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

I am reviewing the full release 1.0. This is a must play! The impact of the characters and ups and downs of the story come together to form a fantastic game! The story does a great job of making you want to know the truth, with just enough humor and quirks to not be a constant suspense. The H scenes were overall great and felt pretty natural to the story, the writing was really good throughout the game and if there was a safe for work version released, I would play just for the story. I'm sad it's over, but I'm glad I experienced it.

Funniest game i've played for a long time!
Its already rare to see a game with a good,complete and engaging story, not to mention good scenes, but with the hilarious jokes its just perfect.
Definitely recommend to everyone!
Can't wait till the next game

Thx i loved every part of the game, was cute, sexy, misterious, i enjoyed everything of if

ngl on the first time i saw the renders and i was a little insecure if giving it a chance, also most of this harem games have a very common story with nothing interesting except for some hot renders and good scenes but you tried to make and interesting story, i am not gonna say is a master piece, but after all who expect wonderful stories here? but at least is interesting, is outside of the box and is interesting, even for me that i normally skip most of the dialogues on VN and go straight to "action", but the interactions with characters were cute and lovely.

You know, I kept with this game from time to time early in its development, then i think the last update i followed was around the hospital, now i spend the whole night playing from zero (pressing skip here and there i will admit) and oh boy this must be one of the games that has left me the most satisfied in a while (in all senses of the word).

Where to start? Okay, lets start easy. The COMEDY IS FUCKING GOLD. If I had to pin down what is the most hilarious thing here it would be hard to say which made me laught the most but i guess the closest one to first place would be the whole prison segment which leads to my next statement: MIKE IS THE FUCKING BOSS.

The animation is really good and fluid, didn't imagine you could get these kind of results with Honey Select.

The sounds effect and soundtrack really nice.

The game isn't grindy and the minigames and puzzles are quite enjoyable and fun to do.

The plot is quite solid with some little nice twists here and there (even if some of them were telegraphed miles away). An enyojable story, straightforward but with a steady and nice flow that makes it enjoyable and easy to follow along and even feel invested in.

The characters are quite enjoyable from the possible LI to the secondary cast, everyone oozes personality, even the ones that appear in only one scene. This is also the biggest lack in the game, concerning the potential love interests. None is badly writen, maybe it feels they should have needed some more fleshing out, maybe its my simple desire to see more of them despite the story doing a fine job of characterizing them, I would certainly have loved to see more of Jasmine, Iris and Aiko, they arent main girls material, I get it, them lacking affection points and so, but still, would ahve loved to see more from them.

Carla coincidentially feels like the more cliché of the bunch and the most lacking in personality (even if some of her scenes where amongst the hottest ones), only feeling like she had a great characterization by the final act of the story. I wish Rebeccas's relationship didn't feel only mostly sexual.

That's another thing, the mix between being horny and having the feels wasn't that well balanced in the game with some of the romantic interests (Carla and Iris feeling at times specially like nymphos and nothing else, Rebecca could be included in this category too but at least she has the whole 'im in a relationship im not sure i still want' going for her, Jasmine certainly started as full on pure sexual thing but it was clear things were ramping up for more, but again, by this time, we were too close to the end of events). By contrast, the bonds with the two vet main girls (Judie and Lauren) and Aiko, despite how little there was of her, felt very genuine and the sex was a part of the relation, NOT the relation.

Another thing lacking or that would have been nice to see was characters interacting beyond our MC, sure we are the protagonist, the story revolves around us, but that doesn't mean the world does, i for one feel Iris interactions with Judie made a lot to flesh her out beyond 'girl that thirst for her best friends brother', would be nice to see more mother-daughter moments, or between Lauren and Aiko or Rebecca and one of the girls, there where moments here and there, just, some more of them.

Anyway, despite these, I actually feel them like personal peevs of mine that are also too insignificant to put a noticable dent in the overall quality of the game. And hopefully the DLCs will solve several of my complains about the game.

Once in a Lifetime is a masterpiece in terms of storytelling. I genuinely enjoyed the game, and appreciated all the characters. Plus, the humour is just amazing! (Will to live -37, psych!)

The earlier sex scenes are a bit lacking for me, due to a lack of audio, but the actual animations are still top notch, and audio is instituted into some of the later ones. The dialogue, writing, investment into the characters, story progression and design are definitely enough to push Once in a Lifetime into my top tier of storyline-based adult visual novels.

Regardless, if you're looking for a VN that will give you a great storyline, as well as get your rocks off, I highly recommend this one. I'll be watching the developer's future work with some interest.

Oh, also, it has some of the most awesome supporting NPCs I've ever seen.

S. Mike for president. 2023. I'm just saying.

Oh man, what a game. Definitely one of the best, if not the best, VN I've played here. The girls are gorgeous (especially the sisters), the story is great and the humor and random references had me laughing out loud. The choices you make matter and can end the romance (or path, as the game calls it) with any of the girls. Those choices are usually straight forward so you probably won't find yourself reloading except to see the (often hilarious) consequences of picking the other options.

Pros:
+ Great renders, beautiful girls
+ Animated sex scenes
+ Well written story
+ Great humor and references
+ Harem ending possible
+ Wincest mod
+ Gallery mod
+ Stabby Mike

Cons:
- Game is too quiet at times, especially in some sex scenes.

Final verdict: 5/5 - Stabby Mike for President.

Excellent game, with a captivating story and beautiful lewd scenes. I couldn't choose one girl as all of them were beautiful, so I think the harem path for this game fits well, as depending on the play style, all the girls had meaningful interactions and scenes with mc. Though I will say that in the harem path, all the girls seemed open to this idea without at least some pushback. Still, I would recommend anyone to play the game if you want to have a good time, and I can't wait to play dev's next game; after the epilogue concludes, this game.

I cant say anything that hasnt been said yet about this game.

But I still want to cred it as one of the very best Harem games and stories in this entire website, all the girls are loveable and the fact that you can have all of them without any real stress/drama or pain associated is awesome.

It should speak volumes about the game the fact that I kinda felt emotional seeing the girls' pregnant bellies in the epilogue (kinda wished we could see everyone's bellies, not just Jasmine and Aiko).

Reviewing the v1.0 release (with Completed Tag)!

This is one of the best games I've ever played, the plot and content are so amazing! The writing was very good, and quite funny, with lots of humorous lines and renders.

Overall the pacing, the funny moments, the serious moments, the sexy moments, everything was great. Totally worth playing it.

Loved this game. The story, the looks, the characters, the humor, the music, everything was fantastic. One heck of an emotional rollercoaster. Some moments really cracked me up whereas others were quite hard-hitting. The spooky moments did not disappoint too. Certainly the best VN and among the very best of the games I have played so far.

I found this game a while ago when it was still in a early stage of its development, and as it looked promising, I decided that i'll play it again when it's finished.

And DAMN it really turned out to be insane ! I could see the improvements in the animated scenes as the game goes by. Congratz on that point.
I was also amused more than a few times, may it be caused by some dumb dialogues or funny situations.
Can I mention that I nearly shat my pants in the hospital and the mansion ? Better if I don't i guess...

To talk about the game itself, the story is captivating, the visuals are way ore than enough to be acceptable, great job on the shading and lights, some times colored and somes others way darker.
The characters are well written, expect for a few who could have been a bit more deepened like Aiko for exemple, as she is not that present in the story.
The various choices in the game made me feel like i was really the actor of the story, not just a spectator whit fakes choices. To me, it's a pretty big deal to have slightly different dialogues in a same scene if you made two different
choices.
And finally, I like what you did with the several ending, especially the secret one. As for the Harem one, it put a smile on my face, even if I was expecting a prologue or something like that, but it's probably better that way.

Everyone needs a Stabby Mike in their life !

4.5/5stars

Great game, MC wasn't a complete douche like other games, girls didn't follow the classic tropes and in general character attachment grew as you continued playing. The relationship between the characters and their personalities was amazing and truly enjoyable. The characters, CG and H scenes were beautiful.

It felt as if you were actually playing a game, there was the perfect balance between humour, drama, eroticism and enjoyment when playing the game. You could go from fapping to being fully immersed in the resident evil aspect of the story. The creator did splendid with the sound effects and you could clearly see as the you enter the later patches the progression the game made itself. Unforgettable game, loved the characters, wished for more Clara unfortunately.

Ps best waifu Stabby mike

Reviewing v1.0; this is a pretty incredible game. Others have mentioned many of the reasons, but I wanted to give my own shout-out and thanks to Caribdis for putting in the time to make this.

First and foremost, the characters are amazing. I was growing increasingly attached to each of them. I could go into detail, but I'd be here all day. In particular, I enjoyed the fact that the protagonist (don't remember his default name, if he had one), felt like a real character and not an empty void to insert myself into.
Caribdis also nailed the balance of drama, humor, and sexy fun-times. It never felt like a slog to get to the H-scenes once they started, and it kept me engaged the whole way. for the most part, the story doesn't take itself to seriously; the humor is the focus, and it is top-notch, whether it be full scenes of outrageous spectacle like the game show, or constant quiet bits of humor in the character's reactions and dialogue. Despite that, when it needs to get serious or creepy, it does that, and does that well, without letting the humor get in the way.
There's so much more to say, but, again, I could probably be here a while. Thanks, again, Caribdis, for making this.

I honestly didn't realize that I had never left a review for this game. Once in a Lifetime is literally the gold standard for HS games. The girls are attractive with well-developed, unique personalities. All the usual archetypes are here: the innocent "roommate", the bratty rich girl with daddy issues, the hot teacher -- yet Caribdis was somehow able to add a layer of depth to each girl with his prolific characterization skills.

The plot is interesting and really captures the player's attention, leading to incredibly fun theory-crafting (at least when the game was still in development). And finally, of course, the humor. It's incredibly difficult for an H-game to actually distract the player from the reason they're here (lewd horny escapism)... and yet Caribdis was somehow able to do that constantly throughout the VN. I'm sure there are loads and loads of comments and reviews about how funny Cari was able to make this game (the scenes, the reactions, the deadpans, the characters), so I won't go into it.

The only thing I'd say as a piece of advice is a request to allow the player to set names for the girls to call the MC during lewd scenes. Think it would take the lewd content up a notch, personally. Disappointed me when I romanced best girl Jasmine in OiaLT and wasn't able to get her to call me "daddy". I think I mentioned this on the game's discord once, so hope Cari is able to implement it!

I was quite disappointed that OiaLT had come to an end... but the previews for Eternum quickly changed my mind. The game looks like it will be a bit darker and add even more mystery, so I'm really looking forward to it. The preview pics look absolutely incredible (really loving Luna, Annie, and Penelope, the last being Cari's first blonde LI I think). In the meantime, I guess I'll play Ripples and Deviant Anomalies -- but Eternum will def make me a day 1 sub for Cari.

Excellent story, you will probably binge it, so set aside the proper amount of time. This is great to the end. It doesn't dissolve into a ridiculous fuck fest like some others. The MC isn't a rapist asshole. Lots of comedy and pop culture references. 5 stars

You can't go wrong with this one. Cool MC, memorable characters, funny (i genuinely laugh out loud at some scenes, it's hilarious) and it has Stabby Mike, the best character you could ask for on your side.
Definitely 10/10 for me.

Starts off a little janky, but develops into a pretty decent story after a little while, with some real laughs and scares. The various characters are fun and likeable, and the girls are pretty, though they are fairly similar visually due to the limitations of the model software. I used a walkthrough mod, and enjoyed it quite a bit.

I don't ever review games on here but I felt compelled to do so after completing Once in a Lifetime.

The story is honestly really compelling, and more importantly to me genuinely funny. No other game has made me laugh while playing as much as this one. All the characters both sexual and side are memorable.

Amazing game, would recommend. I look forward to any future works from this Dev.

I don't easily give 5/5 scores.

This one definitely is one of the best visual novels I have played. The story is engaging and funny, and very well paced. The visuals are top-notch with small details, especially the facial expressions, that makes it much more alive than your typical adult VN.

Biggest issue for me was the good ending. It's a bit obscure to get and left me hungry for more rather than satisfied, but I guess it is debatable if that's a good or a bad thing.

One of the best VN stories around, the characters the humor and plot are all excellent and engaging, Honestly there's nothing much else to say besides that.

Graphicly it's good but not great, there are some better looking games out there but as I said I was into it because of the great story.
The "comedic" graphical effects are fantastic though, plenty of moments when I had a good laugh because the Dev uses them effectively to bring a comedic situation up a notch(Turning someone's face into a "negetive" still for example)

"Fetish" wise it's pretty Vanilla so if you're looking for something more degenerate you won't find it in this one, scenes and characters are well animated though.