VN - Ren'Py - Reclaiming the Lost [v0.9] [Passion Portal]

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.

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.

I liked the idea of the story, good scenes. i wish this project do not die.

i have been waiting for a novel with this thematic since a lot, so i really loved the idea of the streamer girl starting to corrupt.

Pretty good initial release. I like the renders, the story is okay, but nothing special. I'll go into more details below.
I will be reviewing the game in the three following sections:
1) The content
You play as a middle-aged guy who finds out he has a daughter somewhere. Your mission becomes finding her. However, you also meet a beautiful blonde who becomes your 'partner'. 2) The visuals
I really like the renders. You don't see MC pretty much anywhere, so everything is seen from your POV. The models look good, especially Chloe, the sister. I do feel like I have seen the main girl and Chloe somewhere (same models) but I don't mind that. A pleasant surprise was Grace, the MILF. who is stunning, but unlike in other games, she is clearly older and has wrinkles.
3) The playability
The story is linear, and the choices you make don't really impact the flow. I would like it if they added more decisions. The only thing I don't really like is the text. Not all the time, and not every single line of the text is bad, but there are some errors that interfered negatively with my gameplay. All in all, I think the game has potential, but could be improved. I hope they add good sound effects and music.

So far not a lot of content, but the ambiance and character personalities and appearance are there. I enjoyed the story till the end. This will definitely be the one to keep an eye on. Can't wait for more content.

This vn has beautifully rendered characters and a promising storyline. Although it is quite obvious that the mysterious girl is realted to the MC's it is still intriguing to find out how their story develops. Hope the developer does not give in to patrons demands and feedback but lets the story flow like it has started.

In its Current State i give the game an Overall: 6/10. That may seem low but i don't typically give high scores for new releases unless it blows me out of the water. Also i rate overalls based on 4 Categories: Story, Sexual Content, Renders, and Character Models. The main thing that hurts the overall rn is the no SC, now i know this is a demo so thats to be expected but i dont do exceptions. There are plenty of demos with content.

Story 7/10 : Ill be honest i have a strong dislike for Father Daughter stories like this but i think i can make a exception for this game, one hopefully there will be other LI's other than the Sister and Blonde Girl. The story is fairly well written and kept my attention from start to finish. Being bomb dropped with having a daughter that was given up for adoption , with the you have to go on a quest to find her seems like an interesting story. Though i have a feeling the blonde girl is your daughter, i really hope im wrong otherwise its painfully obvious. Also why do i have to name the blonde girl, not trying to sound rude but what the dev couldnt think of a name. Naming my character is one thing but naming her is weird. Now for all future reviews i have to call her blonde girl. It also seems like a hint that she is your daughter. Also is it just me or is the PI a dick, like bro im hiring you to find my daughter why dont you go to that town, like why do i have to but for the sake of the story we must. Also im glad we have a Mom character that isnt a milf, though im sure for some she is. I will honestly only play this game for the story and the platonic relationship of the Father/Daughter or Brother/sister. Unless there is a separate romantic interest that is not biologically related to the MC. Props to the MC though for taking things so well.

There is no SC so it gets no SC score. 0/10

Renders: The renders are actually really good, and our high quality with little to no grain/blur to them. 9/10

Character Models: the Models themselves are all very high quality, the sister isnt really my type but still great looking, and the blond girl is amazing looking sadly my incest detector is going strong so ill stay away. 8/10

Great models and pretty good writing for a first release. The undecididness with future tags is a bit alarming but so far I very much like what I'm seeing. v0.1 was pretty short so there isn't a lot to write about. But all in all, we will be watching your career with great interest!

(Reviewed as of v0.1)

So far one of the good start. Pretty models, good writing. The story isn't rushing forward to sex, porn etc but rather making an erotic build-up, I really like this in games and it's a pity we don't get this quite often.

I think the main con is the lacking of sound design. The audio in this game is rather dead.

Relationship development at a good pace. Story has some depth. I would spend time on grammar, story continuity (e.g the "unknown" phone call should have been known), and spelling before the next release.
Great images, with attention to light. That's rare.

Keep going, please.