VN - Ren'Py - ToxiCity [v0.07.0] [ILSProductions]

This creator's games are always very good. They're always worth it and keep you engaged from beginning to end. I always appreciate that he doesn't include sex at the beginning, so I can see what the characters are like and their perspectives. It's the closest thing to a story in a series.

I played through v0.07 in a few evenings, and found it moderately enjoyable.

Post-apocalyptic stories offer their writers a lot of freedom compared to ones set in the everyday world. The laws are a dead letter, polite societal norms have gone by the wayside, and the world is the MC’s oyster. Well, it could be so, if authored by someone else. ILS Productions has an amazing ability to make even this kind of story feel mundane.

On the positive side, the game has a nice spooky atmosphere, and the few LI’s are okay. The devs are very productive, and complete the projects they start.

On the negative side, there is a great deal of internal monologue from the various characters, relieved now and then by dialog between them: almost all of it a snooze-fest.

The greatest negative I found was the non-intuitive point system for progressing with the LIs. I tried to wing it without consulting the walk-through, and missed half the sex scenes as a result. The story is not exciting-enough to justify a second play-thorough, so I recommend relying heavily on the official walk-through if you want to give this a try.

There was a more subtle problem that I found somewhat off-putting. There is a standard trope in a horror movie where the writer has the MC do something obviously stupid to advance the plot. The audience, helpless to stop him, can only hold their breath while they wait to see what happens. I don’t think this technique works well in a VN. The player is not just a passive observer: he is made to feel empowered by the decisions he makes for the MC. If offered the option to do something obviously stupid, they will probably refuse. If the writer just has the MC do the stupid without asking for player input, it causes an annoying disconnect between the player and MC.

I think the writers make that mistake here. The player is asked to make lots of seemingly trivial choices for the MC--though they matter in terms of unlocking sex scenes--but when he is faced with a momentous decision we get no say.

If you liked the dev’s previous games, I am sure you will enjoy this as well.

I've been following this developer for a while now

His latest game ToxiCity is definitely an improvement over his second one. I actually really liked his first game (now and then).

His second game wasn't quite as good in my opinion. It had some interesting ideas, but the execution fell a bit flat for me.

But then came ToxiCity, and I have to say, it's a big step up from the previous one. The idea of surviving in a post-apocalyptic world is really compelling, and the characters are all pretty cool.

The story is a clear narrative that keeps you engaged.

One thing that might be annoying for some people is that the main character talks a lot.

just don't have super high expectations if you've only seen now and then (first game).

ToxiCity has a interesting premise about survival when all hope seems lost, the characters are well thought out and the setting is similar to after a natural disaster, where the main character has to navigate through the new norm. Looking forward to each new update.

One of my favourite games here!

+ Excellent renders, greatly improved from the dev's previous games, even if it still uses Honey Select

+ A smaller cast of LIs, which allows a more in-depth characterization (I am a big fan of this, more games should do the same, rather than shoving 20 women with 5 minutes worth of content in the game and calling it a day)

+ Good story and world building

+ A mature MC that does not behave like a 15 year old horny kid

+ Fast and consistent updates


- The MC monologues a lot. I am not particularly bothered by it, but I can see how it might frustrate some people


Easy 5 stars! Highly recommended!

If you like the narration and character style of this dev, you'll definitely enjoy this one as well. It's a little more like Now & Then compared to the second game, which was a sandbox.
The premise is interesting, the girls are varied and lovely so far and you can really feel the pressures of being in an apocalypse-like scenario. The characters would be horrible apocalypse buddies though, as they're constantly making pretty stupid choices, but if we're honest, I'll just put that off on realism.

I didn't realize this was from the same Dev of "Now & Then", I'm totally a fan of that AVN. After playing this one, I can see the similarities and a lot of improvement from then. I like where the story is going, the harem in apocalypse is definitely my number one trope. I hope this will get far and I feel like we can expect a lot from this Dev.

a lot of psychological drama about marriage, the Li's are married and talk a lot about their husbands, and about the marriage problems in their lives.
including about going back to their husbands when it's all over.

mc also talks a lot about an ex-wife that we don't know about, he even talks about it when he's about to have intimate moments with some Li's

not much +18 content... he's one of those respectful MCs who would rather leave the room and close his eyes than watch a woman change clothes, and considering that the Li's are committed even though they have problems in their marriage... there's not much adult content... even in scenes where the MC isn't present, the game's camera always focuses on an angle from which you can't see anything of the woman when she's changing.

a game more about psychological drama than survival or horror.
a lot of internal dialogues about the psychology of life in the MC's mind.

For those who like something with more action, the game may be a bit monotonous.

i was a fan of this devs first 2 games and was excited for this one. i wasnt disppointed. good story and great characters. each chapter has me wanting more and thats the best compliment i think i can give. 5/5 across the board.

The consistent rate at which dev pumps out content every month convinced me to support him at patreon , absolutely worth the money with consistent and good amount of quality updates.

Back to the game, very good pacing and coherent story, good cast of characters, level-headed MC. Post apoc games are few and far between, good ones like these are even less so. Don't want to spoil too much of the story so I'll stop here.

I do hope the dev doesn't introduce too many female characters, I'm of the opinion that quality is more important quantity. If I have to spend time with a character, I want them to be as fleshed out as possible.

All the girls introduced so far are very likable, at least for me.

If you're still not convinced just try it man, the dev has worked on 3 games and has never been late on any release dates as far as I know. So you'll never get blue balled when it comes to progression of the story

Okay I'm done glazing the dev, gonna go rub one out after a banger 0.06 update

I've been following ILS since the first game, Now & Then, hoping for a return to form, and so far this doesn't disappoint. The atmosphere in Toxicity is similar to N&T, and the LI's are fully formed and interesting. The MC is not a douche, but genuinely cares about people, so he's relatable.

The quality of graphics are also a step up improvement, as well as animation and sound; so far an upgrade in every way to N&T. Looking forward to see this how this one evolves.

Oh, and ILS has the best work ethic of any developer. They produce monthly updates that have decent content and progress the story. In the 3+ years or so I've been following they, I don't think they have skipped a month.

I think this game is up there in the "apocalypse" genre so far, while I admit usually it's not my cup of tea, there are some upper echelon games in the genre but I can't think of a flaw with this game so far, despite the lack of characters and sex scenes, I have a feeling that's going to spike up.

I enjoy the women, I enjoy the MC, I enjoy the plot, and the author is doing a good job with the mystery, although it does seem to be heavily inspired by The Mist, that's not a bad thing.

Keep it up, I'm having a great time so far.

ToxiCity [v0.04] [ILSProductions]

"Finally some good f food."
After letdown of "Intern Demanim" or whatever that trash was called, I was VERY catious about new project of this dev. Tho, I was proved wrong and this is pretty solid piece.

Story - 3/5. Premise and story are another "End of the World" kind of plot (this dev really loves this shit, 3 in a row).
Characters - ~2.4/5. They are not flat, but not that deep, or "real", or interesting, or memorable either. Like, they'll probably be the supporting cast or just background characters in a good show. Not Bad, I cared for them.
MC is okay. He has backstory and traits that he's mostly consistent to, but at its core it's the same "OG" MC, that you'll see in dev's other works or in the most OG novels/works out there. It's not bad per se, it's just how things are.
Models/animations - 3/5. They are decent. Even tho, it's HS kind of game, they have more of a "realistic" look. Not bad.
Gameplay/Choices. Points. Note or walkthrough, choice is yours~
Grammar. Eh. Whatever. Pretty good.

All in all, I like this one.
It would've been 10000 times better, if this one was the next one and not the steaming garbage, that ruined my impression of every future project/work from this dev. Anyway, I'll look forward to the future updates.

Another masterpiece in the making my ILS production
My Review is for 0.04 so I hope going forward this game still remain a 5 star for me.

Pros
1) Excellent World building
2) Outstanding writing
3) MC grows with the player as you play
4) MC is not stupid and adapts to situations
4) Character development on point
5) The women are not throwing themselves at the MC

Cons: None

Some people are complaining about the H scenes coming late but anyone who has played this devs previous games knows his h scenes come late which isn't an issue for me.

(Reviewed through v.0.04)

If you're familiar with ILS' previous games, you'll know them to be narrative masterpieces that ooze atmosphere. Though early in its development, ToxiCity seems to be headed on a similar trajectory. An upgrade in graphics engine over the last game brings some welcome changes, though the story is (so far) more claustrophobic.

Premise: A mysterious toxic fog overtakes a city and traps the MC (and a few others) in a desolate cityscape.

The Good ()

• Increasingly interesting LI characters that have credible backstories and are just forming relationships with MC
• Improved graphics over dev's previous games (Honey Select 2 vs. Honey Select)
• Great narrative build-up and story development
• Real drama and suspense with some emerging horror elements
• Good use of animation and sound effects
• Great consistency in releasing regular updates

The Not-So-Good ()

• Small group of potential LIs (so far) compared to dev's previous games
• Not a ton of H-scenes (yet) but given dev's previous games, expect that to be remedied in future updates
• While the graphics are improved, they are not the strong point of other titles
• Some availability of choice, but this is mostly a kinetic novel versus a true game
• The MC is practically the same character as the dev's previous games

A must-play if you enjoyed the dev's other offerings. This title has more dread and foreboding that is just unraveling, making future updates highly anticipated.

So, I will rate this because I really liked my playthrough (v0.0.4)

The bad:

The mediocre:
I'm not a big fan of the graphics. I mean, even the company who made Honey Select doesn't exist anymore (a shame, too). But it works for the game, as the most interesting part is the storytelling.

The good: Nice pacing. A bit to wordy, but still very good text. MC is relatable, not super, not a tool, a cool guy with a head on his shoulders. He has been around, seen stuff and learned from it. The girls also got believable personalities. And all of them have stupid human damages. Although the story itself is not (yet) very new, the way they act in the situation and adapt is very well told. The developement to the physical intimacy doesn't see rushed.
And, most important, I was annoyed, when I got to the end of the story so far, because I wanted more. The cliffhanger, I don't know if we needed that, though.

Well earned easy 5 Stars

A DAMN good game. Really good and believable writing makes the characters feel real and not just generic tropes or side pieces. The build up from the fog is extremely good and hits a nice peak. Looks wise, the characters all look believable. Yeah the girls are good looking but they aren't barbie status, they look real. The game has a really nice feeling of eerie suspense, where you never really feel safe. Honestly super well done, an easy recommend to anyone looking for a real game and not just a quick porn game.

This is a nice blend of Stephen Kings "The Fog" and Now&Then, so far. This creator has a very particular way of telling stories with a lot of focus on internal monologue and detailed descriptions of the MCs feelings and ideas. The setting is carefully laid out and events happen in slow succession that we learned to love from ILS novels.

I would recommend this for people who enjoy classical, slow-paced storytelling with a focus on solving mysteries alongside the MC, developing relationships with a limited cast of characters, often feeling like a chamber-play. Choices are there but I can't tell whether they have noticeable impact. Lewdness serves as a vehicle to emphasize bonding between characters and is not just a pornographic exercise.
The best selling point is probably the overall writing and the play with limited visual elements. ILS novels usually have a rather melancholic vibe that you won't find in other visual novels. And while the main plot points are usually not the most innovative, they are still carried by a unique and emotionally rich atmosphere.

Man this is awesome and even tho horror isnt my thing, this kind of story are far better than most of the drama in college,household story from most of the games on this platform.

The mystery makes me wanting more and more and doesnt makes me really care so much with the lewd scene, the renders is fine, 2 of the girls looks identical tbh and not really that pretty but decent enough ( not ugly at least ).

My hope that this journey could get them meet more people especially females, because its kinda a little bit dull if only 2 LI through out the whole game in the end.

Masterful storytelling and improved art from the maker of "Now & Then" and "The Interim Domain".
The characters are likeable, the plot starts out as really interesting and remains a must read for fans of societal collapse scenarios.