Ren'Py - Abandoned - Rise to the Top [v0.4.2] [EMRG Games]

this game was a joy yo play the whole style ... the story is well written and the chars are all fleshed out nicely ... the use of vids for chars getting relation points was genius ... ok the bad the hand job and blowjob needs work there not great ... but the sex scenes are very good ... looking forward to more of this game

Boy you've come to the right place. Although this one has a couple of things in it I haven't really cared for in the past I found that after playing it I've come to realize that Sandbox and Minigames don't HAVE to equal time consuming and tedious. From the animations/renders to the game play.. this one checks all of the boxes. A couple issues perhaps but it also comes with a DEV that is focused and on top of things. All of that is coupled with an MC that I actually like playing.. The future is bright for 'Rise to the Top' and 'EMRG Games' and I can't wait to see where it takes me.

Renders and animations are very good. Most of the girls are a bit too voluptuous for my liking but it got me engaged nontheless.

The writing is good, no engrish which I appreciate.

I'm really looking forward to where the game takes the mc

Really like the game so far, the story is good although it feels like it went from 0 girls in MC's life to all the chicks wanting him in a span of a couple days.
The renders are solid, really like the color palette and the fact that there are animations for more scenes than just lewd ones.

Speaking of lewd, the new version started to get some heat and they were really well done.

On a dowsite - The game could use a bit more proofreading and playtesting but the devs adress issues quickly and thats respectable.

Really wish the game stays on the same trajectory

renders are good. girls are attractive. navigation and event triggers is tedious. little to no choice. very linear. main character very childish. wants to be a dj, but can't be bothered to get a job after he graduates high school. that's not how life works. you have to make compromises and sacrifices in order to achieve your goals. it's not like you can't work a job at a recording studio or a music shop or something that would put you in better stead later on. or even work at a coffee shop and practice instruments or learning production in your free time. it isn't all or nothing. i get it is necessary to set up the game format, but it is an extremely juvenile way of looking at life. the game is called rise to the top. that would mean more if the main character was at the bottom at some point, busking on the street or sleeping in his car trying to make his dream come true, instead of living in a mansion and being given handouts. direct parallels are made with the dropout daughter who wants to pursue dancing. just change your major to liberal arts and study dance. characters do the most angsty teenage thing instead of taking realistic steps to pursue what they want to. this attitude makes it hard to relate to or identify with characters in the game. who wants to root for an entitled idiot?

Reviewing Rise to the Top version 0.1.2

Pros:
Good quality models; model's proportions are a little exaggerated but there is nothing wrong with that.
Good quality renders; I liked the composition of many of the sets and enjoyed the subtle animations during many dialogue scenes.
Interesting story so far; still early in the story, I look forward to see where the story goes.
The rave scene was fun and brought me back to my younger days.

Cons:
Quite a few grammatical errors.
Some errors with times for events in the hints.
Some errors with character names in the hints.
Dialogue choices don't seem to have any impact on the story in the current version but I am sure that should change in future updates.
There are few spots where there is only one dialogue choice to choose from that seem like could be cut to let the scene flow better.
Currently no sex scenes, just one lewd encounter.
Some camera angles are a little exaggerated and/or use a fisheye lens that distort the scene a bit much.
The open sandbox style and map is not well utilized in this version and only served to get me more lost and I found my skipping many days to get to the next event.

Overall I enjoyed play the small amount of content this game has and if the developer can fix the issues and fine-tune the gameplay as the story progresses in think that many other people will enjoy this game too.

Horrible free roam with no real choices. The free roam is an illusion to extend game time by forcing the player to do tedious busy work and clicking around, while in reality there is almost no choices on how the character behaves.

Renders are good, and the premise is interesting, but that's the only good thing about this to be honest. The game is kinetic novel masquerading as a choice based on, and the free roam gameplay is extremely tedious that it kills all libido.

v0.1.1

I really like the current feel of the game, the renders are nice and the fact that characters are almost always moving gives it a really nice touch
I however think that the way conversations are handled should be changed.
When the person speaking changes, the camera switches to them which gets annoying after a bit, maybe panning it so you see both would be great?

The story so far isn't bad, I kinda wish the main character wasn't a chick magnet and didn't mention to every girl he meets that he's a virgin. An option to change that/removing this would be great because it makes me cringe a little.
The intro should've explained a bit more about his past/parent and I think the unskippable cutscenes are a tad unnecessary.

I haven't encountered any bugs.

I wish the navigation would change a bit.
The home has a lot of sub locations and a mini map inside of it would be great. You currently have to remember the location and go through rooms and arrows that are really far away from each other (left arrow is completely to the left rather than closer to the middle of the screen, a bit annoying)
A schedule/hints about where character currently are (an icon at the location, an app, a journal ect)

This was added to the game shortly after the first version of this review.

Very promising game! The graphics are pretty good, the animations are well made, liking that the animations are not only in sex scenes, but in any interaction with the girls, this make the game more alive. Also liking the relaxing vibe in the game, the changing tunes in the different areas of the sandbox, which is helping in the expression of different moods, that the MC is more driven and that he feels like the main character of the game, not like in many other games, which says your MC is the main protagonist, but make it like it's only a participant in others cases in there and it's not the focus, liking very much so the hot women in here(wishful thinking to have more milfs, like the landlady ). Also am hoping the girls will act feminine, not masculine like a boy. It's still early to tell, but this can turn out to be, a really good game, can't wait till march for it's continuation.

v0.1.1
Looks promising and the models are great.
It has alot of Good looking milfs.
The music is great.
It is short But it is expected from a game in its first release.

I have a few notes like sandbox it could destroy a game of it isn't implemented correctly.
And the slow burn we dont want to get into action in the first update if it takes ages to get to the scenes like it is in some games it could be the deal breaker for me.

Also it needs a patch... The IC fans are huge and it could build a bigger following for the game.

It is worth a try But keep in mind it is still in an early stage and i'll update this review After each update.

Good luck dev.

Props for the unique music industry setting but nothing else about the game appealed to me. I thought I was going to play music-based minigames to up my dj skillz and fuck groupies. Instead I had to skip through a lame and irrelevant "prologue" and then click pink areas on the screen to make the PC do atrociously boring tasks around the house ("immersive sandbox gameplay").

Still, he does eventually end up at a warehouse rave. Oh boy is this gonna be great because usually raves held (illegally) at vacant properties have a high concentration of people willing to have free and/or paid sex. Plus lots and lots of drugs. So the PC slaps some killer beetz, has an insane drug-fuelled orgy, wakes up when the blood bubble on his nose finally pops, realises he wants to keep doing this every day until he dies, and lives happily ever after.

That's what should have happened. Instead the PC trips from a single 50 mg ecstasy pill and the dj lady immediately falls in love with him and decides she is his mommy. Takes him back to her place and sends him back home in the morning with a wee kissy on the nosey. Wtf?

Renders are very average. Female models have unrealistic proportions, that can be good or bad but in this case it's the latter. Enormous, dangling, botox mommy boobs - a formula concocted in fapping hell. And lordosis.

So yeah, I've nothing to recommend about this game apart from the dj concept and even that misfires.

Outstanding renders(still drooling over photographer ),MC good looking very nice kid for a change. Story is very cheerful,simple but good and promising. I'm not usually rating games after first release because all off them have a lot of to improve. This one need just few things to change and that is what everybody here are mentioning. Hints,house plan,better visible map highlights,characters points on phone and most of all,time skipping on main screen. After seeing how active devs are on responding and how willing they are to change that and improve in the future, I'm giving it 5*. Very,very good first release especially for Sandbox.

now walktrough and i cannot see anything in the city. not even readind the small texts. No mark points in the map. And you need classses for reading the texts. Thats a joke. Thw whole game is a Joke. So now my dear admins i have said if i like the game or not. So i dont like it. Is this okay ?? I have said my opinion about hte game. Dont boring me with your warnings. No ones needs this site.

Seems like a good story but, I can't read the writers mind nor have any *hints* on where to go next .... it's a sandbox I get it & understand also it's an alpha again I get it... the game seems "RUSHED" to get out the door rather than anything.... seems like a writer from RPGMAKER came over to make a game in a story game engine(and forgot to timeline his story)..... it has A LOT of potential but it's gonna take A LOT of work to get there..... The renders are outstanding, but they DON'T make for a great game.

Very Respectfully,
TheWrongGuy

Solid first release. Renders are nice, and sexy. Dialogue is good and believable. MC isn't a raging, incel douchebag out to harm all the women that dare cross his path (which I hate, so good on them for not doing this)

Map navigation and quest progression could use a little improvement, more transparency to the player on what is still left to do, and how/when/where.

But overall, yeah, solid start, looking forward to further updates.