VN - Ren'Py - Completed - Rebellion: Rise of the Damned [v1.0] [AGHAMUS]

Versions played: 1.0
Time Played: About 2 hours per game
In-game gallery: Yes
In-game walkthrough: No

I originally played The Beginning on an early version (when it still had gay content) and while I liked what I played, it quickly fell to the back of my mind due to the slew of other games in the pipeline.
I picked it up again recently since Rise of the Damned features sharing content, which I am a huge fan of.

Set during the slave rebellion of 73-71 BC, we follow two (one in the first game) modern-day historians who get transported back to ancient Rome and get involved in said event.
I don't know how much research went into the game, but it very much feels like a fun setup for a lot of porn as the game wants a lot of suspension of disbelief in how people talk and dress. So, while the narrative is there and drives the plot, it's often mainly to set up scenes. Honestly, this is totally fine.

Positives
+ Interesting narrative setup that doesn't spend endless time on meaningless exposition
+ Hot LIs that are often in incredibly skimpy getups. I guess this falls under exhibitionism, but one of the hottest things to me is seeing women in incredibly skimpy outfits in public situations, which this game has in spades. Nearly every scene has some kind of eye-candy and I love it.
+ Tons of sex scenes featuring many different kinks. You'll very likely find something here to fap to. Sharing and multi-pen ftw!

Neutral
= A lot of non-con to non-con adjacent stuff. It fits the setting, but it can be uncomfortable.
= Some incredibly violent scenes. Again, it's totally in line with the setting, but this isn't for the faint of heart if gore and death bother you.
= Branching paths that lead to entirely different scenes. I am not really a fan of this, but it's generally easy to either make a save at a decision point then check the gallery to see what the following scenes were unlocked.
= Fast and loose with the setting. Again, don't expect to see an accurate depiction of ancient Rome -- it's window dressing.
= The MC is constantly described as having a monster cock, but it's barely above average. It's honestly kinda funny.

Negative
- Apparently further parts to the story have been cancelled, which massively sucks not just because the game was entertaining, but also because Rise of the Damned ends on a massive cliffhanger.
- The treatment of women is shit. This isn't period-specific, per se, since the main character, who is from our time, is an absolute cunt to his wife constantly calling her names and belittling her.
- Dated renders
- No bush...in ancient Rome...fuck that.

So, overall, to answer the question if this game is still worth playing in spite of its flaws and the fact that it ends on a cliffhanger that will never be resolved, I would have to say yes.
I found the game hot and engaging and the plentiful sex scenes with different fetishes, the skimpy outfits and the setting had me railroad both games back to back. I think if you can handle the neutral and negative points I brought up and don't mind not having a conclusion, this is well-worth your time.

Note to devs: Thanks for this fun romp in ancient Rome! It's a shame that the game did not meet your metrics to continue developing it, but I hope that you will one day be compelled to at least finish the story with a small epilog if not an entire release.

One of the best games out there yet people said its bad come on now have a open mind on games like this i liked it there are way worst games out there that i have try i hope the one that made this game well try to make a third one keep up the good work and there might not be a big ass group that likes it but there are still some of us out here liking it

Positively surprised, one of the best games I came across in a while in terms of being able to balance having a story without it becoming a drag or compromising gameplay. Good story, tons of scenes and although it's just a VN (so not much gameplay to speak of) it's still pretty satisfying for the genre, it feels like your choices matter and different branches are engaging (as opposed to a main branch with everything else done shoddily).
I'm also happy it doesn't have voice acting and animations, which a lot of people push for these days but in my opinion it's costly in terms of development resources while adding very little to (and sometimes even detracting from) the experience.

Note
This review contains the reviews of Part 1 & Part 2.

Part 1
Rebellion: The Beginning Review

A Timeless Adventure
Rebellion: The Beginning is an erotic visual novel that has a very unique setting. Set against the breathtaking backdrop of Ancient Rome, it introduces a compelling narrative intertwined with the allure of power and sexual tension. As the protagonist, I was cast on a daring quest for fame and glory amongst a rich tapestry of characters and sexy women.

About This Game

Storyline
The narrative commences with a tantalizing premise—a 21st-century male suddenly finding himself in Ancient Rome's heart, the bustling city of Capua. This sudden shift in reality brings about a whirlwind of emotions and decisions as I navigate through a world filled with slaves, gladiators, and an array of intriguing characters. The depiction of nudity is bold and complements the raw, untamed life of that era, where danger lurks around every corner. As I met iconic figures like Spartacus, Crixus, and Batiatus, the historical integration added a layer of depth to the narrative, making the experience more enriching.

The dichotomy of choice is a central theme—whether to plunge into the perilous allure of fame and glory in a time where life expectancy barely touches 35, or retreat to the comforting embrace of a loving wife in the modern world. Every interaction and decision feels consequential, echoing through the corridors of time. The struggle between embracing the ruthless, primal allure of the ancient world, with its promise of power and reverence, against the moral and emotional tug towards a safe, love-filled life in modern times, sets a dramatic, heart-wrenching stage. This palpable tension keeps the narrative engaging and thought-provoking, making this title a captivating journey through time and emotions.

Gameplay Mechanics
The game unfolds as a story-centric visual novel where every choice carries weight. The battle for survival is a real thrill, as trust is a scant commodity, only to be found amongst fellow gladiators like Spartacus. There's an intriguing twist where I could use knowledge from the future to tweak the past's events, adding a layer of strategy to the unfolding drama. The branching narrative paths leading to either stay and witness the rebellion or retreat to modern times, ending the game, is a thrilling aspect of the gameplay that kept me engaged.

Visuals & Audio
The visual splendor of "Rebellion: The Beginning" is undeniable. The animated renders are incredibly hot, and the character models are quite attractive, bringing the ancient world to life with a modern sensual appeal. However, the absence of proper full-fledged voice acting left me craving a deeper, more immersive experience. The random sounds they added were well-done but could have been elevated to a whole new level with the addition of robust voice acting.


Pros and Cons

• Rich and engaging storyline.
• Attractive character models and very hot animated renders.
• Thought-provoking gameplay mechanics with the ability to alter past events using future knowledge.

• Lack of full-fledged voice acting.
• I wish there were more Animated Renders since they executed the existing ones pretty well.

Conclusion
This title is a captivating blend of erotic allure and ancient warfare. It boasts a meticulously crafted narrative and visually appealing graphics that keep you invested in the unfolding drama. Although the lack of comprehensive voice acting is a missed opportunity for deeper immersion, the game's existing elements provide a satisfying and thrilling experience. The seductive ambiance paired with the harsh realities of gladiatorial combat makes this game a memorable venture into the past.

Rating: 3.8/5
Imagine if they used characters from 300.


Part 2
Rebellion: Rise of the Damned Review

When The Past Becomes The Present
In this sequel to the developers first game, Rebellion: The Beginning, we will go back to ancient Rome with our wife, who's been obsessed with going since our return.

And yet again, a story is to behold, and new adventures are to happen. And let’s not forget the women we loved and left behind.

Story
Rebellion: Rise of the Damned is an erotic visual novel with few voice lines and sound effects.

This game is decision-based, and depending on what decision you make, the outcome will be different but still follow the same road. Like a road with different paths that ends up at the main road again.

In this sequel to Rebellion: The Beginning, we’ll see how our protagonist and his wife have turned into the opposite of the Jing & Jang they were, but still love or tolerate each other and stay.

Our main protagonist is becoming more careless, slutty, bad-mouthed, and other. While his wife is just completely obsessed with getting back to ancient Rome and getting famous for being the first person to manage to find a way and go back and alternate the timeline and future.

Follow the fascinating and erotic story of our protagonist, and if you have followed his first story, you can choose an option once starting a name game.

If owned and fully played previous game Rebellion: The Beginning, the game will ask if the player has played their previous game, giving three options to answer with:

Yes, I played, and I want to transfer my choices from the first part.

No, I didn’t.

Yes, I’ve played, but I want to continue with the default choices (recommended).

This will be a little spoiler of what will happen within the game. I played for around 2.4 hours, going through the game at a decent pace.

Spoiler: Spoiler Warning

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Visual & Audio
Visuals
Containing detailed, erotic images, beautiful women, characters, clothing, and short, repeated animated scenes.

The props used fit well in, but in most scenes displayed, there are only details around the area of action or around the characters. Beyond that; for example, beyond trees or above boulders/mountains, there’s just nothing.

For example, over by the rebel camp, as it's next to stone walls around it. Some scenes display above the stone walls, and it feels like there is supposed to be something there, like trees or clouds or just some more details.

Audio
The audio for the game contains a few sound effects, repeated voice lines, and background sounds. With means no music/background music.

When hearing the voice lines, one wished that they put more expenses into them as they are short and repeated and used over a lot during the game’s play.

If they were given a bit more affection and time, the experience of the voice lines would be smoother and give a livelier experience. Make it more soothing and pleasing hearing the lines instead of how they are now. Sharp, short, repeated.

Pros and Cons

• Erotic visuals/animations.
• Interesting & decision-decided story.
• Different decision = Different scene outcome.

• Clipped/Repeated voice lines.
• Empty far background sceneries.

My final little thoughts
It was my colleague who reviewed the developers first game, but he was so kind to send us more keys that I got the chance to try it out. Getting a bit of lore of their first game and now the chance to try out their sequel to it.

My experience playing so far has been enjoyable, with the time taken to read the dialogs. The game is both thriving of interest and keeps one chained on to continue playing with its erotic, historical, and funny bits.

So, in my opinion, this game is highly recommended. And if you haven’t tried their first game, I'd recommend trying it out too before this one to complete the whole story and combine the puzzle pieces.

Rating: 4/5
Second Game? How about Second Round!

Links
Steam Store Page Part 1
Steam Store Page Part 2
Website Review Part 1
Website Review Part 2

I was pretty hopeful when I started playing (compelling story, good art, decent animations) but it just kept getting worse. The characters are all pretty flat, mostly just variations of buff guy and hot girl with nothing personalities. The plot starts pretty interesting but all too quickly devolves into flip flopping between dumb porn logic and tragedy (namely fridging love interests to motivate MC to do the thing he was already going to do (including best girl)).
MC and his wife are kinda the worst people, MC barely even thinks about his wife while he's trapped in the past and in every sex scene will say it's the best sex he's had. When they reunite the writing is some boomer humor-I hate my ball and chain type shit with no real communication until everything is lovey dovey again randomly. MC will say he's so smart compared to these ancient people and then never do anything smart like use any kind of medical knowledge, instead he'll use a jizz potion to heal poison cuz porn logic.

Conclusion: I wanted to like this way more than I did but I couldn't. There's enough good sex scenes (including some pregnant and lactation scenes) for me to give 3 stars but the writing just isn't good enough for anything more.
Would I recommend: If the preview pics are compelling check out the first half of part 1, after that it only gets worse

Great Story line with NTS scenes keep this up and expecting more NTS, sharing and swinging scenes in the future
And please don't let this game go multiple protags
The MC could use some bit more of Alpha male points

Few AVNs have disappointed me as this one, it had so much potential, so many elements that the Dev could have gotten more out of and created one of the best AVNs but he ended up creating just "a good porn game" to fap it's good, no doubt about it... But he had a story with so much potential in his hands and he ended up wasting it to create a generic porn game.
I got the hope of a remake focusing on making the most of the story or someone else who knows how to write takes the basic concepts of this AVN and does them justice to develop a good story... If only I could learn to program overnight I would do it myself.

I gave this 5 stars but I really thing its closer to 4.5. The game is really good. Good graphics, tons of choices to make, and decent writing. The only thing that annoyed me was in the second part, there was a scene that I had no idea how to unlock. I ended up using the Ren'Py universal unlock to view it. In the next part of the game, I think it would better if you could at least get a hint on how to unlock certain scenes. Because otherwise you'll make a choice at the start of the game and miss one of the final scenes (like I did).

I gave it a 5 star review, although my actual rating would 4.5.

I love the classical antiquity, this adult game is the best one so far in its genre for this period. For the most part, the game has good and believable characters and a good story. There are also no deep conversations that take 20 minutes and if they are, it's short and impactful. It's a porn game after all.

I enjoyed the first part a bit more than the second part. I feel like the MC didn't struggle as much in the second one and there's a bit more focus on his wife leaving old characters less room to fit in the story.

Great twist on a well known story.

Great Visual Story Telling.
Great Story
Great H-Scenes
Great options ( Avoidable NTR )

Looking forward to more from this one. I am curious as to where the story will go next.

OK, let me just state that I know nothing about the game and development history before I started playing. I'm just playing the 2 seasons and I'm assuming that there will be a season 3 at some stage.

My opinion on the 2 seasons is actually quite different.
So my top determining factor for assigning a rating is: Did I have fun playing this game? And the answer is yes!

In terms of the first season. It's full marks in terms of fun for me. Interesting concept, with a play on the Spartacus TV series, it was very enjoyable. The story was actually gripping and the dread of one of your friends dying made the tension extra high. The relationships between the characters were also much more authentic. (a non-perfect 5 stars)

Season 2 was definitely a big step down from the first season. It now played more like a porn parody than an erotic NV (similar to the TV series). There was more sex than story, but I will admit that it was still fun and in between the sex, the story still moved forward. The tension (Except for the last part) was minimal. (A high 3 star rating for me)

Between the 2 seasons and in terms of the enjoyment it gave me, I will give it 4 stars. Here is to hoping we get a final season!

The only positives to this game is that the graphics are amazing and there's tons of choices to make.

This game says completed which has me confused, because there is no "ending" or "finale". I love this time era in history so I was excited for this game, but the story is just so lackluster it hurts my soul. There isn't any character development, the reasoning for the story at the start felt weirdly abandoned and unnecessary, and outside of the sex scenes there isn't anything very exciting about this game.

The game had promise and had the interest of many, however it is clear that amateur writing led to this disappointing end. I hope the dev takes everything as constructive criticism, and works on their craft, if they desire to publish more titles.

the game itself was pretty enjoyable until it got abandoned.
yes, abandoned because the game is not completed no matter from where you look at it.
and this is the case when a bad "ending" throws the whole game out of the window rendering it into a complete waste of time.

this is why i don't pay for games that have not been completed.
actions talk louder than "promises"

I will put it at 3, it's a game of a lower quality but author kind of tried and it carries the game slightly. Regardless of all the negatives it still a decent short VN and worth a quick read at least.

It is also unfinished, in a sense that the story dies in the middle of the narrative and third part currently don't exist and potentially won't exist.

So, essentially you time travel back in time to Spartacus uprising and live gladiatorial harem life. It's not particularly deep or complex or great, but it's entertaining enough to read and story actually constantly moves which is nice. Characters are two dimensional at best but are sufficient enough for their roles and varied.

The weakest part by far is the dialogue style and writing, the style is just extremely dry and there is so little... finesse in the writing, it's all very primitive and simplistic. Despite ongoing events actually being semi interesting the way it all is written is simply detrimental to the experience.

Which is a shame because premise is unique enough and it's interesting to see where it all goes and what happens to the characters despite their cardboard-cutout feeling.

Another issue is that the game is separated into 2 parts, but it's kind of a weird semi-kinetic novel which have choices and you see different scenes based on them but the story is completely kinetic. And you cannot transfer your choices into part 2 so some plots you experienced in part 1 can not even exist in part 2 or vice versa. For example, in part 1, you get an offer to kill Spartacus, you can say "sure" or "nah", and then get another choice of sleeping with one woman or raping another. Then regardless of the choice you go to Spartacus, tell him you agreed ot not aggreed to kill him and he goes "eh, it's whatever" so the only thing that changes is the female scene.


But despite the negatives it's an entertaining enough read and power fantasy of being a powerful gladiator with a harem is nice, albeit done in a mediocre fashion. Try it out if it sounds interesting for you.

Game ahs been "completed" but its been abandoned apparently. There is supposed to be a 3rd chapter that apparently is not coming anymore. Why bother wasting time on something that is unfinished?

Plot is alright for the first part but the 2nd part and the twist at the end of the 2nd part are not good

Li's are smoking hot game is a fuckfest/harem if you're into it. If it was going to be finished maybe it gets 2-3 stars

This is a very interesting series and I hope we'll keep getting more titles in the future. There's two episodes, so far, so I'll address each of them.

Rebellion: The Beginning
- makes for a relaxed gameplay, full of sex, where you can choose whether to play a faithful Carl and resist temptation, or dive into ancient Roman promiscuity, without negative consequences whatsoever. It feels like shaping your character, which gives the game a good roleplay vibe, not always common in a VN. You can be cruel, protective, lustful - however you choose it, the story still moves forward. In the end, your choices mainly decide which characters will move on to the next chapter. The ancient Roman historical details are mostly accurate and the architecture is spot-on. Renders are top quality. For me, this was an enjoyable story, not a blockbuster, but consistent and engaging.

Rebellion: Rise of The Damned
- the follow-up begins with a questionnaire where you tell the game some paramenters about part one; while this is practical and cool, it would feel that your part one gameplay would have been more consequential if you could simply import the savegame, leaving no chance for picking the wrong answers.
The MC's wife acquires a more central role in the story, with NTR and sharing coming up as possibilities to spice things up. Both are optional and the premisis are generally good and believable - like if your MC is a complete asshole and doesn't want to come back to ancient Rome with his babe, it's fair that she finds another way in.
Along the game, however, I hesitated with some choices because the way they're framed, it seems like some times you're actually pushing your wife to have sex with others, at other moments she's making the suggestion herself, with no teasing or tension. This could easily be improved by adding some dynamics to the characters: the wife wouldn't go from prude to slut in a moment's notice. Perhaps giving her thoughts a bit more relevance along the first scenes where she watches you fuck other girls would help justify her curiosity; instead, she seems a bit detached, accepting your lovers as the rules of the Roman world, without any apparent conflict. She takes a caring interest in the former Roman wife that you impregnated, and that is one of her most interesting traits. But the introduction of sharing content happens in a rather matter-of-factly way, with her invocating a petty excuse for bro-bonding ritual in order to sleep with your buddy. There could be more sexual tension between them in the build-up, she could be more teasing, less rational. The MC could have the option to oppose or enjoy, and his dirty that scene would feel more grounded if there were an atmosphere of mutual teasing, otherwise it feels like he's sincere about his insults. The waking up scene is cool, but could have been more explored. I understand the challenges of having optional content in a story that otherwise attempts to follow a single main path - and, to be honest, that's my preferred structure.
These are details that may be ironed out in the future, as the story is currently in development. I hope for more sharing content, maybe involving other NPCs as well, but a better framing. If the second part maintains the same consistency in writing, as the first part, it will definitely improve.
I like the linear story, with optional flavour. Sometimes ambitious branching out makes for projects becoming too wide for the developer's resources, or too shallow as a consequence. This game achieves a good balance, my only suggestion, regarding part two, being that optional content were better connected with the main story. If the common content had more of Clara's thoughts, her reactions to the roman ways, her impressions of other characters, some of the optional content would feel more grounded. Sharing included: being optional is perfect, imho, but suggestions that lead into it could be more playful and teasing. It feels strange that the MC would "choose" to put his wife in certain circumstances. These choices could be presented with more pros and cons, otherwise it feels exactly what it is: a prompt to the user to choose which content they want to fap to.
The early part of the second episode maintains the same visual quality as the first episode, but further in, some renders look a bit more rushed, especially sex scenes at night where you only see characters posed against a pitch black background, and some renders with a natural landscape, which don't stand up to the richness of detail you see in the more urban settings.

It's a great game that I'm eager to see the development of, and my final star will surely be awarded as the result of the second part merges with the consistency of the first part.

Rebellion: Rise of The Damned ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Good story
Good girl
Perfect for pregnant women
I hope in the future the developers will add more pregnancy girls content

My Rating for This game is:
Pros:
-Great Story
-Story is Great
-Lots of Different Sex Scenes (No Shit)
-Fantastic Renders

Con:
- No regular Updates

Conclusion:
Overall I fell in love with this Game, and i`m burning for the Next update, and that doesn't happen often....
The Renders are Great with different scenes and Time Changes, a couple of bloody scenes, not for the faint of hard, and I just love the different sex scenes and costumes of the characters.
The only downfall in this Game is the Long wait for the updates, hoping that it will change in the future.

Worth the Download.

Version: 0.7 Steam
It is for both rise of the damned and the beginning.

This is mostly linear game with some choices that let you decide whether you want to see certain scenes or not (there are two forced scenes from the top of my mind. One in rise of the damned at the start where MC is cheating on his wife and another scene with wife in "the beginning" which starts all the events of the game).
There are some "paths" that player can take, that will let you see different scenes, but in grand scheme of things they don't really matter as main story is linear and those choices are usually never mentioned again outside they own path, which ends pretty fast (within 1-4 next choices).
MC himself is a dick, Girls are for some reasons throwing themselves at MC and his cock. Even going as far as to cheat on their partners without any second thought, guess it's a perk that comes with being protagonist of porn game.
I don't think girls have any personalities except for being fuck dolls to serve MC.

Audio just sucks, I would recommend playing with muted game. Background sounds are also very loud even with me puting game sounds on 50% and having system sounds at 20%.

This one is below average for me (0.7 steam version). Played both games and the writing is bad in both, the story makes no sense, and the characters are plain and boring. There are some choices that matter, which is great, but since I can't get any conection to any character because the plot and the portrayal of everything is an insult to the history it's based on, I really don't care for those choices. And yes, I get it it's a porn game, and one closer to Spartacus the series than a real historical drama, but still there are so many mistakes that throw me off completely. As an example, the first time you see the gladiators, one is holding a hammer taken out of Oblivion or something like that, full of dwarvish runes and everything.

Render quality is decent and character models are pretty nice, and if you don't care for the liberties taken with things like some dresses and so on, it works. Animations are numerous and are quite decent, if a bit short. The music is annoying, there are some moans and that's about it for the sound. At least during my playtime there were no bugs, which is great.

So, all in all, it's not the worst game around for certain, but it does fall below average. But if you don't care for historical accuracy and stuff like that, or the obvious porn-logic it falls into all the time, you might find it to your liking.