Ren'Py - The Sin Within [v0.4.5] [CigarRex]

Review for V0.2.1

The Sin Within is a refreshingly different take on the corruption genre. I'd hesitate to call it an actual slow burn, but it is a slower paced plot that what you'd normally expect when given powers that can turn everyone around you into lust machines. This is something I really appreciate.

For someone like me who isn't that into corruption games and places more value on pacing and writing, this game feels accessible. This isn't the fuckfest I might have expected it to be given the theme. There's life to the characters, competent dialogue (with an enjoyably unique style), humor, some action, a potentially interesting story, a large variety of love interests, and an MC who doesn't make me want to smash my head into a wall when he speaks. Essentially, this has a lot of parts that make for a great AVN.

The key for me enjoying this is the pacing. We aren't suddenly flipping a switch on our mom and fucking her brains out. Does it still move faster than what I'm normally comfortable with? For sure, but I'm finding myself not minding it as much. Admittedly there were a couple moments that raised doubts. That club scene went from 0-100 really fast as an example. But it was also balanced out by taking the time to show a lot of normal non-lewd scenes that just build up character for the game.

The devils/seven sins element seems like it will be interesting as well. I liked greed a lot as a character and am looking forward to seeing the rest of the sins. That idea of being able to make thralls/servants has also piqued my interest. Looking forward to seeing how that is explored.

I expect a lot of people are going to complain about the choice of going sandbox, but I think it's the right one. By the end of the prologue, I was wondering how the game was going to handle all of the different characters and subplots. A sandbox seems like a good answer. Done right, I love them personally. It's in a very early state though so it's hard to talk much more about it.

Despite being so new, the prologue is meaty and has hours worth of content. A rare case where I'd recommend checking out the game now instead of waiting for more updates if you're on the fence. I had fun with the game and am looking forward to seeing how it develops.

I've played a lot of these games on the site and this one a breath of fresh air in my opinion. It's a game that has a lot of variety to offer right off the bat which is great compared to other games that follow the same pattern over and over again. I like how not every girl abides by the usual formulas of these games as well such as Vivian. Can't wait to see more of this game and the development of it.

Even though it's still early in developement ( v 0.2.1 as of writing this review ) I can already tell that this has a whole lot of potential. The dev is putting a lot of effort into this, and it's definitely noticable. The models are hot, and there's good variation in them, with a little bit of everything for everyone, from tiny cutesy tits, all the way to thick pudgy milf fuckboxes. A lot of kinks are served / planned as well, and from what I can tell so far most of the more extreme ones are / will be completely optional.

The grammar / spelling is excellent, as is the writing itself.

For fetish lovers and fellow members of the "dark side" this might turn out to be one of the best games that are using the Honey Select engine in a long ass time, give it a try! You won't be dissapointed.

Reviewing v0.2.1

The Good

- The Graphic is above the mediocrity that you can find on this website, better than basic HS2 or basic DAZ, which is refreshing.

The Meh

- MC's personality is laughable, I'm surprised he can dress himself up without any help, and his peak is reached during a dream sequence where he sees a skeleton (reference to his past) then he is in underwear in a classroom about to have sex with a teacher who turn herself into Lilith, then he is underwater (not sure if it's a reference to Nirvana and their song, but it reminded me of that) and fished out by his younger self who throws him in space, and suddenly he is on top of a roof transformed into a demon, and he thinks that being a demon is real (yeah turns up to be true but still) he just had maybe the weirdest dream ever but yeah opening your eyes and see yourself as a demon is realistic, totally believable, not even an ounce of doubts about it, so much that he jumps off a roof, and lands on his face into an office, and he is totally fine, totally real. This is MC at this worse and yet best moment so far in the game, if you read this before playing the game, this is all you need to know about MC.

The Bad

- The game is full of inconsistencies, some can be considered nitpicky and some are quite big because they're related to the main plot, a couple of examples? When MC is ready to go to the nightclub, he sits outside in the yard wearing a t-shirt and jeans, no problem, he and his friends wait in line before entering (and this is an overly long super ridiculous dialogue-session), still no problem, MC has his fun with a stripper and Lilith, which ran away chased by a shirtless MC, and when MC catches her outside, Lilith is wearing a coat complaining about the cold, and NOW we learn that it's cold outside and always has been for the whole night, and MC is drunk, shirtless and Lilith makes a big deal out of MC being in such state, MC himself feels so weak from both the alcohol and the cold that he is on his knee acting all weak and struggling! Another example? Later MC has the dream I mentioned and later in the morning he goes to school uses his powers so much that he faints and get a scratch; a couple of hours later, what I presume to be the afternoon MC has to face the Rich-Kid of the story and his gang of thugs, they use bats, brass-knuckles/knuckleduster and other melee weapons, trying to beat MC but "the problem" is that MC is totally fine at least until one dude kicks his genitals, then he starts to bleed and be in pain, my issue is how MC is already a demon at this point even during the fainting in classroom part, and yet falling on the ground is enough to leave scratches without even requiring to be hit in the genitals but like 6–7 people with weapons can't harm him until they hit his genitals. One of the most annoying in the whole game is a particular that MC's family has a peculiar birthmark... A RED NOSE! OH MY GOD! A RED NOSE IS A FAMILY-BIRTHMARK! OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD! I GUESS I'M PART OF MC'S FAMILY EVERY TIME I'VE A COLD OR MY ALLERGIES SPIKES UP My guess for such a birthmark is because it's visible...but it doesn't mean that makes sense considering how common it is to have a redder nose due to something either cold or allergies! I'll end it here, but the game is filled with inconsistencies of this kind, I simply mentioned the ones that annoyed me the most.

Conclusion

Honestly, I don't know what to think, the graphic is the only redeemable thing about the game so far, and even then it has some weird moments. The graphic is forced to carry this whole mess of a game, but it's unable to because this is a visual novel, literally a story with pictures, you can use the greatest pieces of art even but if the story is bad...so either fix it or work with someone who has a good story in mind, and you make the arts of it. Will I give a second chance to this game? Of course! This is just a prologue after all, but without enthusiasm.
UPDATE v0.3: You know a game is bad when the good part is the boring and repetitive sandbox...seeing the same 3-4 scenes over and over and over...and yet...if there was no prologue the game would get a higher rating from me

Version: 0.2.1

Entertaining and lewd

• very long playthrough for just a prologue
• writing takes as much precedence as porn elements, merging seamlessly
  • the game makes sure to set the groundwork for a story and the characters before throwing any H scenes at you but without making it boring or a chore
  • expect a light comedy drama but one that takes itself seriously within the world - like an anime for adults
  • switches from the MC's perspective to create a more layered plot
• scenes are fleshed out and one day in the game is going to take up your entire hour long playthrough, roughly
  • writing does a good job at actualising each character in the spaces they exist
  • the MC is written like a shonen male protag who has the hero mentality but this isn't as cheaply written as i've seen in other games. it works for the character, he is likeable basically
• there is work put in the rendering, character and environments
  • despite the HS engine, from what i've witnessed in other HS games, the lighting and colourisation isn't overly bright or oversaturated - it's pretty balanced as it should be
  • there are moments of clipping but because i was so engaged in the story, i didn't care about it as much and it's far and few if you're not looking out for it
• animations are used when you expect them
  • but for me, tend to drop frames on my old pc perhaps because of an increase in resolution perhaps
• unique character design (the eye shape and red nose combo) within the HS character maker
  • i don't think this can be underestimated because of how much it cartoonises the characters and makes the art signature
  • however, the needle pointy nipples looks awful like when MC returns to strip club to see Vivian drugged up and ogling her daughter
• a lot of different girls to appeal to your taste, body type and personality
  • Spoiler: my personal LI list:

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• sound design accompanied through out
  • including music that matches each scene
• choice to choose who to pursue and in some cases reject
• H scenes not rushed, usually well paced and expect some blueballs if what you want is penetration
  • a lot of teasing for now which i enjoy if done right (Robin's sake pool scene )
• a spectrum of lusty women, thus lusty sexual scenes
  • i enjoy exaggerated lust and this game embraces that, esp given it's plot and style... (that hot scene in the beginning was so weird but hot)
  • all the women don't just throw themselves at MC but they do seem sexually interested one way or the other
    • however, the trope of "MC gets harem effortlessly" is not as lazily implemented here due to the varying degrees at which the women feel about MC - some are not even interested in him
      • there's an implied progression for almost each character

Overall hot game with substantial writing even if the premise is something you've heard before. What the game does is flesh its scenes out and few porn games do that. The details in character writing; switching from multiple characters while maintaining a common plot beat, and the unique character designs are what makes this game stand out to me.

Wow. I loved this game, if the game continuous like this is destined to be one of the greatest, from the story tellin, the writing of the characters, the humor i would say all of the aspects are top notch, definitely a game you should try, a 100 percent worthy, even better if you are into the tags of the game, i would definetely keep an eye on this game.

This game has obvious flaws, that I'll get to.
So, why 5 stars?

What I'm reviewing (v0.2.1) is the PROLOGUE.
And there is already ~3 hours content. More or less depending on if you skip, or take your time reading.

There are many girls, of various ages, body types, facial features, etc, so you're likely to find someone you like.

The story actually exists and is progressing. While nothing tremendous or deep, it is consistent and grows a little more in every scene, and leaves you at the end of the prologue curious where it will go from there.

Also (and a HUGE plus in this game's favor), you are not meaninglessly hated by one of your "room mates." You aren't hated for a good, well defined reason either. No, this game takes the courageous approach of.... neither of your sisters hating your guts!
Shocking!
And very welcome. The tired trope of "bitchy sister who hates your guts for no reason other than for you to forgive her and add drama to the game" is not present here, and good riddance! It works and serves a purpose in some stories. It doesn't in most, and dev here made the wise choice to not force that in.

So, issues? Visuals are not amazing. I'm not one for "slutty' characters and there are certainly a few girls in this game that fall fiercely in that category. Dev went a little nuts with the breast slider for some of the girls.

What are some things that are seen as issues that I don't think are?
First and foremost, lack of choices. Why is this not an issue? Because this is a prologue. It is setting the scene. The game "proper" hasn't started yet.

Secondly, lack of actual sex. Again, this is the prologue, so there is time for that to happen!

Thirdly, things seem to come a bit to easy. Well, consider who your character is supposed to be. Also, porn game logic. Now, as a rule, I'm not a huge fan of "porn game logic" as I feel many devs who use it are either being lazy, or have made a game that could have had otherwise compelling stories and characters, and betrayed them by using porn game logic to remove believability from the plot. But this game knows it is porn, and leans into it, in the right way, in my opinion.

Lastly, sandbox. At the end of the prologue, we see this will go sandbox.
A lot of people hate sandboxes, but I don't, if they're done correctly. With the number of girls in this game, your need to develop your powers, story scenes, etc, sandbox COULD be the correct approach. We'll have to wait and see, but I think it would be wrong to lose interest in the game simply because of that.

So, finally, my advice for the dev:
Choices in the prologue generally relate to what scenes we'll see, but, seemingly, don't impact the story. In theory, we'll be able to get points with all the girls. So, the club, for example, we pick one of the four, and see the scene, but are most likely just going to reload to see the rest, before moving on. Which one we see MAY effect some dialog, but seems doubtful to effect the story as it progresses.
I'd advise allowing us to see the same scenes (with small variants to account for plot) once we get to sandbox and can presumably revisit the club.

Same for the wine/sake/tequila choice near the end of the prologue. While it gets us a scene and some points with the character of our choosing, it doesn't look like it will effect the story as we can pursue all girls later. So I'd hope that whoever we didn't pick that night, we can do that scene during evenings in sandbox mode, to get those in our gallery, and character points.

Another thing I'd suggest (though from playthrough experience in other games seems to be difficult to do, likely due to the number of variables and checks) is to offer multiple paths. For example: do you go all in full corruption? Do you resist using your power and try to stay in control? Do you see power as neither being good or evil, and what matters is the person wielding it, so you give in but intend to master it and not let it master you?

You could even take this further by offering paths for the girls. Do you use your power to make them happy? To make them subservient? To help them? To ruin them?
Vivian is a prime example to me. Broken as she is, the corruption path could get quite dark, and interesting for those into that, but there could also be a path where the MC tries to thread the needle of using his power for his own gain, while also healing her.

All in all, I find this to be a very ambitious project with a lot of room to grow, and I'm quite interested to see where it is headed. Give it a look.

Wow. Excellent job! I'm really impressed with the presentation of this game: from the animations to the humor; even the plot of the story is interesting! Become the Avatar of Lust and meet the ladies! Who are the other six deadly sins? Will we bang any of them (YES PLEASE!) The girls in this harem fantasy offer a wide variety of shapes and fetish tastes sure to satisfy nearly everybody (with more kink to come, to be sure.) To be clear, my standards for fun and engaging adult-games on this site are fairly high. Games like Light of my Life, Above The Clouds, Ecchi-Sensei (rip), Hard to Love, and several others change the way we see these games, and, each one takes us a step closer to what this genre can become. Games like these make me feel emotions OTHER than just horny, and that confuses my dick, but in a good way! Everyone is entitled to have different tastes; I find that I'm way more engaged with adult games that don't completely fail at story telling while also not drowning the erotic moments in poorly placed exposition. Other people like it the other way, and that's fine too. There's plenty of space for all of us, but I want more of this, please.
Ok, so that's enough bloviation. This is a fun game that doesn't string you along, yet still doesn't dispense with the characterization. Sex scenes are hot and there are plenty of them so far. A huge variety of milfs and younger ladies look visually distinct and extremely kawaii. Very nice use of lighting in this one as well. Inserting animations and using frame reversing for easy incidental animation is appealing and immersive. The harem, though. If I may? THIS.HAREM.WILL.BE.FUCKING.OUTRAGEOUS. WARNING: Many of the models are THICC!! If you are turned off by that, have a pre-existing heart condition, or hate your boner/lady-boner, this could be problematic for you(JK), though, there are several beautiful petite ladies on offer as well. I like them both, and, as they say(whoever the fuck THEY are variety is the spice of life. Keep up the good work and support the dev, Cigar Rex if you are able. We need more content creators like this online making games! Remember: Boner-confusion isn't a bug, it's a feature

I little rough in the polish areas, and too many of the girls have that gross, breast-to-waist disproportion that people for some reason like, but still pretty interesting game so far. It's just the prologue and is more interactive novel than game, but already there's plenty of unique and likable characters.

It's also pretty cool that, past the prologue, the entire gameplay will apparently change into more of a 'sandbox' title, which is my preferred type, but even then it wasn't so detrimental as the story itself is actually really cool. Some of the dialogue stretches on a bit, though.

Definitely keeping an eye on this one.

I recently played this game and was blown away by its engaging story and stunning animation. From the opening scene, I was hooked and found myself fully immersed in the world the developers had created. The attention to detail in the graphics and character design was impressive, and I was constantly amazed by the quality of the visuals. The game also had a great soundtrack that complemented the action perfectly. But what really sets this game apart is its story. Overall, I highly recommend this game to anyone looking for a thrilling and visually stunning gaming experience. It's truly a masterpiece.

Review for 0.1.1

This game has a lot going for it. Humor, characters, graphics, story. A lot of it is very well done. Has a lot of girls to choose from, and plenty of animations.

Pros:
-Great Characters
-Good music
-Good story
-Good graphics

Cons:
-Story is a bit slow
-Beginning lacks quality, but improves as it goes on

Game is really good if you continue towards the end. Worth playing. I hope creator improves as time goes on.

Clever, Addictive, Genuinely Funny, Sexy as Hell.. Just a few terms that I can now add that only form a small amount of the appreciation i have for this title..
The story while slow starting and sometimes head scratching puzzling now when i look back at the earlier scenes trying to wonder how they will fit in to the tale that unfolds by the end of the 1st chapter..
The title features some characters that at 1st glance have little to no interest in, but by a later stage in the tale.. truly come into their own.. and steal the show with their whit, beauty and likeability..
The story again is a slow burn and i'll even admit that id closed the title down around the 'milk collision incident' as i didnt like the character design and was a little underwhelmed by the story i was seeing..
Fast forward 24 hours an after finishing a different VN i was left with either trying a new random title to fill the time or give this a fresh go.. and so i did and this time stuck it out to the end of 0.1 Build.. (id subscribe on substar but as a father of two thats just not a affordable option sadly)
This title is defo a sleeper hit.. by the end of 0.1 build the visuals seemed to get better.. the 'character' of Lilith became a look and style id love to see more of rather than her alter ego's look.. and id love to see more from Abbie as i found her character both sexy as well as funny and harem or not would like to see her interact more with the mc as there was a good bit of underlying sexual chemistry there..
All in all a worthwhile read and one i'll be watching and awaiting more from in the future.. Amazing work

Wow game is pretty good so far. Character are well done, animation is pretty goodl. It took a while for any lewd scene to happen but at is worth it to play the 0.1 until the end. I am pretty sure I will subscribe. I am just waiting to see how often the developper plan to update the game.

Fantastic, fans of harem type games should definitely keep an eye out for this one. The characters are top quality, the animations are really well done and the story is progressing at a great pace. sincerely hope that the characters present remain throughout the game and relationships (however kinky) are explored with all of them and hopefully more.

For a 0.1 this deserves some proper love. It's one hell of start.

It has good writing, it has sound effects and fitting music, nice models, good ui, and what is looking too be a crazy ass interesting story. Couldn't ask much more for a prologue. It's still quite lengthy though and the last scenes were kinda wild.

I'm looking forward to future updates, apparently it's gonna be sandbox and I don't like those but we'll see if it's implemented well or not.

Definitely worth trying!

Review for 0.1

that's a solid start. The mc seems interesting, the other characters are good, nice graphics, good writing and a very interesting story so far.

Definitely going for depth. I wish the developer good luck.