Ren'Py - Straitened Times [v0.52.1] [HRelease]

without a working walkthrough and due to grind I am 6 hours in and no sex with ANY of the ones I want. The renders (pre sex are great) decent story so far, cute family I want to Enjoy, and grindy grindy grindy. Part of the problem with games like this that think they are that dang special you should sink so so so many hours in their game is it loses some of its spice. It is not grind for story, not grind for exposition, and repeating a scene like watching a porn with someone twenty times loses everything... seriously not sure if the dev themselves could stand it if they had to start from scratch and they don't need a walkthrough. Could have been great, currently in my opinion unplayable.

This game does a great job with depth. There are lots of scenes with every character that has been introduced and many ways to interact with other characters as well. Many of the scenes are very good and i wish there were more of them. Unfortunately this game is very hard, especially if you are not using cheats. This game would take forever to do anything with the amount of daily things you have to do in order to keep a good relationship with characters. Stuff like going to school, working a job, having dinner. If you are to miss any of these your relationship would decrease with characters associated with these events. It also is hard to tell how to progress in a relationship, character times are not clear sometimes, quests that take up space in the ui that are not achievable yet, because they not completed yet. There is lots of repetition because there isn't really a right or wrong answer sometimes. Anyways this is a good game, if you are using cheats and unfortunately that is the best way to play.

I rarely write reviews but dev if you are watching this then please reconsider this feedback.
Game is really good. I liked the story, concept and the models especially the milfs. A bit grindy but with a proper official walkthrough that can be managed.
Sex scene: Still very basic especially animation, please try to make it more intense and passionate. Option of different sex position would be more appealing .
In the end pregnancy would be cherry on top. Never stop working, looking forward for more updates. God bless

* Way too much grind,
* Way too much depends on random events.
* The Phone UI is just awefull.
* Animations looks rushed and not that great.

Do i recommend this game?
No, not really.
If you decide get the game. all i can say. have a nice grind

Best Kind of corruption game thats i have played in a while. 10/10 would recommend. i replay this game more than i can count. I really hope the creater keeps this kind of format in his future games. games with level of corruption are the best imo

As far as unfinished games go, this one surprises me everytime I replay it. It has a lot of content and interactions between characters, models are good, the grind ain't that bad and the developer is quite consistent with updates so there's even more content with each update. Storywise the game is still barebones, with the main plot i mean, but I don't think people play these kinds of games for a revolutionary plot. If you're unsure about this game because of ratings, don't be, play it and you won't regret it.

I give this 4.5/5 stars, but since I can't do that, I'll round up.

Pros: The renders. They are wonderful! Very well done. I'd like to see longer animations, but I can imagine they're not easy to make, and don't get me wrong - what's here is great!

The story. I actually think this is a neat story, and how it is presented is unique. Looking forward to seeing it build.

The mechanics. Very unique mechanic in this game. I like how everything is presented, how it has to be earned,. It's not too unrealistic, but it doesn't give you everything right away. I am up in the air about the in game walkthrough. Some things aren't clear and can be pretty vague to find out.

Cons: The dialogue. I think it's safe to say the dev's primary language may not be English (if it is, my apologies!). I say this because the dialogue is a little janky, and not smooth. There's definitely some room to smooth it out a little.

The grind. While I like the mechanics of the game, man, can it be grindy. The opinion loss that you get for just about every action is a little ridiculous. I think there's some room for improvement here. I'm not saying to remove the grind... just make it a little less... grindy.

All-in-all, this is a wonderful project, and I will continue to watch it gladly!

- Radical_Dreamer

I love this awesome game, it has all taboo I am interested in, a bit of grind to be a game and not just a visual novel which I usually hate, I don't consider those games. For me it is a pretty damn good sandbox and the game is updated pretty often compared to others. IF you dont like playing it and just want to fly through it just use cheats and walkthrough I guess. But for me this is was only of the few games that I never used the walkthrough, maybe I missed one scene or two but I don't care because I had a great time fap .
⭐Graphics 4⭐ ⭐ Story 5⭐ ⭐Gameplay 5⭐

Graphics 5, Story 4, Gameplay 4

It's great erotic game, the only flawback what it contains - repetative events, which have no sense in second time. Updates are relatevely small, but coming quickly. Another year of development have all chances to make it perfect.

Great sandbox game ofc each update are just 3 or 4 animated scenes but game as a whole contain so many scenes. dev's consinstency is top notch , the game contains all types of girls old young asian black. The only bad remarque is there is no walktrough by the dev so if he finishes the game and puts the walktrough it will be perfect

wow i'm really impressed. this is actually good. dont know how i missed it before(probably bad preview image - there's nothing to catch you eyes). alot of quiality content. nice balance between grind/skip

one of the best i have played keep it up but dont put limit or only one time specific for sex scenes still thanku for giving us such a masterpeice You just covered everyone fantasy in game incest, step, teachers, work woman, manager, neighbors, cheerleader, policewoman, sisters friend, moms friend, modelling, and now grandmas too, many more dont kno what holds the future

I have an indicator for a bad game: It's when the Linux shell start script's (and binary) executable bit is not set. That bit is missing here, too.
And guess what? The indicator was true once again.

But before that, I downloaded the "Win" rar file to check if that would be usable on Linux, too. And that was the case. So no Linux offering after three years, while it is supported? Strange.

That rar file extracts to folder "StraitenedTimes-0.39.0-pc/StraitenedTimes-0.39.0-pc' so folder name is double. Second bad indicator.

Than I started the game. I have to admit I do not like sandbox games. But his one? Seriously, there is even a complicated action menue for every encounter like giving money or talking about shit1 shit2 shit3 or something. WTF After one minute I exited.

Honestly, I'd love to put 5 stars, because it's a game with great graphics (especially in the "important" parts, if you know what I mean), and a story that's not too complex, being easy to understand, with easy mechanics to interact with , but, although it is all that, it is honestly very buggy in certain parts, with scenes that are repeated randomly without need, and it does not have an efficient tutorial inside or outside the game. The interest mechanic is good but, apparently applied in a hurry, it's a joke to play the game without codes or source code changes, because there isn't even any such thing as an early warning for subjects that have already been chosen, suggesting that is or is not the best thing to do with a certain character, and considering the amount of girls in the game, it's kind of complicated to memorize all of them. About the random scenes, many of them, in addition to not making sense (like leaving the second mother's room and the second older sister asking you what you're doing there, when they already have an idea of what happens between them), usually cause errors in the variables that do not start other scenes, having to be changed or reset by external programs or in light cases, just restarting the game. Certain characters have the option of having sex, but even with the libido at its maximum (if I can say so), they do not do it in public places or with certain characters who have already had it or know what to do with the protagonist (probably because the game is STILL being created at the time of this note, but it's still weird). Another strange thing, the game sometimes has no sound. Only footsteps or vehicle noises in some locations, but as far as I know, no background music (which is a shame). Ah yes, the "grid" of daily actions is very confusing! I know we have a list already defined as "go to school from such a time to such a time", but, it's quite forgettable, because many important events for the story only happen in certain places and times, and there is NO advance notice, or any way to mark this, warning the player minutes before or auto-teleporting him to the location at the exact time (like in Rouge-Like Evolution, when a character wants to talk to him about something, he is asked if he wants to go there or not).

Really well put game. Renders are great and the story is fantastic with lots to do. Step mom is hot af! I keep discovering new things to do in this game. Well done! Looking forward to the next update and future of this game.

It's one of my favourite games here. I like the scenes and the progress.
There is just one problem why it's not 5 stars. Sometimes you get lost without walkthrough and there are no real hints and you have to try and error with luck.
If there would be a functional hint system or a official walkthrough, you have earned your 5th star.

This is my favorite game on the whole site. The grinding is just enough to make lewd stuff really rewarding. Models are hot. Game is to the point and rewards you for managing your time, figuring out people's routines etc.

Very very good. And hot. Animation could use a bit of work but I imagine the dev is mostly occupied with coding. Should definitely hire an animator down the line to bump game to 10 star.

absolutely tiresome and obnoxious progression system. its very unclear how to progress with certain quests so you end up just grinding your life away.

the game feels pretty solid in the beginning bc everythings new and you don't really notice how poor the progression system is. would be a very solid game if it was a little more linear

The image quality and animations can't make up for the byzantine quest system and the ridiculous grind needed to play this game. I check back from time to time to see if the creator has attempted to fix the quest system, but I doubt it will EVER happen. So, I'm going to ignore this game and save myself the trouble.

Pros:

1. Fairly interesting premise and storyline.
2. Relatively interesting and attractive models used; especially the milfy characters.
3. The sandbox and character's schedule/calendar elements are actually kind of interesting and unlike how they're implemented in similar games actually encourage you to pay attention to what you're doing and when without being completely dumb.
4. Good pacing with making the MC work at getting with characters, while not endlessly blue-balling the player***

The Cons:

1. ***That last item about pacing is only true IF you use cheats or console commands. In it's natural state, the game is massively grindy. The money cheat alone is a requirement unless you want carpal tunnel just endlessly working shifts at a job while juggling everything else, just to slightly advance the plot. It's mean to make the player pace themselves, but it works too well. Later, more well-paying jobs don't really offset that unholy grind early on.
2. There are a LOT of characters and side-plots, and although there is an in-game hint system and relationship tracker, trying to figure out exactly what triggers which events feels like it requires a spreadsheet to keep track of.
3. Because the point 2, it's pretty hard to tell when you've reached the end of content for a specific love interest, vs haven't hit the right trigger to continue their story or relationship.
4. There are some minor typos and writing issues, but honestly they aren't that bad.

I want to give it four stars, I really do, but the fact that cheats are basically required in order to make the game bearable is a pretty major drawback. Definitely worth checking out. Just be ready with your console commands.