Ren'Py - The Hard Way [v0.34.2] [Muffin Maker]

I've been playing the game for the last month and I absolutely LOVE it.
Almost no grind and no fumbling about. Just follow the hints, say hi to the girls, flirt a few times and their legs spread.
Also love that you can have a kid in the game that actually grows up. Just 1 for now, but hopefully more will be added soon.
With the elements currently in the game, I think it's well on its way to becoming the ultimate sandbox game.

Version Played: 0.07.4

Given the low ratings this game has received and the screenshots, I can see how some people would take one look, turn the other way and not look back. I'm not really sure why I decided to try it myself aside from the tags and the big ol' tiddies I saw in the main image. However, upon playing it I actually found the premise very intriguing as it does a decent job of explaining why you are practically the only dude in existence and why all the women want to jump your bones. It then turns it into a big mystery to solve replete with sci-fi and pseudo-fantasy elements. Honestly, those aspects are a far cry better than most of the harem games I've played on here. Unfortunately, where things really fall apart is that there aren't many organic sexual situations and there is a significant grind for nearly no pay off since the sex animations are all the same.

Positives
+ Tons of girls
+ Intriguing set up and story
+ Gameplay is simple

Negatives
- Grindy
- All sex scenes are nearly identical with no angle changes or zoom-in
- Sex scenes just happen where you are with very little, if any, build up
- No bush (in a game with this many girls of varying ages and body types, no bush is a slap in the face)

I get the criticism this game has received, I really do, hell I agree with it, but the 4 or so hours I spent getting most of the content in the game were a lot of fun.
It's so, so hard to give this game above a two as it doesn't really deserve it, but I am because I see some potential here. This is really not going to be for everyone, but if you dig harem games, I think it's worth checking out.

Note to Devs: Guys, guys, GUYS. You are so close to something good here. Please take more time developing actual sex scenes and more dynamic camera angles for them. A great example of a setup would be when Dianne walks into the dressing room and sees MC's junk. More like that. Just hot situations that can get the player's blood pumping. Also, fucking add some bush. With all the girls on display here, I don't think it's a big ask to add some variety (particularly since the vage models are all the same to begin with).

Ok this game isn't bad, not bad at all, but some things it could improve on are as follows.

Storyline coherency, the story is currently all over the place, and improving the story tracking for all the separate storylines would help immensely. Second thing that could be improved, Pacing, I generally don't like these but making some events skill gated, could greatly improve the pacing, and put all those skills you've thrown into the game to use, instead of them being largely useless as they are currently. This would also make the events feel more like a reward.

But these are just the thoughts of a casual gamer, keep up the good work, its rough but probably better than what most of these "critics" could do.

Just played the whole game and gotten everything. It's absolutely great and the first time in a long while that I haven't just skipped through the majority of the dialogue to get to the lewds. It does many things right, but I think it's strongest points are solid character design, good story, and serialized format for progressing with the girls. I don't understand why this game is ranked so low at two stars, unless I'm missing something serious, there is no way this should be ranked that low. That said, here is some constructive criticism I think would seriously improve the quality of the gameplay and keep things from becoming unmanageable once the scope of the story starts to expand.

1. The grind; this problem effects most sandbox games and in this title it will cause issues down the line. You need to have clear and easy ways to improve stats; actual benefit to improving stats; and making money shouldn't be the main focus of a PORN game.
2. Instead of just constantly doing the same cycle of "Greet; Compliment; Flirt; Kiss; Makeout; have sex" with each girl over and over again to raise their stats with you, have some quests thrown in. The effect on the scores should be raised significantly, as it stands it's approx 1-2 hours per girl with that same grinding to raise stats up to 100%. That might be okay with a game that had 5-10 girls, but it makes playing in this game a chore after a while.
3. Pregnancy system; This is a system that needs to be addressed asap because it is still early on and can either make or break this game. Considering it is integral to the story, it is imperative that you get it set up in a functional and rewarding way now. When I did my playthrough, it looked as though it took roughly 80 days from impregnation to birth. This is just too long for a porn game that doesn't let you easily skip days. I would shorten the time to three weeks to four weeks at most, and have a change in girls appearance after each week until birth. The sex animations for pregnancy also need to be reworked as you can barely see the difference with the size of the belly. Maybe add a new position or two that has the belly front and center for the character or at least from the side profile like "against the wall" or "reverse cowgirl". The next one is big and if only one of the suggestions gets implemented, please let it be this one. YOU NEED TO HAVE A GIRL GET PREGNANT MULTIPLE TIMES. It's fine if it's only the first kid they have that becomes part of the story, but once the she gives birth, a game like this should always allow the player to breed the girl again so they can have a way to see the pregnancy animations again. It adds a ton to the experience, especially in a harem game. Set this mechanic up now and save yourself a massive headache down the line.
4. Karma system; I don't know what it's supposed to do, what causes it to go up or down, or why I need to clear it at the spa. It doesn't serve a point, it limits the player in terms of what actions the want to freely choose, and it's weird to bring "morality" into a game like this. SCRAP IT. Just get rid of it all together. Keep the story linear, do not have a "good" or "bad" end for a sandbox game.
5. Too many places to get supplies/ not intuitive locations. You have a mall already in the game, take all the locations for purchasing necessary items and consolidate them there. Combine the stores where you can, because it's just silly to have the hardware story have like 20+ items you need to purchase and then go next store to the electronics shop that one has 1 item available. Also lock out single use items. For example, once you buy a bike do you really need the option to buy more? The same goes for the gym membership. Once it is purchased, it should disappear as a dialogue option for the girl at the counter.
6. The house renovation is too cumbersome. If you absolutely must make the player grind away for that; then make the renovations simpler. Like at most 3 phases for the whole house, not each room. Ideally it should be, the house gets acquired, the renovation costs $5,000 TOTAL, and there is a button out front to have the entire place renovated. Furniture can be extra and can vary in quality as per cost, but I don't think its fun to refurbish, then put in electrical, and then furnish each room over and over again.
7. Too many locations for the other species. You have entire towns with 1 or 3 characters per species. Make 1 portal to another town that has many different species living in it. Like an actual city, it should have diversity. You can have districts to help keep certain characters near each other. Right now they feel empty, and if you keep adding a new town for each species, you'll end up with a bloated game and empty streets. Seriously just have the "Human" town and then the "Magic" town and that's it.
8. Too many girls; There are girls that literally just exist, they serve no point to the game and just make the grind harder. Prime example is the hospital and police station, you've staffed them like its the real world. The hospital shouldn't have actual "shifts" with different girls going in for their shift. Have a Doctor, maybe 2-3 nurses, and maybe a secretary. Same for the police station. Have a captain, maybe 2-3 cops; and a person at the front desk. Have 1 bar for the town, not four separate restaurants.
9. Too many schools; Have 1 school for all the girls. The university doesn't have anyone in it, the highschool has too many people in it, and the last update added ANOTHER school. Consolidate. Do yourself this favor and have a central location for this mechanic, have a dean, a principle, a math teacher, a science teacher, an english teacher, a gym teacher, and maybe three other subjects. Keep a secretary if you must. Right now, most of the classes are empty or have a single student in them. Also, instead of having the mc go to each teacher for each subject, make a library or study hall for the mc to "study" to increase intelligence and have side quests for each teacher's subject to raise affection with them. DON'T UNNECESSARILY ADD GRIND.
10. Too many jobs; Have the Player get a job at the school and that's it. You can promote him in that job, but right now, your basically getting a job, immediately finding a better job, and never going back to the first job you got. It doesn't make any sense and adds to the bloat.
11. Shakira; You went too far with the cat girl. Give her human skin, cat ears, a tail, and maybe some whiskers. You got the cow girls perfect, the goblins are good, the dryad is good, and then shakira is just full blown furry. It doesn't fit with the rest of the game so far.
12. Have the players stats effect the game. If a player gets stronger, he should either look stronger, attract girls that like muscles, or be able to do things a weak person couldn't. If a player gets smarter, he should attract girls that like intelligence, have more conversation options, or be able to do more complex tasks. The stats don't do anything but add grind as they currently stand. Give bonuses (NOT DETRIMENTS) to putting in work to raise stats.

Those are my main points about QOL with the game. It's got a strong base, but suffers from bloat. I would STRONGLY recommend that you play summertime saga, peasant's quest, and lab rats 2 if you haven't already. Summertime Saga and Peasant's Quest are perfect for showing how completing character quests can raise affection and advance stages with the girls, as well as demonstrating how a good pregnancy system should work. Lab rats 2 is good to look at because that dev has gone off the rails with trying to make his game perfect. He implements 5 new game mechanics every update, hasn't advanced the story at ALL, and has created such a grindy bloated mess that the only way its playable is with the modded version. Do not become Lab Rats 2. Seriously consider the points I've added. I really did enjoy your game and if you make these changes now, you will go from 2 stars to being one of the best games out there. It will help you to keep the file size down, make updates easier, move the story along, and keep you from going around in circles by trying to flesh out too many random characters.

Good framework but it needs more substance, as long as it continues to be updated I think it will turn out to be a good game. I like the direction that the story is going in. It does lag a little when jumping from place to place.

its a nice game with lots of potential and lots lots of girls, the story is kinda complex but goes along well with the many many different kinds of girls available , almost all girls have sexy scenes so far, but i would love to see more variety since its the same pose for all of them and the scenes are way too short

Game has promise. The open world sandbox is pretty well made but the sex scenes are sparse and the little it has isn't very good.

The developer should focus on variety of sex scenes and a dynamic sex system (Lab Rats 2 should give inspiration).

There is a storyline and the developer obviously focused on that aspect but this is a porn game so the sex should have the main focus. I think it has a 2/5 stars because too many people got blueballed by the game. I think that's unfair and the game should be rated a 4/5 on potential alone. Although I hope the developer really starts ramping up the amount of sex scenes soon.

Shows promise. The game is a bit grindy but not necessarily in a bad way. I actually really like the part of the game where you can upgrade your cabin by purchasing things for it. It makes it feel customizable which is something that is glaringly absent from most games. It is pretty light on the porn though, there could be more of it and a larger variety than what is in the game. However I like that there are so many different girls in the game that you can form relationships with. Overall, if more porn is added to the game, I think it will be really solid since the foundation is already there.

Game is ok. Just grinding amount should be reduced to speed up realationship progress. Character models look nice and there i s big variaiety of them. Only problem I have gotten so far when I chose sex scene to eat out. I get error screen and have to press ignore error to continue playing.

Pros:
+Interesting Premise
+You can have sex with everyone you meet

Cons:
-Everything Else

This game does a great job of proving why quantity < quality. There may be a decent story in there somewhere but you will be so lost after being introduced to the 50th woman in 5 minutes that it doesn't matter. You have to manage stats and grind for no good reason and every single character has the same relationship arc; chat, flirt, kiss, sex with the same animation for each character. Honestly, if there were 10 women and each had unique content there may be something here, but right now there is no point in playing the game because the reward is just the same crappy animation reskinned.

I want to like this game, the premise, the fetishes, the variety all tick my usual boxes but the actual gameplay and content is so bad that to give it even 2 stars would be overly generous. What I don't understand is why the dev has clearly put so much work into creating this mess when the same time could've gone into to making a trimmed down version with decent sex scenes and no pointless grinding

Freshly download, just ignored the patreon thingy, and got booted off for "hacking" about 10 or so minutes in game.

"Okay, sure, I might have done something wrong, even though i didn't even change anything..."

Got on the forums, checked how to delete the persistent save file so I could try again, with a fresh save.

That happened again twice, until it didn't... for all good it did. Too much grind for little payoff: My reward was bad grammar, too many stats to grind, too many thingies limiting my "days…

And repetitive (as in, “the same for every chick”) badly done sex scene "animations" - between quotes, because I don't even know if they have the right to be called that.


It ain't work the hassle. If, someday the devs try to stop trying to enforce a pseudo-drm that fucks your saves / play experience to sell "cheats', this might be worth something.

Until then, don't even bother.

Surprising amount of grinding for little payoff. Immersion breaking the way messages and character introductions are done. No dev can please everyone but the game play shouldn't be annoying, and this is.

Alright, so firstly, I know zilch about making a game or animating, but there are a few very obvious "non-malfunction" issues. Many are the fact that the sex lines are the same, just like the overly sped up animations. I also am not to fond of the fact that the animations feel... how should I put it.... rushed. Not just speed but the actual animation process. And to elaborate, the animations would be better if they had a bit of love put into them, instead it feels like the animations were on a begrudging to do list, no variety, always the same dialog, always zoomed out. I know I am sounding like a cynical ass, which I apologize for in advance, however, the repetitivity kind of gets old rather quickly. The story however, A for effort and execution. Due to the story element, I would say about 3.9 out of 5 happy Shakris

This "game" is garbage. There is very little depth to the story, half the good features are lock behind a pay wall, if you try to sleep more than 10 hours, the game locks you out of everything else, and the grind is unreal. I tried to sleep, and it gave me the message "Hacked Game Detected. Exiting." and crashed me game. With as buggy as this "game" is, I don't see how it will last. The concept is really really good, but not the execution.

Version 0.05.9a

Buggy, cheap looking, grind fest . Nothing original. Oh did I mention buggy.
More female characters doesn't equal to more fun. This game is proof of that.

If you find this fun then watching paint dry must blow your mind.

Well - review based on 0.059a

Sadly i have to give 1 star.
Basicially the game had a good start and renders seemed nice.
Unfortunately the dev decided to take this game to the stat-grind-league. You have more to do to keep your stats up (like senseless running around to find some food - all stores closed) than being able to enjoy the game.

Now you could say: mod your stats, use saveditor-online or whatever else to bypass the grind and get back to the basics: enjoying an adult game.....

... You COULD ... but you can't! - The dev went crazy and hides the 3 most annoying stats for not to be found. Not that he named them badly to hide, the stats are basicially not existent in savegame. Seems he had split them up to multiple variables just that you are not able to figure out.

Just this game is not THAT cuffing that i could live with those shit.

In addition to that, this game is a mess of bugs and broken triggers. Also i had few crashes.

There is just ONE way to handle such attitude: BLOCK that crap and move on to other nice games, where the developers use their time and energy to code nice content, instead of wasting ressources to prevent players from doing what they want to do, and try to tell them how they have to enjoy the game (because that's no joy - thats "mental rape")

EDIT:
What i forgot to mention is, that the developer wastes more time in scripting anti-mod-detection, than he uses to create actual content. Even dozens of false-positive detections were reported and once you got detected, ALL your savegames, cheated or not, are corrupted!
YES, you read right: the developer destroys ALL your savegames, once the game THINKS you have cheated. Oh - and of course: alt+tab out of the game and malwaredetection are reported to trigger that shit.
And "1000 girls" isn't really as nice at it looks first - as every girl reacts the same way and you repeat your actions 1:1 with every girl.

As an update,
After playing for quite awhile, and becoming quite addicted to the game, I just wanted to add/change a few things in my original review. I'm not apologizing for any of the original, it's just that the game has changed.
Muffin Maker seems to be trying very hard to make this a great game, and it will get there eventually. It's obviously been a learning experience for him/her. Most everyone on this forum has been quite harsh, (me included), and for that I'm sorry. Back to the game............
The Hard Way started out w many, many characters and no content. Now after some time, it seems like the game is maturing bit by bit. With that last update I only had 1 error I think, and that was with a complete restart for me. It's still kind of a quirky game but maybe that's the whole point, who knows.. Hopefully MM will continue to add content and expand each character, even more than adding new features or buildings.
Anyway...... folks should probably give it a shot. I've bumped up my rating to Average now rather than poor. Hopefully it will go up higher with the next few updates.... Though the discussions of the women fucking dogs pretty much put me off. I didn't realize it was tied in with the story as much as it is.

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original content below.

As other keep saying, it's gets buggier and buggier each time you play.....
Awful play experience.

As for content, it's strange. They add 35 or so girls before having much content with a single one. Most of the sex scenes are just black screens with a message saying there are no images with this girl, or something like that.

Very grindy game which it seems like you need to restart with each update? I'm not sure. Just read some of the comments in here. It's not like there is the occasional bug, but many all the time. Just not worth it especially for a game that isn't really bringing anything new to the table.

I don't know, maybe they'll get it figured out. I hope so but it's not looking like it.

Lazy and lack luster. adding more females does not mean the game is better.

It has a weak storyline that i find myself skipping because its just dumb.

The animitations are the same 3 loops with only the female render changing.

Game breaking bugs, and absolute pointlessness. Forget being fappable this game can't even give me a semi.

Some might call this ambitious.. I'd Say it's a waste of time money sponge... a point that should have been ovbious from the get go when they asked for a "patreon code". This game isn't about making a good game, it's about trying to appeal to a broad audience on one level or another while being as lazy as possible and making bank.

TL;DR:
- v0.05.5
- Story premise is fairly interesting but badly executed
- Cheap models
- buggy mess
- Grind does not equal investment

Overall, it's just bad. The story itself could be super interesting. But the way this dev chose to present it is just... boring.
You arrive at this town populated by dozens of women and just two men, so all of the females are IMMEDIATELY all over you. There is no romance, drama or corruption. You talk to them about the weather often enough and they will jump you. Now, that can be entertaining from time to time... if it only wouldn't look so cheap.

The models look like the dev simply used every character he could find in an asset store for less than $0.50 and rolled with it. No apparent costumization I could recognize. And when it comes to the actual lewd-scenes with these dozens of females, they all look the same. There are like 4 or 5 sex-poses, that are identical between ALL the characters. Like they were just set up once and then rendered with the different female models in a loop.

And then the worst of it: It's buggy as hell.
At some point, the women will just vanish. You will live in a ghost town. So no more working, because the boss is not in. No more buying food, because the store-owner is not there. No renting a hotel-room, because the receptionist won't show up.
The dev seems to spend more time trying to harden his game against people "stealing" patreon-codes, than proofing his scripts.

the games had become fluid from V0.04.4 to V0.05.4 and then come V0.05.5 and return of the bugs it is patetic. passing are tempt to fight the patreon code cheaters to get back all the bugs it is lamentable instead to improve the game you only have to destroy