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

  1. 5.00 star(s)

    rve21

    Considering I haven't really rated this game I might as well right :D. Though I am not that great in writing reviews.

    The GOOD

    Humor
    Caribdis put in comedy in hentai so that you can laugh while fapping and no one outside will be able to figure out what you're really doing if not outright forget you're playing a hentai game. Both Incest and Non Incest game plays slightly differently so you should definitely try it as there are hidden gems in conversation there.

    Story
    It has a very good gameplay it tunes out on the current setting of the story, and has good if not outright great character motivation for what they do, and your ingame character also exist as a different entity rather than just blank slate we can put ourself into and that is actually great. YOU the player reacts to certain stuffs that would dictate what ending you do and how your in game character would react to said events some are humorous specially considering the characters do grow on you. Story has narrative believability.

    Characters
    Characters also have narrative believability, they are good if not outright great. Well I kindly like how flesh out the characters are and side characters actually mattering in the story. And also the Girls are, Thoughtful, Honest, Interesting, Caring, and Compassionate.

    The BAD
    Yes it is a GREAT Game but it also have negatives.

    It's called Feelititis. It starts after you finish the game with leaking eyes and desiring for more CONTENT.

    I'm a simple man, OVERALL 10/10 for me :) if you're reading this then you should definitely try it.
  2. 5.00 star(s)

    yasashimasanto

    Honestly one of the best stories in general out of everything I've read or played in a long time. It's almost perfect in every aspect and had me in dread when I was nearing the end of the story.

    The story is really engaging and is treated with respect from the writer which keeps it consistently great and cohesive for the whole playthrough. There isn't any moments where it feels like sexual content is awkwardly forced in and instead it all feels dynamic to the many situations they are put in.
    So many great opportunities are taken to slot in humor though. The jokes come and go and back again at the perfect times in places where you wouldn't even expect and it's so damn good.

    (Please do tell me if this is counted as a spoiler for the gameplay)
    The gameplay follows a point system where if you pick a choice that the character in question likes, you get a point towards their route aka you are more likeable to them. Don't have enough points in their route, and you are not able to continue it. I would say this system is actually pretty great since it gives a clear notice to the player on how their choices are affecting the game but there are some choices which are not linked to the points system which do end up affecting the story later on and is sometimes not clearly stated (Gives a reason to replay through at least).

    The characters are another big part of why I love this story so much. They really grew on me as the story progressed and by the end I was really attached to all of them. The main character is his own person and is funny a lot of the time, the girls are all very wholesomely loveable and unique from each other, even most of the other characters you meet are fun and have their own moments to shine which are usually hilarious. The models for the characters are also perfect.

    Man even with the upcoming extra content coming in I feel like it won't be enough to fill the void in my heart after completing it. To anyone who reads this review, please give this game a try. And if you are reading this Caribdis, I wish you the best.

    I didn't expect to write this much so

    TLDR
    This game is worth the try. I hope doing that makes you more invested in it that this wall of text.
  3. 5.00 star(s)

    evildirex

    I wanted to commend how much I really like this game, despite that it looks pretty simple at first glance its actually pretty interesting, I played it 2 times and it seems it has not much replay value but it was still fun to do so, the story is good for a hentai game too, even tho its a harem. I guess biggest value of this games comes from how well scenes were made, girls reactions and their face expressions. Despite it being a VN it hold its atmosphere very well, it has some spooky and several funny moments which were great. Only thing I felt missing from this game was a bit more interactivity with the girls I guess but its to be expected from VNs. Overall very pleasing experience for the whole family.
  4. 5.00 star(s)

    TheHighSpire

    So, how do I best describe Once in a Lifetime?

    It's honestly a tough question, but the best descriptor is probably "Wow". This game is absolutely amazing, and is undeniably one of the best adult games that I've ever played.

    Oh, and by the way: this review is Spoiler Free.

    For Ren'py/VN's there are essentially three things that I find the most important:
    1. The writing
      1. The Story
      2. The World
      3. Humor
    2. Player agency
    3. The Art.

    So, let me take them in that order:
    1: The Writing.

    The writing is excellent in this game. It is clear that a very skilled author was at work for this game. That is especially true as the story is a quite long one, with several decision throughout it. Good writing is more than just grammar; it is a way to provide personality to the various characters, to underline the mood and to make the story interesting. This game did it all.

    The game has a variety of characters which are all really nice. They have markedly different personalities, which helps to diversify them. You will have to get to know each of them before you can progress with them. Thus, this game evades some the rather anti-climatic points of so many other games where you essentially goes talk--> 2 options later --> fuck. Not here you don't, which is really cool. Furthermore, the agency of the other characters are respected, which is also really nice and a somewhat rare sight in adult games.

    A coherent story is another important aspect of creating a great story. I've found many devs to struggle with this point, either trying to make something that is too big, or not adequately mapping what direction the game should take. That is not the case with this game. This game has a very coherent story, it progresses nicely, is well paced, and it makes sense where it is going.

    The humor in this game is hilarious, so I thought I'd highlight it. I've rarely laughed as much playing a single-player game as I did with this one. There are so many moments where that are narrated in a perfect way - which at the same time is coupled neat with the visuals. As this is a spoiler free review, I can't make any examples.

    The world too is coherent. The various characters has their own agendas, desires and opinions. While obviously the game is mostly about the main character, it is clear that the author put some thought into side-characters and the various women which means that they aren't just passive bystanders nor are they empty tools for the MC to fuck. Interestingly there are also male characters in this game, and unlike so many other adult games, they aren't one-sided depicted as evil/cruel etc. They also have their part of the story, and you get decide how to interact with them.

    -------------------------------------------------------------
    2. Player Agency.

    This is another thing some devs struggle with. The more player agency, the more work, and the more complicated it becomes. The dev will therefor have to be a good writer to allow much player agency, otherwise the world will quickly become incoherent.
    This game has a great amount of player agency. There are several choices that you can pick from, which all affects the game and the world. Not all choices are equally relevant, and yet you will keep seeing the effects of them.
    Player agency in this game also dictates how you act towards the various love interests. I didn't pursue all of them, and so I do not know if you would have had to make some compromises here and there. In any case, it's great that you have a choice.

    -------------------------------------------------------------
    3. The Art

    The art in this game is also really nice. Certainly, there is lots of materials to release your pressure by. What is even greater is that the game is also animated. This makes it even more interesting to watch the scenes. Many of them also have alternative angles to view them from. You will also sometimes have different options in terms of those scenes - for instance whether it should be a facial or inside etc. The only downside with the art I could think of, is that many of the women looks to have quite similar bodies. While they are beautiful, it wouldn't have hurt with a bit more difference.

    -------------------------------------------------------------

    As the reader of my review will probably have noticed, I put the most weight onto Story. That is not because the other parts are lackluster at all. But because great writing is what makes choices and the art that much better.

    For those who do not want to read the whole thing, here's a short(er) version:

    The Good:
    • Amazing writing
    • A capturing plot.
    • Coherent story
    • Hilarious humor - I honestly cannot remember when I laughed this much playing a game.
    • Well thought-out world
    • Choices matter - a lot.
    • There is personality to the different characters, meaning that they are more than bland side-character fuck toys for the MC.

    The In-between
    • I find that most of the girls has somewhat the same body, which is a bit unfortunate. It would've been nice if there were a larger difference between their bodies.
    • Pregnancy is not actually in the game, and is only hinted at. But I honestly found that it didn't matter too much.

    The Bad:
    • The very last part felt a bit rushed, it would've been nice to interact with the girls a tad bit more at the end, and hear their thoughts about various stuff.
    I will just note that both those in In-between and Bad sections are very small "problems".

    Conclusion: This is an amazing game. I quickly became invested in it, hell it wasn't even the beautiful art that drew me in the most. Instead I simply wanted to see the story progress and what would happen with the different characters.
    So, if you want play a well-written game with loads of hours in it, then this is for you.
  5. 5.00 star(s)

    1993(Redacted4You)

    I've played quite a few porn games, but this one takes the cake as on of my favorites. It has a nice interesting story (which grasped my attention), great characters (all with unique personalities), and humor which actually made me laugh. Right now I'm tired so I can't recall all the good bits., but I have to say that you should give this game a try. If you enjoyed it as much as I did, follow the Dev and think about supporting him.
  6. 5.00 star(s)

    anon44517

    10/10 game. A prime example of hours of quality plot, humor, lovable characters, and great H-scenes. I'm a strong proponent of the phrase "the ending is paramount", and my god, the ending did not disappoint. I did not feel rushed and you could tell Caribdis out a lot of time and effort into creating this masterpiece. Can't wait for what comes next.
  7. 5.00 star(s)

    Pervyhentai

    At first I thought it was your usual generic 'meet, corrupt , fuck and repeat' but it's something way better.

    Story: The story doesn't seem that interesting at first however it slowly pulls in and before you know you get invested and actually care about the plot.

    Sex scenes: The scenes are well made and slowly builds up, you aren't ramming their ass about 10 min into the game, you need to play quite a while to get to those scenes which helped me not to lose interest. it is a shame that the amount of sex scenes are quite scarce for me.

    Humour: The humour in my opinion outshines everything. The jokes are actually funny and aren't obnoxiously overdone, the gag characters are amazing and hilarious, and the deadpan expressions are gold. I had a stupid grin on my face on so many scenes.

    It's a great game however it could have more improvements like more sex scenes, better gallery or a way to track or redo certain points in paths/endings. Even though the amount of porn is lacking in my opinion, the quality and humour makes up for it. Can't wait for more content from the developer.

    Edit: looking back on it the amount of sex scenes is not really lacking at all. Sure it's not filled to the brim like most other games but it has a decent amount of scenes. It's a bit of a shame that the mother doesn't feel fleshed out and like she really fit in there as the 2 sisters but just randomly comes in 'break' scenes when the they are gone.
  8. 5.00 star(s)

    Deleted member 3006697

    This is one of the games where I wish I could give it 6 stars.

    It makes me very happy when I find and finish a game like this when I've played tons of games before, it's like finding a diamond in a trash can. Everything was excellent. Really blew my expectations away. I don't play Honey Select games so my expectations were low but I'm really very glad I tried this one.

    PROS:
    • Writing: Very rare to find a game where I am actually interested in the plot and characters and not skipping dialogues.
    • Humor: Actual funny stuff and not over the top cringy jokes.
    • Characters: I love 'em all. From the LIs to the side characters, every single one of them. The characters have actual depth and don't feel like empty boxes. Stabby Mike is one of the best bro character I've seen.
    • Love Interests: All of them unique and very likable, I don't always go for harem, but in this I just couldn't leave any of them behind :love:
    • Lewd Scenes: There are a lot of games where everything else is good but they suck when it comes to lewd stuff, but not this one. Full marks here too.

    Coming to the cons, there were some minor things that I didn't liked as much as the other things I mentioned above but they are negligible compared to the the overall game.

    Can't recommend this game enough. A MUST try for everyone.
    Kudos to the dev, this is one of the finest games I've played here, a very easy entry to my TOP 5.
  9. 5.00 star(s)

    Xanthor72

    This game really came out of nowhere to me, and after finishing it, instantly gets a place in my "top 5 adult VNs of all time" list. The comedy was always on point for my tastes, the animations are good quality, the main characters are all interesting, and Stabby Mike might be the single best side character I've ever found in one of these games. Can't recommend this one enough, I wish I could give it more than 5 stars.
  10. 5.00 star(s)

    lkin

    If a game makes you care more for its characters and plot than the porn, you know something is right, and this game definitely delivers it, with everything, plot, comedy, it's just perfect, and the scenes are just top notch as well. You can tell that the devs really cared for every detail of this game, and it shows, they created an awesome adventure and I'm looking forward for the next.
  11. 5.00 star(s)

    Quinnzoel

    this is is really flawless, one of the best game i have ever played. Every characters have their depth to it. Jasmine has the biggest character development.But i think still lacks some scene for examples: 3some,5some harem ending,....
    P/s : Mike best boy change my mind.
  12. 5.00 star(s)

    voltairepop

    Don't sleep on this game. BIG UPS to the creator.
    Pros:
    - funny story full of pop culture references.
    - Cute females
    - Wholesome AF
    - All main casts are loveable.
    -facial expressions are great
    -Male character is also loveable. (with personality)
    Cons:
    -Not enough soundtracks. It is too quiet.
    First RENPY porn I have completed. GOOD work mt dude and dudette. Hope you improve the lack of music.
    Please donate to this. I will once I find work. Amazing game
  13. 5.00 star(s)

    Blazerer

    The deadpan delivery, embracing the cheese, the A+ facial expression...fucking love it.

    Not going to lie, it's a bit fast-and-loose with things stuff being sensible, but in just the right way. Not to mention plenty of very nice references and in-jokes. Truly worthy of a 5 star rating.
  14. 5.00 star(s)

    AhoyLaddies

    One of the best games I've played on the site. I haven't enjoyed an adult game this much since MGQ or What A Legend.

    The thing I appreciate the most about the developer is his attention to detail. Everything clearly has a great amount of thought put into it, even the tiniest details like characters referencing something that had happened, wording in the dialogue, the way scenes are directed. It's great, and it makes everything that much more engaging. The manipulation of camera angles, scene cuts, etc. It really paints a picture of the world and helps set the mood for the conversation the dev is trying to tell, or even create an atmosphere for a specific setting. Tension, suspense, fear, arousal, comedy. The tools at the developers disposal for creating scenes is all done extremely well.

    But, most important, above all things, I just really enjoy when devs have fun with their game. And boy oh boy, this developer had lots of fun with theirs.

    One of the biggest gripes I have with adult gaming is with developers sticking to their comfort zone. It leads to writing thats unorganic and completely bland, or scenes that are completely lifeless. You'll have characters that have no soul to them, and everyone except the MC is just another cardboard clone of another NPC. Instead of trying to mix in different ways to tell a story you'll have writing so serious you'd think the author is submitting it to an academic journal.
    You're an adult game developer for Christ sake! Feel free to live a little!

    …That said, a major highlight within this game was it's humor and comedy that was ever present throughout the game. Some of it is subtle, some of it is quite blatant, but the subtle things within the game are really what make it special to me.
    For example, though they may only make up a small portion of the game, during some conversations and dialogue, the most absurd, hilarious, and entertaining events can be transpiring in the background. It doesn't take anything away from the dialogue, and serves as a way to become even more engaged within the game.
    Often times the things happening correlate to events, conversations, etc. that had previously taken place. Using handcrafted background visuals as a way to tell a story and deliver information instead of having every character have a line of dialogue to convey their thoughts, or even have a dedicated spotlight to them is really important and I'm glad this is something the developer did throughout. Sort of like 'Show, don't tell'. I just feel huge amounts of love whenever I see stuff like this within the game, and I appreciate the developer more because of it.

    Aside from it's comedy and usage of background visuals to deliver story and narrative and the way the 'camera' is directed, I think the way side characters within the game are handled excellently.

    Often in many games you'll encounter characters and you'll never meet them again or they will serve no other purpose than acting as a one off plot device to advance the story. But in Once in a Lifetime, it's clear the developer has put some love into making these side characters.
    You'll have these initially briefly known side characters making appearances many times over again within the story. Sometimes it acts as a running gag, but other times they can act as key parts to the main story. And that right there is something that is lacking in both adult games, as well as in even many AAA non-adult games.

    There is often such a strict and heavy separation between "side-content" and "main-content", that it almost feels like two different games. But here they are both interwoven very well, and the side characters being as captivating as they are, especially a specific someone, its always a joy when you get to see them again. It's never too much or too little, its always just right. I think that this, on top of how the characters are designed, really makes them memorable and allows for more of the game to be enjoyable. You don't just have the main cast to look forward to, with everybody else in the backdrop. The side characters within this game add just as much, if not more, value than they do.

    I really love Mike, I'm sorry.

    Thats my brief albeit difficult to put into words 'take' on my feel of the game.

    Are there elements within it I'm not a huge fan of?
    Sure.
    The supernatural fictitious story can seem out of place at times, often contrasting very hard with the softer elements of the game.
    The villains of the story, in my opinion, aren't all that memorable and didn't seem to have as much effort put into them as the side/main characters within the story. This is a bit unfortunate, as I think the developer could have done a great job fleshing them out more. They also dont recieve much screen time and individually, aren't all that present within the story for very long. They act more as a plot device for certain events to take place. These events are often very interesting, but I do wish they functioned as a bit more than just a way to push the wagon forward.
    Initially they are built up as mysterious unknowns that the MC needs to be careful of, however, at least from the players perspective, a lot of this mystery is thrown away very quickly with reveals being given early on or made quite obvious. I understand that this isn't some sort of detective thriller story, so I can understand not wanting to delve into that if that isnt your objective. I just would liked to have seen more come out of these villains is all.
    The ending as well left me with mixed feelings. Writing and setting up the ending for a story can be difficult, but I believe it could have been handled better. It felt rushed I suppose? There were still many questions I was left with after the game ended. A lot my problems have to do with the overarching story within the game, and I think part of that problem just falls on the fact that the villains dont really have much story to them. If they did, I think it would be a bit easier to connect the dots. I don't really want to spoil anything.

    Those are really the only cons I have about the game that I can readily think of.

    Aside from story and gameplay (it's a VN with choices and it's not sandbox so there isn't much to talk about here) the lewd scenes are done EXTREMELY well.
    The animations are superb, the visuals of the game and design of the girls are fantastic, but the scenes. Oh man. The developer does a good job creating sexual tension between the MC and the main characters in the game. The way the scenes are done really scratch a certain itch.
    And, to make matters better, the scenes aren't just single animations with just a few lines of dialogue, but often various animations packed into one. Many of them each with ways to change scene perspective and progress it in some sort of way.
    I think this quality always ensures you have something to look forward to when you're not being entertained by the nonsensical (but still somehow sensible?) dialogue, writing, and story within the game. You aren't wasting your time, if thats what you want to know.

    These are my rough thoughts, though I feel I may rewrite my review in the future so as to emphasize a bit more on what I enjoyed about the game, and perhaps make it more concise as well. This will likely have to wait until I perform a second playthrough of the game, which will probably be done around the next time additional content is added to the game.

    In Summary:

    If you enjoy something a bit more adventurous than what you typically experience on the website, something with clever and cheeky writing, scenes that are directed extremely well, visually appealing visuals with well animated and high quality h-scenes(given the engine), well written characters, side-characters that actually matter, and set piece story events that are more captivating than entire games, then perhaps Once in a Lifetime is for you. The MC is also really well done, it's never quite boring through his eyes.

    Great game, please give it a chance.

    Note to the developer: Here are some things I would love to see in any future updates you might add to the game..

    - Fleshing out a bit more of the villains. Perhaps retrofitting lore and narrative with the story having concluded might come off a bit poorly and possibly unreasonable given the games scale, but it's something that would make them a bit more interesting as well as help answer some questions about what exactly happened in the ending(as well as what happens after).

    - Adding a bit more content and closure to Carla's path. As of right now
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  15. 5.00 star(s)

    thehayax3

    Best VN I've played. The comedy often had me dead and the story was very interesting. The erotic scenes are top notch with very good looking characters. I especially liked the balance between story intensive moments and erotic moments.

    Looking forward to any future games from this dev!
  16. 5.00 star(s)

    Links234

    This game is awesome! The story is interesting and engaging throughout. Choices matter and affect which girls you can interact with and what ending you will get. Plus, I felt that the choices themselves were usually obvious (rather than cryptic) and I think it's pretty easy to get the best ending without a walkthrough, which is great design. The writing is top notch in general and the game has a lot of great humor as well.

    The characters in this are all well done. The good characters are all likeable and the bad characters are all hateable, which is how it should be. Each character is unique and I really enjoyed interacting with all of them. The protagonist is kind of an idiot, but more so a likeable idiot who has some cool moments. The girls are all gorgeous, interesting, and lovable as well. I cared for all of them, so I was really happy that there is a harem ending.

    There are tons of sex scenes in this game and they're all well-animated. Plus, they all make sense from a story perspective, as you build up your relationship with the girls and they eventually fall for you, which is how I prefer it. As this game has incest (albeit of the stepfamily kind), of course it's not completely realistic, and none of the buildup scenarios are original, but I didn't find any of them to be immersion-breaking, so I give the writing a thumbs up. Unfortunately, there isn't a gallery, so I recommend saving before every sex scene if you want to see them again.

    I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this game and I highly recommend playing it! Well done Caribdis!
  17. 5.00 star(s)

    LordNero

    Models are excellent
    Animations are great
    The humor... God, the humor is good as well, and perfectly inserted. There were multiple scenes/dialogue where I started laughing due to stuff happening in the background.
    Overall story is also interesting. You will not get bored, or get a big urge to skip stuff
    Props to the dev for inserting real personality quizes as well, in the beginning. Doesn't change anything, but still a nice addition

    My only two cons:
    - E-scenes are a bit far from one another, with lots of dialogue in-between, that can kill a bit the suspense. If you for example want to see a couple of e-scenes before stopping the gameplay for "today", you can end up waiting ~1 hour or more. Towards the end, they become more congested. Still, the scenes are worth it.
    - No ending E-Scenes. You get a few pictures, with some suggestions, but no actual action happening with any of the girls in the Endings. This is a bit disapointing, especially for the Harem ending :(

    Despite the cons, 5 stars due to the humor and Girls diversity (looks / personality / character development)
  18. 5.00 star(s)

    Razzyell

    So i've came across this game when it was still on his 3rd update if im not mistaken, and after playing it i had that feeling that it had something "diferent" from the rest of the games out there, that "X" factor if you know what i mean.

    Please dont get me wrong, i usually dont like to compare games because IMO, each Developer has his own vision when creating something.

    But this game had something that made me want to wait until it was "completed" to play it again.

    Honestly i tought to myself:
    "ye the game has funny moments, and a good premise, but lets see if it can keep going all the way through without becoming repetitive",

    Man was i wrong...

    This isn't just a game... its something else. This is the kind of experience in wich you begin to feel sad when you know you are reaching the end of the story.

    I bet that a lot of you guys (and girls) know where my profile pic is from, so you realize that i wouldn't praise the story of a game this much, if it really wasn't great...

    This game has everything:
    - Great storyline (honestly, simply better than a lot of movies)
    - Great pacing (goes straight to the point, you dont feel that it drags on)
    - Sexy moments (A TON OF THEM)
    - Great models (Couldn't pick a favourite, i want them all)
    - Unforgettable and charismatic characters (Mike for President :cool:)
    - Funny moments (Huge amount of them, laughed really hard all the time)
    - Suspense and scary moments (no, im not joking...)

    The Developer is clearly a master at his craft, this is a masterpiece not only amonst the erotic/adult games, but any type of game in general., so i just want to say "Thank you" to Caribdis, for allowing simple mortals like us to experience this game.

    Anxiously waiting for the next game, don't know if its going to be as good or even better than this one, but one thing i know for sure... its going to be awesome.

    What more can i say?? Simply go play this masterpiece and rejoice, i just wish i could give more than 5 stars.
  19. 5.00 star(s)

    Taylor Hebert

    Review for Once in a Lifetime v1.0 by Caribdis:

    Definitely one of the best games (not just one of the best 18+games, but games overall) I've played. I think one of the things that drew me in was the humor. The developer seems very aware of each instance of humor that was put into the game. The game's definitely catered to the type of people who like to meme a lot.

    There weren't any bugs or noticeable grammar errors when I played through. If I did I notice them I might've ignored it and forgot about them because they were so minor.

    I love the graphics. After browsing through several adult games, you'll start to notice most people use the same type of renders; certain characters look the same as those in other games, etc. Though the type of models in Once in a Lifetime are not new to me, they're still not a copypasta of the type that's probably on every other page of a Ren'py adult games list.

    The sex scenes are good. The animations are excellent, the different points of view are excellent. My only possible gripe was that the soundtrack used (I think it was the deepthroat one) was pretty recognizable after a bit which made it a bit more stale. There's also certain things during a sex scene I'm not as into which is "insert verbal action here between two asterisks" (ex. *gagging*, *moaning*, etc.). I feel those are usually better depicted through graphics.

    The only big complaint that I could really have is that certain choices might require a walkthrough if you want certain actions though most can be done through trial and error (and certain errors have a good comical flavor too so it's not always bad when you fail). I chose to use the walkthrough though because I can't handle horror and there were still quite a few horror elements I wanted to get through quickly and I didn't want to replay those elements.

    All in all, this is one of only two adult games I've played to have the honor of being put on my tier list in the S tier and I will be enthusiastically looking forward to whatever works Caribdis creates next.
  20. 5.00 star(s)

    MrLKX

    This VN does a lot right in my eyes:
    When I started this VN I thought: Ok, it's about a protagonist who has problems at school and gets help. Then it finally came to the main plot and I was a bit skeptical at first, because I'm actually not a big fan of it, when a halfway "realistic" scenario is pulled into the fantasy realm like that. However, I still gave it a chance and was not disappointed. On the contrary, Caribdis manages to play with the atmosphere very well, be it by using horror elements, humor or comparatively realistic situations without overdoing it in any way.

    I would go so far as to say that this VN is one of the best here in terms of atmosphere, characters and character development.

    Take Jasmine, for example: From a vain and bitchy classmate, she evolves into a very sympathetic and likable character, but still has her moments, which makes her character development feel very organic.

    Mike: By far one of the best supporting characters in the game. When he shows up you know the situation is not only going to absolutely escalate but it's going to be absolutely hilarious. More than once, I've been wide-eyed with humorous horror when I've seen what's going to happen.

    The music is also very well chosen and fits the situations.

    The humor: Some VN take themselves way too important and try to be edgy but can't really leave an impression. Once in a Lifetime is just the opposite: this VN regularly takes itself for a ride and makes jokes about classic tropes.

    There's not much to criticize here and this VN knows exactly when to end. I take my hat off to you Caribdis and know that you have set the bar very high for follow up projects.