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

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

While I am not typically a fan of hallway VNs and strongly prefer a sandbox or semi sandbox style, this is one of the best in this type that I've ever played. There's already a lot of content, there is a large roster of very sexy and unique female characters, and I like what has been set up with the story and where it seems to be going. Absolutely fantastic, and I can't wait to see more.

Strannded in Space (The First Eight Days) This VN suffers the same as most 1st VNs, trying to get enough prose to actually make a whole novel.

The AI implanted in MC's brain serves no other purpose but to add bulk! It doesn't do anything that might come to mind when one contemplates 'AI'. If there was a feature to skip everything involving the AI clown, that would make things much more tolerable!

As it is, I couldn't make it through all 8 days. The idea of communicating by laptop when you're the only guy the other passengers will see for years to come is utterly ridiculous, not something anyone would actually do.


You'll notice in the preceding paragraph I didn't mention the rest of the characters are women. Readers will swear I did. But there's a big difference between allowing the reader's mind to work, and overtly stating the MC is the only guy on a ship otherwise inhabited by women, at least 100x!

Given the circumstances, the MC could get to know the girls, and they'd be competing for his attention after one day. They wouldn't talk about anything else! They would all dress and act to attract him.

They haven't seen a male in over 10 years! GRANTED, they were in cryostasis, but they would be thinking of it as 10 years! However, the MC has no traits women find attractive, except physical traits, and women are not hung up on those like men are,

The black screen telling when someone leaves the room can just be deleted. Serves no sound purpose but adding frames. The basic mentality of the story is high-schoolish relationships applied to fantasy.

None of the characters are well developed, because it takes more than age, weight, tit size, work ethic, sluttiness and degree of desperation to develop characters.

The MC is best compared to stale bread. There is zero interesting about him. He comes across as a pansy-ass wimp except during sex. His degree of masculinity makes it appear as though the VN was written by adolescent females! WHOEVER it is, they don't appear to know much about testosterone!

Men like big butts due to their own low-T! Big butts indicate experienced women who are more easily impregnated,. (Works for low sperm count) and who can survive a week without food, without damage to her offspring, because her wimpy mate lacks hunting prowess and masculinity.

We can see this at work in the world with males who turn to their laptops for a girlfriend, preferring thick asses! I have normal testosterone levels, so I'm attracted to virginal forms, like every other masculine male.

The story also sounds like a public-service announcement that women are people, not objects! They are, but this is a fantasy,,so things can be different!

I would have made all the characters but the MC ROMAN CATHOLIC VIRGINS, except for a Priest. Once a guy reaches age 25, he'll realise that older men are like aged wine while older women are like aged chicken!

The prose are mostly grammatically correct, which is not the case with many x-rated VNs. The art is excellent! It's what got me as far as I got in the story, about to day 5.

In defense of the creator, I have seen VNs in which the first third could be replaced with one frame. I REALIZE I may sound critical, but it's so easy to fix. Just get someone who can write to help out!

I wouldn't take the time to type out this whole review on a tablet if I didn't see hope. In fact, I'd consider forking off this VN, just so the creator could see the potential.

But, I'd need a lot more material to work with!

I imagine the MC just inviting the girls to his quarters. The interruptions, far from being a suspense element, are predictable and irritating. The MC is a zero except in bed where he's a stud muffin. JUST DOESN'T WORK!!

He should be able to solve problems that occur on the ship, not dead baggage who eats, shits and fucks! No one wants to be 'that' guy!

Every element should be 'possible'! And, all women want children! They should be examining the MC from the view of the offspring his seed would produce! They might make deals among themselves for who gets to sleep with him!

I expected something good after seeing so many good reviews but the game is an actual rollercoaster... Lemme reiterate starting with the negatives.
Lets start with the story.
It seems really intriguing at 1st glance. You wake up your background is a mystery,there's a problem with the ship ect. ect. but then you enter the circus with all that running around behind the girls. You seem to have an AI in your head, thats like WOW! we're getting somewhere but then its even more stupid than the MC and as usefull as a commentator for deaf people. Seems that later it will get upgraded but as of now its garbago.
Also so far [Days 1-8] the game is no impactfull decisions.
Lets talk about the MC.
MC is a beta cuk that he has to double down to everything he sais. He is also useless and instead of trying to help with the situation he's into he just takes strolls around the ship thinking who to fuck next. He doesnt take initiative to do anything and makes him even more useless to me. He constantly gets cockblock by others to the point it got funny after the 4th time.(going for a kiss.... NOPE sike). I hope after he learns about his past he wont be so much of a psy lmao.
Laptop time.
Seemed interesting at the beginning but then it actually got pretty boring. Everyday there's literally a wall of text u have to read in the chatbox. And then the girl interaction. Started pretty nice but then again why tf not just go talk to them in person lol. I ended up spam clicking to see either the photos or something meaningfull.
Recap time.
The most boring and useless BUT at the same time most interesting time. It's literally a recap of the day and u just get the AI opinion on your decisions. BUT once every blue moon the guy has a revelation about his past forgotten year which is interesting. Its both good and bad
Models.
Most girls seem fine with some exceptions,Raegan,Alina and the AI.The AI style is fine but the hair? The frontal hair is attached to the head and the back is floating .Overal design is cool tho and it would be nice if with the IQ upgrades it also changed visual.
Also Umiko's character is abnoxious.
Music.
What?

TLR
Days 1-8 are the introduction to the characters. It should have been done in max 3 days in my opinion. There is so much banter that makes the game boooring. Days 6ish-7-8 is where u really start to get hints about the actual fken story.
Pretty sizable for 1st release. I just hope the game focuses on the actual story it has to tell rather than the girls all the time.15 girls hurt the story instead of making it better imo
Would i revisit this next update?Prolly not. Should you try it? I'd say wait a couple updates.