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

One of the best VNs on f95zone:

- Graphics: hey did you know that Honey Select games can NOT look like ass? I certainly didn't till I played this game. The girls are nice and the h-scenes are legit hot. There are certain downsides however: the background looks trash; the male characters are samey and have terrible hair.
- Writing: oh man, this game. It's hilarious. There are plenty of games around here that went for the humorous route and either a) fell flat, or b) lack any substance outside of humor. But not this one. There's a nice mystery plot to follow along, a nice twist (albeit a bit predictable), and some pretty scary moment. Imagine that. a game with just still images (h-scenes are animated of course) managed to scare me a couple of times (there are jump scares but it's not just that; the atmosphere in some scenes are legit chilling, nice homage to classic horror games).
- Content: this is kind of an extension to the previous point. If you have been around this site, you know there are plenty of games that had great potential but were either abandoned or rushed. Not this game. This one is complete, finished, on a high note at that. Part of this is probably because there's no real branching in this game (there are plenty of choices yes, but really there's only one real ending).
- Music: most of the time I don't bother mention this because many games have generic soundtrack just for the sake of having soundtrack. This one certainly had its share of generic tracks, but it also managed to drop some pretty memorable/funny scenes with its music.

All in all great game, deserving its score on this site. Definitely check it out.

The Best Ren'Py game I ever played Beautiful girls, arousing scenes, hilarious situations, horror time, very good animation, this all together is this fantastic game. Thank you very much for your excellent work Caribdis

Enjoyable renpy games and the sex scenes are enjoyable. you can see the progress and improvement as you go through the game, but it's solid overall. The story escalates in a fast pasce into a supernatrual territory but it's a good ride nonetheless. There can be a few QOL impovements to the UI or longer sex scenes w more options but it's good as is!

Once in a Lifetime indeed! This game is amazing and has it all: well written, funny, with a compelling plot full of twists and turns, beautiful girls (obviously) and great sex scenes (ditto).
It is more of a VN than a game, although the decisions *will* affect the outcome. For those who prefer to follow the "right path" there is a mod that indicates the best choices for plot progression.
Oh, and I almost forgot: it is actually a completed game, a rare thing to be found around here...

I have played adult games for around 10 years in various forms. Every time I've downloaded a story VN I've quit and deleted it after 30 - 60 minutes. They simply aren't good. Non-participatory porn is best in movie format and non-participatory love is best in book format . There is simply no point in creating a game that tries to emulate those two in an inferior medium. Or so I thought...

Over the years I have tried about 50 story VNs or so, and not a single one interested me. Until I downloaded Eternum by accident (I thought it was something else). Due to the great introduction I kept punching away at the spacebar even after realizing that there would be no sandbox mechanics included. I got hooked within 20 minutes and I played that all the way through in one go. When that ran out, I eventually downloaded Once in a Lifetime. That was yesterday. I spent the entire night playing it through in one sitting, ignoring everything except the mouse in my one hand and, well, you know.

So what is there to say about the game?
The comedy is fantastic and I found myself laughing out loud many many times. The relations feel organic in all the cases that matter (all the younger girls minus Aiko), and the pacing is perfect. After spending an entire night playing through the game I am considering starting it up and reading it through again for one simple reason: the game really, really, REALLY, manages to create a sensation of slowly growing feelings between the characters, and that quality far outshines any problems you might have with graphics, animation, interactivity, or being able to figure out who's who when looking at the path menu.

Don't get me wrong, it's not without faults. The graphics (girls) can definitely look less generic (most of them I can only tell apart by their hair color), the adult animations are far from the best, and the introductory phase (approx. first 20 min) needs more relief for all that exposition, but damn is the story good (structure, pacing, escalation, relief, twists and surprises, girls, fetishes, romance, the whole damn deal). After you get into the story, you simply stop caring about the details.

There is one thing that really made it stick with me. The culminating scene towards the end with Lauren and Judy really is perfect, it actually made me feel the love and emotional connection between the characters, and that's pretty damn rare. The music, the scenery, the placements, the buildup - it's extraordinary. The entire game progressed flawlessly towards that scene, and it really shows.

This is the first story VN, out of around 50, that I have actually wanted to finish (and wish there was more of), and I cannot recommend it enough.

Game was amazing
The story was engaging and the character developments were nicely done, It is a Visual novel so no sand box or exploration but the plot of the story was delivered nicely and while some choices not as meaningful to the overall story or plot some can affect a huge part of the game.

Pls.. try the game and support the creator so that we can continue to have high quality adult games.

Stabby Mike best bro

It's just an amazing game, great story, great characters, actually has some really funny moments, and while initially I didn't like the art style after playing the game I found them really hot with a lot of detail put into them (The back muscles were really hot), and did I say I loved the characters? Judie and Lauren Are some of my favorite characters out of all media and their personalities, at least to me, made sex scenes much better, It's like saying "I like you for your personality" but actually meaning it.
I really hope the creator creates a SFW version to sell on steam or something, I feel bad for the people who will never play this game because its an adult game.
this game blew my expectations out of the water and in my opinion is a must play, I feel silly for putting off playing this game for so long.

Recommended (★★★★★)

Review version: v1.0

The game made me start expecting a good story and humor, and the usual sex.

Characters and Story (10/10):
The first part of the game is a little jarring with the art and seems pretty loose with the story, but the game keeps improving section by section and clearly shows the Dev's improvement. The characters are memorable and fun (even the dude).

Sex (9/10):
The game starts slowly on this front and makes you earn it, don't let this dissuade you. It's not mindless teasing but rather from character and story development. Hell, even the harem makes sense here.

Enjoyment (10/10):
I loved this game; the story makes up for anything you might find lacking. The humor is top-notch.

Overall (9.5/10):
Overall great game and must play, in my opinion.

The story was fantastic! It was sexy but heartfelt. The writing was gripping, funny, and moving. The characters are all unique and compelling. They really drive the story. Not to mention how good they look. It was an instant favorite and an easy 10/10

For a game that sits at a near perfect rating with as many reviews as this one has, there were pretty high expectations.

For me this game delivers big tim on those expectations. It's a game was made with a lot of love and care. A game that made me laugh many times because of some of the situations and gags that happened in it, but also a very good sotry for me at least.

It strikes the right balance somehow. I can't really explain it.
I highly recommend it with the knowledge that in my opinion this is a very harem centric game. I used the mod to make sure to get all the scenes and I really don't regret it. Maybe that isn't for everyone, but it was for me .

Don't want to say too much but this game checks all the boxes for me.

Great animations (Especially for a VN0
Great Story
Likable Characters (Main and side characters)
Just very high production value

My objective in writing this review is to add my name to the list of fans and say that I'm glad to finally have experienced this game. This is an instance where the number of positive reviews are more than justified. No overhyping IMO.

this review might (will) contain minor spoilers about every aspect of the game, since i couldn't figure out how to use the spoiler button. it just doesn't work i swear


you know what guys, i feel like i've experienced this story at least 5 times already. one bad satanic villain trying to take over the world, mc's relation with the villain and him trying to figure out the evil power behind everything, his step-mom/sis relationships, how every single girl drools over him, predictable "twists". i mean should i go on? the game has every single cliché a porn game can have and it doesn't really try to do anything different, not in the slightest.

the thing is, that doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad game. it somehow manages to keep you going with its characters. again, the story didn't do it for me, i've already seen it in tens of other games, the characters however, most of them were quite cute. creating my own harem full of hot chicks from all over the globe (including our step-mom, school teacher, a ninja girl that was assigned to literally kill us, a brat rich girl that didn't like us at first) was quite fun. sex scenes were alright. quite hot actually at times, but the thrill of keeping the sex secret from everyone else at the beginning (aka cheating i guess. would you look at that, i have a cheating kink!!) was better than having three/foursome with them later on. it also felt like mc's relationships with girls progressed way too fast to the point it was simply too unrealistic for my liking. considering this is not supposed to be a realistic vn, it wasn't that bad. although it could've been way more engaging with better written build-ups

the others (mostly other dudes in the game) were really fun. the silly faces and zoom-ins when there was something absurd would happen were a nice touch and always had me laughing. i loved the absurdity of stabby mike's character development and how he was involved in this story. tom and his sudden "change", fat jack becoming an absolute thot denying ripped alpha, oh and of course everyone's favourite local drug dealer hiromi. i don't know about you horny individuals but they were the real star of the show for me. the game wouldn't be as good without them that's for sure

oh well, it was a fun experience despite everything. i don't regret spending my time on this game. hoping to see improved character development & overall writing from the devs current game "eternum". check it out guys they say it's decent

First of all i want to say that i came from their other game eternum and since i got hooked up with it why not try their other game? Turns out it was the best decision of my life. (btw if you hadnt play eternum do so, it was worth even with its incomplete versions)

For the game it was amazing, from story, building up, personalities, the flow, the humor/seriousness, and porn (i think i even skipped the"plot" for the plot at some point). If you are seeing this review on whether it is worth your time i would recommend 5/7 of a perfect score.


Final note for me since I finshed both games as of this time with ver 2.0 of eternum, I am agreeing with the direction of the developer (that i think that both games is connected?) and in the future this will be confirmed. Again play it and donate to the developer if you have the capacity to do so.

I enjoyed every minute of playing this game. The game knows what it wants to be and that's a fun and entertaining ride that doesn't take itself too seriously but also never disrespects the audience by not giving a fulfilling story with a solid beginning, middle, and most importantly end. I liked the style of art too, for me that's never the most important thing but maybe you're not crazy about the renders and models, don't let that deter you though, the art style fits the game. If you're on the fence about this one, just give it a go, you'll have a good time.

Man, what a ride...
Couldn't stop binging this game once I started it, the porn was just a plus at some point.
Does it have flaws? Sure, but it's easily ignored in favor of all the excitement and the laughs it brings!

Thank you so much Caribdis and all who aided to bring life to this gem.


PS: Stabby for president!

This is a very beautiful game that i have ever played! Really love the story, humour, the characters and their personality and relationships , scenes are hot, the sound and music are perfect, also the ending is so beautiful that make me go rate 5 star this right after finished it. But what make me love this game most is our precious MC. Thank for making me this happy at night lol . Looking forward to Etenum. "This is just the beginning ."

It's just porn. It has pretenses of being a proper story, but it's just porn. The MC makes mind-numbingly terrible decisions that... lead to sex. The female leads make ridiculous leaps of logic that... lead to sex. Characters generally consistently make ridiculous decisions that loop back around to finding ways to have sex with the MC, regardless of their prior relationships or how it might affect them in the future.
Sex happens quickly and without consequence. Within thirty minutes of play your sister can be convinced to give you a handjob and a blowjob and both times the MC's reaction is something along the lines of "Whew, that felt great! Well, I best be going now!" And that's it. There's no fallout, no shock or sudden clinginess, no disgust or anger or even doubt. These characters are cardboard facsimiles of actual people and as a result there is no real story.
But hey, that's okay. This isn't Borders, this is F95. We're here for porn. Well, what's here is meh. It's not bad. It's not great. Sex is quick and done with. There's no real build up or danger, so it comes down to the visuals to carry the engagement. Unfortunately I don't think they can carry Once in a Lifetime far. The character models look great, but I personally find HS male models to be quite ghoulish. The animation is smooth and appealing, but short.

As for gameplay, don't bother; it's standard VN fare. If you really get into the models for the girls just pick up the walkthrough mod and mindlessly work your way through it. The puzzles and trivia games are either very simple or completely random.

2/5. The story premise would be interesting, but it's a backdrop for poorly written characters. Gameplay is nonexistent. Visuals are adequate.

The best written game I've played here so far.
Perfect balance of humour, sex and storyline.
It nearly bridges the gap between a porn game and a normal video game. It's both good for porn and just story-driven entertainment.

It checks all the boxes (for me at least)

Harem ending -> check
Incest (step-bro style) -> check
milfs -> check
Super sweet vanilla -> VERY check
Great story and great humor? -> check

Definitely looking forward to this author's future work

Only con I can think of is that while the ending does have a pretty good montage of the epilogue, I would have wanted more (if you finished the game you know what I mean)

Mike is God, hands down the best ren'py , art style may be simple at times yet still has it's charm
the Girls models and facial expressions are 10/10
Iris is beyond adorable <3

Mike is a beautiful bastard i don't care what other people say

the first game of it's genre to make me legit laugh , the writing is splendid

All Hail Stabby Mike

I just stumbled on this masterpiece a couple of days ago but from here on i'll be definitely supporting Caribdis's future work
thank you for making this

Simply, an Amazing game. It has good humour, erotic scenes, plot ,characters and much more. Special points for stabby mike ofcourse. Certainly looking forward to Eternum since this game has certainly raised my expectations for this developer but I'm certain that the dev will live upto the expectations. Dev, If you are reading this, Good luck on your future endeavours.