VN - Ren'Py - One Day at a Time [S2 Ch.19 P2] [Zoey Raven]

Some history. I've tried playing this before and I quit because of all the things written in it that directly trigger me. Things that I find intolerant. Because I see it pop up so often as I'm doing things, and it's so well reviewed, I'm giving it another try and focusing on getting past my triggers.

My father was an addict. My sister is an addict. More than likely means that I would be an addict had I not developed being so triggered by addiction. I hate it. It inherently makes me prejudiced towards addicts. Benefits, if they aren't family, I never have the compassion for them to be taken advantage of by them, so it protects me. Disadvantages, same deal, I lack the compassion which means I am prejudging people who are in some of the worst pain and helplessness that I can fathom in existence. So there's that.

Secondly, for my entire life, my mother has done the exact (*edit: not QUITE the same - it's far more nuanced in this game.) same constant interrupting and hijacking of conversations that these characters in this game does. It is SO rude and disrespectful. My mother has never had the self awareness to acknowledge what she does. The characters in this game DO, they are fully aware, they just repeatedly CHOOSE to be cunts a dozen times in every conversation they have. Which simply reinforces what they are saying about the person they are talking with every time they do it. "I know you're talking, but what I have to say is far more important than whatever you were already in the process of saying. ME, more important. I don't even have to have a handle or understanding of what I want to say. Whatever it is, will still be more important because it's ME saying it." Just spoiled, self-indulgent idiocy. This is absolutely a LIFETIME of living with someone like this, adding far more weight to this scenario than it deserves. But the fact that spoiled, self-indulgence is just a rampant way of existing in modern times, I'm fine with being a champion against shit like this.

That all being said, as other reviews have mentioned, this IS a very poignant and worthwhile topic for a game. The potential for redemption arcs is rife, and those are almost always my favorite arcs because they usually start off as the most unattractive, bottom of the list, characters in these games and end up as my favorites.

I am at the very beginning of the game. I've gotten nowhere in it except needing to vent here to help me get past my triggers. I will add more later, I just needed to talk to someone. Thank you for being there for me.

UPDATE: Still before Season 2, but I'm deep in Season 1.

I have NO idea what life experience Zoey Raven has, but, my god, the level of detail on the life of an addict is just mind-bogglingly detailed. Like it or not, you HAVE to acknowledge the work/skill/talent that this reveals. I'm reminded of, in Leap of Faith, when CeeCee tries to explain how being her for a regular day is like for her mind. It absolutely broke me down. I was a basket case for at least an hour because it is so meticulously written that even someone who has NO mental health issues AT ALL will still (do such people exist in this day and age?) likely feel something and have an inkling of understanding. But for someone who has mental health issues (I'm tearing up just thinking about it) it's like two things simultaneously, for me. It's like crying because you're so happy about something, but also relieved AND terribly sad - it's such a confluence (...but... Mental Health, so apropos). Crying because, emotions. Happy because, it is so accurately written you KNOW this writer has either directly or indirectly experienced this for real - so there is a kinship there (someone understands, I'm not alone...). Relieved, again someone understands me, I'm not alone. Terribly sad, because... I'm NOT alone. Someone else (too many someone's) had/has to live like this too, in some way.

I get the same feelings with addiction in One Day at a Time. No tears (yet), but remember I'm dealing with a deep-seated, irrational hatred for addiction. I'm not strong enough a person to objectively handle addiction. Even if you are not like me in this, this topic/game will (I think) make you feel things you don't like. Uncomfortable, helpless, panicked, stupid. Especially if you Self-Insert while playing these games. For me, that is an indication of a REMARKABLE game. I don't even need to finish this to know that this is almost 5-Stars for a reason, just like Leap of Faith.

I don't know if Zoey has lived this life, someone close to them has, or is an incredible writer and researcher. Thank you for the game. Thank you for the bravery (if it IS a personal topic), especially in this day and age. People lash out at Drifty, which I cannot wrap my head around at all. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but games that are THIS personal; where the topic happened to the person or to their child (as is the case in Leap of Faith) - agree with them or not, like it or not, at least have the humanity to respect their pain and just move on with your life. They have already paid a far greater price than you likely ever will in your life, there is no need to add your two cents.

Anyhow, I digress. I thought I'd be lowering my star rating when I vented at the beginning of all of this. I was CERTAIN, I would. I'm not. I could nitpick about all kinds of things, but none of it matters when the heart of this game is SO strong.

UPDATE: Day 24 in Season 2

Just a couple of things. The dialogue in this game is very extrovert written dialogue. By that, I mean, extroverts universally operate from a perspective and lifestyle of "Talking is just fun." Everything they say takes the "scenic route" to getting to or making a point. It is a part of their being. That exists in this game, which, for me, I could say it needs editing. But I am cognizant that this is all very normal, conversational, dialogue that is true to these characters. None of them, not even Audrey (who, I think, if there was one, she would be it) is introverted beyond alluding to it in spots, but she doesn't talk or behave like one.

You can see the progression of Zoey's grow in rendering as the game goes on. It's nice to see the growth. I like it.

Lastly, and this is probably divisive. My opinion, is that everyone's "acerbic" style humor in this (starts with Lydia and the MC, but the entire group does it) is just gaslighting. The reasoning and enabling of it by the MC repeatedly telling Lydia to "never change" doesn't change what it is. You can see cultural examples of this in "banter" in Australians. Lots of cultures gaslight each other, it's almost a rite of passage, but it's still gaslighting. Throughout the game, they have moments where one or more of them has their tolerance cup "runneth over" and they ask them to NOT "make a joke" because they can't take it right now - which just solidifies it IS abuse that they are usually fine with. For me, I only ever saw it as gaslighting and I would just rather not abuse someone, let alone a loved one or friend. Jokes at someone else's expense just isn't humor to me, it's bullying. Again, my feeling on the matter. I understand they are all consenting with this 90% of the time. The fact that there IS a percentage of time when they aren't consenting because they are raw and/or vulnerable is just proof of my feelings on the matter. MC and Lydia do have a real and beautiful love, but they are also completely toxic with each other and just about everyone they are in contact with. Not all the time, but not a single day goes by where they aren't.

I have to say that this game has a very interesting storyline and a great diversity in characters, love the unique outfits! I can't wait to see what's next in the story and other new characters get introduced

This is one of those games that is almost hurt by the fact it's a porn game.

The messaging behind it is strong, the story gripping, and the struggles that the characters go through is visceral, everything is perfect from a plot angle, my issue is a couple of things to make it so this game isn't a perfect game.

A. You have a girlfriend from the start, and she's your girlfriend no matter what. This limits choices, and obviously the author then allows the girlfriend to be okay with a open relationship but only with other girls, can't have another guy fuck her for the power fantasy, only the MC gets to fuck all his women.

B. I touched on it in point A, but having every girl be in love with you, really takes some of the weight of the plot away, there should have been more hard choices related who the MC actually loves and wants to be with, and maybe someday that decision will come, but I would have preferred more solo paths with the girls with some fun three ways thrown in sometimes, not all the time.

Again, this is personal preference, the author is great at writing a weighty story, but the porn and relationships take away from the serious subject matter.

I severely struggle how to rate this game.

Overall: I do love the redemption story of Jose & the MC but I find the LI's faces not attractive. I find the Harem aspect a poor idea for a receovring addict. And I find the story outside of redemption to be lacking.

Story - The redemption aspect is amazing and that aspect gets 5 stars. The Harem aspect to me is lazy and like I said I think a horrible idea for an addict to be in. Jose is a funny amigo, I need more Jose content!

LI's - Body wise they are ok to decent but their Faces are mostly terrible. Some of it is makeup others its a shading issue - especially Mary & Lydia. I also hate Melissa' short hair. However they at least not completely 1 dimensional junkies in rehab at least.

Lewds - They're ok but MC's hair/sideburns for whatever reason irks me.

Points - I hate that choices I'd like to make for relapse points. I get the Junkie/Sober points early in the game, but why in the hell should someone who has not even completed the 12 steps be sort of sponsoring but not really yet Reggie already?

Should you play this? Yes you should its a long story and there is quite the bit of dialogue.

TLDR: This is not winning best AVN or even in the conversation but its far from the worst AVN out there.

How do I score this? For the Harem & LI aspect I want to give it a 2 but for the redemption path I want to give it a 4 or a 5?

Ultimately I am giving this 3 stars because this is an AVN and I shouldn't give it a higher score JUST for the work it does with rehab, it has to about a complete AVN from top to bottom. BUT I will say good work to the Dev for the awareness of struggles people in rehab are going through.

I checked out of this AVN a few chapters in. Let's face it, every AVN on this site is unbelievable, but I can't even see a shred of reality in this one. Broke drug junkie MC pulls all these women provides no immersion. Also, all the LIs are only after the MC, so what's so bad about being an addict? MC has place to live, food, drugs, and a ton of women that only want him. If this would have been a tiny bit based in reality (e.g. LIs become prostitues, LIs threaten to leave or not get involved while MC is on drugs), I would have stuck around. Renders are average and animations are a little below average for Chapters 1-5 (that is all I could take before deleting).

The storyline is engaging, heartbreaking at times; well written. It's obvious the author has knowledge of the subject matter, and is very compelling in the story-telling. The girls are beautiful, although the MC didn't get quite the same level of attention to detail, which is ok. The scenes aren't quite as developed as other VNs, but that's easy to overlook due to the entirety of everything else. Great job, ZoeyRaven!

The story is quite unique, it is not common to see this type of novels where the protagonist and his friends are victims of heroin addiction.

Amidst all the drama, the focus on sex seems kinda secondary – probably because for a drug addict, the main priority is just getting high. They mention early on that once you're deep into addiction, pleasure doesn't even register anymore; you're just using to avoid feeling "sick". When I realized that, I end up feeling sorry for the characters – poor girls dealing with their demons. The girls are nice, but their messed-up personalities and struggles don't really captivate me. I hoped the main character would recover, so I stuck around to see how the "sober" path played out.

I couldn't figure out why there are so many choices in the game if they barely affect anything besides a few lines of dialogue. Supposedly, making the right choices earns you points with the girls, but no matter what you choose, you always end up getting intimate with them. So why bother with choices at all?
The main character is constantly hitting on his girlfriends, trying to build a harem or something, and all the girls are cool with it! I don't get what they see in him because all he does is interrupt them and talk about series and movies.

At first, I was intrigued by where the story was headed, however, as the story progressed, it began to bother me all the pointless small talk, movie references, and other nonsense that just went on forever. I don't mind reading a good story, but by the middle of the first season, I couldn't take it anymore. The story just keeps dragging on, making the game more and more dull. The constant character struggles, hysteria and drama started to annoy me. The dialogues are so long that you could skip them for hours and still not finish the novel, it's insane.

The graphics aren't great, and those poorly done sex scenes don't help either, with 2-fps animations and distracting descriptive text popping up during the action. Who needs a play-by-play of their thoughts during sex, seriously?
There were no separators between scenes, one moment they are talking in the living room at home and in the blink of an eye they are on a beach or having dinner in a restaurant, it's very messy.

I don't get why this game is so overrated when it's just average at best. On one hand, it's interesting to play from the perspective of a drug addict and follow the main character's recovery journey, but it's disappointing how this visual novel fails in every aspect, from low-quality graphics to unappealing characters and the story that doesn't seem to go anywhere with the absurd amount of filler text, it ends up being a below average game.

P.S.: Dear author or people who may be offended by this review of a visual novel for adults about the personal struggle with drug dependence,

I want to express my respect and support for the important topic your work addresses. While I appreciate the message, I must honestly admit that I was unable to give a positive review due to quality concerns. My intention was to provide constructive feedback to help future improvements, not to diminish the importance of the topic. I am sorry for any offense caused and hope for your understanding.

Story 2/5
Main story and main focus is about a couple living a life being drug addicts with all that follows that lifestyle like constant money issues and the danger of overdose, it also adds them bringing a clean friend into that lifestyle which i wasent that big a fan off since they know the hell they are living, MC can try to stop it but the friend will start using anyway, not that MC tried very hard to stop it, even though shes not totaly hooked yet she dosent even stop after nearly getting raped and maybe even killed, that should have been more then enough of a wake up call for her to get out while she still could and also a good time for MC to try to get her to stop but no they just keep using drugs and get teach her how to get drugs and get to know the dealer and shit like that...its a bit to idiotic if MC really cared he would have done alot more sooner.

I expected more from this though when seeing this kinda of game overview quote "Along the way you will meet several other women and have the chance to either romance, or in some cases corrupt them. There will be many important decisions to make on your journey towards recovery. How will you choose to embrace your new way of life? This is entirely up to you... "

You would expect this so be choice driven but game forces multiple LIs/Sex scenes on you, so you really dont have much of a choice as stated.

It is quite a slowburn but it somehow fits the story and i did enjoy the relationship parts but i would have liked to have started with a single MC where you get to pick a girl to live with instend of having it forced on you, it is an AVN after all, i would have liked someone like Sam to be the main LI atleast she looks more hot then any of the others, but shes just a short side girl thing for most of the game and comes into the game waaaaaaay to late.

What annoys me the most is that there are alot of fake choices, like when you tell some one you dont want any part of it and then MC changes hes mind and does it anyway, its like he has 0 backbone and that annoys me.

Also you got to be so damn carefull with choices and your forced to read the walkthrough if you dont want to end up fucking someone you dont want to, i dident like Maya and first time i ending up feeling she was forced on me since i dident really understand why from earliere choices so it takes very little to end up in a path you might not want.

Normaly i dont use walkthroughs but was forced to in this one since when Maya was forced on me, i thought i did everything possible to not be with her and still ended up fucking her, so had to replay from start...and much later i found out another LI is forced on you.....ffs.....

Problem is that ALOT of choices is almost the same it can be such a small diffrense like if its ending with a ? or ! one gives a point another dosent....i hate that you cant just say no and close down someones path insted of this stupid point shit, just give the player the option to say no when ever it gets to the sex scene....it would be much more simple to make instend of all the points, which for the player feels alot more like work trying to avoid points and not having the freedom to pick the choices they want due to points fucking up the hole game when it comes to relationships.

And why the fuck does the game force a girl on you when you have 0 points with her? why have this hole idiotic point system with all the girls when game still just force you to fuck someone? its like dev is trying to ruin the game, im talking about Barb which i never wanted anything what so ever to do with and MC fucks her while hes girl friend is close by and it destroys any chance of a faithfull route and MC wants to fuck her? why? and MC then talks to Barb like he wants to be with her and he loves her and the only thing stopping a real relationship with them is Barb? it feels so idiotic when you as the player got no points with Barb and never went after her in that way, so its truely forced on you and MC never even thinks about Lydia hes girlfriend not even for a second?....tell me thats not brainless?

This made me quit the game, no real point of playing on when game starts to force shit on you and destroy the route your playing, i went for Lydia SOLO route meaning faithfull, none cheating route....i couldent care less about Lydia saying shes fine with MC fucking other girls that dosent mean the MC i play wants to do that shit to her, then you might as well make the game a mindless fuckfest or a kinetic novel insted.

Girls 2/5
They are just very low quality and almost look like male faces, really not suited for an adult game and paints a weird picture of people on drugs are automaticly ugly? i dunno but it feels a bit stupid, the 2 points in this one is based on Sam alone.

Animations 3/5
Some are decent others are really poor, so overall average at best.

Choices 1/5
Saying no as MC gets changed into a yes which is annoying, you cant stay faithfull if you want to, alot of the choices are pretty close to 100% the same where one gives a point the other dosent which is a bit bland, it also makes the hole game very kinetic when you constantly gets 2 or 3 choices where they are all the same text just said in a diffrent way.

Music 2/5
Very standard background stuff and nothing decent with lyrics.

I uped this to 2 stars since main story is pretty good but it gets ruined by forced relationships/sex scenes with people that arent the girlfriend and by MC wanting to be with someone other then hes girlfriend and its totaly out of the hands of the player, and with relationships being a huge part of the story it just ruined it for me personaly.

Ok I finished chapter 16 this morning. First I would like to thank the Dev for making this AVN for us. I am sure it was a hard thing to do and probably at the same time cathartic to do. I spent my entire adult life as paramedic and dealt with the worst things in life. I saw how much damage drug abuse and use did to people's lives. Not only the user/abuser but everyone who had to deal with it. This story is top notch. Not the blubbering like I did when I played Leap of Faith, but then again I was in a bad place when I played that with a recent breakup and financial issue. The characters are well thought out and their stories integrate perfectly into the main story. The dev keeps the story moving at the same time entertaining us and giving us laughs at time. Only the second AVN I've ever seen with fart jokes. Not over done but a well done fart joke is always funny.

I had to play the sober route and love route with Audrey. I might go back one day and play the junkie and corrupt Audrey route one day but I do not know if I can.

Renders are good, lewds were good but personally I would have liked a few more but that is just my personal view. It's the dev's story to make and us to play. While on personal tastes I am not a fan of un-natural hair colors. I guess it's just me being an old fart that moved to a small town in retirement and the only women I see with that kind of hair are rabid misandrists. While Audrey's hair at first was a mousey brown making her ginger kind of saddened me. But those on this forum know I am no fan of gingers. Barb's hair does look like a wig though.

I am looking forward to more of this great story from the Dev and thanks again for sharing your story.

I really like this game. I play on another site and just find this one. It have engaging conversation. Really good character and decent enough sex scenes.

I like how personality different with each girl and how they all are developed and have arc to them. It's the same with the story. It do a good job of not leaving you in one place for very long and explore addiction to great extent. But, there is much fun in it too.

Renders - This is hard one for me because they get better later. So I give 4.

Writing - I give 5 to this one of the best written game of this kind I play.

Story - 5 Like I say it does not leave you in one place, it evolve.

Overall - 5 I am always left at the end of one update wanting more. So that must make it 5.

Try this, it gets deep at time, but it needs to, and is also light the rest of the time.

One of the best games on this site. Great renders of beautiful women and also has a very good story. It also teaches those who never faced addiction with themselves/a SO or as a professional on the job what it is like for everyone involved.

Wonderfully written characters and a plot that's meaningful but not overly complicated. Good stuff.

The only reason it gets 4 stars instead of 5 is that, for some reason, the writing gets bloated/slight cringey during sex scenes. It's a little weird since the rest of the dialogue is written genuinely really well - feels almost like a different person wrote those lines.

There are definitely a lot of pop/culture references that will fly over peoples' heads (it did mine), but if you look past that, it's quite nice.

This game has a real problem. See, this game can be divided 50/50. 50% is a very good VN, it can get very emotional, has funny moments and the exploration of the life of a heroin addict is both unique, interesting and very well done (which could be expected from the dev's experience). HOWEVER, the other 50% of this VN is literally rants about whatever pop and cult culture the dev is into. It get's old and tiring quite fast. Look, devs putting references to their interests in games is normal and often something I like, but in this game it goes too far for me. In every single conversation in this game there's multiple cases of the dev taking advantage to reference and go on a rant about movies, shows and music he likes, which on top of that are often niche media interests from 20-30 years ago that most people frankly either don't remember or know at all. Hell, I'm a bit of a movie buff with a soft spot for old movies and I had no idea what half the movie references were about. It didn't bother much at first but slowly grinded me down until about day 6 and I just slogged sporadically until day 8 before I quit, because I found most of the dialogue completely uninteresting. The dev wouldn't need to stop it completely, just cut this stuff by half or something and it would make the game MUCH more enjoyable. It's very frustrating, it could easily be a 5 stars, but this reference fest has unfortunately made it almost unplayable for me.

A really great game because of the story.

A little too much reference to films and music for me and not really good animation but that in no way diminishes the good and sometimes emotional experience you get with this game.

Suffers WAAAAAY too much from the problem of "the author's voice". Every single character is virtually the same, with the same interest in movies. We get to experience this in the most banal, boring and obnoxiously long conversations over and over ad nauseam.

Sex scenes range from passable to laughably bad. Quite impressive how our protagonist seems to break the laws of physics and human anatomy when thrusting away.

I get the feeling that this got a high rating because of the personal story of the author themselves, not based on its own merits. I'm glad the author was able to get and stay sober, certainly not knocking that. But taken on its own, this one is vastly overrated.

I give this give game 5 stars...If I could give it 10 stars I would...it really messes with your emotions in a good way and through out the game you try to become a better person. I choose the sober path which fit me as a person much better...the women in the game are beautiful and caring...especially Samantha...she is stunning

I normally don't write reviews but this story is so good and doesn't have the attention it deserves. Hope it helps to get more people to play this great game.


English is not my first language, hope my review is "readable".


This is one of my favorite VNs. The story is very interesting and there's already so much content. Must be much more then 10hours (never counted). At start I feared it would be maybe to dark, because it's a heavy topic but it never put me in a bad mood.


Especially the girls are great, all with different personalities and problems but nevertheless lovable. While Audrey is my favorite I really like the interactions between Lydia and the MC. They are very refreshing and always so much fun to read. Never used heavy drugs by myself but as a smoker at least I can connect to the topic addiction and how hard it is to stop bad habits if your subconsciousness isn't ready for it.


Summary: great story, great charterers, good graphics, sound and animations

I can safely say that this is one of the most boring games I ever played and that's coming from someone who reviews and plays story driven AVN for a hobby, first of all there is so much meaningless text that could be taken out of the game that provides nothing interesting or meaningful, renders are basic, animations are weird and janky, the same songs play every few scenes, options don't really matter, lighting in renders is bad, the story is all over the place, characters don't feel remorse or face repercussions, other than Lydia the other girls have bland personalities, the game has walls and walls of text but you get the point I could go on and on about how bad the game is.

I thought about writing an in depth review of the game but there really isn't much to write about other than the game being painfully mediocre so I will keep this one semi short.

I spent like 4 hours playing this and wish I had my time back it was so hard to not fall asleep I am shocked why this game is so highly rated I wouldn't even rank this in my top 50 favorite AVN only positive I can say is props to the dev for at least writing about something positive and helping people understand addiction but in terms of game quality it leaves too much to be desired I cant rate this higher than a 2/5 otherwise I would be lying to myself.

sorry I don't really write reviews so it's kinda all over the place and there is mild spoilers

I would give this 4.5 but since I can't I leave it at 5
currently I finished chapter 11 and will wait a while to play season 2
this game isn't heavily focused in porn aspect of AVN and also is kinda in slice of life genre there is some drama but it's regular day to day kinda game so not everyone will like this game especially if you don't like to read I myself use the text to voice in ren'py so it isn't really a bother to me
even though renders aren't really good especially in sex scenes which is why I wanted to give the game 4.5 but I like the locations and charcters
locations: don't feel empty and there is this feel of real world to it the transition renders helped a lot like for example in chapter 1 Nethan and Lydia talk in their house then they go outside and talk then in the car then on the road then Nethan goes to pawn shop then comes back in the car then they wait in back alley for their dealer there is this sense of realism to it dialogue doesn't end in home then start again at pawn shop it's paced through the path I don't say its like this for all the scenes but I will say it was done enough that it doesn't feel like too much or it's a jump from one scene to another
characters: I like them, most of the girls have a history with Nethan even though they all like to laugh at his expense,they all are realistic as far as a AVN goes I like the dynamic between Nethan and Lydia they banter with each other all the time but they both love each other it really is shown when Lydia talked to barb about Nethan and how he handled stuff when her mother died and was there for her beside Lydia I really like Barb like how she is the one Nethan has the most history with and they clearly still loved each other when they broke up but they broke up because barb wanted to get sober and now that Nethan is sober they can go back to where they left off and be in each others life and Lydia is kinda insecure about it and I also like how Barb was kinda insecure about sam because she is kinda younger than her like I said I like the characters they feel real have emotion their background and history even the way they dress like how Nethan make fun of Lydia for wearing jean shorts and top all the time

here in the end I wanted to talk about small things I find interesting or nitpick a little
I maybe be reading to much into it but I like to think this is deliberate and is the real reason: Nethan said to Sam that she reminds him of himself and they are a lot like each other and that's why I think this is why Barb is really emotionally invested in Sam's recovery and she kinda see her as a substitute for Nethan
choises aren't really diffrent just kinda diffrent way of saying the same thing sometimes just one or two words change mostly relationship point change or some minor dialogue change later on like I don't know what will even happen with barb sub or dom points and I think I have to wait till the the end for mc to give Lydia's ring back like it doesn't make sense Nethan is working at pawn shop and they both are friends with the owner doesn't he think that Lydia will ask the owner about the ring?
I only went the sober route and don't know what happens in junkie route so I think besides this sober/ junkie route the only meaningful choise is working for Brenda or not and if not it will block the Brenda path and lead to another character that is otherwise you don't have any access to which I haven't checked it out myself
ok one last thing what I really like is tvshows movies musics actors singers and bands that have been refrenced in the game have the real name not like other AVN that use like porn parody names for them

there is lot of old movie and music reference like all the characters do them like developer taste is really shown, all the characters know what movie or show or song is being quoted well I can give most of the characters a pass like hey they know each others for years and spend a lot of time with each other and watched stuff together but when a random waiter did this movie quote stuff that was weird

I remember very clearly in the earlier versions/releases of this game where I was hesitant about giving it a try. A story with a drug-addicted MC really didn't sound like my kind of thing at all. It isn't some strong moralistic distaste for drug culture, nor bad personal experiences, it just isn't my thing. There's a significant 'powerlessness' in many addicts that just isn't as much fun to roleplay as it may be spectacular to watch in a movie like Trainspotting. Some people are thrilled to watch a train-wreck happen, while others are sickened, and I tend more toward the latter.

That's a minor part of it. Truth be told I was far more concerned that this was a very personal story to the developer, and might, intentionally or otherwise, be trying too hard to make a statement, or spread a message, over simply telling an interesting story in an engaging way.

So, I was cautious in trying it out, some versions ago, and very quickly realized that my worries were for nothing. There is plenty of choice and agency in the MC you want to play, and while there are certainly some strong messages and 'preaching' in the story, they are situation appropriate and educational, and don't detract from the story at all.

That then segues neatly into my feelings on the story and the plot. I'm a story loving guy. If the story is weak, or sucks, I am always going to notice it, even in big budget movies where insane action sequences and special effects are meant to stop you paying too much attention to plot holes or story logic.

One Day At A Time is aptly named. This is a day to day story, and thus somewhat of a 'slice of life' type, where small daily events and day by day steps are the focus, rather than big action scenes, or world-changing events. However, there is very good story and character development, and a genuine sense of progression at all times, at least in the choices I have made in my playthrough.

The story is all about the character journey(s), and in that, it is well told, well planned, and I greatly enjoy it. However, if the small details of characters are not your thing, then you may not enjoy it as much, and wonder why so much time is spent on characters watching a movie together, sharing inside jokes, or just having a BBQ. The clue is in the game's name. It is a story of the day to day.


Having mentioned the character journeys and character development being a main focus, let's talk about the characters themselves. The characters are a diverse cast, all well detailed, each with a palpable sense of their own identities and personalities. One immediately gets the sense that these are modelled directly on real persons known to the author, and that realism pays off.

Just like real life, some characters may make decisions or take actions that bug you sometimes. You can love a person and certainly not love everything they do, or like. Or at least, any well adjusted human can. If you struggle with such humanity in the real world then there's a fair chance you'll struggle with it in this story too.

I will take a moment to address that many of the characters that love each other dearly also insult each other, play quite mean pranks, and get very competitive with each other. This is not just something quite realistic, but is also, I believe as a writer myself, one of the things that help combat the feelings of the MC being weak or a simp. It gives you a stronger sense that the MC gives as good as he gets, and has agency, even when for writing purposes the other characters often have to lead scenes (so the writer can steer the story without unduly railroading player choices through forced MC decisions). It works really well in that sense, but I can imagine that it may feel a bit adversarial for some players who have never thought of telling stories from an author/developer POV where you have to know what is going to happen in advance in order to render those scenes.

The models... Ah, yes. Once again a fair variety within the restriction that obviously most of them are going to be more pleasing to the eye in a story than they might be expected to be in life. Let's simply say that they are all 'well cast' in their roles, predominantly attractive, fit, audience-pleasing choices. Then there is Sam who is just insanely hot.

Gameplay is very much a VN, but that's the exact right choice for this kind of story/narrative. Having to navigate a free roam environment or mini-game your way through cooking would certainly not enhance the experience.

Okay, so, a fairly long review, what is my TL;DR, right?

This is a five star game.

It doesn't get there on the visuals and renders like some, although there's absolutely nothing bad about the renders, poses, and general visuals of the game, but rather on the mastery of doing the small things well. Any fool can take an exciting scene and big action plot and make it exciting and filled with action. Doing the small things really well, believably, and engagingly takes real talent. This game showcases exactly that kind of talent, and has it in spades.