VN - Ren'Py - Reclaiming the Lost [v0.10] [Passion Portal]

reviewed against v0.6. The game is good but I found it.... confusing. There's a few plot threads going on and it's kind of difficult to understand what is what.

The game is missing a HUGE amount of exposition. It needs help setting the scene better. So there is one thread where you get a letter saying your old flame had a kid and put them up for adoption. There's a thread about meeting some random girl and you offer her a job. There's a thread about your business partner and finally there's a thread with some old friends you knew but there's a criminal lack of explanation over what all these are.

In a scene with the girl from the coffee shop you offer her a job and I genuinely thought it was just a line to chat up the girl cause I couldn't remember seeing anything to suggest you were in a position to offer anyone a job. You could work in McDonalds for all I know. Perhaps I missed it but it could have been clearer.

There are other examples, the scene with the dad leaves you feeling whether it's worth the hassle, the random encounter with the girl in the hotel, which reinforce the idea that sometimes the games feels like random scenes bolted onto each other. So the plot could do with some simplification and some clarification.

It also seems to suffer from an issue where choices will block you out of content. Which is fine but experience has shown that never tends to end well. You end up with releases which don't touch on what you're playing so you either need multiple simultaneous playthroughs or you just have to hope you remember the plot for when a release involves what you're playing.

On the flip side it's pretty, there's a style there which reminds me of another game I won't mention but it's certainly easy on the eyes. It could be good but I think it needs more time to cook. If it continues then in a year or two it could be brilliant but right now it's just confusing.

[0.6] - overall rating: 3/10

A kinetic novel in a trench coat.

THE GOOD

The premise behind the story is genuinely interesting and I'd love to see more games explore the "already established" main characters. Having the existing baggage of life experiences makes the story feel more grounded and focused.

The UI is an upgrade over the default one - simple but effective, though more customization options are welcome.

The renders, for the most part, look good. Bonus points for the grandma.

THE NEUTRAL

The music and SFX are there, but they are nothing special - they are just alright.

Faceless MC is a bit of an "eh" point, but the shots with him aren't jarring.

THE BAD

Renders.
Whilst most of them are good, they are still tons of issues with how that aspect is handled.
Firstly, the artist opted for the "mouths closed during dialogue" renders - which is acceptable if it wasn't for the lack of consistency. Some scenes are more "animated", some completely static (at times even the transitions disappear), but my favorite is the shot of one character smiling for ten (10) consecutive renders for no reason. The author focuses on so many odd or unnecessary details that I'm finding it hard to believe they couldn't animate the lips for the dialogue.
Secondly, I've spotted numerous instances of drastic and illogical lighting changes within the same scene (e.g. MC gives a woman a ride home and it suddenly goes from midday to evening).
Thirdly, the renders very often focus on female body parts in a borderline creepy way (more on that later).

Characters.
Let's start with the MC and how people react to him. Our protagonist is a middle-aged man, a person of success and authority. His ex-partner was apparently infatuated with him until her very end. You are supposed to play as someone with distinct personality and established role, but no interaction seem to indicate this. Your mind chases after every young women you see (who, for some reason, trust you on the spot), describing them in detail reminiscent of a complete deviant. The language used in this game can be undoubtedly beautiful, but I felt physical discomfort where a man in his supposed forties (or fifties) fantasizes and sexualizes every little move some girl half his age does in front of him. All this would makes sense if we could go the route of dark fantasy corruption, but we can't - MC acts like he's scared of young women...

Then we have Chloe and "The Girl With No Name" - two main female protagonists.

The former is a young girl that you apparently grew up with - it's not particularly clear. What is clear is the fact that all of her in-game content is bound to her being a streamer. Not a generous up-and-coming streamer, but someone who will only interact with your "internet persona" when you donate an absurd amount of money to her. If you don't go that specific route, your interactions are pretty much non-existent. I'm sorry, but being a glorified gold-digger is not a positive personality trait.

The latter is a young girl that you meet in a cafe. She has a first-ever job interview and she's stressed about it. The problem is, you cannot get rid of her. Even if you decide not to engage her in a conversation and just leave the coffee shop, you will still meet her, you will still offer her a job at your company, and she will still accept going with you on a road trip. Her entire personality is just being hot and young - there is no substance.

Pathing and plot.
Perhaps the most egregious sin this game has committed. The developer tries to convince you that their game has this intricate branching system allowing for complex relations and outcomes. Yet there is no obvious indication that a single decision made in the first thirty minutes will lock you out from major scenes in the future. Furthermore, that decision whether you decided to lie about going upstairs to see the girl streaming somehow influences the possibility of the one (and only) sex scene in the game. A sex scene with a character that has nothing to do with the girl from the game's intro!
And the best part is that the developer knows this - their patch notes literally say what you have to do to get to the content they put into the game simply because the PATHING MAKES NO SENSE.

Oh, and the game spoils the entire plot by allowing you to the name the young girl from the cafe whilst everyone else has an established name (aka she's your long-lost daughter). Well done...

Also, this game needs a proofreader - there are tons of major punctuation omissions and oddities in the game's walls of text.

Overall, I cannot recommend this game as is. If the plot and branching were to get a revision, the game would be great.

This one of the top tier for me
The story is really interesting and the character design is one of the best

Pro
- Every character is looking really good and the face proportion kinda realistic though
- Olivia look kinda like Emma Myers and that's on fire!
- Render are stunning
- Story is really interesting
- Little bit slow burn is perfect on this avn
- Not a lot of mens here and no disgusting one
- The mystery feels

Cons
- Stat are kinda confusing
- Still short though

You guys did a really great job and I love it
Thanks a lot for good work and can't wait for more!

This game looks amazing, the female character models are top tier. The lighting/shadows captured in the renders and shot angles shows the artist has some excellent visual skills.

The main story has mystery element and is interesting enough to keep you playing.

I enjoy that choice influences character stats, giving you different outcomes. Hopefully there will be more content soon so we can see more variety of these changes the choices make.

So, what I played just now is 0.5 the character models are good for sure. I also like the choice options for most of the choices. Like,for most choices there is no right or wrong. It just different, with different choice add to different stats. I like that more than just one choice is right and other is wrong. Or like two different choices but everything continues the same, nothing changes. And as for the story... I mean, I chose most of the wholesome choices. So, it's a wholesome story?? I think. As for the main story, it is good that there is a ending goal and the road to that but I kinda hope the story don't go to dark. Or the story don't go to dark based on my choices. But I would say I like it. Just hope that it doesn't become abandoned like every other good story with goodlooking characters and graphics.

Graphics are great and story may be good, but it is too early to already be getting greyed options because of irrelevant choices being made.
This completely destroys the experience since you would need to do choices you wouldn't choose, but you have to get to x content.

I do understand thinking this adds replayability or depth to choices, but in reality it just creates exact strings of choices that you would need to get x content, ruining what would be an immersive story. It may have potential, but this type of choice system is just too bad in my opinion.

Do give it a try though, despite this making the game impossibly unenjoyable to me, if the above didn't tick you off

This game really shines when it comes to storytelling and graphics. The story is engaging, and it feels like diving into a captivating book. The characters are well thought out, and their conversations are interesting, making it easy to connect with their journeys.

Graphically, the game is impressive. The attention to detail in the landscapes and character designs is evident, making the visuals a treat for the eyes.

However, I do hope the game continues to receive updates to expand the story. The current narrative has left me wanting more, and I'm eager to see where it goes. Adding new storylines and characters while maintaining the storytelling and visual quality would keep players like me engaged and excited for the future.

Reclaiming the Lost [v0.5] - Contain some Spoilers.
The renders are good, the females are attractive and the main story is good so far.
What are my problems with this game?
First the font size, too small.
I love games that give players meaningful choices, choices that actually changes the outcome of a situation, and this games has it....the problem here is that is done in the wrong way, here you will not have a clear vision of how your choices will affect the game as choices you make with one character will affect how a unrelated character will react in the future...
example, you sneak into a girl streaming, you watch without her noticing, then you can tell her later if you saw her or not...if you say you did see her then this will block you to let a girl stay in your hotel room later, a girl you didnt know when you saw the other streaming, the two girls dont know each other...but if you say you didnt see her streaming this will enable you to see and give money on her streaming, this will lead you to have te option to let that other hotel girl stay in your hotel room and this will end up in a BJ....this doenst make sense. I chose all the same choices and changed only the part where you can say if you saw her streaming or not...so this is actually the trigger.
So this leads to other problem, how im supposed to care about the dialogue if i cant even have a tiny idea of how a choice will affect something.. we have a bunch of characters throwing a bunch of information that we cant use. There was some choices i couldnt pick that i still have zero idea of the trigger, and i just dont care anymore, the outcome at least have to make sense with the choice, and this doenst happen with this game.
Someone said all characters are likeable, c'mon...this streamer chick shows a bit more skin depending of how much money the person gives her...at first it was her joking with a female friend saying if the money was enough she woud think about it, but later depending of your choice MC can watch her while hiding his indentity and make a huge "donation", then she gets so happy that shows him a fair amount of skin, she changes clothes in front of the camera, wears a more reavaling outfit and shows off to MC (in her perspective he was only a unknown dude), so how exactly this girl is likeable? Im not saying you cannot like what she does, but be likeable???
Funny enough, later, we can choose for her if she will take off her bra in a photoshoot or not...then she can take pics without a bra under her white t-shirt... this game should have a multiple protagonist tag as we have to make a choice for other character, even a female protagonist tag.
Content wise the game is quite short for a V0.5.
The blonde main girl is quite beaultiful but for me she is bland and her interactions with MC with no chemistry.

This update was great, I really enjoyed it, the teasing scenes were very strong

The previous update disappointed me a bit, of course, it was a system rework, so it can't be faulted

But this update showed that this game is still powerful and full of potential

I hope that slow burn and high tension will continue, which means that the females in the game will not turn into boring sluts soon

Positive points :

The renderings are great

Animations are currently few in number but quite satisfactory

The appearance of the families is very attractive, their faces are great, their bodies are great

The writing is very strong. You can find very few games with the writing power of this game

The story is relationship-oriented and very attractive

Strong atmosphere

MC's personality is great

The personalities of the families in the game are great, I really fell in love with them all

The story goes logically, the characters have logical resistance

Etc

Fantanstic VN so far

Storyline is decent

All Characters are likeable

MC is also likeable

Wording/Dialogue is really good and doesnt feel wierd

All girls are gorgeous and sweet (but Chloe is just unparalled in every aspect)

Renders are stunning, among the best I've seen so far

The story feels like It will have a lot of depth, especially relationship building seems to be a big part so far (which I really like).

The dev really didnt lie about the movie night beeing the highlight of the v0.5 update. If the work and love put into this sequence is what we can expect from future content, then this is gonna be a masterpiece for sure.

If the base story would be just a bit more unique this would get a perfect rating so far, regardless this is a must play!!!!

This is quite awesome.
There is a good character build and the renders are great.
I'd say that you shouldn't listen to all the forum "prophets" about the plot.
It's still too early to make guesses.
9/10 from me, I'll be coming back to review future versions

I would also like to do a review for "Reclaiming the Lost".

Story: Introduction to the story, dialogues and the different scenes and the so far implied entanglements and connections of the present, whose origin is to be sought in the past. MC and all the NPCs are so far interestingly written and credibly enacted. They have their strengths and of course their weaknesses. MC has made some decisions in his past that we will have to deal with in the near future, be it the consequences or the collective damage that comes with the flashbacks. Main story is really exciting and makes you want more, can't wait to find out more of the MC story. The side stories are also well implemented and interestingly written, we get to know our LI or our best buddy better.

Graphics: This one is, of course, in the eye of the beholder first. I personally like it very much. What I really like is that the characters seem so alive, in the course of the dialogue we experience different facial expressions, poses, etc. from the said chars. Unlike many other titles here in the forum, a clear plus point for me.

Music: Music and sound effects deepen the experience with this title. There are different pieces of music for the different scenes, I find these are appropriate for the scene.

Choices: In this AVN, first of all, there are roughly 2 paths to follow. Lust/Dominance and Love/Romance. With the respective LI, such interesting and clearly separated paths are possible. Theoretically it is also possible to mix love and lust with each other, but certain decisions and thus whether I can continue to follow the respective path taken, requires a minimum value (zb Lust). So certain events and also spicier scenes become missable, because one does not have enough in appropriate categories. In the same way, there is the further branching, that the story continues with a small variant (choice between 2 locations, with the next update we will see how they differ).
It is possible to play a boorish and dominant person as well as a friendly and romantic one. Let's see how the developer develops and expands all this in future updates. In any case, this is an interesting game with a lot of potential for great playthroughs with an erotic component. So far there is a lot of teasing and erotic sizzle, story and its unfolding is the clear focus. Really well done, developers!

Thanks Passion's Portal for this great AVN and the fantastic experience so far. I look forward to future updates.

There is barely anything to write for this game given how little content is in it for a linear kinetic VN.

I do not understand these 5 star spams when it is misleading to so many just because you are faithful in its potential to be a big game.

As of now I can't even do a proper review because you only meet 1 manic pixie dream girl at a cafe and then try to flirt with her at every chance you get while some other side chick throws herself at you. That is it.

The renders are good but the content and story is none-existent. I've said it time and again, first releases should always be more beefier than your updates. It's your shot as a dev to strike out.(As of 2025 this game is still in the blue ball gutter nothing new except more teasing and its had 9 updates but plays in 10mins )

I'm sure all of you have heard people saying "Show, don't tell." It's used in writing and it's a way for the writer to paint a vivid picture of what's happening instead of stating it. There's an interesting aspect to this in this AVN. Firstly, the writer understands this to a certain extent and he has a decent vocabulary. If this was a book, he'd be spot-on with his showing game, allowing the readers to form their own judgement of what's happening with ease.

However, this is a VISUAL novel and many of the things that are being described are actually on display for us to see through the renders, we don't need the redundant commentary. It's not always this way, but it's seen often enough.

Aside from that, when authors are advised to "show, don't tell," it encompasses more than just describing places, people, expressions and actions. It extends to all aspects of storytelling, including the portrayal of a character's personality. Why am I telling you this? Because there's so much inconsistent characterization that it becomes annoying and jarring to see. It happens with probably all characters in this AVN, but the main problem is the MC.

We are told he is someone who carries himself with confidence and exudes authority. We are told he is a successful businessman and this paragon of virtue, so good that the mother of his lost daughter grieved him until her death, however, we are TOLD, not shown. What we are shown is a timid man who blushes and stammers when girls that are his daughter's age flirt with him. He is not confident. Even if you do not drive the MC towards the path of debauchery, he will still deceive and flirt with vulnerable little girls. No paragon of virtue.

There's only one sex scene that only includes a blowjob and you will most likely miss it in your first playthrough since it requires you to make all the right choices, with no room for mistakes. During that scene, the MC acts like a sleazebag, but not as much of a sleazebag as he acted that same night, but now he's feeling guilty apparently and needs the naïve young girl he tried to prey on to make him feel better about it. Now, if there's anything more unlikeable than a sleazebag is a closeted sleazebag, at least own up to it, dude.

In summary, he does not have any outstanding qualities nor does he take action to back up his supposed characterization. This makes the entire experience unenjoyable because there's a big disconnect between what the game is telling us and what we're seeing and it's the main reason for my low score. Of course, this game does some things right, like build-up and sensuality. The build-up to the sole sex scene was quite sensual and I believe the dev has the potential to create many more good scenes, but all the good-will created by the sensual build-up is thrown out the window in the pathetic way it ends, with the MC lying back doing nothing and lasting two seconds with the girl's lips on his dick. Even if the sex scene was amazing, a game can only be carried by its sex scenes if it's pure porn, which this game isn't.

Perhaps in the future, the dev can better represent the MC and all its characters whilst advancing the plot, which would easily triple the enjoyment of playing through it and I can revisit my score, then, but as of now, I simply cannot recommend it.

TL;DR - It's decent, but it has potential.

The storyline is nothing you haven't seen before. It sets up some twists and turns but they're pretty obvious. The writing itself ranges from good to bad to unusual. It randomly gets academic, like the dialogue came straight out of a textbook about whatever subject they're discussing.

The renders are nice. All the girls are good looking, especially Grace. She looks believably aged, and not like a 30 year old pretending to be 50. The lighting is sometimes wonky but overall good.

My biggest gripe is that the MC can not stop ogling girls. In his conversations with his "sidekick", he checks out her body nonstop. He's supposed to be middle aged but he acts as horny as a 13 year old hitting puberty.

A smaller issue is that this game needs a proofreader. Random spelling errors, grammar issues, and uncapitalized words abound.

Overall it has potential and is worth a play, just expect a lot of porny cliches and an MC who needs to work on his wandering eyes.

Models are good, especially the beautiful main girl. She is also very smart and endearing. I love her.

MC is less perfect: he prefers drinking to exercising (even with a cute girl), and gets too handsy when he had to step back. Also quick to get mad instead of start thinking. And for some reason he doesn't stop the car when the girl would want that... Well in general he's not quite bad, but I would like him to become better in the near future.

The story is quite captivating and promising. (The two side girls don't seem to add much but perhaps they will later).

Writing is generally good, though a few times a bit fancier than necessary. And some descriptions should be deleted; show pictures instead! A few descriptions do not correspond with pictures, e.g. she plops on bed in that posh hotel, but in the picture she stands in the middle of large space, with no bed in sight.

Other inconsistencies:

1. Black eyebrows of the main girl. C'mon, she is blonde. Eyebrows can be a bit darker, but not that much.
2. Childhood friend is "he" but when MC comes there it's Grace and Chloe, no men.
3. "Six hours drive" starts in the morning and goes on for almost 2 days.

Sex there is not interesting for me because the only scene is with a girl that has a large nose, not cute in my book.

So:

★★★★★ Story
★★★★⯪ Writing
★★★★★ Characters
★★★★⯪ Models
★★★★★ Renders
★★★☆☆ Sexiness

Total 4.5 stars for [v0.3-fix].

Review for 0.3
Man, this was a bad experience. It has been a while since I actually cringed because of a dialogue. Let's get to it, the dialogue is made largely out of thoughts from the MC about what he thinks of the love interests. The MC by the way is a 40-50-year-old man who is lusting after 18- to 20-year-old ladies. That's fine and some games manage to present that in a very good way, but this just felt cheap and sleazy.

For example, all the clichés came into play; the skirt randomly lifts up so you can see everything and then in the morning when you wake up her top almost completely falls off. You get the gist of it.

Besides, any 18- to 20-year-old lady who talks to the MC is immediately totally sold and wants him or something for no appararant reason other then the fact that he is apparantly handsome.

When the MC and a love interest do engage is some flirting there is just a big disconnect to what the player has seen and to what the MC is apparantly experiencing.

For example, the MC starts to list the personality traits of this love interest that he so appreciates. The traits being, resilience, wit and intelligence. Okay she made some jokes so I guess wit makes sense. But resilience and intelligence do not really make sense at all. All we know about her is that she had a job interview and had to sleep in a motel for a night (not because she is homeless or something just because she and the MC could not make it to a hotel) so I wonder where all that resilience came from.

I just find this so unfortunate, because it feels like al the puzzle pieces are there for this game to be an absolute masterpiece but at this moment I can't give it more than two stars.

Fantastic game, wonderful depiction, and interesting story. The tempo of the game quickly ramps up after a slow beginning. appears to be a promising beginning. I'm hoping for further updates. With more engaging music, this game will be a pleasant and fun experience.

The game is at the beggining of its path, but...
1.It is absolutely beautiful. Face expressions, lights, scenes, bodies - stunning.
2.I love presented relations and their development - not too fast, not too slow ~ also good teasing.
3.Plot and reactions make sense (for now at least) which...is not very common with VN
Very promissing game - can't wait for more.

Now a little "No" for me, is these sudden blue-bally inserts, like "She suddenly realised what is she doing" yadda yadda, which indicates, that it is over of scene, yet it still goes, and i thought i just got blue balled (sort of did, anyway, but it made sense in the end [olivia scene {btw. her decision to continue - suprising, very nice]). Either keep pacing of the scene, or not. No for blue-ball bumps >;[

Superb renders and character models coupled with tantalizing descriptive writing is a deadly combo.
As of 0.2 still in the early parts of story and relationship development but what is there shows great promise.
The MC's dynamic with the Heroines all differ from one to the next which is important and appreciated in tandem especially with the seduction aspect present in the story.

Definitely give this one try and keep an eye on it.