VN - Ren'Py - Race of Life [Act 1 v1.04.5] [Underground Studio]

I like Race of Life and although the story is not a revolution, it is still a unique premise.

I like two things in particular.

1) There is an underage girl and she is NOT sexualised. She is simply the protagonist's daughter and there is no innuendo at all. She is a sweet girl you want to protect. Nothing more, nothing less.

2) Race of Life tells an adult story. No college dramedy, no coming-off-age, it is slice of life but it is slice of life for adults. The LIs are all adults, they look the part and the MC is not an overachiever but a normal guy with talents and flaws.

On the technical side, the renders are very good, definitely way above average, the music is pleasant and the plot has a good underlying tension and a decent arc of suspense that is sure to pick up speed as the plot progresses.

There is nothing I dislike about this VN. Granted, it's still very early in development and a lot can happen over the years but it shows all the right signs.

edit in 2024: I'm downgrading one star because I think as the story progresses, the LIs increasingly rely on the MC and as a result become less complex characters. Allisson contributes basically nothing to collecting money to save their child. Victoria never rises beyond the lonely teacher trope. Other LIs completely rely on the MC to achieve anything meaningful, often stepping back entirely so the MC can do all the work.

edit, beginning of 2025: The conference really was a trope-fest. The sudden mix up of rooms with Allisson. The MC lining up girls left right and center. A lack of suspense and roadblocks along the way. It's starting to become a very convenient journey for an MC that is turning into a superchad - fast. His initial flaws evaporated.

Best Game On This Site Right Now!!
While Mc was talking about Wyatt i was afraid of being affected by NTR...
when i saw developer declared there will be no NTR....Love you Developer!
please keep Allison and other girls unharmed and safe...our girls are ours...
btw the romance between MC and Allison is best....wanna see them together in future update...

This was a really great first release, best renders and animations I've seen in a long time, and great story. Can't wait to see more to come! Has potential to be as great as Being a Dik, Artemis, and other of the best games

Excellent first release!

Fairly novel story, very good images and animations. Hot models, and plenty of them.

This is one of the better first releases I've ever played, it has a lot of content to this point as well for a first release. I only give four stars for now, because we'll see if the second release lives up to the quality of the first.

This is one to check out.

Well, first of all, HOLY SHIT! I don't even know where to start, this is so well made.
Firstly, the the story is so interesting, I didn't skip a single line of dialog. I'd imagine, with the quantity and quality of the dialog, this is going to be those games that takes months to update, but I am willing to wait if each episode is up to the same standards as episode 1.
Second: The girls... *slow clap. Hell yeah. Pretty much every girl you've presented in your game is hot as hell, and has a personality all their own. I especially loved Jasmine (and that flash she had at the end).
Third: The graphics, and models, are really well done. There is a ton of quality, and subtle nuances to your work. I know it might be small, but I loved the small dog-bed you had in the MC's apartment.
Can't wait to see what comes next. You got me as a Patreon, sir.... or ma'am. I don't know. Good work!!!!!!

Really good start as many others have already said, with an impressive amount of content for a first release.

Pros:
- The MC isn't another teenager, is pretty likeable (besides the breaking his family apart by being a slut of course)
- Really nice renders
- Good animations
- Attractive Girls
- Story is engaging and interesting
- Writing is pretty well done, grammar is good and didn't notice many, if any typos.

Bonus Pro- I want to win Allison back for the MC honestly. She's my favorite so far by miles. This could easily turn in to a con if it ends up turning out you can't try to win her back, but hopefully...

Cons:
- The dialogue can feel a little stretched sometimes. I play these to have a good read obviously, but sometimes the dialogue seems to stretch beyond what is necessary just for the sake of it instead of progressing forward with the story.

- Most of the girls in this game are a bit too forward and easy for my liking. A bit more of a build up relationship wise with them would be nice. You got the slutty nerdy girl constantly hitting on the MC and sending him lewd texts just for the sake of it (which by the way, he shouldn't even be giving his number out to his students but hands it out to Jasmine also like it's nothing) MC is seeing a colleague, who while is nice and very attractive I don't really feel much attachment to her character yet, and it seems the MC doesn't either. Then you have the best friends neighbor immediately jumping the MC's bones after a few words exchanged. The ending of this update with Jasmine was odd too. I get that it was a sneak peek at future content, but flashing her boobs to her teacher in front of a whole crowd of people at a race without any context? Why is the MC cool with it!? He could get fired for that shit!!! Why is Jasmine there with the MC? Why is she flashing her boobs at him now when she seemed quite reserved compared to the other girls who have been throwing themselves at the MC every chance they get? It was a bit of an odd choice of a sneak peek as it was abrupt, there was no "next time" screen shown to warn that it was a sneak peek, it was completely abrupt, out of context and revealed things in a confusing way. Hmmm.


- I am conflicted on whether I like the MC's best friend or not. He is right in the middle of being an absolute jackass but in a likeable way, he has his good moments. It's his interactions with the MC however that I feel really drag on a bit too long dialogue wise. I am all for the bro banter and what not, but sometimes less can very much be more.

-For someone who teaches and educates for a living, the MC can be quite daft and dense at times. Dude didn't know what a taint is and his moronic best friend literally had to tell him...like really? You learn that kind of stuff pretty early on in life... mate.

Overall though, a really impressive start with a few minor hiccups but it was highly enjoyable. I look forward to seeing where it goes next! Keep up the great work UndergroundStudio

I don't remember rating a game with five stars after just one episode, but if any game deserves it, this one does.

Everything about this game is fantastic.
The writing is great (sure, a LOT of puns and bad puns at that, but done in a fun way and apart from that, everything was just exquisite).
The women are gorgeous and each has her own unique look.
There was quite a bit of action already, and I look forward to seeing more of the ladies we haven't seen in action as of yet.

The MC is a bit of a dick, but done in a believable way, that you realize, he is a bit of a jerk, but he's just human, not evil or a complete tool.
The relationship between him and his wife is really done well, it's clear that he has resigned himself a bit to his fate (her hating him), but for her the pain over his betrayal is still completely raw, and she hates him for hurting her and their daughter.
Same with his girlfriend. Absolutely believable writing in regard to her wanting a real relationship and him liking her company and the sex, but being absolutely afraid of anything resembling a romantic relationship.

Then you have at least 2, probably 3 students (pretty sure "Nerd Girl" was the one sending him the boobs pics), a real sweet neighbour with a possible darker past hinted at and an absolute bombshell German diplomat's daughter.
And as a German, can I say how refreshing it is, to not have her reduced to the usual clichés of a horribly written accent and all those tropes we get from Hollywood films and tv shows.
She's a bit kinky and direct, but yes, these are traits you could get from a modern, resolute and open-minded German girl.
I was a bit confused, about her name, because it isn't very German, but even that was soon explained (I do think Natalya is more of a Russian version of the name, not an Italian one, that would probably be written with an "I" instead of a "Y," but it's cool how a small detail like this is explained, you rarely see that in the games around here).

So far I like all ladies introduced, but I have a soft spot for the neighbour because she's just so genuinely nice and, tbh, for the wife.
She seems so hurt and betrayed by what the MC did, that part of me just wants to show her that he has changed and win her love again. No idea if this is even planned, but I would definitely go for a playthrough trying that.


I honestly can't think of anything negative, the assets used are fine, the animations were fine as well. There was a lot of content for a first version, the story seems promising...

This game is just off to a great start, and it hopes it continues on this level.
With a few timely and regular updates in, this would definitely be a game I would like to support on patreon or wherever.

Updated review through Episode 2 - fantastic game. Beautiful women, fun and engaging story. Please more Kris Sweet content + relationship development.

Some of the relationships are slower developing than others as it fits the characters and narrative, but some have some bedroom action pretty quickly for those that are here just for that. Definitely give this one a try.

Strongly recommended.

This one goes to my favorite list.
Graphics really good. And the story (the most important thing to me) its really interesting (although we don't see too much of it in the first update), it kind of just drags you into it.

Been on this site for a long time without posting anything, but I felt compelled to talk about this game after playing its first episode. Probably the best first release of all the games I played (only PC could compete IMO). The story, the pacing, the characters, the renders (and details), are all amazing, but I want to highlight two things. First of all, you take the role of a professor, something that is fresh given that most games with college settings make you a student. Being the professor is a big turn-on, but incredibly underused in this kind of stories. Second of all, the animations are incredibly well made. I think there is an exageration about the importance of animations, but the ones used in RoL blew me away. The first sexscene is one of the hottest I remember and the animations are a big part of that (the conversation immediately before the sex is also really hot). So, yeah, perfect first release.

Ep.1

The begining of the story is good. MC isn't saint, got divorced due to cheating his wife and have daughter with her. In the mean while he will encounter number of female characters with whom you may develop relationship(s). So i'll no more spoil the story. Character models all look good. Based on what i've seen so far i do recommend this game for everyone to try it out. I'll probably update my review after Ep.2 arrives for now based on my expiriance i'm giving this game 4/5.

Amazing renders and animations. The animation of the racing car really amazed me. The female characters are very attractive. The story is very interesting and makes me laugh happily. A large number of choices allow me to decide what kind of person I want to be.

This game definitely deserves 5 stars and I wish more people would support Underground Studio because they deserve more!

Pros:

The main character. I think he's funny, cool and very relatable.
Renders.
Characters. Veronica and Maggie are S class beauties.
Story. Wasn't expecting this game to knock me out my socks, I thought it was going to be a poor, meme filled Fast and Furious rip-off but instead it has it's own identity, it flows well and not to mention it gives you the feels. A+++
Sex scenes/Animations. Magnificent.
Wyatt feels like the perfect antagonist, but I hope this gets done well.
Cons:

I hated what happened to Lily.

As someone pointed out her face looks a little too mature for her body, it's like we squeezed an adult on a kids body.

The MC cheated so he's mostly likely going to try to get his family back at some point. I just hope his past doesn't become a hindrance or a go to punchline that Allison gets to throw in his face nonstop. The Dev already automatically give her sympathy points because of this but I won't enjoy this game in the future if the MC becomes so apologetic to the point where he's pandering to her. People make mistakes, that shouldn't define you for the rest of your life.

Im so impressed with this game i could not stop playing, all of a sudden it was 3AM and i had work the next morning. There is so much content for just 1 episode and the story is great so far. Animations are amazing and the sex is not in slowmotion (big+ imo). I already like a lot of the girls both personality and looks. Im not a huge racing/car fan usually but i liked that u got some decisions in the race and hope that we do going forward. Honestly got nothing but good things to say about it. If the dev keeps this up it will be one of the best games on here! Hopefully it wont be to long until episode 2!

An excellent well polished game.
The story is really good, memorable cast hell even character development check (which is quite rare in AVN)

Beautiful renders & those godly animations turns this into a visual masterpiece.

The part that annoyed me was that all the LI u meet r too loveable.Usually after starting every AVN u have a clear idea who u r rooting for but in this every girl u meet is an absolute gem & I just can't choose ,so harem route here I come cuz I want em all.
At first it was V(Best MILF!),then the beautiful kindhearted neighbour & now even the annoying Ex has started to grow on me(cuz she has every reason to hate u).

I'm quite confident that this definitely gonna be the next big hit so hat's off to u Dev

FINALLY.... someone gets it.. someone finally gets what makes a GREAT visual novel..
Story - Amazing potential and so far not a fault to be found
Animation - Some of the best on the market atm
Character Design - Cute girls, and mc that isnt a waste of narrative space and likeable
There is so much i like about this title.. right from the start it had me interested and did what i've been saying in comments for ages now.. MAKE EPISODE 1 THE BEST IT CAN BE to get the audiences invested in your title..
Music - familiar but in a good way.. its a playlist of songs you heard before but loved and works so well in the settings..
MiniGames - The race winner picking and quicktime race participation games are amazing and fit well instead of just being unneeded extras..
I hope this title goes a long time as its rare to be this hooked so fast..
Well Done Dev

Amazing start, excellent renders and animations, beautiful female characters, super interesting story plot and lots of game options.

The racing-themed VN is really cool, and I'm looking forward to the next episodes. Good luck to the dev!

Epic initial release. Story stands apart from the overused tropes of "moved away, came back home, now I fuck everything with a vagina," or "I'm heading off to college, lets fuck everything in sight," or "I just found out I have a long lost daughter(s), lets seduce them!" There was actually so much content in this initial release, I was actually to the point of thinking "damn, is this going to end?" Good mix of comedy, drama, romance, and content that kinda hits you emotionally hard. Definitely going to be one of my top VN's that I'll be keeping an eye on, though I am kind of concerned about how long it will take for updates to come, as I would imagine this much quality is not very easy to make. I wouldn't be opposed to supporting the creator if updates can come regularly, and the content stellar content keeps coming.

fantastic animations and rendors; unique story; hot models. It's got the right amount of tease but still has content. It's a little bit vanilla but I'm good with that. Overall, this is a very good game. Dev has clearly put a lot of effort into this. I look forward to future updates.

[Ep. 1]

This is it boys! This might be the next big one to shoot up fast if the development doesn't stagnate.

This dev duo shows competence in all the areas of development. They also show broad knowledge in various fields that are explored within the story. I was constantly impressed while playing this first release. The episode is very meaty and has enough content for an accurate review.

The visuals are top notched. The render quality and models are great as anyone can see. That's not too unique these days, but the camera angles, simulated movement during conversations, and expressions are also quite immersive.

One thing I have to specifically mention in regards to the visuals is the noticeable effort in fitting the clothing on them DAZ boobs. As we all know, "boob socket syndrome" is a condition affecting so many chicks in this industry. It requires extra effort to remove this absurd condition from DAZ autofit, so props to them. The only negative thing I can say about the visuals is that the 7 year old daughter has a grown woman's head pasted on a child's body. She looks more like a small person than an actual child.

The sex scenes are excellent. It fits my definition of a perfectly executed scene in a DAZ game. The situation is sufficiently erotic. There is nice lead up to it. There is sufficient sex dialogues that run alongside the animations. There are multiple positions and smooth animations. The scenes have a nice flow to it.

The coding, aka choice and impact when it comes to VNs, is done very well. There are enough calls for variables and flags to keep the story consistent with the choice the player makes. It could be flavor text or slightly bigger variations, but there is enough there to keep the player engaged without bloating the project with route creep.

Now the most important aspect. The writing. Overall, I'd say it's excellent, but it's not without its flaws.

First, the characters are extremely well realized. We see their personality, motivations, and values through mostly natural interactions and conversations. I say mostly because the dialogues can get a bit heavy on the "witty banter" stuff that can be a bit grating if you are a grump like myself. Still, the actual interactions between these characters seem genuine.

As for the actual plot, this is where I could make some critiques. It doesn't quite land on a consistent tone and focus. Each segment being explored is very convincing on its own, but it just lacks that little bit of extra polish to tie everything together in a smooth narrative.

We have the porn adventures of a college professor. There are college thots he can perv on. There is a sweet but clingy English professor "kinda gf." This segment plays like a typical porn thing. Then there are the bits about his daughter and wife. This relationship is explored extremely maturely. This segment is incredibly grounded and honestly makes for some amazing drama about divorced parents. Then there is some incredibly well researched medical segment that morphs into sort of a sci-fi thing. There is a bit of mystery/thriller thing going on too. Then there is the titular action packed racing stuff.

Obviously, stories rarely follow only one single genre or tone. Mixing drama, action, and comedy is nothing new. It's just a bit jarring when we go from incredibly emotional and serious drama involving the wife and daughter to a bar where the MC is shooting the shit with his buddy, cracking jokes, making puns, and banging a random chick.

All in all, this is definitely an "Excellent" VN. The flaws I mentioned are more than covered by the overall quality of the game. You really can't ask for much more than this when it comes to a DAZ game in the broad "non-fetish based story" group.