Ren'Py - Completed - The Pilgrimage [v2.10] [Messman]

v1.95
I'm a huge Mass Effect fan and I was very wary of giving this game a shot, and I wish I'd given it a shot sooner. There's a lot more depth here than I was expecting, with mini-games, corruption, and branching side quest stuff.
Reading my words back below, it sounds like I'm being overly critical, but I think it's because I really enjoyed the game and want more of it.

The writing is serviceable. Some sections have really poor grammar and spelling but it was never enough to ruin it for me. I'm assuming the creator runs it though AI to clean it up or just gets lazy?

The scenes are pretty sexy, however, I wish there was more detailed narration of each scene. They really rely on the art/animation and Tali's exaggerated begging.

On the topic of the art, a lot of the animations are good, but some are just really awkward. Sometimes it's clear that Tali's rigging is just not made for the pose she's placed in and it looks like she's about to clip through some level geometry like a skyrim ragdoll. Also, again on the topic of AI: Some animations have really obvious AI frame generation in them and they're super jarring. Not a fan.

I also think this game really struggles with staying true to the ME universe at times. All the technobabble is fine, and the vorcha being useless idiots is fun, but holy hell, I cannot picture any of the non-humans in that universe (especially Tali) using "daddy" in sex.

My other minor gripe is that there's a literal Earth bear on this derelict ship, and Tali knows what it is. There's also a couple of ape-like creatures that she calls apes. Again, minor gripe, but what context does she have for these creatures, and typical Earth animals?

My other concern is the sort of meandering and losing of the plot that has begun. The story-driven part of the vents was fine, but the randomized roguelike section is a distraction at best, and balloons the file size of the game with no real purpose. I hope there isn't too much more time allocated to this, because while it's interesting once, it's ultimately a waste of time.

Best game I've ever played in my life, Just to see the work done with the number of details, it's incredible, the quality of the work, it's just breathtaking.
Don't go by the side if you like all the weird stuff that human beings can come up with

v1.95

this is certainly one of the best games with a focus on female protagonist that we have so far.

this game has the basic recipe for success, good quality scenes, lots of variety, a corruption system, a good story, good progression, interesting gameplay and to top it off, the developer releases updates frequently.

the game currently has lots and lots of scenes, and will certainly provide hours of fun for those who start it now.

Making 3D mazes in Ren'Py should be illegal. Seriously Ren'Py devs, whenever you think having a 3D environment be navigable by cardinal directions, do us all a favor and just don't. It's neither immersive nor fun. Stick to what the engine is good at, make a good map and let us just click to go places.

Now that that's out of the way, I just wanna say this game is more than slightly overrated. It's not bad, but not 5 stars like the overwhelming majority of reviews suggest.

It goes to show how far a unique premise and interesting setting can take you. It goes to show how hard it is to find good non-furry non-gay non-futa beast content. Other devs should take note of how much of a demand there is.

The animations are not "amazing" as some other reviewers have stated. I'm not sure what they're talking about. A lot of it, especially early on, are like 5-10 fps. I've seen 2D cutout "animations" that are more animated.

The gameplay, as I pointed out in the beginning, can be overly tedious, and the writing is average. That being said I still enjoyed this game overall, mostly because I really enjoyed the premise and its tags. You CAN tell that this Dev is passionate and hard working. They deserve the support and success they're getting.

Feb 14 2024:
I loved this game. I feel like it has a cool style to it and i really like the SFM looks. I know it might not be for everyone but i really like the visuals and I think the animations are good. Naturally you can find yourself wanting more variation but then again it has a lot actually. And there is so much content in it already i feel almost guilty for thinking it should have more. I feel like it does alot of things right and i think that (without knowing anything about making games) the dev has allocated time at the right things. Everything doesnt have to look 10/10 if the scene is good in general. I really recommend this game.

13 oct 2024
Updating my review after alot of update:

I like this game even more. Really just improved everything that was before. There is alot of content and its fun to explore it all. The scenes are great and i really respect the effort that has gone in to them not feeling to repetitive depending on enemies. Last review i wrote a couple of wishes i had.

More variation on enemies and where they might show up. (checked that off)

More scenes with crew (There are alot more scenes with crew so thats checked off too.)

Scenes depending on stats/actions taken (There are more of that too)

So I guess i need to write a new little wish list because this game and the work that is being put into it is fantastic and impressive.

New wishlist

The rescue tali side quests are bangers, i would love em to be longer/more quest like. Instead of them "always" ending with "bad end".

Brainstorm example: Monkeys capture, tali. Nyun failed rescue. Shit plays out and story branch out to two different arcs. One where they manage to stay alive and build a rescue beacon hoping for rest of the crew to rescue (roll dice). Pass: good scene (Manage to run for it, rescue team finds them w/e) Fail, bad scene (beacon doesnt work, annoys monkey, attracts warren, w/e). If they fail say 3 times with the dice roll, que bad end.
Could also be just too much work and prevent furthering the story.

Self repair stuff to buy for tech parts. So you dont always have to return to med-bay to repair suit.

Some more soundeffects to change things up, like the gun or cum, walk and so on. Just having 3 in total so its not always the same soundbyte. Could be different depending on enemie, area and so on.

Poor graphics, Poor animations, Good tags. I have had high hopes for this game. I've downloaded it multiple times and forgotten that I didn't like it.

The over the top style and the animations just aren't for me. The animations might be better if I liked the style. Maybe others will still like it.

Posting a review mostly to remind myself not to download it again.

Okay, there's that. 54 minutes of my life that I will not get back. No fapping, because the animations are poor. There is no story, but knew that coming in. This game is the definition of grind with same scene payoff (and the scenes aren't great). This is just a show of a game.

It's maybe a smidge overrated, but it's pretty decent, most of the sex scenes are animated SFM style, a lot of work clearly went into this game.

But the gameplay loop is pretty meh, and unless you really like monster rape, there won't be anything for you here.

The animations have an older SFM feeling to them and honestly it's kind of awesome. Great game if you're looking for some beast/monster play, a pretty nice corruption system that's grindable but will also just come naturally as you play through it. Every interaction you have with each monster in the game is directly modified by your corruption level (Lewd Level), I don't think I found a single interaction that felt out of place. Solidly made game, check it out.

this has to be one of the best games that I have played, well done animations, simple but great gameplay and the creator and moderators are very nice and listen the ideas of the fans.
Keep the good work.

Masterpiece!!!
I love it when a woman gets fucked by a monster, it's there)
I love it when a woman is fucked by animals and here it is)
Good graphics, rich animations.
Simple but interesting plot.
And the game is not at all demanding, it works on my dinosaur computer haah)
5 out of 5
10 of 10 !!!
Pure thrill.

5/5 Game. Frequent Updates and lots of content. The characters are fun and the sex scenes are varied and plentiful throughout the game. Some "Bad Ends" have the option to keep playing even after seeing them which is a plus. The lewd point system also gives reason to see scenes multiple times to see all the changes.

Probably the hottest Hgame I've ever played. The lewd system is great, the animations, reactions, and progression is top tier. Unique "enemy" encounter scenes, ever growing kinks being implemented, and quite LITERALLY infinite repeatable scenes too! Could not recommend this game more.

One of the best games I've played. Some of my favorite games are female protags with fail scenes. However, this game allows you to fail without completely ending the game and having you restart. There are those in the game but they are few and far between. This is how these games should be played. There are hours of content here with great animations. Tons of variance with the monsters and various species. The updates are frequent and contain at least 1-2 new scenes. Many times more. A perfect parody game, imo. If monsters are your thing you absolutely should play this.

If you like big asses, forced sex, monsters and anal (and forced anal with monsters), that's THE game for you.
Combat system is alright, puzzles aren't annoying, and gameplay has surprising levels of variety, considering it's a ren'py project.

Yeah did I mention it has lots and lots of anal? Because it sure does.

If you happen to have a fetish for monsters having their way with the female main character then look no further because you will hardly find anything better then The Pilgrimage. The fact that it's set in a Mass Effect parody universe, with Tali as the lucky heroine, is a special added bonus that makes things interesting.

In terms of story and technical aspects of the game, it's best to lower your expectations drastically. This is first and foremost a porn game, emphasis on the "porn" part.

One of the few games in this forum with actual development,constant and actually playable updates, good animation, good story, and good gameplay even though it's a Ren'Py game.

Also i would like to point out the dedication of the Dev, as he gains no remuneration from doing this game, but still is very watchful of his game and always tries to help and answer every question or doubt the fans post in the thread.

Great amount of content, fairly interesting gameplay, corruption variation, not grindy, only warning is you can lock yourself out of some of the content if you dont take care (a fraction)

I would really recommenc using the Dialog mod

By far the best Ren'Py game we have on the site, as u play u see how much love he put to make this game.

Models 10/10.

Animations 10/10 Even the fluids are amazing implemented on them, really that impressed me so much.

Gameplay 10/10 Not very grindy and not boring at the same time, we always have something on the game when mc is moving around the map, even when u stay on safe zone u will have fun (The more u advance on history more events u will have) and that's amazing.

History 10/10 This is obvious when u see he's fan of ME, the characters, the dialogs only with that u see he knows what he's doing and why, as a fan myself i only need to say Ty buddy!

I can continue writing good things about the game but cmon! play it and enjoy! <3 and remember if u can support him do it, for me is worth it after played the game.

Btw the transitions on the vent zone are amazing and how u move....fuck i loved that, how she moves, how the camera follows and keeps u on the character while do it too on enviorement.

Anyways, thank u so much for this jewel, u have one more fan to the list <3

a good game. the animations and assets aren't the highest quality stuff out there but they don't have to be because the style shines through, and enough attention is paid to the audio & stuff so that everything holds up well.