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

This was the best VN i played in the last... i dont know, 5 years? more even.

It has it all, the music, the work to make scenarios, change the clothes of the cast (yes, not allways the same dress to mark them as the same character, wild huh)

The writing is good, not just serviceable, good. It doesnt just tell a story, it has character behind each one of the members of the cast, you could "feel" their character.

The humor is usually on point, and with a mix of some innocuous pop culture, some dark jokes, and a lot of hilarious situations.

I reached the end of the game, to be greeted with a heartwarming sensation, and a sense of void but also acomplisement.

I never wrote a review of this kind before. but man. i feel the need to RECOMEND this to anyone that could read this.

Its memorable. try it, you wont regret it.

Came for the sex, stay for the plot. This time, for real.

Masterpiece game with:
- hot milf
- decent story
- hot cheeks
-with good ending i got heartwarming feelings from it
i was hoping to see more scenes with carla , however is still a pretty good game .

For a first title, OiaL is a tour de force. If you're playing it now for the first time and things seem unimpressive or derivative right at the beginning, stick with it - Caribdis leveled up their dev skills a TON while making this game, and it won't take long before those shaky early efforts are all but forgotten.

Definitely among the short list of must-play titles for anyone interested in AVNs.

Im gonna keep it as short as possible the least i can do is give this game 5 stars i don't remember the last time i laughed so hard at some of the comedy in this game i loved all the LI's in this game and it was nice to be able to go through all the girls romances in one playthrough without the game making me feel guilty about it and the main story of the game was fun and interesting didn't take itself too seriously which i loved i guess my only complaint is the ending didn't have any dialogue between the girls i went with the harem ending but it was nice ending just wish it had more dialogue for it.

Fine game, it was fun to play.
Not very original though, the MC is pretty "typical", the whole story served him a little bit too much in my opinion. The girls are cute, maybe a little more too thin for my usual taste.

I salute the effort to make an overall game with comedic relief, thriller/supernatual stuff.
Still I wasn't completely hooked to all those element.

I don't think i'm going to remember that game very long, especially comparing to Eternum than I start playing which I found already way more interesting by now.

Very good story, the characters and the interactions you get with them are the best part of the story. It has plenty of animations and content, just enough to leave you satisfied. The jokes not always land (not a fan of the fat/fit jack bit) but it's a pretty funny game.
Love the girls

Very dynamic game with a different, but interesting story, and a lot of options of partners, each one with their own personality. The art style is excelent! Only the ending was kind of disappointing... Would love to know similiar games

The best adult game that i've played in my opinion. The story is great and i really ended up liking the characters and relationships. I'm looking foward to the next project Eternum, and if it's anything like this game, i'm sure it's gonna be one of the greatest.

Great story. Well developed characters and a memorable plot. The plot seems rather banal, but then so many interesting events happen that you want to know more and more what will happen next. Well, the H-scenes are, of course, very good)

Thats a game that surprised me. Man, the humour is great. Really, i laughed a lot. And, of course, the scenes. That is really my favorite completed game so far in this site. A great piece of work! 10/10!

The story is very self aware of how "ridiculous" it is, with very good and entertaining humour, never had a dull moment playing the game. A different type of art, it can take a little while to get used to it, but it's good. Despite the art style, the lewds scenes are extremely sexual and captivating.

[After playing v.1.0]

Light and engaging story, engaging characters, nicely done. It's one of those that even when you don't think they're exploring anything new yet you can't stop playing them because they just feel right. It has many well done comedy elements, the girls are great, the sex scenes are fine and the story feels exciting enough to want to explore more about it. It doesn't feel too long too.

I wouldn't doubt to recommend it and I'm very interested in the next projects.

This game definitely deserves the high rating it has.

* The story is excellent (It's WAY above the average for a porn game. And it could be classified as "good" even if it was a non-porn VN). Also, the "humor" part of the game is great! With that said, I guaranty this game will entertain you for sure between the sex scenes.

*The different characters personalities and scenarios are great!

*The sex scenes and animations are very good.

*The only negative point I would give to the game is that the girls models are a bit too similar, especially on the body type/proportions (but they are hot!) and the graphics of the game, overall, are not the greatest.
(Even though that's the only aspect of the game I would not put as "great or excellent", I don't think that's enough to detract from a 5 stars rating system!)

9/10 final rating!

One of the best stories and everything has a fullness feeling to it. From the character development and design, to the raw details of the scenes it's one of those games you can tell has passion and not just another beat and jump ship to the next. Love the eternum teaser at the end (im playing it as well), really ties everything together. No I didn't go the asatroth path and completely rule the world...(I completely went this route and had a harem with every girl)...

What a wonderful surprise! Brilliantly written, thoroughly entertaining, extremely funny and sometimes surprisingly heartfelt -- and quite erotic. This game has it all!

With a very clever use of the Honey Select game/engine, Caribdis has managed to create characters that are not only extremely cute and sexy, but very believable (although some variation in body proportions would have been nice).

This creator is definitely one to be followed!

this game contain all the merits to be good:great humor,story,character development and mostly important GIRLS
Anyway i'll alway remember that gulag scene with Mike(what a man) and the Masterchief dialog too

great story with a lot of humor, there is a slight variation in the gameplay from chapter to chapter, good girls and the pocibility to leave no one behind, decent duration, good aftertaste, even want to replay it once

One of my favourite R18 games and perhaps one of the greatest pieces of the genre. I finished the game several months ago, realized today I had not rated it and considered not doing it a disservice to one of the best games in this page.
The story is fascinatingly interesting, mixes occult and fantastic elements masterfully with the pretty realistic setting and every single plotline, even the pseudo-tangential ones (Jasmine's romance line, for example), are developed and finished pretty much flawlessly. On the same line, the characters are all charming, interesting, deep and/or funny as fuck, normally all 4 combined; and all of their development makes sense and is very well written.
On top of that the comedy is absolutely genious. While humor is usually a very subjective matter in story driven games (be it pornographic or not), in this specific case not one joke went unnoticed or without getting at least an exhale of air through my nose out of me. Not that it couldn't make me laugh: This is, while not the only porn game that has gotten me to laugh out loud, the only one that has gotten me to laugh to the point of having to muffle it to not wake anyone up in my building. It is to the point that I genuinely think I would get along with the creator irl just because of how well their sense of humor hits me.
The artwork too is really, really good. Caribdis has a unique aesthetic I have not seen before; one that is both unique and different enough to be a nice change of pace from the copypasted 3DCG models most games use, and not so far out there that only people with specific tastes could enjoy. It's cute without being too cartoony and realistic without being the same 6-10 models that repeat themselves in pretty much 90% of erotic 3D games.
With all of the above, I would have played and enjoyed this game even if it didn't have porn; but even that is excellent: While the animations start somewhat clunky and average at the beginning of the game, by the midpoint they are already more than decent, and by the end it looks like what an experienced porn games dev would make. The improvement between the first few animations and the last ones is impressive to say the least.
Finally, in terms of choices and mechanics, even if there's nothing special, the game does nothing wrong either: The choices are divergent enough; even if they mostly revolve exclusively around gaining or losing points with each of the girls, there still are a couple that give you the chance to greatly alter the ending, and even if this system isn't unique, "if it's not broken don't fix it".
In summary, this was one of the best erotic games I've ever played, with some of the best story, characters, development, humor, scenes and presentation that the genre has to offer; easily one of my top 5. With this game alone Caribdis has turned into one of my favourite developers by far, and from what I've played so far of their new game, Eternum, it seems that's not going to change any time soon. Congrats on developing and writing one of the best games to ever be in this website; I'd genuinely recommend giving Once in a Lifetime a try to any and all users of F95Zone, and to support Caribdis in any way possible so that more games of this caliber may come into existance.

I must say, this game is undoubtedly one of the best on this site. From the well-developed characters to the captivating plot, it truly excels in every aspect, leaving little room for improvement. However, I couldn't help but wish for a more satisfying closure to the individual character endings. Perhaps a collage of multiple scenes showing us what transpired after the conclusion would have been ideal. While it seems that only one ending fully addresses this, likely the true ending, I believe that all characters deserved this level of attention.

Now, I must admit that the graphics and art style didn't quite resonate with me personally. Nevertheless, the game compensates for it so exceptionally well through its brilliant storytelling and gameplay that this minor quibble becomes insignificant.

The developers behind this masterpiece are clearly skilled artisans who have crafted an experience like no other. If you're searching for something great, look no further. This game is a shining example of their dedication to their craft.

If you know me, you know I believe that F95 rating system is fundamentally flawed. The reason is simple, you cannot reasonably review unfinished products. However, this is no longer a finished product, so here it is.

It is quite common for developers to try to produce high quality product that ended up believing they are better than what they are. This is not necessarily wrong, it is absolutely good that these developers are trying hard and having expectations on their work. But, more often than not, their result is lower than what they think it is. Too cliche, too naive. Too average? Well, this is NOT Once in a lifetime.

Once in a lifetime is a fantastic novel. More than anything, because of its witty writing. Caribdis is a fantastic writer. No, he will most likely not make you evaluate your whole life, neither will his product earn him a novel prize or anything. But you will enjoy reading every single line. In once in a life time he takes an standard formula (horny teenager wants to fuck everything that moves, include... close members in his household.. wink wink), but instead of trying to do it with a protagonist that has a dark/tragic past or simply is absolutely awesome in each single way, he is as average as can be. MC, no matter where you see him from, is absolutely forgettable. So.. why is it so good? Well, Caribdis manages to take you on MC's journey from a point of view of comedy and silly happy feelings. This is not to say that there is no drama or tension or even scary parts (looking at you, Mr Hospital). But the overall style makes you forget this is an erotic visual novel and just enjoy a ride next to MC and its beautiful girls, with funny moments all around. And that makes this MC absolutely great.

Ohh.. I did mention beautiful girls, right? Oh yess... girls in this game are absolutely fantastic. Even the most boring ones are absolutely great. And the best ones are top waifu level. So believe me, you will want to spend time with them, and in them. Cause they are freaking hot.

What about overall plot, you may ask? I mentioned OIAL takes a standard formula of a horny teenager that wants to fuck every single cute hole he sees. And that is true. But those are the only standard similarities that you can find. Plot is quite more complex that you would expect at first, with a lot of intrigue and change in scenery. Yes, you will not be stuck at home or school thinking how you can fuck "insert cute name here". You will go to different scenarios, by trying to unravel a mysterious plot. Overall plot might not be the most fantastic and mind blowing plots of all (Legacy of Kain, Netflix Dark except for that absolutely crappy ending), but it will keep you way more interested than you would imagine when you pick the game to have a soo needed release.

What about ambient? Graphics are done in Honey Select engine from illusion. Unlike Blender/Daz, they are more cartoonish and anime style of graphics. While quality clearly inferior to those, given the overall writing style I believe the combination works fantastic.

And music? I am of the mindset that music is not just something good to have, it is essential. Music is key to set the right tone on a scene. And many times it is all you need. Caribdis did a very good job in that sense. That is not to say the music itself is great. I don't believe you will want to hear any of the songs after playing the game, something that would happen playing The House in Fata Morgana. But in terms of music ambientation, the job is well done.

You may be wondering if there is anything wrong. The short answer would be no. Nothing to complain, really. The long answer is still no. Kidding. If anything, a little more drama would have been welcome. But that is just me from a drama loving perspective. Putting more drama in OIAL is not an easy task given the overall style of it. So, I believe we can let this one thing slide by.

So if you get to here reading, kudos to you for reading what I have say. As the future ruler of Earth, you should always read me. Please do remember I am a certified supervillain. And this supervillain overlord strongly recommends this novel. It will not fuck your mind like The House in Fata Morgana does. Neither it will take you over a sci-fi thrilling time shattering multiverse as Muv-Luv. It will not make you scream at the screen (pun intended) like Acting Lessons (which I love, unlike that overrated BADIK) for playing with your expectations. But you will have the best of time. And that is all that really matters.

10/10. Just go and enjoy it.