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

Caribdis was able to tell a story without going to much to one extreme while forgetting about the other.
Since this game has a pretty good balance of humor, some action,sexual content and a little of horror.

This game shows that honey select graphics still convey a sense of beauty ,lewdness and cuteness when properly done.

The girls are sexy without having cannon balls for tits, the mc is not a goblin and not a shy dormat, special mention to a surprise character that at first seemed to be unimportant but became quite the asset to the humor and plot.

I recommend this game if haven't tried yet (or play it an incompleted version).

PD: And be attentive since while the game is completed it seems an epilogue will be coming after the Dev. release his next game (Eternum/Eternium ....i forgot how is written ..sorry)

Pretty straight forward game, you get what you came for without much effort. Their humor and female 3D models (Lauren best girl) , although a bit simplistic, are great. ( BTW some sex scenes are animated ,which is always more than welcome)
Some weak points would be their narrative and most of their male models, specially the MC.
Definitely a must try if you enjoy 3D VNs

I'm awful at writing reviews about good games, so this will just be a rant about how much I loved this amazing story that turned out to be one of the best, most entertaining experiences I've ever had with a porn game.

The writing is excellent, the story is intriguing and the comedy is great. I've never laughed so much with a porn game in my life. Hell, I can't even remember the last time I had so many belly laughs with... anything. I like how the comedy is incredibly self-aware and makes great use of awkward moments, long pauses, pop culture references, events that happen in the background, etc. It doesn't feel like reading something that was made for people to jerk off to. It feels like watching a genuinely good comedy.

Another thing that I love about the writing, and probably what I love the most about it, are the characters and their interactions with each other. I could read some of these interactions all day without getting bored. I could sit with a smile on my face as they talk about the most mundane stuff, because every single one of these conversations is entertaining, endearing, wholesome or funny. The characters feel so human, and I don't say this lightly. It's incredibly easy to empathize with their feelings, struggles and ambitions. It's incredibly easy to fall in love with their personalities to the point of wanting to see more and more of them. Hell, I even loved the male characters. Unlike every western Ren'Py 3D visual novel ever made in history, the males don't exist with the sole purpose of stealing your girls. They offer hilarious, wholesome, and even emotional moments that really make for a great experience.

Surprisingly, another thing that this game does well is the mystery aspect. While the twists and turns won't exactly blow your mind, the plot is intriguing and the storytelling is amazing. A few moments even manage to be genuinely ominous and thrilling. I'm the type of person who doesn't even flinch at horror games/movies and their stupid jumpscares, so the fact that I was actually captivated by the hospital and the village should tell you just how great this game is at setting the mood.

Speaking of mood, that's another thing that I love about this game. By making great use of the ambience, BGM, lighting, social cues in the writing, etc, the story delivers some very immersive moments that just make you sit back and enjoy what is a truly captivating piece of storytelling. Rebecca's wedding, Jasmine's cute bitchiness, Carla's internal struggles, Judie's and Lauren's adorable affection towards the MC, Mike's companionship, just to name a few of the things that this game delivers so incredibly well that you might forget that you're playing a porn game. Despite the limitations of Honey Select, the developer managed to write so many moments that just pull you in. It's amazing.

I only got the harem ending so far. And although I doubt that anyone in the history of mankind has ever played this game without going for the harem ending, I like to see what a game has to offer, so I'll definitely go for the other endings one of these days. Seeing a bad ending right now would leave a bad taste in my mouth after experiencing such an amazing piece of art. Honestly, I'm not ashamed to say that I got a bit emotional during the final montage. Very few stories manage to make a dent on my cynical heart, let alone porn games, so it's fair to say that this is a masterpiece. But it's not like I cried or anything, baka.

This doesn't feel like just a passion project made by an amateur developer. It feels like something made by someone with actual experience in writing, dare I say professional experience. This game managed to captivate me in a way that most western TV series don't even come close to.

Do I have any bad things to say about this game? Hardly. This being a western Ren'Py 3D VN with a lot of incest, I was expecting something generic. Going shopping for clothes, clubbing, a thousand shower scenes, dudes constantly hitting on your girls, half of the game taking place in a beach, MC taking the girls to a remote island where incest is normal, etc. I'm sick of that, and this game does not go that route at all. This game is inspired. Even though everything is derivative nowadays, I know I won't find anything like this game anytime soon. Hell, the fact that this is a finished product already sets it apart from the graveyard of abandoned scams that we see in the Ren'Py section.

One thing that I can complain about is how little time we get to bond with the girls between "missions" during most of the game. We go from one point to another, never stopping to catch a break and just relax with the girls. The final update definitely delivers in that aspect, however, separating much more time for us to be normal for a while and enjoy our time with the characters without constantly worrying about secret cults and the end of the world. The sex scenes in 1.0 are like trophies, and god, do they feel rewarding. It's like the developer himself descended from his throne, gave you a pat on the back and said, "You treated your girls really well, champ. Here's your reward. Enjoy." And the montage at the end, again, is flawless.

Fuck, I was supposed to talk about something negative and ended up gushing again. Well, you can't blame me. Anyway.

In conclusion, I definitely recommend this game to pretty much anyone. There's not much else to say that hasn't already been said. This is a great experience unless you're exclusively interested in the porn and nothing else. The earlier sex scenes in particular could be better, and the sex scenes in general could be a bit more vivid and detailed with their presentation through the writing. Besides that, I have zero complaints, and this isn't even a complaint because I don't really care about it. This game is a masterpiece.

And to finish this review, I'd like to personally thank the developer for creating this game and having so much passion for it. I'm also happy to know that we'll see more of these characters that I came to love so much, you have no idea. I'm also excited for Eternum, and I'll definitely support you on Patreon/SubscribeStar in the future, because you're one of the developers that deserve it the most around here. Thank you.

TLDR: god-tier overall package, an easy must play or at least must "try to play" suggestion for everybody.

pros:
+ great game pacing
+ wonderful characters, models and animations
+ a lot of different scenes
+ humor - maybe too cheesy for somebody, but i do enjoy it
+ presence of sound effects

cons:
- no option to customize girls in any way (like clothers or hair during action scenes)
- difficulty to find similarly great experience

I believe enough has been said about this masterpiece - definitely deserved to be one of the top. Thanks Caribdis for consistent, quality lewd scenes, mixed with humour that's quite rare in any games here.

I guess if there's one complain I have, it is the lack of harem progression - where females slowly accept sharing the MC. This idea is hot, and huge turn on for readers, so I hope Caribdis takes that into consideration for his next game - ETERNUM. Definitely looking forward for more from this creator!

Fantastic game.

I want to avoid spoilers in case someone is reading this and trying to determine if they should download it or not.

Graphics/Animation: Very good. The renders are all HS so how much you like them will depend on your opinion on HS in general. I like HS and this game stands out as better looking than most HS games I've played, particularly with backgrounds, clothing, and such. The MC also looks better than the default HS male and he looks even better later on with the haircut. The animation is solid, the facial expressions are great, and I never noticed any bad clipping issues.

Story/Characters: Wonderful. I found myself liking all the characters. They all had distinct personalities but they were all likable. The story itself started a little slow but it really picked up and got to be shockingly engaging for an Adult Game.

Overall, this game is very good, easily deserving a 4/5 or a 4.5/5. I would probably give it that rating if the game was still being developed, however, this game gets pushed ahead to a perfect score because IT ENDED.

The Story didn't drag on forever and go absolutely nowhere as the dev milked it for cash like many other popular HS games (Mythic Manor/Harem Hotel/Waifu Academy). And the story didn't rush towards the ending and ruin the pacing like a lot of "Completed" games have on this site. It felt like the story ended precisely when it was meant to. That alone is more than enough reason for me to give this game a 5/5.

My only complaint is that I wish the epilogue was a little more fleshed out. I wanted to see a couple scenes with
But that's just a minor thing. All around great stuff. Really looking forward to what this dev is going to be doing next

I dont know where to start. Well the graphics are Honeyselect whatever and main gilrs look like they have been half sucked by cell, thye are cute, and in some poses thye look good, but thats it for the looks part.

I think many devs do this thing of rendering a small transition in a scene from normal state to "lewd" and then go straight to loop the default animations. I have seen that thing so much that every game looks the same, the assests are the same, and tey do things the same way, so, how can i tell one game from the other?

I dont know if cameras are setup by default but i wouldn say they are cinematic, theer are a lot of shots that cut stuff and you cant tell what is the focus.

The story confused me quite a bit, cause in the beggining it looked ind of a school setting slice of life thing and in the end it left all the previous setting to go full fantasy conspiracy.

The gameplay is straightforward, you are given choices to improve stats, to unlock future scenes, but there are some parts we you are presented with some sort of choice maze. In one particular maze of those, you have access to some lewd scene, that gets interrupted (Devs and subverted expectations mechanics....) and after that you are "rewarded" with a lame maze. That removed my trust in the game almost completely. I think later there was the last lewd scene with a main character that got interrupted again (Devs and subverted expectations again) so i got tired, cause i wasnt really feeling it before and the improvements came late, and not fulfilling enough.

My physiological response to this game was very low, if i were to rate it based on that it would be 1 star, really, and it wouldnt even be unfair since its a porn game, and its the main purpose of it. But since the game has some lennght and a decent amount of content, despite being quite boring in my opinion, im gonna hit it with and "average" cause, as a game is the feeling that gives me, the feeling that i already played this many times, only this is one is not the best.

it's simply an amazing adventure, the plot's nothing groundbreaking, but the added humor and its execution made it an unforgettable experience for a porn game. sometimes it even felt that the sex scenes were just the added incentive to the whole package! i'll be looking forward to the dev's next project.

Its a fun game. It has a pretty crazy supernatural story but it was entertaining the humor wasn't always great but it did manage to make me chuckle and the English isnt bad like a lot of the games on here. The good ending i will say i wish it ended with a big orgy with all the girls or we got to see them more with Prego belly at the end.

nice wholesome game, good characters, things arent rushed in most cases, nice ending , characters all look kind of the same, which can break the narrative sometimes v

Bad graphics, non-sense story, the models are very similar and not really "sexy". There's a lot of steps to accomplish basic things that are not even a little bit fun to do. Lots of grinding, endings are pretty boring Nothing special. Absolutely not on par with other 5 star games.

OH MY GOD.....THIS GAME IS FUCKING AWASOME GUYS
THIS GAME IS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE GAME
STORY WAS VERY GOOD
SEX SCENE WAS FINE ( NOT BAD )



ONE OF MY FAVOURITE CHARACTER WAS MICHAEL ( STABBY MIKE)

v1.0
This was amazing to play. Full score all the way.
I usually steer clear of games made with Illusion or any of the Japanese tools to make characters and environments as most of them turn out to be way too cringy, cliché, unrealistic (even in a fantasy setting) or just plain bad story.
But this one was fun and engaging. It had proper humor and an interesting story. The characters were fleshed out nicely. And I was really scared in a couple of scenes. I'd really like to see more works like this.

This game is possibly the best this site has to offer and i can say it the best i have played. So many developers attempt to create memorable characters integrated in a well paced and well structured game many fail to do so but Caribdis is head and shoulders above the rest. I have often come across reviews where people claim they are attached to a fictional construct in adult games but this game has succeeded in making me feel genuine attraction to the girls in the game. I would die for Lauren.
And Then we have Mike. He is the Garrus to your Shepard, the Watson to your Holmes,the Lydia to your Dragonborn. He will carry your burdens and is the best Bro you can ask for. TBH i would play the game if it was just the Protagonist and Mike. #BrosB4Hoes
This game, although similar to other games in various aspects, knows what it has set out to achieve.
The horror? On point.
The humor? Tasteful.
Renders and Art? Personally i was skeptical in the beginning but i would not imagine the game in any other style. Its fresh and appropriate.
Storytelling? Toit. The choices matter. Although it is possible to reverse some decisions easily some not so much especially the ending. I thought I could save a certain someone but NOPE and it cost me my life. And i appreciate the game all the more for that. It is fun but also serious with what it has set out to achieve. You make a decision you live with it.

TLDR: It is a great game with good writing and humor. 10/10 would recommend.
I am looking forward to the Dev's next project. If i had money to spend i would pay you willingly. Keep up the good work.

It was amazing the story and the lewd all the same man, the horror was on point and so was the humor hahaha the moment when i saw that bad trip made me laugh so hard XD than i anticipated truly Amazing work, I do hope you can continue to create this stories and of course always in good health

This game/(novel ?) was my first one I played something of this kind, and man I am glad that I did, after playing this on early access I tried different kind of games and still this was my one of the best play.

great writing and great use of space and never ignoring the background with well placed jokes and/or hints . integrating memes for comic relief was perfect, i honestly i have never laughed so hard while horny

[Reviewed v1.0; Final version]

Great writing, great sex scenes, engaging storytelling, fleshed out characters, and humor that is actually funny. In a field over-saturated with garbage, Once in a Lifetime really stands out as a beacon of quality.

This is a game that all should aspire to emulate. Looking forward to any future work.

Hah ... Once again I am writing something about games) And I never learned English normally, forgive me in advance) There will not be many words (as it seems to me)
Thank you. Just thank you. After three games in a row with very tough decisions, very sad moments that hit right on the living, this game was just a salvation for me. I'm a big fan of happy harems. And this game made me very happy.
A very enjoyable game. Nice animations, not broken, the music at the end made me even shed a tear)
Once again, thank you very much. This game will remain in my files, as well as some others that somehow made me feel very pleasant.
I always try to be honest in my thoughts and words, but to be honest, I'm not sure that my thoughts written by me can somehow convey the spectrum of feelings that I experienced when I saw the ending to which I was going.
I don't think there is a word that I can accurately describe. Thank you ...

Take my 5 stars.

The animation at first I thought was sub-par, but it really improves later on! In terms of animation I've seen smoother, but hey, it gets the job done.

The story was solid. As an NTR-loving POS, I was a wee bit dismayed but nevertheless, still a 10/10 game.