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

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!

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)

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 )
- 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.

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.

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.

Pretty much a flawless game.

The sex scenes are great. The characters are great. The story was surprisingly interesting and funny. I liked the music used as well.

I wish there was one more scene with the mom (maybe a 4 way with the whole family), but that is the one gripe I had. I can understand why he ended it with the 3 way.

I think there is an incest-less version, so there is really no reason why anyone shouldn't play this game.

6/5 wish there was more

Genuinely brilliant. This is one of the best VNs I have ever played, and I wish I could erase it from my mind just to be able to experience it again for the first time! The writing could occasionally use a little bit of editing, but please for the love of everything holy - give this game a try! The story is well crafted, there are serious elements as well as good natured humour, some decisions carry a mighty impact (make sure to save your shabby friend), and the characters are among the best written I've seen in a long time. Do you know that 'empty' feeling you get after finishing a fantastic book, game, movie, series, etc...? I rarely get that with VNs, but this game here touched my soul and left me feeling hollow afterwards - and I mean that in the absolute best way possible! Wish I could rate this higher than a 5/5.

Outstanding game, writing is excellent with a great sense of humour, and the girls and scenes are brilliant. Definitely recommended! Can't wait to see how the next game from this developer, Eternum, turns out!

I gotta say... This game has got to be ONE of the BEST VNs I've played on this site. Easily one of my top 5 games.

Pros
- Great ass ( ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ) animations.
- A good fucking story. (Finally some good fucking food)
- Amazing humor. (I fucking love Hiromi and Stabby Mike. The best supporters of the protag. Dildo Boy is also hilarious lmfao.)
- Loveable LIs. (Lauren hawt with that messy hair)
- Incest lol
- Normal looking protag. (The amount of shitty looking protags in this site is unbelievable).
- And lastly, a fucking sweet and satisfying ending. (Atleast for the ending that I got. That shit is canon to me lmao)

Cons
- You're gonna feel empty after finishing this game. (Only two games have ever done this to me, yet. Acting Lessons and this game)
- Not enough scenes. I LOVE the scenes in this game but tbh I wanted more with some of the other LIs (Maybe a threesome with Mom and Rebecca? Fivesome with Aiko, Iris, Judie and Lauren? Maybe even an orgy with all of them lol). Still tho, love the current scenes... especially the last one

Sidenote
- Do not go into this game expecting some sandbox type of stuff like map exploration, stats training, open world type of shit. Go into this game expecting a lot of tapping, reading and a whole lotta love.

I rarely ever do reviews. Hell, this is even my first review lmao. One of the best games I've played and so this game will be receiving my first ever review. Thank you for the experience Caribdis!
Remember...
Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened. (Though I wish I could've experienced more dialogue in the ending that I got lol)
And also Lauren best girl.

Play a lot of VN, but this one make me laugh more, than any other.
Girls cute, but all breasts are similar=(, story have a interesting plot.
Thanks for your work!
(I hope a lot of man truly appreciate your masterpiece)

Good renders, good story, good characters, hot scenes, it's hard for me to say what this game doesn't have really. It's definitely one of the better VNs I've played.

If there's a complaint I could invent, I guess it'd have to be genre whiplash. The game's got comedy, horror, drama, and erotica all tossed into a blender. It can be a little disconcerting to go from one to another, but even then, each genre is reasonably spaced from one another, so even that complaint falls flat.

Coming from someone with a deep-seated hatred for horror games, I still recommend this game, full stop. If you're in the market for a VN, you can't go wrong with this one.

What a game. Not usually a fan of harem stuff, but the quality of every aspect is just so good, I'd have to put it up there with the best and favorite ever on my list.

The writing is so well done and hilarious, I think you could just play it as a non porn game. And of course the porn part is hot as fuck, so it's basically 10/10 for every category. Truly a masterpiece.

Bravo to dev, can't wait for your next game (Eternum).

A game that I can play over and over again to choose different directions. The plot can't be said to be excellent, but it still plays well. The best thing is the characters, they are sexy, charming and have a clear role.
You did a great job, Dev! Waiting for the next work!

Probably the best adult VN ever created.

It has it all:
1.A great story.It's not really that deep but every time you play it makes you wonder "how this will end?" and it's full of funny scenes that will make you laugh out loud.
2.Great characters.The main cast of characters are charismatic,have their own believable personalities and don't act like the MC is the center of the world,like in other games.Now,the secondary charecters are one of best fucking things in this game,each one of them contribute to make the game even funnier,Stabby Mike,Hiromi,Oliver,Fat/Fit Jack,Tom,etc.Every scene they are in the game improves.
3.Great models and H-Scenes.Beautiful girls really different from other games made with Honey Select and good sex scenes.(I'm only hoping the dev adds some more to the endings)

Well,I could keep talking about how good Once in a Lifetime is,but I'll finish just saying that this is THE BEST MOTHERFUCKING GAME EVER 10/10

I don't normally review games, but this is easily one of my favorite ones. Hands down.
Catchy and creative story. Great writing and development. Found myself having to stifle laughs throughout. Ambience was awesome too. Animation was hot AF.

Was honestly a little put off my the models and almost didn't give it a go because of it, but I grew to like them and glad I gave it a chance.

I only wish there was a final sex scene at the end tho

This game really ticked all my boxes. Harem and incest. But other than that the story and player choices are really good. I like this kind of romance thriller game. Best game i've ever played yet in this site.

Well rounded and polished game. The renders are nice. Animations look good. Interesting story and funny moments. Decent amount of content and game length. Enjoyed it a lot. Not a lot more to say, I guess. Good game.

I really like the humor in this game. I loved when the renders added to it as well; wacky stuff happening in the background and flashing back and forth between silent stares.

My only complaint is that Rebecca (the teacher) is so disconnected from the rest of the plot. In some sense, Iris and Jasmine as well. I feel like the game could have been just as good or better if they had been removed and more focus put on the other characters.

This was a trip, a good trip, a trip I very much advise to take for anyone reading this.

Honey Select isn't my favorite but this game uses HS1 to it's advantage, the style, animations, story and characters all work with this medium. Plus it gave us my dude Stabby Mike... good times to be had with him along for the ride.

The story is good, little bit of everything and does not take itself too seriously, Caribdis really delivered on all fronts.

Only thing I would add would be an epilogue to go with the endings, mainly the Harem ending. Want to know how life went for them not just the slideshow but this is still better then 75% of other VNs.

All in all a solid 5/5 stars. Will definately be playing the next one!!

This game have it all from story, humour, horror elements and decent renders. It is the best Honey Select based I've played in the last year or two. I wish for more success with the developer for he actually finished it.