VN - Ren'Py - One Day at a Time [S2 Ch.19 P1] [Zoey Raven]

Reviewing Ch.12

I've had a bit of a roller-coaster with this one. And I don't mean an emotional one.
When it started I was looking forward to where it'd be going. Then I found myself bored and marking the thread as ignored so I didn't waste my time anymore. And then I came back as the so called "Season 2" started, to see where it was.
I'm going to keep ignoring and won't come back this time.

The story is all about drugs and going through it with your girlfriend Lydia. Lydia is great: Nice face, nice body, nice personality.
Then there is a girl with some corruption mechanic (Audrey) and another with a dom/sub mechanic (Barb). However I haven't found those affecting much, other than small text variations.
Another girl comes later and is my second favorite (Samantha). It does however take a very long time until you can get with her. And there is a scene where you can have both Lydia & Sam together. After several hours of play...
(there are other girls but they aren't very interesting)

This is the main issue with this game. The sex scenes are sparse and unfortunately bad too. The story is the star here, which means a lot of text. And the sex scenes never feel anything more than industrial and boring. They always end abruptly with a fade to black too. Even that threesome scene that should have made me happy was lame. You'd expect at least two cumshots with two girls? But no. Just one, then fade to black.

If the story was concentrated on the couple only, i.e Lydia, and maybe one more girl, I think it'd be okay. But as it is, it fails to scratch any itch in the end and feels like a huge waste of time. I guess the story didn't grab me as it might others.

That being said, that's from a point of view of expecting a porn game with some story to carry it.
If you want mainly a complex story around drugs that makes War & Peace feel like an OG tweet, with a sprinkle of sex, then you might be very happy here.

I'll keep the review short but the visuals are very unimpressive and the story certainly doesn't make up for it. All the characters are cookie cutter with the exact same personality. The story drags and the dialogue is exhausting due to the above mentioned issue with all the characters feeling the same. You'll switch from girlfriend A to girlfriend Z and feel like its the same conversation.

Did you know the author is a movie fanatic? Because guess what! Every single character shares the same obscure taste in movies too! it doesn't strike me as a very interesting slice of life novel either because it doesn't really portray addiction all that well - maybe just the authors specific experience.

Free housing, family to give you a car after accidents, friends to give you a good paying job, strong social support network, friends to bail you out of legal trouble? Understanding parole officer? Either recovers first time without relapses or on druggy route? Recovery is a roller coaster and 90% of the patients I see don't have the resources MC does. The alcoholic nurse seems like she has a more interesting story than the MC does.

I'll play a text based game or read a story on CHYOA if it's good enough I don't need visual stimuli or lots of sex but up to chp 11 this story has neither. It doesn't titulate and it's not interesting meeting a new girl in chp 11 when shes the same as the girls you meet in chp 1 and the second MC decides to enter recovery that story stops being interesting (due to poor storytelling or what not sure)

Wow, I'm not sure were to start with this one. It hit me in the feels so many times. I like the fact the developer is able to keep the game balanced between the darker realities of addiction and the love and friendship these characters have for each other.

The story in this game is top notch. Easily one of the best on this site. Every moment of it has kept me engaged.

The visuals in the beginning of the game are not quite as good as what comes later, so it's clear the developer has improved in that area. This also goes for the animations.

I've been a patreon supporter of Zoey for a long time due to their mod content. I wasn't even going to try this game when I saw it had drugs in it, but don't let that stop you, and don't let it make you wait like I did to play this. It's not your standard druggy game. This game shows them getting better, and also having struggles.

I've not seen this topic addressed in the manner it is in the game, with the accuracy it's done with. I've had addicts in my life before and this game is spot on, the reason I hesitated at first is because I've rarely seen anything get it right, but this game does.

One last thing that needs to be mentioned. You will care for the characters in this game, they are not hollow throw away shells like a lot of your standard games. They have true depth and are very well fleshed out.

I would highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoys a wide range of emotions. Because it has all of them.

I can't wait for the next update, it's obvious this game comes from the heart.

Congratulations on being able to stay sober for so long Zoey.

My personal opinion of this story is just that.

The story certainly shows a more accurate depiction of drug addiction and the damage it will do to people, you cant just 'love them' better, its a horrible sickness that a person has to want to fight themself.
The game has a couple of pretty hot chararacters too so thats a bonus. (my personal favourites are Audrey - Lovely but not the diabetes inducing tooth rot vaiety.
Barb is pretty, kinda badass and actually has a pretty interesting character development arc.)


That said the story can feel incredibly slow. It adds to realism if that's your cup of tea. (I believe it is referred to as slice of life), but i guess makes the story telling a chore to read through if you're less keen (perhaps a few well implemented time skips might have been beneficial, in my opinion).

If you like one specific girl (who isnt the starting girlfriend) and wanna chase that? This game will be an even bigger crawl. And I mean that purely because there are quite a few different women here to consider, and sometimes it can be quite a gap between even seeing them. In the mean time you must eat your peas and wait.
(yes, there are plenty of litle wobble your toggle scenes in the VN buuuut only if you are so inclined by all the characters (specific ones will be few and far apart in my experience).

I kept playing this (all the way to the end of the update) because I wanted to give it a fair shot since it is so highly rated (One of my favourite VN's had an awful intro and without another review urging me on I would've ditched it)... But it just never seemed to have that click moment for me where I was truly invested.

Again all personal opinion. But I wouldn't recommend this VN unless you have A LOT of time on your hands, really enjoy looong text heavy stories, and/or want to learn a little more about substance abuse without the sugar coating of traditional media.

Like I said in the thread, I'm obsessed with this VN, I think the main reason why is because I can relate to a lot of the characters, I myself am not an addict but since birth I've been surrounded by alcoholics and often drug addicts growing up (and still to this day there's a few that can't stop self destructing themselves) and the way this is written is 100% accurate, you don't want to see it happen or be around it but you also want to help the people get right because you care about them, this is very unique on f95zone because the writing is mature and not a trope that gets released weekly

The characters are all just great, there's not a whole lot I can say other than you become obsessed in wanting to learn more about them and see where their story's are going to lead (I'm a big fan of Audrey,barb and Samantha and I'm curious as to how they'll fit in by the end I hope none of the current or future LI are considered side girls and have a part in the end)

Things I hope to see by the end
All of the Li happy together with the MC, all of them off drugs and alcohol and planning their futures together, maybe a pregnancy or 2 if it suits the Li storywise, for the mc to be successful

(At day 14 for my review)

There is a lot to like about this game. First of all, its an adult game. I don't mean a sex game although there is plenty of sex with some hot ladies. More on that later.

What I mean, is that these characters are adults. They are flawed, they have real issues and face some horrid things. You will likely feel sad or angry along with them. You might cry (it's okay if you do!) You'll have to make some hard choices, and those choices you make can really affect things.

You might learn some things about yourself, or those people around you.

It might seem like a dark game, and at times it is, but so far, depending on your choices, its still a game about hope as well. You can start to see good things happen to the characters around you, sometimes directly because of your choices.

In short, it's an amazing setting, and one of the handful of these types of games with some real emotional punch. It would be worth reading or playing without the sexy times, although that aspect is still well integrated into the story as well.

About the women and the sexual relationships: All of the women feel like distinct characters, each with their own personalities, struggles and flaws. Of course, many of them also share a major struggle due to the theme of the game, but its still treated differently. Some are shy, some of them are freaks in the sheets, some of them use sex as a tool. Probably the only major 'porn trope' that the game uses is that they all 'fall' for the MC pretty easily so it tends towards "harem-lite" at the moment, but that still serves to keep the game a little lighter in contrast to the darker emotional stuff. They don't serve the MC in the slightest, in fact all of them give him the shit all the time, but everyone is free and open with "love" and frankly it's very nice.

The game also balances the darkness with a lot humor and amusing situations. Its what keeps the game fun alongside the emotional weight that it carries along the way.

Technically, its very solid. The scenes in the game are great, the developer creates tons of unique locations and they all look fantastic and real. A dirt city alley looks like a dirty city alley, a pawn shop looks like a pawn shop.

They women are all hot and feel real. They aren't as beautiful as some of the models in other games, but it would feel weird if the game was full of heroin addicts who double as Victoria's Secret models during the day. They're still very sexy though, and the renders and animations combine with good writing to make the scenes very enjoyable. And there is a lot of variety in them as well.

There are things that could be better, sure, but the entire thing combines into one of the best ongoing games out there. Nobody is perfect, but as they say in the game, One Day at a Time is Perfectly Flawed.

Give it a try, you'll be glad you did!

One of the most well written games. Story is excellent, full with many interesting characters in a serious setting. The pacing is steady and there are many memorable moments. The game has a great developer and delivers many hours of enjoyment. Season 1 is complete and will continue in the near future.

This amazing VN has been on my list to review for quite some time. I generally wait until there is enough content to form a valid assessment of the developer’s work. At version 10.c it’s been ready for a review for quite some time.

This will not be my typical review, because One Day at a Time is not a typical VN. I’ve found it difficult to do justice to this excellent VN. For the record, dealing with the addictions of others was a part of my life for more than two decades, so I have real life insight into much of the material that is presented in this VN. The level of honesty and reality is impressive.

Creating an AVN within the background of dealing with addiction is far from a common story. The pitfalls that face an author are many and I could, but will not, point out several other attempts here on F95 to add addiction to the MC of a VN which either utterly failed or was burdensome throughout the story. Zoey masterfully weaves the addicts and recovering addicts into his story so that we see a window into the impact of their addiction without it overpowering the stories of the various characters. Their addiction is a part of their story, but we also see them cope with all the other aspects of relationships, life, past mistakes, loss and setbacks, and occasional triumphs. This is the modern equivalent of the stories told by movies like “The Days of Wine and Roses” were in their time. Exposing the story of addiction, without preaching, in the framework of a truly engaging cast of characters. Each with their own history, story, and personality. These are characters that have a lot of depth and are each uniquely their own. This VN is as excellent in its time as those movies were in theirs.

Leaving the unique challenges behind. How good is this VN on the typical criteria that we generally apply?

The VN is technically excellent, as we would expect from master modder like Zoey who has a complete command of the tools and technologies involved. There are LIs to draw almost any taste. I can’t think of any that I don’t find attractive, and more than a couple are, at least in my opinion damn hot. The dialog is sound and believable. Some folks find it a bit wordy or repetitive, but in real life couples tend to have lots of repetitive conversations. The banter is pretty good. Sometime excellent and, as in all communication not so much. Lewd scenes are good and plentiful enough that you won’t find the sex lacking. The motivations for them are very believable. Some of the relationships have been around a long time, and we see that in their interactions. So overall the writing floats between very good and excellent.

A great story that draws us in and we find ourselves investing in the characters.

Without the challenge of incorporating addiction, this VN would on all other merits easily hit a five star rating. Given how smoothly and naturally this story flow, this VN is truly in a class by itself. But as I said it’s unique.

TL;DR
An excellent VN in all facets. It’s more than well worth your time to check out.

This is great VN so far. Engaging story and characters. Just a bit disappointed with this last chapter... I made 2 saves with a full sober choice and of course another full junkie one. That changes absolutely nothing... But once again, the story itself, quality of the writing makes the difference with 98% of the others todays VNs. Congrats !

This is a game that I rate 5* because it offers me a unique experience despite its (many) flaws. I am not a big fan of harem games, since I generally feel it makes the individual LIs less meaningful. This is not necessarily true in this game. For one, the MC feels like the type of person that could realistically exist in the real world, maybe not as excessive as in this game, but he surely is the easy going type that can have multiple girlfriends and get away with it. Since its believable it bothers me less. Secondly, the story is very long and puts emphasis on drug addiction, a topic I am not very familiar with. I am like a sponge for this type of foreign experiences, so him being in a harem scenario is not my main focus. Third, the LIs have a rich personality that keeps you attached despite basically being a man-whore. Sometimes I wish there were more fundamental conflicts between the protagonists. Lingering conflicts from early game seem to have found a resolution, which can make the progression feel like a slog at times. However, I am still very much invested and hopeful it won't be all easy-peasy as the story progresses.

Loving this game so far. what i love is the story and how well the characters are characterized.
Yes there could be a bit more sexual action and sometimes dialogue will be to long, but this game have a special place in my hearth and i'm looking forward to see how it ends.
Love Lidya...what a badass chick, she is!! would have a girl like her in my life.
thanks for this zoey

Premise is audacious, but the writing is too clumsy to make good on its promise. The characters don't feel like real people. They all seem to spend all their time discussing the same obscure films and authors. In short, they all share the interests of the author of the VN.

They have only superficial personalities of their own. They don't seem to have their own voice. If you ever want to know if a character is well fleshed out, try this-- describe the character without saying anything about either what they look like or what they do.

If I forbid myself from describing looks, job, or whether they are or are not a drug addict, there's basically nothing left to describe.

Scenes drag on and on for no real reason. Remember: brevity is the soul of wit.

I think it would be fantastic if a VN could be made with this premise that treats the subject matter respectfully (and with the seriousness that it deserves), and had well fleshed out characters.

From what I've seen so far I don't think we'll get that here. Hope I turn out wrong though.

This one is a nice game. Renders are decent story is interesting. A peek into the life of junkies. Dev really did a good thing for adding an interesting concept there. Models are usual models. Really wished there was some sound effects to give more ampience to the game. Like car sound etc. Characters are interesting on their own way. MC's girl friend is my fav character. She is good and I really enjoyed the date with her. Hoping dev will add more dates with her in the future. But I know in the life of junkies these things are rare.

Overall it's a good game worth playing. Keep up the good work dev, Looking forward to next updates

I first played this game around the first half of last year and honestly did not even like it at that time, and that was the moment when I just started playing Adult VNs and I honestly have lower expectations by that time due to playing fewer games where I enjoyed most of the games I would consider mediocre or trashy today.

Fast forward to the last week of January and at this point, I have played well over 200 different VNs, I am honestly quite a porn addict at this point as I know that porn has definitely affected my studies and even my personal relationships and schedule. I have come to a point where the things that I played and watched before are not even enough to get me aroused, and the things which I considered before to be too hardcore which I don't even want to watch became the only thing that I can get off from.

I downloaded this game again due to having fewer and fewer VNs to play and was honestly not expecting much from it due to having a much higher standard when it comes to VNs than a year ago. I know that porn addiction and substance addiction are two very different things but playing this now in my current condition makes me appreciate the game a lot more.

With my board exams coming up in 3 months and me needing more time to allocate to my studies, stopping from playing VNs and watching porn is something I definitely have to do at some point. Although playing this game did not immediately help me stop my porn addiction, it definitely helped me put a lot of things in perspective.

Thank you for the game, Zoey. This is definitely one of the best games I have ever played.

This is a great VN/Game.

OK -- full disclosure. I'm an addict/alcoholic who's been in recovery for almost 40 years, so I have some strong ties to the characters.

Having said that -- I still contend this is one of the best things I've seen on this site.

The story is strong; the characters are well developed; the dialogue is well written; the artwork is great and; the animations are first rate.

If I have any question about this VN, it's that the characters seem awful good looking and physically well off for junkies. But, then, there is "artistic license" to be considered. I doubt the vision of saggy titted, toothless, pock marked slags would be enticing to the broader community.

Realism has it's limits, which is one of the reasons "artistic license" exists in the first place!

Beyond that, the whole package is just stunning. A real story and not something one can just skim over. There's plenty of sex but it all has a point and adds to the story. The recovery parts are dead on and will speak to anyone who's been in the program and to many who have not. Trust me, I've been in recovery for a very long time and this is solid A.A. It's real, folks.

In short, this is quality work and deserves the full five stars.

Zoey nailed it.

My first review of a game on this site, and I'm glad I didn't review some other games yet because if I gave some of them five stars, then I should give this game more.

This VN totally engrossed me, I just had to play it every chance I got. The renders are great, the story is very addictive and enlightening. I enjoy the characters in the game, believable for the most part. (This is a porn game). Animations are fine, always room for improvement there. I don't play with my speakers on, so I hardly have heard the music, so no comment there.

I also wish I could identify some of the movie quotes and television quotes that are mentioned throughout the game, with a number of them that I do recognize showing that the characters like entertainment that came out for people twice their age.

Finally, I find the Dev is good with communication, interacts with people in the forum and is a pleasure to talk to.

Check the game out, I don't think you will be disappointed.

Really awesome story. Well balanced between lewd and story content. Very nice presentation of people in recovery and the people who never give up on them. The art is well done and there is plenty to like. Give yourself a pat on the back Zoey you deserve it.

I'll keep it brief. Initially, I had high hopes for this game due to the abundance of positive reviews that piqued my interest. However, upon completing it, my disappointment was profound.

Firstly, the female models in this game are repulsive and vomit-inducing. They are an absolute abomination, resembling lifeless dolls rather than realistic human beings. And the story? It starts off with promise, but quickly becomes a repetitive snoozefest with never-ending conversations. Additionally, the choices offered are lackluster. Most of them have little to no impact, except for a couple that pretend to matter like Audrey Love/Corruption or Junkie/Sober. The rest are just smoke and mirrors, fooling you into thinking you have control.

And the animations, oh boy. It took me two frustrating downloads to even get them working, and when they did, they were shoddy, boring and rarely used. It's like they were an afterthought in the game's development.

This game is nothing but empty hype, devoid of any substance. Save yourself the disappointment and find something better to play.

I really love this game, although I'm not for the loose screwing that seems to be all too easy to get from all the women in the game, I am for getting clean with Lydia and hopefully marrying her in the end, with the others being only friends
But it's a great game and I appreciate it not having any NTR as well

Amazing Game. Greatly enjoying this game so far. 1/3 of the way through. Great story. First time I'm actually playing a porn game for the plot.

Excited to finish the game and see what else it has in store.