Ren'Py - Stranded in Space [Days 1-19 Elysium] [WildMan Games]

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.

I'm a lurker, but its time to get out of my hidey hole because this game is criminally lacking in support! I usually feel there isn't anything I can say that hasn't already been said, but in this case I really felt a need to add my rating and review.

I just played days 1 - 8, and the quality of this first release is astounding. The writing is excellent, clearly written by someone fluent in English. Sexual innuendo and nuance of the language are all present. The characters have unique personalities, and the underlying story has me hooked wanting more.
While its too early to see how the choices will impact the story, there has been two major choices along with a number of mini choices (during chat). Speaking of the text chat, so far its interesting to read and adds to the characters and their individual stories.

The character models look great and the render quality is high. This game is story before porn so far, but its not lacking in sex scenes. They aren't thrown at you, but happen naturally within the larger story, or fit within the writing of specific characters.

Paige is great! Love the writing for her also.

While the game is not quite a 5 (almost nothing is), its much closer to a 5 than a 4, and deserves more attention. To the creator, keep up the amazing work and I look forward to future releases.

I really enjoy this one. It is slow paced, but I believe it will be more rewarding in the end.

A lot of girls, variety of size and shapes, amazing renders.

It is well written, a lot of humour and flashbacks looks meaningful and foreshadowing.

A+

I would like to start this review by stating that this is far from a straight 5* rating, but ultimately I feel it is closer to 5 than 4 stars. What I dislike about this game is that it reminds me at times of a kinetic novel where I have very little choices, very little room to customize my personality and barely influence the romantic progression. On the other hand, I cannot deny that many of the characters are well written, interesting and full of secrets to explore. Secondly, from what I played so far there seems to be a story both well written and deep enough to warrant some "direction" from the developers part. I am not a fan of harem games, but it makes sense in this fictional world and I am curious where this leads us ultimately, or if the game takes a different turn at some point, to question and challenge some of its initial premises. If that happens, I believe this rating is well deserved.

My Reaction for this game: Amazing !

★ Gameplay : ✭✭✭✭✰
★ Story : ✭✭✭✭✰
★ Spelling : ✭✭✭✭✰
★ renders : ✭✭✭✭✰
★ Animations: ✭✭✭✰✰
★ Potential : ✭✭✭✭✭
★ Overall : ✭✭✭✭✰
★ Girls physique : ✭✭✭✭✰
★ Graphic : ✭✭✭✭✰
★ Sex Content : ✭✭✭✭✰
★ Creativity :✭✭✭✭✰

Note :

the developer working his ass for his game , amazing work his doing .

u should definitely try it .

◉ All the best to the developer .

I love it and wholeheartedly support it! The story is novel enough and mysterious enough and the mc is decent, level-headed and non-pervy enough and, especially noteworthy to me, reacts and plays his role almost as exactly as I feel I would in his jock strap.

In terms of attractiveness, for my taste, the girls are variously drop-dead gorgeous down to above-average. They are all adorable enough, selectively goofy enough and all extremely personable. I particularly like that they come across as refreshingly natural, friendly and decently restrained in their approach, appetite for and attitude towards the mc despite his sudden and unexplained arrival.

As others have encouragingly noted in here, there's also diversity enough in age, temperament and outlook to make the mc's conquest of however many he elects (or is, of course, elected) to have a relationship with, interesting and challenging, especially with the possible prospect of more females to awaken as time goes on.

Given both the current and potential number of girls around I'm not entirely sure (perhaps yet?) of the value adding the female AI as well, but she does provide a distractive buffer separating what would otherwise presumably be an incessant interaction between mc and crew and also affording us some access to psychological and emotional insight into the girls which we would not normally receive and which might perhaps at some later stage be pertinent to the story.

I find it's one of those great VNs where you can sit back and enjoy everything with little obscure or overt intrigue and no need of profound or sustained analysis of what's going on and who's the villain.

There's quite a lot of good solid content already and I'm finding it all very refreshing and relaxing and as I said, I simply love it. This creator has made it very easy for me to decide whether or not his creation merits my ongoing support and whilst the quality continues I'll have no hesitation in giving it. I hope it will/can be the same for many others.

Thanks a whole bunch for everything, Mr WildMan!! I'm looking forward to more and I feel confident I...no make that "we"...shall not be disappointed.

Great all around. I love the MC inner dialogue. All the girls look top notch and are fun to interact with all around. The computer chats are a fun, unique addition that I look forward to every morning. I never rate games, but this one I felt I had to. GJ, Keep it going

Very interesting concept. I really liked the dialog and the overall story. It feels like a lot of the characters are distinct enough to make getting to know them interesting. But for me there are too many characters, and even more are planned it seems like. That makes remembereing all of them difficult, especially between updates. The choice between Lira or Camilla as a neighbor is very simple, as the interaction with Lira was very brief and uninteresting. I would be surprised if a lot of people chose Lira. Maybe because they dislike the "femdom" aspect of Camilla