Ren'Py - Stranded in Space [Days 1-18 Elysium] [WildMan Games]

TL/DR: I was unable to overcome my distaste for playing as a protagonist who looks like a child with facial hair in this title. There are some nice component to it such as a pretty UI, lots of gals with diverse personalities, good writing/humor ect, but it is too porny / aimless to overcome this short king protagonist. Didn't make it all the way through- content wasn't hot enough.

Pros:
+It is cool to have a character with Vitiligo.
+Plenty of dialogue to get to know the characters well.
+Some nice art assets for the outer-space themes.

Cons:
-Protagonist acts like a tough guy / sex god; but looks like he could be removed from the census by a light breeze.
- Plot isn't doing much- it is mostly just the characters chatting.
-Very little narrative tension outside of relationship drama.
-A lot of the content seems a bit contrived- such as the ladies praising the MC for being so "big" and so manly/irresistible when he really just looks like a 5'4" manlett with a 7 inch prick. It was very difficult to imagine every woman in this narrative just falling over the lil' fop. Game claims the lad is 6'1" but he definitely doesn't look like it.
-The female models are somewhat homogeneous. Very Barbie doll body shapes on 95% of them.

the game's crap, sorry to be blunt but there you have it. Nothing in this game is new, everything has been done before a million times better. i do however like the MC . The premise is kinda cool, stuck on a ship with hot chicks but i dont know... I havent fully finished the game so if it improves I will come back and change my rating.

I downloaded this game on the Day 13 update, and I am not really sure how I missed it before then. But I just have to say, this is a must see gem of a VN! The writing is off the charts hilarious AF. Seriously. the writing makes this so much fun. The girls are gorgeous, varied, and very interesting. The MC is likeable, and PAIGE is a total riot. I am on Day 5 so far, and this has become one of my favs. Well done WildMan Games!!

UNBIASED STRANDED IN SPACE REVIEW

PROS
-Lots of girls and all kinds of horny, some great dialogue that builds sexual tension really well.

-nice models, very nice renders and design, there's only so much one can switch around on the same women models and wildman has made some really beautiful ones here and this game is definitely kinkier with the sexual tension and build up.
Something very few VN's get right and facial expressions. The milfs in this game are wild. Great job

-In terms of content, pretty damn beefy.

-Dialogue is its own bane but it is really amazing sometimes and truly one of the few games that make you form a personality of the characters in your head. Wildman tier

CONS
-unfortunately the conversations in this game can sometimes be too damn long. In fact your arms will give out trying to click away heaps of it.

-Some of the chicks are too much of a MC magnet, didn't expect even the tough ones to turn so quickly, the satisfaction of winning over someone indomitable is less rewarding. A small nitpick

-Puzzles are the only other reason why this game gets bad reviews. People don't want to be locked out of bonus renders just because they don't want to spend hours on a VN. There should be at least available mods or options to just get the renders and unlocks. Seriously anyone who says they like the puzzles are just pretentious

-Lack of involvement with the F95 community, No updates posted here no bonus renders, just radio silence. But imo this is the place to grow your game not steam

*Day 18 is out and honestly really well done on Wildman's part, he as delivered despite 17's rough launch. Lots of quality of life improvements too. If anyone is reading this again I believe he deserves the support. The legit way

Five stars. This games deserves no less. The setting is a bit strange, for who in the future would send a females only mission to a distant planet. But then once one accepts the premis as fiction, the game becomes one of the most enjoyable on this site with numerous opportunities for witty dialogue, sometimes vulgar, often sexual, and on many occasion, sensible and sincere.

The diversity of charaters, and I am not talking here about the models (albeit that is a really nice bonus), adds depth to this virual novel. Their background stories, well presented and now available at any point in the game through the profile is a unique characteristic of this game. I have nver encountered a game like this, with incredible well thought and implemented interface and bells and wistles. In most games, you keep encoutering the dreadful "under construction" sign when you try to navigate numerous place-holder locations that never get use or functions that never get implemented. This is not the case here. Take for example the profile, the email, and the chat. Nothing there is presented unless it is complete. There is a feeling of perfection and respect for players. which as I have written many times, a rare trait that i highly appreciate from any developer who demonsrates it.

Progress is very ballanced. Every single update has several noteworthy scenes carrying the story forward for almost all characters.

This is a well thought and well implemented game/novel.

Well done WildMan.. hats off.

(Reviewed Days 1-13 version)

Really enjoying the progress of this game -- a ton of content, top-notch renders and tremendous diversity of girls. The story is fairly unique. There are a few flaws but they are minor in the grand scheme of things. Not exactly "one-of-the-best-games-in-development" good, but very solid and worthy of more of a 4.5 / 5 rating.

The Good ()

• Huge diversity of girls with different personalities, body types and overall looks
• Well-done renders and environments
• A good number of H-scenes -- typically 1-2 per game "day" (currently through Day 13)
• Lots of story content
• An active mystery that has some real intrigue
• A harem game, but there are narrative choices that lead to cutting off certain options, so decisions actually matter and carry some weight
• Really well-done "minigames" -- daily chat room, escape room

The Not-So-Good ()

• Some scenes are super text heavy, and you end up click-click-clicking through without wanting or needing to read everything
• A bit of a cliche "MC is the messiah and everyone has fallen in love with him" setup, but evidently this is part of the narrative so hopefully it ends up with some payoff

Having played and followed this from the start, I'm still enjoying this and excited to see where the story unfolds.

Days 1-13

It's a great game and many of you will like it. If you're in for good written dialogues and characters, fun story, - it will be a nice surprise. If you're in for a fap - it's massive disappointment.

I've stopped in the mid of day 10. I think I've spent at least 9-10 hours on game. For that amount of text MC fucked 2 girls.
I was in a state of mind when yet another bj or a hj scene caused reaction like "wtf, please not again...". It's just too much. Too much virgins too, like holy shit..I swear haven't seen this much in any other game.
Bear with me. There are surely games, where you can use lines "character development", "sexual tension building up", "being realistic" etc, familiar, right ? But when girls talk and act like, I'm sorry, sluts, having very suggestive behaviour and after that "okay, I give you bj/hj and imma see myself out, oh and btw, I'm craving for your cock inside me but SOON™" (it's dev's favorite), excuse me, what ? Sasha, Umiko, Raegan, Haylee, Tiffany, Gigi... unrealistic for all of them. Not cool approach. Blueballing and denying is so fckn overkill here. Maybe it's what get dev off, maybe it's just an unnecessary shortcuts in development, but again too fckn much. Dislike.
I clearly understand why some girls are off the table as of know, but still, with mentioned above it should've been much more wild.

On the other side of the coin, sex animations are really smooth and hot. Two frames kissing loops throughout the game not so much.
Girls look really attractive. Only couple "but's" - asian gals. Feels like appearance stuck in between europian and asian, but closer to the former. And Paige appearance. She's one of most favorite characters along with Sasha, but she's creepy, i.e. her face. And last one - Claire and Beth. Personally I would like to see less content with them, not my cup of tea, I mean their look. But Claire already got more action than any other girl in this game, so not gonna happen I guess.

No sound at all.

No fap forum warriors will be satisfied with project.
Men of culture, who likes, when things well balanced - won't.

Would've give this game 5/5 even without sounds, but when 90% of lewd content is hj and bj, not gonna happen.
Biggest cons - amount and types of lewd content. Women have their needs too, but not in this game (not talking about you, Marissa), where they're non existent. They also need normal nutrition, that is not sucking MC's lollipop 24/7.
Only thing lightens it up - amount of times MC was interested in anal with ladies. I still have my hopes.


Sadly even if there's more sex scenes in each in game day in future, a lot of players will drop the game even earlier than me, 'cause scenes most likely wont be added to previous day, point of no return already behind. Too much text (although it's good writing) without wild, mind blowing sex.

GL, dev.

After the first couple of [in-game] days, I wasn't sure about this game. There was no 'game', just linear storytelling...no choices or alternative routes to take. But the writing got better after the second day and some of the characters are funny and very memorable. The introduction of the laptop at the start of each new day was genius...it adds depth and context to the game and it's characters. The laptop also acts like a filter...you can choose what girls you want to connect with and the ones you're not interested in.
I have to say though, the AI companion in your brain is a pain in the arse...this is no Cortana [Halo], she is quite obnoxious and constantly changes her mind...actually, she realistically simulates my girlfriend!


Anyway, I'm really enjoying it now...if you can get past the first couple of days with it's cringy dialogue and it's absolutely awful idea to introduce you to all the females on the ship, you'll see that the ugly duckling really could become a swan.
[Edit] Having just played Days 7 and 8, I can categorically say that this is an awesome game. I had Elsie with her Gaian religion and then my beatdown by Camilla...I haven't laughed so much since watching 'Airplane'. The story really starts to solidify regarding your past and everything is starting to make sense. I am loving this game, so 5 stars out of 5!!]
If you're only here for naughty stuff, there are a plethora of other titles that give you that. The sex scenes in this game are smooth and high quality and fit naturally into the game. But the game is more than that for me now...and the story takes precedence.

I kinda disliked it at first. The setup felt like just another harem game. The first part, introducing the (way too many) women felt incredibly slow and it did not pick up much after.

There is a lot wrong with this game. There is virtually no tension (outside relations), it is WAAAAAAAAYYYYY too wordy for what it says, the mini games (notably the escape room) are obtuse and not fun and I am not convinced that the relation ship drama can really carry this over a long period, because at some point it just becomes annoying to manage the (artifically inflated) issues of the other team members all the time.

Having said that, I found I still liked it. It badly needs editing, but if you overlook the usually porn tropes, the women actually have agency and aren't awfully written. There is too many of them, but they are distinct and feel alive. There is VERY little choice on how to act as the MC but at least he is not a complete push over like in most of these games. The texting mechanic really worked for me. I liked the banter and the private conversations there. In general, the writing is surprisingly solid and the humor does work for me, but your mileage may vary there.

So, despite my annoyance at yet another magic-dick-harem-game, this one wasn't so bad, worthwhile even. I could relate to some of the girls, which is high praise for games here actually.

Edit: Let me add one other thing, the weird facial expressions of the women get better over time. At the start they all have the same weird smile plastered to their face all the time, which makes them seem comically deranged in most scenes, but it was toned down later. Thank god.

This game started as a 5 for me. It has good renders. A nice variety of girls. The UI and programming seem well done for a first project. None of the typical starting out with crappy renders and having to redo the programming multiple time. It seems to have decent sci-fi/mystery plot and the writing is in excellent English.

The problem comes in the story details and dialogue. The banter starts off fairly well and much of the humor comes through but at a certain point it becomes laborious. I like to listen to comedians occasionally but I don’t want to live with one 24/7, I think I’d shoot them. Also, 4th wall breaking is ok rarely….RARELY. (This is just a pet peeve of mine that seems to get abused more and more by writers in these VNs for some cheap laughs)

The morning laptop session with group and individual chat sessions at first didn’t seem too bad but it’s gotten more bogged down than ever in both group and individual chats, taking way too much time.

Add to that the copious, redundant inner dialogue with our AI at night (and increasingly as asides during the day) that recaps everything and tells us what to think and how to feel.

This last update just seems to up the ante on laborious dialogue, chat, and telling to the point I just hit control to skip ahead to see if there were any good scenes. On top of that we got a new minigame which was a bit challenging but fit fairly well with story, but after that we get this new free roam scene that’s like playing Myst with what seems like 4 or more separate puzzles with overlapping minipuzzle/clue finding. I mean, really? Wtf? Thankfully there was a Give Up option so I didn’t have to spend hours on it but wow.

At this point I just quit the game. It’s too tiring. It started as a 5 and ended as 2. I feel bad because I can tell the developer/writer has put in a lot of work/effort on this game. I'd give it a 5 for that if I could.

Simply less telling, more showing could help bring this game around imo.

This game nails the character development just the sheer amount of conversation you have with each character is amazing & I am glad it's that way since it's harem themed & thankfully it's also not like those games where everyone is waiting to jump on mc's cock. Really nice renders with shit load of humors. It won't be fair to not mention the game is just about 6 months old and it's have a pretty big amount of content so kudos to dev.

When it comes to the game itself, the mechanics and renders are fantastic and you can't find fault in it. Unfortunately, however, I did not manage to play from day 1 to 11 because with such a cool atmosphere, the 100% attitude towards running after girls wastes the production potential. It is also impossible not to mention the dumbest and most useless A.I. I've ever seen in a game. Of course, the game hasn't revealed too much of our protoganist's situation so far, so I hope that the second point may find a real explanation in the future (I have suspicions).

I am not one to typically review games but this particular game is good enough in my opinion to warrant it. I really enjoyed Stranded in Space (days 1-11). There was a surprisingly substantial amount of content for a game that is this young in its development life and the content itself is excellent. This game really quickly became one of my favorites. I'm breaking my feedback into 3 sections.
1. Story (10 out of 10)
Almost all VN's, especially ones with a harem theme, seem to have storylines that are fairly contrived or feel unrealistic but this game does a good job of setting up the context of the story well and providing enough background throughout to keep it interesting while playing. The storytelling mechanic of amnesia typically makes me roll my eyes but this game bucked that trend for me and seems to work well. Initially I thought that there should be more context in each day but it seems like as the new updates have come out that is something that has adjusted to a level I think is more balanced.
2. Game Mechanics (9 out of 10)
The use of the laptop and chat in the morning is actually something I found interesting and unique about this game. At first I thought it would be boring and overly wordy but the dev uses humor and character differences well enough that is works pretty well. The choices in the game feel impactful enough for the story and work pretty well.
3. Animations
The animation and lewd scene quality was surprisingly good for a game that is this new. The scenes didn't feel too short or have weird/stiff appearances and there was a good balance of scenes to story which I enjoyed.

Before playing game, i thought this game is only just about mc and a lot of girls in same ship. There will be no character depth and the scenario will be poor. But i was wrong. Story is really good. Character depths and our communication and building relationship with them are really good and interesting. I'm surprised actually. I didn't expect the game to be this good. Good job. I enjoyed a lot. I'll be waiting for the next updates.

At the current moment, I'm on the fence about what I should rate this. So I guess we'll see by the time I've sorted out my thoughts in this review. I do want to say something, and I'll make it big and bold for those that don't understand this.
THIS IS HOW AN INITIAL RELEASE SHOULD BE. SPEND TIME MAKING IT LOOK GOOD. A DECENT UI AND USER EXPERIENCE. AND HAVE MORE THAN 5 MINUTES OF BAD PLOT TO START OFF WITH.
Was I subtle enough? Anyway, there's a lot of content from these first two releases. And there's a welcome lack of the garbage default RenPy UI and even some extras that I like to see. Also I'm happy that it's not a sandbox where after every interaction you have to click around the external view of the spaceship to find content. Was that too pointed? Anyway, the few times I see these qualities, I get excited and think "Hm. Maybe everything isn't terrible..." But then there's the writing.

I want to clarify, the STORY is fine. A little bit mystery, a little bit sci-fi it works. But the dialogue is tiresome. Any time there is even a hint at MC having any sort of conversation with someone that is possibly serious, the LOLSORANDOMANDWHACKY AI chimes in with "WOWZERS she's hot" or "Isn't sex the bee's knees?" type garbage. And to make it worse, there are three more characters just like that. I'm so tired of the Borderlands Tiny Tina/Psycho humor, it's just not charming. And it does this so YOU the player know "HEY this character is so hot/attractive/cute" instead of letting YOU the player think that on your own. THEY'RE ALL PORNOGRAPHIC DAZ MODELS OF COURSE THEY LOOK GOOD. I don't need 4... No, wait, 5 characters (Because MC constantly says it too) telling me that so and so is hot. It is just a given at this point.

So the story. The actual story is summarized in the OP. MC wakes up with 1 year worth of amnesia and is the only male on a female interstellar spaceship. The unfortunate truth is the "mystery" is just whether or not MC magically starts remembering the lost year of his life. And none of that starts until Day 5, so you have to listen to all of the horny dialogue ad nauseum until, during, and after all of the amnesia stuff. There's also someone "evil" on the ship that wants to take the AI in MC's brain. You know what I say to that? PLEASE. And you won't know who is the antagonist of this story, probably ever, because MC's dialogue solely consists of "I'm gonna get nudes" or "You are so attractive" so it's not like he'll try to figure it out. Outside of half-assed speculation. My best guess would be that it's Ishani or one of the few women that aren't immediately trying to sleep with MC. That or MC himself. My hopes is that this story ends with MC being jettisoned into space, it would be funny.

I also think that ending would be fitting because more than one girl in the story has said that MC just acts how he thinks the girls want him to act. Which will hopefully cause problems down the line. Anyway I'm talking about the non story too much, the characters. I'm not going to name anyone, I'm just going to list personality types. There are 4 LolRandom horny types, 2 innocent virgin types, 4 bored housewives (one is work focused, one is motherly, the last two are horny), 1 sheltered emo, one hates you, one is robotic and makes bad jokes, a virgin sex addict, the new girl, and the lady on her way to your ship. They are all just different flavors of the day nothing more and nothing less.

The more I read this VN the more it makes me mad. And the writer either just makes a bad joke, talks about how hot or horny the MC/girls are, OR breaks the 4th wall saying that the writing is bad or that RenPy just made a transition. Or something along those lines. Just because you say that your writing is bad, IN YOUR WRITING, that doesn't exempt it from actually being criticized for being bad. And the harem talk, my god. I can tolerate a joke or two in a harem game using that word, but with this update, the word "harem" went from being used a couple times to hundreds. And it's dumb. And the nightly recaps. There's a certain other game, that I'm not allowed to mention due to rules, that does nightly recaps too. Both of them DO NOT NEED THEM. I don't need to hear MC and quirky AI recount the times they looked at girls that day. Nor do I need to see what pose Paige decided to make on the bad. It's not funny, I don't have the memory of a goldfish, and I don't enjoy the padding.

There's also the issue of the force pausing. I don't need to see the 4 different renders you made for a kissing scene for 3 seconds each. That is absurd. And there is also a game breaking bug in I think day 5, the second DM session with Umiko just flat out crashes the game. And it's not like I have edited the game in any way, that's fresh playthrough. every time i clicked her name, bam.

TLDR - After actually thinking about all the complaints, I'm just gonna have to give it a 3. A lot of planning and effort went into making this a good looking user experience. But the writing is bad. Like uber mondo bad, to get my point across. And now that is the one thing that will not change so my opinion won't either. I guess I am like MC in this game, I like to look at it, but every time anyone opens their mouth I don't actually care or want to listen.

This game is a pearl!
The renders are breathtaking.
The Authentic characters.
And I don't get bored for a second.
I'm just missing .... a story for my A.I. And no one is looking for a way to access the missing modules or the causes .....

A big BRAVO for the developpers

3.7 is the most accurate rating I would give this, or maybe a between a 6-7 out of ten.

Positives
A unique take on VN, in a way It almost feels like a sandbox but isnt at all which I like.
Every girl in the game is unique and has a personality unlike a majority of the games on this site.
Funny dialogue and conversations between characters, I especially love Umiko, Tiffany, Camilla and Sasha. Not forgetting my queen Paige.
Good renders and animations, also lewd scenes are well done.

Drawbacks:
Everyday feels son long like I'm literally living on a spaceship for 24 hours. I have to read the chat( which although is interesting, takes up maybe 3 minutes, then I have to read each message from the girls which then takes up 3 minutes per message, usually 15 minutes for me to finish up on that.

Also the conversations with some characters are son long, I get he's trying to do some character development as well but I hate having 5 minute dialogues with every character on the ship everyday. Shorten the conversations please if you can. The interactions are funny but could be made shorter.

Finally the thing I hate most. Forced Lewd scenes. I cant decide who I'm fucking. This feels like a Harem game like WVM at times, a game I despise with all my soul but even in WVM I was capable of initiating which girls I'm putting in my Harem. Women are just jumping my bones and I dont have a choice. They're all attractive fine, but I dont want to fuck Ariel then fuck her sister, then fuck Raegan, then fuck Gigi .

Let players choose which girls their interested in, just cause a girl jumps my bones doesn't mean I'm gonna fuck her immediately. I personally dont find Raegan attractive and that's me thing, so why should i be forced to see her scenes? This is like NTR or something.

I think this stuff is blast. Last update is long like 3-4 other games update. We have 16 girls,all different shapes and faces what is huge. They are all lovable with 16 different back up stories. Renders are beautiful and story is great with a lot of humor. If any of you think that is easy to keep everybody involved in each update,you're wrong. What make this game even greater is that with each update things are getting more and more interesting,not slowing down at all. Only what I would change is MC's dick thickness. It look so tiny...

Story is good, girls and animations are A+
I'm not a big VN fan mainly because the stories often just ramble.
This game has that problem, the writing is like the Robert Jordan of Aduly VN. 1/4 of the text could be cut and it would not impact the story or world building. I finished, only cause the quality is so high. But for me, for it to be a the prefect VN, it needs a bit less. So many of the chats on the laptop each morning go nowhere and provide very little character development - many DO push character development though as well. Mainly, the writer here needs and editor, somebody to tighten everything up. Please

That, and IHATE, HATE!!!!! how much weight is on remembering the girls names. I struggle remember real people's names, and this games reliance on making you remember their names in important decision without being able to see a face or bring u pa bio is a HUGE failing.

Next time I play this, I'll have to screen shot each name and put it in a file with a few notes. Otherwise I don't think I can go through this game again. Not everybody memorises names instantly and the lack of a bio section that can be referred to just punishes people who have a problem with remembering names.

Pros:
The dev is obviously a great writer - his dialogue for all the characters is really good, well written, believable (in a sci fi fictional setting) and pretty entertaining.

The renders on the spaceship are A+, great scenes, really well thought out and absolute eye candy. Best I've seen in a long time.

Sex scene animations are also very good.

So far you're wondering why this game doesn't have 6 out of 5 stars right?

Well unfortunately there isn't much "game" to it, it is really much more of a linear visual novel. None of the choices have much of an effect on the plot other than substituting one of 15 girls for another, deciding which memory to have a flashback of.

There is a LOT of content in this game, but very little of it in the first 1-8 days is sex ... the fact that the lewd scenes are really good makes that actually more frustrating.

I think this game has huge potential and I definitely enjoyed it - but I'm looking for a bit more choice in my games. Hoping that comes in future updates.