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

What can I write in this review, that hasn't already been expressed better by others? Probably not much.

The game has an ambitious storyline, many sexy characters, with whom the MC can get it on and the dev uses the honey select options as well as any other game I could think of and a lot better than most.

At times the story, though always interesting, drags a little bit, not in the way that it becomes boring, no simply that it's delving too deep into details, but overall it is definitely great and at least worth playing through the game once for it alone.

The characters are a bit trope, but that isn't really a problem if done well, and here it is done well.

Oh, and one more thing, this is actually a finished game now. Meaning the dev not only put out significant updates over the course of the project, he also brought it to an end in a satisfying way.
That alone, disregarding the girls, the plot, the sex scenes etc.. sets this game apart from so many who never get finished or meander around endlessly, without ever getting somewhere.
Kudos to the dev, looking forward to what's next for Caribdis.

A masterpiece in lewd gaming.

Easily one of the all time best lewd games ever made. The dev manages to do everything right. There is a perfect balance of interesting story, excellent humor and top of the line lewd content the likes I’ve never seen before.

The renders and models are the best when it comes to honey select and the animation is top of the line. The characters have depth and I found them all quite likeable in their own way. There are several love interests to pursue and regardless of which one you prefer they all get plenty of love, so you won’t be disappointed, which is very refreshing. Usually, games with several LIs, a couple get all the love while the rest are forgotten for the most part (which can be quite infuriating if your fav LI is one of the forgotten), so I think the dev deserves extra praise for managing multiple LIs in such a way that they are all able to shine.

The story and writing is top of the line and the lewd scenes are super-hot with a great deal of thought and effort put into it all. This is something that is so rare to find, the vast majority of devs either get so focused on the story at the expense of the lewd contents quantity, quality or both or bombard you with lewd content and completely forget the story (if there is one to begin with). Then there is the humor, so many times I cracked up laughing while playing this game (I’ll miss you Stabby Mike).

All I can say is fantastic job Caribdis, I can not praise you enough and I eagerly look forward to see what you have in store for us in Eternum.

This game is one of the masterpiece.And all i can say is it worth it.Renders,animations,sex scene,harem,virgin.pregnancy,and not to mention multiple route and multiple ending.Its like you watching a movie when you play this game.Its really a long journey.I gotta say i feel happy and sad.Im happy i reach my harem ending and all the girls are with him,travel around the world,have kids with him.Its really good.Im also sad because its already completed when i found this game and their adventure is finished.

Recommend.

I have nothing but good things to say about this game.
Long story, give this game a shot, you won't regret it.

The story is great, and has it's own unique way of doing things.
The art and girls are gorgeous, and there isn't a girl that I could complain about.

I played it 'til 1.0, but found myself constantly replaying. Really enjoyed going back and playing this game over and over.

The animations were fantastic, pacing is good, grammar too.
The humor never ceased to amaze me. Especially with Mike, which is funny because I don't always like the supporting male characters.

To keep/end it short, give this game a try. There's great content to see/read, and it's a story/game to remember. The creator certainly knew what he was doing. Hoping for a sequel, but wouldn't change a thing about this game. 10/10

100/10

I would give this game a million stars if I could for the following reasons:
>Solid story
>Good models
>Humor that doesn't make me want to neck rope
>Completed in a reasonable time
>Creator doesn't seem like they're milking patreonbux

This is one of the best games on this site bar none.

Amazing game. The characters were likable (Stabby Mike MVP), the plot was interesting, the humor worked and, of course, the sex scenes were great. The ending was actually touching, I couldn't help but smile. 10/10 probably my favorite adult game.

Absolutely WONDERFUL game. The art starts out a bit basic, but truly grows on you to the point where it is an actual turn on to have the characters fucking each other. The humor is sometimes subtle and sometimes in your face hilarious. Stabby Mike is the absolute BEST sidekick a man could want! It's right up there with Harem Hotel, My New Family, and dare I say City of Broken Dreamers as far as enjoyable play! I cannot recommend that you play this game enough. This is literally the first game I've reviewed, it's that good!

Honestly loved this game from start to finish. The Humor was great The Writing was a little hit and miss sometimes but it felt really organic and natural. Seeing this game come to an end saddens me genuinely, but I can't wait for the extras and I can't wait to see your next game.

awesome!!! the game is very fun and the story is bidding, cant wait for the next game to be out. the characters are lovely and the jokes gotten me good
the development of the narrative is simple but still surprise a little, its worth the 4G lol XD
Sorry the english, not native

what a masterpiece 10/10
i really enjoyed the game. the story, characters good graphics even if its HS adding humor you will not get bored playing this game.
Overall fantastic game hats of to the dev and cant wait for your next project.

10/10 really great game, the story is great but overall humorous, but also giving hints of horror. Having replays adds another kudos to my list as well. The Sex scene also great more, but as more i play the more i become more engrossed into it. this is really great with its combination of humor and lewdness. Would recommend anyone to whos looking for something entertaining and arousing. so to sum it up, give it a try its really good

An awesome game with beautiful art, gripping plot, great characters, both main and side, an equally great MC as well as a nice touch of humour with gags that are gut-wrencing and aren't overly intrusive. 10/10, first game I've ever commented on and reviewed here. You won't regret playing this.

Truly the best in its bracket.

No other game, let alone an H-game has made me laugh as many times as this game did. While the game is filled with situational humour I never felt as though it was too much. To some this may be simply amusing, but I don't believe that one could get annoyed by them.

It isn't all laughs though. There are meaningful choices to be made and while a small minority may be obtuse, most do give you the expected result. A lot of the alternative choices are simply there to make you laugh. Some branch out the narrative (although it is mostly small things, the game is quite linear), which, in Caribdis's own words "wasn't stretched out" and it shows. You are given a complete package, a full story which is quite entertaining.

Any mistakes you make can be painlessly worked-around with either a load or a replay. There are no sections, awful minigames that would make that a chore, no. A big plus to those of us that want to play without a guide and minimise the pain of replaying a game.

In an industry filled with try-hard stories that have no ounce of humour in them this is a welcome breath of fresh air. The mechanics are simple and transparent. I found no technical, or graphical errors during my playthroughs.

If I were to nitpick, however, it would be perhaps that the story could have used a bit more seriousness. At times I felt that there were too many things happening for the sake of convenience, but never too much to truly take me out of it.
It could have also used some more variety of choice, where there isn't a clearly 'best' answer. This isn't to say that there aren't any impactful choices, no -there are a few that change the ending dramatically. There could have been more of that, though.

Once in a Lifetime is technically solid, narratively intriguing with plenty of eye candy to go around... With an unusual, shitpost-esque humour that makes it truly stand out as an original work.

With no hesitation this game is a 5/5 and one of the best VNs out there... and I've played quite a few. My only wish is that the author doesn't fall into the mould this title has shaped for him in his new project.

And it's over. What a ride it's been. Before the actual review of the game, I have to praise the developer.

Meaty periodic updates, fullstop. All developers can make promises , but it's another thing to deliver. But even when they do, quality like this is hard to come by.

Captivating backstory, beautiful characters, and hey! even the MC doesn't look like a prick, which is more than you can say for most games with this particular brand of assets.

As an adult game, the scenes and dialogue certainly hits the spot. Even though I usually dislike multiple routes and endings. This game is simple enough to let you know exactly what you're gunning for. Either a dark ending of your choice, harem, or solo girl that you like. Also, there's absolutely no lockouts of any girl unless you choose to drop her route.

Game is short though. Which is fine, given that most developers actually drag the story and extend update timings to earn more money. There's a decent amount of scenes in the gallery, not as extensive as some games, true. But a crisp story with a good ending almost always feels better.

What I would have liked is a bit more of the pregnancy content. There's snippets of it, and while that's hot as fuck. There isn't enough of it to scratch that itch if you're into it like me.

Lastly, developer mentioned that he will be making a new game, which is amazing news. If you're reading this review and feel like you want to start this game, or their next one AND is financially able to support them. I implore you to do so as they tick every box of a legitimate developer who makes great games and will go far.

v1.0
The Good
Great game, good story, ending was on point.

The Bad
The requirements for the harem end are a bit of a pain you need to get the correct potions alone with a bunch of other stuff.

In conclusion game is a solid 9/10
Stabby for president 2024

Play this game. I don't want to hear your excuses about not having time. Quit your job, divorce your wife, leave your kids at a random gas station, whatever you need to do. Play this game now. The story is intriguing, the characters are interesting, the sex is frothy and steaming, and the humor is top notch. Go make whatever poor life choices you need to in order to play this right now.

This is easily one of the best games that I've played in recent memory. Easily in my top 5 and I doubt it's gonna change anytime soon.

Also feels nice that the game actually had an ending that was decided by the player's actions.

Quality is top tier in every metric and I'm excited for what the developer will come up with in the future.

11/10

Masterpiece.

Sure, this game has many flaws here, there and over there. Plenty noted, already. But, overall it was very balanced and satisfying fun experience. thanks devs. Keep it up. I really mean it. 5/5

In the context of ostensibly one-person-show indie adult VNs, OIALT is a masterpiece, if only for one very specific reason:

In a slew of titles on this site using scope creep as a convenient excuse to become vehicles for milking patrons year-over-year, OIALT has accomplished exactly what it set out to: tell a compelling, sexy, and funny story with meaningful choices over 10 parts, with room to keep growing in the future.

With the successful conclusion of the main plot, it's become self-evident that not only was the project rigorously planned out start to finish from the very beginning, but - and more importantly - the developer had the discipline to stick with that plan without generating a million new and "wonderful" ideas in the interim of development, burning themselves out in the process and all but guaranteeing the kind of delays you can't go more than three clicks from this review without finding.

Exceedingly rare with this style of game or not, while this is all very dry and boring stuff, it's also hardly the game's only quality. Overall, this is the Goldilocks indie adult VN. Not too long nor too short. Not too horny nor too much story, only a little gory. No skipping entire in-game days to trigger the next event. No grinding. No absurd fridge logic. No crappy stock music (very good audio design overall actually, do NOT turn the sound/music off). Just a solid, fun ride through a guy and his (step-)family and friends' battle against evil.

No, the plot doesn't have the grandeur of Fate/stay night. No, you won't find the kind of character development Lessons in Love is working on. No, you won't find the (riveting, if you're into fishing) gameplay of Hero's Harem Guild. No, you (thankfully) won't find the same bottomless wellspring of dumb humor as in Four Elements Trainer. No, you won't find the same amount of lewd content as in Being A DIK.

But only one of those games is finished or even close, and none of them are fair comparisons, because in terms of a complete package, where you get a balance of everything without needing a week to find all 5 endings or 12 years A Slaveof development to wait for, I would really love to hear of anything comparable.

...And if this is what Caribdis is capable of, I can't wait to see what Scylla has in store *ba-dum tss*

This game is great. It's also very heavily reviewed. Most of those reviews also say it's great. Humor, lewdness, story blah blah. You don't need me to tell you it's great. Let me tell you why this game isn't bad.

There's a clear beginning, middle and end. A story is actually told. This is probably more of an indictment on games like this than anything. But it's remarkably rare and it's a trait the best games out there all have. The story is interesting enough to hold your attention. It won't change your life, and it thankfully doesn't want to. The scenes are great, they progress naturally and incredibly erotically. You could recommend this game to someone who is a JP VN purist and not feel bad. That puts it in the pantheon of western VNs. It deserves the spot.

That said, there's a few weak points. The beginning is rather amateurish, likely because it was written by a former amateur, and the ending is abrupt likely because the scope of this thing was too large to be anything else. There were a ton of different possible ways you could have ended the game. You can really feel how optional characters are when they're left out of important scenes for poorly defined reasons. It's excusable.

The one thing this game does that none of the other games do that it does not get nearly the praise it deserves for. That is the semi-sandbox modes. They do an excellent job of blending in mystery/puzzles that point you in the direction you need to go in order to get the "best" outcome. It's simple enough to do, but engaging enough to keep you on your toes. This is the real wheelhouse of this game. Where almost all sandboxes and sandbox games meander, this one tells you to sit down and pay attention.

If I were to deduct points for any reason for this game, the lack of a memories/cg collection/recollection room would be it. It's so frustratingly common, however, that I just can't bring myself to do it. I can only really ask nicely. (Edit: there is a gallery. It's weird to access. It should probably be less weird to access, but even having one just highlights how rare a game like this is).

In closing, you can tell the author dramatically improved over the course of doing this. The story at its peak is easily on par with any of the other western VNs you can find. It maybe understays it welcome a bit, but understandably so. This will likely be the game I recommend to people who firmly believe that there is no such thing as a good western VN. Over any of other games (yes, including the one you like the most). You have to be excited about the future of what these guys are going to make.