Ren'Py - Straitened Times [v0.55.0] [HRelease]

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.

I want to start off by saying that I do think this has potential to be one of the best games on the site. The incest/corruption is on par with the best that you can find. Lots of characters you will want to bang, and scenes are pretty hot, once you can unlock them. And therein lies the issue that forced me to take a couple stars off. The grind. The unspeakable grind. Combine that with hints/objectives that are difficult to read and not much help, it can be difficult to play. An example, I went about six hours without a single lewd interaction because I was just grinding every day against the time management and money management. If this were a VN or a sandbox with more story/less grind then it would be rate 5 out of 5 easily.

I thought this was abandoned . Waiting for new updates.
Amazing character and animations. Slow update is boring.
Need scene list. Don't know what else stuff are pending while playing.
I think dev should have got these suggestions earlier too but saying it again.

Amazing game ! A real sandbox ! Very hard to have sex at the begining and I like that because in other game you have no effort to have sex... Here in this game you have to discuss a lot, gain trust etc....

A quick review of release 35.2 ...

1st, the story so far is well done. I like where it seems to be going and I like the characters. The thing with the the sisters is good. The pieces with the teachers are going well, and the step family. I'm waiting to see how much further this goes and if anything new pops up. I'd like to see the girls in the mall be part of the harem groups, but hey. Can't have everything.

2nd, the game play. The game play is ok. Someone made a walkthrough that takes you step by step ... and even following it step by step you don't get the same options at time that he got. I use this to say that the game is a little grindy and confusing at times. Sometimes overly so and sometimes It's just fine. That could be levelled out a little bit so that some things don't take 500 visits to trigger something. Sometimes it seems like on one save you get something easily, and the next save the same event takes a long time to trigger. Could be me, but that's how it feels.

lastly, the characters. I, personally, like all of the characters save for the store owner. Though I'm not a fan of her smoking during every event. But that's more a me thing than a game problem. The rest of the characters are pretty good, not overly curvy and not unrealistic. I like the paths each one is going down and how they work. I'd love to see more variety in the scenes, but that could come down the road.

Overall, I think this is a great game. The dev seems to be keeping the updates fairly regular, and adding more than just one second of play. It's a little grindy, so if you have no patience, this isn't the game for you. If you like lots of family play, (step family, half sisters, real mom and sisters, aunt, and even a neighbor who is LIKE family.) this is the game for you. Keep it up.

It's really hard to rate this one. On one hand, the story's pretty decent. Grammar could use some work, but is acceptable. The whole "not a family" veil vanishes astonishingly quick, giving way to strong incest and corruption themes.

Now, I think the problem is NOT the grind, NOT the RNG, and NOT the unintuitive, often confusing guide ... whatever thing that was slapped there to 'help' progress. There are games with grind, or with RNG, or with a weak quest log/guide/whatever that work well nonetheless.

The problem is a combination of all three.

Say you are stuck, you don't know what you need to do because the guide doesn't tell you properly. Then by some miracle you manage to find out what (a notable one is using single bed), but the event might not fire because RNG. And if the event does fire, you need to grind it a couple times before you go back to step one.

Thankfully there are mods to circumvent this, but the base game itself gets a 3.5--rounded down.

This game was kinda hard to get into , but once I understood the sandbox systems, and rollback became available(it was a slog to "discuss interests" and keep relationships up before that), it really opens up. Hint system is enough to not warrant a separate walkthrough, but it's spread across a few lists(like tasks, progress, investigations tabs), so you need a while to get used to it.
Money is real cockblocker at the start, but once you get to Lil's workplace, plus modelling gigs, and it becomes way easier. Don't forget to ask for salary raise after every 10 days.
Once you "unlock" most of the girls, main problem becomes time management - you need to adjust for schedules, if you want to progress multiple threads at once and not just grind days waiting next time slot for specific event. If you can manage that, sandbox is pretty tolerable and doesn't feel grindy or forced - just people going about their daily lives and having work-leisure schedules.

What really sold me on this game is decent incest writing(a bit of slow burn and corruption, especially with mother), big variety of unique models and personalities/characters(and not just in game, but compared to lot of other DAZ3D games), hot (though a bit short) sex scenes , and small UI thing where people have quick status overview and change poses to react to player on hover over. I thought it was kinda cute, and not a lot of sandbox games do this.

The main "investigation plot" can go either way, as it's pretty bare so far, so this game would be more interesting for those who don't mind "slice of life" style, rather than more detective stories.

Overall, this feels like it has good programming, writing, and render bones, and that's all you really need for great title. Worth checking out, as it already has lot of content