and was just a great way of making things somewhat relatable even in a porn game. The sex scenes were definitely top notch, and I really dig the 3d but not trying to imitate real life 3d, if you know what I mean. Just makes each of the character look much more appealing aside from MC in the early chpts (I almost skipping out on this game cuz the preview images made the MC look so weird). But Caribdis definitely improved the models overtime, and by the end, even MC looked sharp and polished.

Uhh, I guess I’ll leave one negative note before ending my review. I don’t got much to say honestly cuz it was really good VN by all accounts. My only complaint is how Jas was developed. I think she had the weakest development/story out of everyone. She kinda appeared out of nowhere and was just forced into the MC. Her story arc (if you can even call it that) was really small and rushed. I get she’s not the main star, probably the least important heroine, but she had a really good base for a good story. Instead of just boning her due to something relatively small, I think it would’ve been better for MC to slowly notice her insecurities.And she should’ve discovered her (Spoilers but if you read this far you probably don’t care) dad’s death and led to a better climax between her and MC’s relationship. But all in all, I still grew to like her at the end, so not super big deal.

And that’s all for my rambling. Just felt the need to share my thoughts after replaying. Uhh my review is definitely not fully objective, but it is what it is. If I ever sort out my financial situation, I’ll definitely support the Patreon. This set the bars real high for Eternum so can’t wait!

Basically, I did not like the game.
Story is meh.
Art is HS. While game is pre-rendered, even Real-time 3D games x10 better than this.

Just overrated as hell...