It has taken me a while to get here, but finally I am playing OiaL. I arrived here via Eternum, which I know is kind of backward. I've heard said many a time that
- OiaL is really good
- compared to Eternum, it is relatively rough and not up to the same standards
So far I agree with both statements.
Where I don't agree is with recent comments I've read that once of the structural problems with OiaL is that it starts too slow, taking time to get into the real story, while Eternum gets right to it. This is technically correct – that it takes a while to get going. But so do many good stories. I don't think of this as a serious flaw if, as we have here, what happens in the buildup to the central plot is interesting, fun, and has engaging characters. OiaL ticks all these boxes.
I've made it to the end of the pool scene. Taking a short break to write my thoughts here and then back to it.
Judie and Lauren are completely adorable. I like that Caribdis has given them distinct personalities while making them feel like sisters, and without the usual tropes of the either a) overly awed, or b) naive and waiting to be corrupted little sister, and the sarcastic dismissive older sister. Both are far more rounded characters.
Judie is a bundle of energy and joy, with a sneaky side (as in the favour she asks of the MC when it's too late for him to back out involving him having to not only go shopping with her but help pay for what she buys) and she's sexually aware (she comments that he was probably distracted from his lessons by Rebecca, implies she knows he wanted to watch her get changed when trying on clothes, and jokes about him staring at her ass in the last swimsuit).
Lauren clearly cares deeply for the MC, and her snark consists of loving jabs instead of "leave me alone you little creep". I love the little smile she has when she's making fun of his poor results at school when he comes to ask for her help in her room and again at the breakfast table the next day.
I can't decide who I like more.
I have no firm opinions about anyone else yet. Rebecca is nice, and so are Carla and Iris, but we haven't seen much of their personality (though Iris choosing the over the top "would you rather?" questions immediately adds to her appeal).
I love the day cards with the character poses. The jokes are silly and fun.
I'm skipping the walkthrough, because based on playing Eternum I'm fairly certain that, as far as the relationships go, the correct path for anyone I want to pursue is "choose the option which shows you care about the other person and have paid attention to things they say or do". There will no doubt be some tougher choices later, though for some of them I've read enough out in the open comments to know what I should do (I don't mind, spoilers rarely ruin the experience for me, but I try to know as little as possible). I'm proud of myself for getting 13 of Judie's 15 questions correct without cheating (not even a rollback). Getting all of them correct might have scored me more points, but I trust Caribdis to not lock any girl's route behind doing everything perfectly.
My few criticisms up to this point would be
- there are some glaring grammatical/language errors. E.g. when the MC narrates "once again, we had to move again", and "it seems we have settled here definitely" (the latter should be either "settled here indefinitely" or "definitely settled here". In the park Lauren says "we'll be back home before my mother arrives" (with the patch applied). So far they have not been many.
- the art is very noticeably not to the same standard as Eternum. It still looks pretty good and the girls are all beautiful.
- I don't usually play games with the sound on. I have sensory issues which are best moderated by having my choice of music playing. AVNs generally have music which adds little if anything to the experience, and sounds which are not necessary, so I turn everything off and play my music. Eternum was the first I played with the sound on, having heard that Caribdis had put significant effort into choosing music and sound effects. While it was challenging at times, it really does add to the experience, so I am doing the same with OiaL. Unfortunately, most of the game so far is silent, which doesn't work well with my sensory issues. The intro said that sound will become more important later, so I'll stick with it, but whatever the reason there is little in the early stages, it would be better for me if there was more audio.
- I was disappointed I couldn't tell Judie which bikini I liked the most (the first one) to influence her choice.
There are some obvious tropes in play like the bully, the sister seeing the MC sleeping naked and being unable to resist touching his cock, and the fashion show in the changing room. But I enjoyed how Lauren's night time encounter played out. Her thoughts as she gave in to temptation helped sell it as something more than the all too common "girl see cock, girl must touch" level of introspection. And her embarrassed blushing after she was nearly caught would have made me fall in love with her if that smile hadn't already. I thought Judie's fashion show was a nice character bonding experience and not just a disguised perv session, and was very happy that the option to peek was not offered (I would have rejected it anyway, as I did peeking on Dalia in the bathroom in Eternum*). The contrived circumstance of Judie and the MC hiding in the bathroom and her rubbing herself against his cock manages to be both adorable and sexy.
* I have read that there will be a couple of creep level choices required later to get some of the LIs, which is unfortunate, but I'll treat them as not meant to be taken seriously and do what must be done
