Ren'Py - Power Vacuum [Ch. 12 Official] [What? Why? Games]

Finished up through Chapter 10.
This is one of the better VNs.

+ Lots of humor...even some laugh-out-loud lines.

> Almost too much humor that all the characters sound the same when the banter starts

+ We get backstory on several characters over the course of the game

> I normally don't like when ALL the models are big chested, little waist, big ass, and little variety, but the gameplay makes me forget about the fact that many of the models look too similar in shape and size.

+ Asian characters who are hot too!!

+ No grinding, per se, as you can skip time whenever you want.

> Fairly linear in that only once per chapter does your choice really matter. Even if you choose wrong (I purposely did to see the extra scenes!) you'll be notified that was the 'un-desirable' choice and thus let you choose the 2nd option which is a positive outcome for the MC.

+ I liked the writing and slow corruption/progression of the characters that it took me many hours as I was reading every scene instead of skipping.

OVERALL:
Top 10 for me.
I cannot wait to see what comes next.

Chapter 10
After playing a good deal of disappointing incest games in the last two months, this one felt like a breath of fresh air.
The graphics are good, but they get even better after Chapter 7. 8/10
The story is nice and reasonable; there are no unnecessary plot twists or moronic dialogs here (almost). 7/10
The gameplay is straightforward and enjoyable. 7/10
Because of how the gameplay is designed, developers have managed to make the buildups to the sex scenes feel good, you'll work for the scenes, and the payoff is pretty nice.

Amazing Game, Humour is Hilarious and the animation/3d models are totally on point
10 out of 10 game
And the additional what if chapters are great, I'm looking forward to the progress on the main story, so that I can see where this goes

This is one of those special games where the Dev seems to take genuine care with the art. We've all seen the same 5 DAZ models recycled as our sister/step-sister/aunt/roommate/childhoodfriend, but this dev went above and beyond. For those among you who are impatient, this is not the game for you, the updates take a good, long while. For those of us who can wait, it's very clear to see why each chapter takes so long. Little details you don't realize other games are missing. Catherine's sex scenes have her stomach contract. I didn't even know daz models could do that. The game is very impressive and the dev manages to balance artistic direction with player demand by utilizing "side stories" to explore specific fetishes that wouldn't otherwise fit in the game. Overall impressive and I look forward to the new update in January (my birthday).

It might be average to the low end of good except it's sand box enough to be annoying, it does excessively multiple downloads for one game, and the renders at places are just painfully generic. It's another of the many games that isn't bad, you can definitely fap in places, it's at least not a rip off as there's content, it just doesn't stand out for me (especially with the renders that are basically identical to other games). That said, if you read the content and the generic images don't get to you as much, it might be a 3 or even a 4 for you.

A nice decent game ... So the reason i am not giving this game a 5 star because few of certain reasons ...

Firstly the reason is kind of my taste issue ... Which is i hate sandbox type of game ... This game sandbox system have those little flaws in it .... But nothing majorly concerning .

Secondly this game force u it own story... Not give u much freedom of choice and character .... Which if u don't like that character u wouldn't be able stop happening incident with those characters .

Thirdly If Developer adding MC being virgin character concept in this game ... Shouldn't it be my choice to losse MC's virginity with any of the available character i want to .... Because not everyone have same taste ... I hope this could be fixed then it would be a perfect game

Forth one is that ... It don't have any background music in it ...and thier is only one music which is only played in home screen of this game and no song anywhere else in entire game

And If U are able to tolerate any of these certain problems then ... This game is recommended for u and lastly no offense to anyone .... Just sharing my opinion ;-)

It's a great game so far after playing through Chapter 10. Would recommend it. Characters I thought I would hate like Catherine, turn out to be hilarious, I love it. I love all the subtle nods to other games like Bone's Tales The Manor, etc..

While the nasty old man thing is, like, kind of weird, the whole thing is clearly labelled and can be easily avoided unless you are seeking it out yourself via bad endings and what ifs, so props to that.

Game seems to hit the sweet spot between "all sex from day 1" to "you'll need to work harder than the Persona 4 Moon Link to even just kiss one of these women," which is always nice to see.

I'm mostly here for the female domination tag honestly, and while I know this game won't really cater exclusively to my tastes on that given the broader range of relationships, I am just glad we're not getting some weird "One Dude Many Sex Slaves" harem setting where he ends up becoming a dominant asshole, I've seen my share of those in many a harem fanfic about loser male characters from female centric series (ranging from Buffy to Kim Possible) over the years.

What If 3 plays up on that, yes, but I honestly love how it plays up the weird cult like vibes a situation like that would have, and how it would negatively affect everyone's lives on the long run (Having to babyproof the house when everyone gives birth, the fact everyone is very wary of them since women keep getting pregnant around them, the fact they have to literally "drug" women now to make them join in rather than harmless "Lucky pervert" scenarios, and obviously the AMAZING ending with Lucia and Ophelia's smile turning more and more sinister as Lucia's mother takes the Kool Aid.

Speaking of, I appreciate the stance the game seems to take on consent during sexual acts, either in the main game or during NTR scenarios/what ifs. It's a smidge loose at times mind you, but let me tell you, when the game outright went "What the fuck? No you're not going to r*pe your mother in her sleep WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?" I outright chortled and took out a breath of fresh air at that. I also like how some of the what ifs and NTR ending, while still on the weird side consent wise, do seem to verge for a more "woman consented to it, maybe under duress in some cases but consent is there," ESPECIALLY in... what if five?

The one where they help Kevin slim down, now, that was a MASTERWORK in NTR, let me tell you, because the whole situation, having the MC removed from the equation entirely (I don't think he even shows up in the epilogue), it's NEVER done due to outright trickery.

Yes, the fat guy is tricking the girls into helping him with money without telling them he can try to get his inheritance without it, and yes, the weight scale broke at one point allowing him to think he was actually slimming down, but truth it? None of this by his design, dude just wanted some friends/women to like him, and while he did pressure them into it with money, he never pushed them hard on it over it, the ONE time they refuse something he relents instantly (and then does a shit job at working out yes, but it's not painted as on purpose either).

Like, I feel like, if that was a completely stand alone story, and it ended with them winning the lawsuit, that could have been its own small porn game, about some fat dude and his two personal trainers, and the ways you the player can help him achieve his dream or fail at them either way.

(Also props to Brenna in the Eva NTR Ending after Hunter tricks you to go out of the room allowing him to seduce Eva for instantly threatening to murder her brother if she found out he had r*ped one of her friends after she made them meet up and all, main fucking reason why she is one of the best characters of the main 3, she will find you someone to lose your virginity to but if you so much as go a smidge out of line with her she will destroy you and I find that both extremely attractive and also a great trait to have for a female character in a porn game, we need more solidarity between these girls in these games ffs.

Or we need the girls to unionize of course. You know, "seize the means of reproduction" and all that, pass around the guy, make a schedule where they can use him in turns, I think there was a Persona 5 orgy hentai with this premise.

All in all, the dialogues are fun and the designs are interesting enough, (If a bit wonky on the ages? Aliza is supposed to be around Ophelia's age range but she doesn't exactly look that older than Brenna at first glance.), the plot is probably one of the better iteration of a true and tried formula.

We do need Nnenna from What If 4 in the main game tho come on, it'd be a waste otherwise, I know her backstory is that she's a tour guide in Africa and all but we can think of something, have her take a vacation to whatever state of the US this game is set in to flip the situation, she and another character are pen pals or something and that leads to her entering the plot.

That's it that's the review, 9/10.

Writing: 8/10
Imagery: 8/10
Kinks: 6/10 (there's incest and ntr, or else the score in the kinks department would've been 4/10)
Overall: 7/10

The writing, man, it's what keeps me playing. It's full of humor/comedy and just makes me laugh sometimes due to how ridiculous it is. I usually ctrl (skip) most of the dialogue when I'm playing VN, but this is one of the rare instances where I slow down just to read the dialogue.

Now let's move on to the not-so-good or room for improvement part, well sometimes it feels like I'm reading through a story that's already made up, it feels like I'm not given any choices since it's basically just ntr or no ntr. It's more like reading a novel albeit not an interactive one, would be great if author/dev could include more paths/options in the future where player's choices do matter and may impact the storyline.

In a nutshell, great game, lots of contents, funny/hilarious dialogue/plot, just go play it guys. Renders and animations look amazing. Enjoyable and not boring at all. The mom is sooo hot, let me bang her and make her carry my child already lol.

ok, I haven't finished the game yet but I want to give my full support to the dev, he managed to create a sandbox that is actually enjoyable and not boring, which is so fucking great, I love this game, love the comedy, the story, it's so fun, please continue with the awesome job

I’ve really got a lot of enjoyment out of this one (currently up to and including CH6). Personality a-plenty, plus a particularly well-developed advancement arc that’s reasonably believable (in an easily digestible cartoonish sense).

The comedy is almost (or truly) overkill, while it absolutely must be admired for its tenacious resiliency and really quite impressive catalogue of gaffs and endless library of references. Very entertaining, to put it mildly. The dev has clearly enjoyed the process themselves - and I happen to think that counts for plenty.

If you can’t have fun with this family then you oughta quit your own life. They are bursting at the seams with enthusiastic and good-natured ribbing, alongside vibrant sexuality. Literally leaping off the page a good majority of the time. I’m not all that aligned with MC’s generally feeble/passive approach, though I do understand it architecturally and it DOES allow for those around him to shine and sustain/engage in an ongoing refresh.

The images are somewhat dated (flat to some degree) by today’s standards, yet the models themselves are plenty titillating and ripe for consumption. Angles don’t ever get old and are often times inventive; intuitively appropriate to many or most encounters.

Structurally, it’s one healthy tome to tackle. Impressively curated and easy enough to navigate through. A notably grief-free selection of paths to choose from where I never feel lost or left behind. Not a lot of skipping forward or back from FOMO. It’s all there on the table and painless to pursue.

I might have become slightly annoyed at times, expecting some sort of advancement where there is none. Or not quite in line with the ebb and flow of my personal preference. But any of that is perfectly reasonable to grapple with - and not unlike life itself. On the whole, I found my payoff not too far away and worthy within each chapter.

There were some segments that truly hit the bullseye for me and honestly left a memory to carry. Never overwrought and just damn good a time to immerse myself in (naked hide-and-seek/the shed comes to mind).

-I can’t exactly recall how I landed on this offering by accident but I’m quite surprised I hadn’t known about it sooner. It absolutely deserves to be on EVERY incest short-list. It’s a 20 on the dartboard. Grab a grip of pins and hit it!!

SO MUCH CONTENT! My brain literally had an endorphin overdose, visual stimulation overload during playing this game! Yeah, I decided to finally check it out last night, and WOW!

The renders, and animations are stunning. The females are gorgeous! Story is cool, and gameplay is smooth. This game was very enjoyable to play, I finished the current version in one weekend. Never a boring moment, very exciting and well designed game. The mom is one of the hottest in any VN game, and she's so seductive, and stunning. Thank You Dev!!

This game is will be remembered as one of the greats 5/5

TL;DR: If I had to sum up this game in one word: Repetitive. Avoid if you don't like doing and seeing the same things constantly. Oh and if you don't like seeing ahegao faces left and right, I guess.

I wish I could have more fun with this game, I really do. But god damn it's so repetitive and the writing doesn't make up for that fact. Lemme just make bullet points so I can express my thoughts clearly.

• You do the same shit over and over and over again

I really can't stress this enough. To progress it basically just amounts to clicking on the rooms with character portraits above them. Visit Brenna in her room every day, go to your mom's room to sleep with her everyday, go workout with Catherine every day. I'm fine with slice of life stuff, but you at least have to make it interesting, which leads to my next point.

• A lot of the scenes are just boring or VERY slightly progress things. So slight it seems negligible a lot of times.

A great example of this would be the MC buying Lucia(the cousin), a sybian. For that entire chapter, the only thing to do with that character is her riding the sybian, and eventually having the MC jack off onto her while she does that. Am I supposed to get something out of seeing the text, "BWWWBWWWBWBBWWWWWBBWWWWWBWWWB" 6 times in a short period? Again, leads to my next point:

• Sex scenes just aren't well-written or particularly hot from a writing perspective.

I really don't know what to say here honestly. Most of the sex scenes are just really badly written. Whether they portray cunnilingus as just "eating sounds" or have the character just have a dialogue box of "*Grunt* *Grunt* *Grunt* *Grunt*". It's just... I don't even know how to begin describing that. If you don't know how to write sexy times, just get someone else to do it, please. Not every scene is like this, but it happens often enough and bleeds into the better scenes to be enough of a problem.

• The humor just doesn't hit.

Honestly, I can't even get the joke half the time the game is trying to be funny. Maybe that's just me living under a rock or something, but it seriously makes me consider just skipping everything when half the text is just failing to make me laugh. I can count on one hand the amount of times I exhaled through my nostrils to express laughter. A lot of the humor is really immature so that doesn't help. And no, not in a memey way either.

• Catherine is the worst character I have ever seen in fiction.

She isn't funny, she just seems like she needs to be locked up in a mental institution. In fact, I would argue that would be the moral thing considering how much she likes to hurt people when the situation gives her an excuse to. Christ, for one of the bad endings, she fucking snaps someones neck with her thighs when they're eating her out. The actual canon route isn't much better, considering she knocks the dude's eye out. She repeatedly ignores other characters wishes and privacy, and the game hand-waives it away as if it's not a big deal. Refusing to leave someone's room when they ask you to do so MANY times isn't okay and isn't funny. Resorting to violence any time there's even a modicum of conflict isn't okay and isn't funny. Combine all this with the fact that she is actually the only physically unattractive character in the game, it's pretty obvious why she isn't likable. I would delete her from the game if I could, there isn't a single redeeming thing about her.

• The game is extremely boring if it doesn't make you laugh.

The game relies so much on humor, that it's hard to find a reason to play it otherwise. Getting through this shit is a massive slog unless you start skipping the text. It really doesn't help that you don't have sex with any of the family until chapter 9 with each chapter taking a decent amount of time to get through. I wish there was some sort of sense of romance so that you could actually have a reason to play if you don't like the humor, but all of it is just casual fucking.

• There isn't any depth.

The characters are all boring and tropey, the story is minuscule, there's no world-building, nothing. I could stomach everything else if the characters actually felt like real human beings but most of them don't. Sure they have problems, but those all feel like fluff rather than contributing to their character. Brenna(best girl) is the only character that actually feels somewhat like a real person, though that's honestly not saying much. Having 0 depth to anything just exacerbates the problem of the humor if it doesn't work.

Now that's not to say I hate everything about the game. It can be pretty decent when Catherine stops butting into scenes, the jokes are actually okay, or seeing the girls do their slutty ahegaos. Having incest taken seriously is actually refreshing. But those moments are just too few and far between. It's just too much bored clicking to be worth it.

Yet despite all that, I can't bring myself to give this game a 2 star score. I know I should, but this game kinda grew on me. I still stand by everything I said, but the game's got this sort of charm to it that I can't really pin down. It's honestly the only reason I bothered writing any of this. Maybe it's the character interactions. Maybe it's the MC actually being a decent and considerate human being(that manipulates his family into lusting for him but whatever). I genuinely don't know what it is. But I do think people should at least try this game, even if it's for just a bit.

It's the ahegaos if I'm being honest. Shit carries the game so hard, dude.

The last 2 topics will be the final considerations and decision/rating.

Characters:
I wasn't sure if I really wanted to play this because I didn't exactly liked Brenna's face and expressions in the renders presented.
But I ended up getting used to her and the dev's style, now I really like her and I wish I played the game sooner.

There are 7 characters that I like a lot, 2 that I like a little, and 2 that I don't like.
Though one of the 2 that I don't like is the mom which is just a fetish that I don't like, but I'm sure you'll like her if you're into said fetish.

The plot and background of each character is nice, there's something for everyone in this game.

Renders:
The renders are incredible now, the first chapters could get a remake for a FEW of the renders, but they are mostly GREAT.

Some expressions are a bit weird, but nothing too bad.

Animations:
Damn these are good!
So dynamic, with great movements and angles, they nailed it.

Liquids:
I can't complain, the props used are really nice, usually there is a creampie splash and later a closer look at the liquids.
Maybe they could have a few more renders each time, but it's good enough.

NTR:
The NTR is completely optional and non-canon.
You can turn them off completely.
They are more like bad endings than anything, and after they happen you are sent back to correct your mistake.

With that being said, I like the fetish, and there's a reason why in this game it's better than most games out there:
The way it happens here is; at a few specific points in the story, usually in the end of each chapter, you'll get 2 paths..
> > The good thing is that this isn't a corruption game, so there are more emotions involved, as there's more at stake.
And you can enjoy these alternate/shorter paths while still enjoying the correct path.

What Ifs:
These are some great alternate stories that have a very different feeling then the rest of the game.

-4 out of 6 are for Brenna (older brunette sister) with grandpa.
-1 is for Lucia, .
-1 is for Aliza and Amber with the fat guy Kevin.
-1 is a pregnant harem fetish.

Final Considerations:
This entire game is great, sure there may be things that some people despise, and things that some people love.
But we have to remember that there are different tastes, and with that in mind, this game have something for mostly everyone.

I don't like Futa or Mom fetish, but I'm fine with them being in the game and they should make the rating better, as it is more variety.

Decision/Rating:
It's not perfect, but it also have many strengths, it's a project I wish would never end.
I'd rate it over 9,5/10, and I'd be way too critical to rate it 4.

Everyone should try this at some point, it deserves it.

I really don't understand the high score for this game. What an absolute slog to get through. Super repetitive with very little action or kink or really anything that interesting. The renders are nothing special and with all of the mom+sister games out there, this just doesn't hold a candle.

One of the funniest adult VN games I've played. The dialog is effortlessly hilarious, especially from Catherine. On top of that, each of the main 3 women are total knockouts, and the additional side women are bad, too. Sometimes, the comedy is so good, it makes me forget about the gorgeous women and the hot scenes.

I'm sure there's some negative reactions about the non-canonical NTR game overs. Even then, they're still almost comical, so it's not that bad. But I'm not averse to NTR, so I may not be the best judge. Highly recommended. 10 out of 5.

This game hits many of my favorite tags, but it also hits a lot of my turn-offs. It does not matter. The dialogue alone is better than 95% of all the games I've ever played, normal games included. I can't play more than 20 minutes before I'm chuckling and laughing. The scenes are very graphic and beautifully rendered. The story is also good. It has an entertaining plot but doesn't forget that it's a porn game.

Oh My God, this game deserves 5 stars for just the dialogs. So many funny jokes. So many pop culture references placed in just the right places.

- Nice renders and funny facial expressions add to the immersion.
- Grandpa NTR is sort of funny, gross, repulsive and at the same time maybe kinky?
- Music and sound addition would be nice but not essential. Just keep the jokes coming.

This game caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting a solid mix of humor that cracked me up and good-quality animations. It's a simple game but so much fun that I had to play it twice. This is probably the only game I'd suggest keeping NTR on. Trying to avoid gramps was one of the best aspects. You can't go wrong with this one. Give it a shot.