VN - Ren'Py - One More Time from the Top [v0.38] [Mad Jubal]

I was really hesitant about playing this game as the art for the game isn't something I normally go for. The art eventually grew on me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's also written extremely well and has many choices to choose from more than just who to sleep with. However, there's some major gripes for me. One of them being said choices sometimes don't matter leading to the same outcomes, to outright overriding my choices, such as sleeping with Dante. I never did in my playthrough, but randomly, it talks about how we had sex. Also having to constantly say no to the same people who are interested in you. I know several times where I turned Dante down, to times I turned Alek down, that just seems to ignore my choice and have my character talk about how good they look and how they make him aroused. Plus having to choose constantly to reject them. It would be nice to have it written in a way that if you turned them down it remembered your choice. Also I don't really like how some of the story is not complete despite more content being written. For example there's several times I had to try and guess what the game was trying to say in some of the dialogue. Several typos, and weird wording had you trying to guess what the writer had meant. There's several of Oliver's content that doesn't have artwork or isn't fully completed. This is in addition to several other scenes throughout the game. Despite a metric ton of content being written after I began noticing this. I don't know if there's a separate writer from the person who does the rendering/drawing but seeing the inconsistency really took me out of it a little. Also how every single guy in the game, even Dante's father (who had a wife he deeply loved and doesn't seem to want to get over her), randomly thirst for me out of nowhere. Even characters like Evan that haven't expressed any interest in you until they just blurt it out of nowhere.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoy the game and continue to seeing what comes next. The ending up to the Firefoxes was beginning to get good. There's a ton of good things here that work well. The art grows on you, which I count as a major bonus. However it does have a few big flaws for me. I hope as this continues things can eventually be tightened up regarding some of my complaints.

I find the game manage to have its own mind, i like that it isnt punishing on the fact that you can explore more than 1 LI, idk if the Dev ever plans to make a exclusive romance to any LI, but the fact that you get to explore your connections with all of them, to understand them better and decide for yourself which route you like more, is a little rare and very much appreciated.


I also like the pacing story wise bc you get special moments with the characters if you understand them better, if you go from the jump being like "lets make out" to every single one of them, sure a few of them will respond based on their personality, but given that most of them have a important backstory and a way for you to connect to them before approaching a more "serious" romance.

Overall a 10/10 game would definitely recommend.

While most gay VNs usually have storylines, it's often clear that sexy times are the main priority. But From the Top is not like that. This is one of the best gay VNs I've ever played. Its writing level is on par with Yearning: A Gay Story, Coming Out on Top, and All Men are Pigs. It's more like plot with porn rather than the other way around

One of the things that I like about From the Top is that with the exception of Dante, not everyone wants to get sexual that soon. I've always been one for slow-burn romance so I'm glad I discover this game. It gives me enough opportunity to get to know the characters on personal level, including the rest of the cast

The love interests are all charming, likeable, and distinct, and they're all attractive. Makes sense, I guess, since we do need a reason to get interested in them from the beginning and their appearance is the first thing that we see of them. And even though they're all gorgeous men, it's nice to see how they all have issues to work with. Some can be a turn off, while some can be endearing to the point that makes me want to help them

It seems like their sprites are not final, so I should expect some changes. I think Oliver already looks cute, minus the body mass differences. But Dante and Gabriel look better in CGs than their sprites. Fiona also looks better in CGs, but her sprite captures her alpha b--ch personality quite well. Might have something to do with how her CGs are mostly presented as if she is on-screen, in the middle of filming session

And, unlike most other gay visual novels, From the Top features a colorful cast of women. It may be strange to see women in a game specifically focusing on gay men, but the way I see it, it brings more flavor to the story. Makes it seem more grounded and realistic. Hayley and Naomi are two of the friendliest women, though Hayley seems to have some unpleasant secrets

When I first tried this VN, I was expecting it to be a romance comedy with a little elements of slice of life. I didn't expect the dramatic turn to be something more thrilling, sinister, and involving the police. I like mystery so I particularly enjoy the FireFox plot and the incident at the beginning of the story. I certainly hope they're connected because this feels like two different cases and I reckon juggling between two different subplots would be quite complicated. I think there could be something more happening, just to show how much of a danger the MC got himself into, as a result of poking into everyone's business. I just hope the revelation is not underwhelming and resolved rather quickly and easily, though

It's also nice that there are several mini games and opportunities to explore the studio. There are many scenes and CGs and unlocking them may require specific conditions, which can be easily missed without walkthrough. I think that's the beauty of it because it means it has a good replay value. And seeing that I fell for three of the men (and that's not counting their friends yet), I can safely say I'm going to repeat this VN a couple more times. I enjoy how lengthy the story is

Kudos to MadJubal and his team for coming up with this game. I'm looking forward to see its completion. And even though there are still several typos and incomplete artworks, they are minor issues and don't prevent me from being engaged in this game

[First Review of a Game on this Site, so be warned ^_^]

I have played a staggering amount of games here (both gay and straight) and I just have to say that this game is definitely on the top of my list. I believe the developer is a one-man team currently so he is limited to the amount of content he can put out. However, the amount of dedication and commitment to this project he gives out is admirable.

The story and script are all A+. It has an alluring general premise and a script that does not fail to back up that premise. Its characters are lovable, especially the MC who you can't help but root for. The CGs (albeit some are uncolored and unfinished) are still drawn nicely and sharply? (sorry for my terms, I'm not much of an art virtuoso).

I believe in time, if the developer continues in developing this project (having added the music, finished the CGs and the story, and maybe voice acting? then it will definitely cement itself as one of the best on this site.

Many thanks, MadJubal for your continuous dedication to this project.

I don't know how to write reviews, but you have to write something here to give it 5 stars ^-^. I just want to say that this game is absolutely worth your time and consideration. One of the best visual gay novels.

Characters: 5/5
Plot: 4.75/5
Setting: 5/5
Art: Incomplete TBD

At the time of writing this review, the game is in Version 0.14.1.

This game is turning out to be one of the rare treasures in western gay porn games, on the level of Coming Out on Top. It builds a creative setting, and world and characters. It avoids many of the cliches of the genre - to its benefit. It has crafted a unique and interesting setting and leaves the player wanting more with every update.

The Characters

I was completely surprised how charming the characters are in this game. I went into this, as I do all games, expecting to like some guys and hate others. However, over the course of the two chapters currently available, I feel in love with basically all of the guys. They are all worth a shot and are all interesting in different ways.

A big reason the characters stand out is because the game does not “lock” you into a route early on. This allows the player the freedom to visit and do every character’s story without restriction. The characters also have relationships with each other outside the player’s influence, which often leads to seeing the characters interact. For example, I went into this game expecting to hate Blake (the blond “straight boy” LI). However, I encountered him more when interacting with Dante, as they were friends, and these interactions made me like him. It was the same with me for hoodie guy and Oliver.

This game also does something interesting in giving side-characters some depth and connection to others. The barista is friendly, has a backstory and other characters talk about him, even though he isn’t a main love interest (so far).

There are also teases for several other LI’s coming down the road and/or could be added later when the game is in a more complete state.

The Plot, Art and Sexiness

There are several hours of gameplay included in the current build of this game. The developer has not rushed directly into the porn and has taken the time to set up a mystery, the setting and all the characters. This means unlike most in-development games, it is easy to become invested in seeing where the game will go beyond just getting to the bits where your hand is stroking the sausage.

The art in this game is unfinished, particularly towards the start of the game. Many of the CGs aren’t great but the deeper into the game you get the better the CG quality is. The dev gives warning for many of the CGs that it isn’t final and just a rough sketch. The CGs towards the end are amazing, even if not all of them are coloured yet.


There is no outright sex in the game at the moment, but the developer has indicated it is coming in the updates. There are a lot of tease shots of the guys in skimpy clothing, bulges, or even tasteful nudes. There is plenty of horny CGs even if the characters do not outright have sex yet.

One thing I REALLY have to give credit for is that none of the guys so far are really “vanilla”. The game has several “opt out” scenes set up for certain content (including, but not limited to, watersports and rough sex). There are a variety of kinks among the guys (ranging from public sex, daddies, “straight boys”, etc). It isn’t one of those boring dating sims where all the guys basically have the same basic vanilla sex with the MC and the developer deserves props for that. To me, that is always a sure sign a game is made for a gay audience interested in porn, instead of a female audience to fetishize gay romance.

ONE OF THE BEST GAME I HAVE EVER PLAYED SO FAR!!!!

Lemme tell you guys, the plot, the story and the CGs are just top-notch! Haven't played any games this good for a while. i'd say this game is really worth spending your time into as you have so many options to play! 10/10

The Gay Tag Review

Level of gayness: basically 100%. Only male love interests here.

I'm a bit surprised that this game doesn't get more attention, because it's a perfectly good product with a captivating graphic style and a nice story which is in between the crime mystery and the slice of life. The setting in the behind the scenes of a movie production is quite uncommon for gay VN (surprisingly, I might add) and the characters, apart from the occasional weirdness (the homeless character is a bit incongruous for the setting for example, even with a backstory to explain it), are generally intriguing enough that you want to know more. For now, the game is rather linear in terms of main storyline, although you can become closer to this or that character.

Points I like less: sometimes the story forces a bit the events and the direction of characters interactions on you (there are also minor continuity contradictions). I also feel that the game plays a bit too much the teasing without delivering, in terms of sex. At the beginning it was fine, shirtless scenes and such, but this thing of putting more and more improbable obstacles for the main character to have sex even with the most sex-oriented characters is getting irksome.