VN - Ren'Py - Where It All Began [S1 Ch.4 Fix 1 Steam] [Oceanlab]

(v0.5 Full) - No Spoilers

Where It All Began can feel like an assault on your senses at times. It's plagued by an abundance of doll-like facial expressions (that come off as juvenile), a plethora of typos, cheesy dialogue, and overbearing personalities. However, despite its many flaws, this bad mash-up of a soap opera and sitcom is still worth reading. This VN's saving grace is its variety of unique characters, and I'm certain that most readers on this site will find at least one heroine they'll be enamored by.

Some characters are modeled better than others, but it appears that several lacking models are being overhauled at the time of my writing this review. That said, my real gripe with the visuals are the overly-exaggerated facial expressions. Maybe the dev gets a kick out of seeing his characters make the goofiest faces imaginable. I just found them annoying and unfunny.

Thankfully, scenes move at a fairly rapid pace. The aforementioned variety of unique characters take their turns entering and exiting the story, and there's a good balance of screen time for all of them. I felt the choices presented helped navigate me around the characters that I didn't like - of which there were a lot - so credit to the dev for making decisions feel impactful.

I see a lot of praise for the writing and the story, but I summed it up best when I called this VN a soap opera. It's obvious that time and effort went into creating a cohesive story, but I only find it mildly entertaining instead of compelling. Any meaningful drama is mired by unrealistic antics on-screen. But hey, this is porn, so at least it gives characters reasons to warm up to each other.

It might appear like my rating is generous after writing a rather critical review, but it's important to focus on the characters in porn games more than anything else. The dev gave me Emilie, so I'm giving Where It All Began 4 stars. Thanks, Oceanlab. Keep working hard!

[Written for v0.5]

The amalgamation of each minor plot into the whole actually entices you to go deeper with each character, while having setbacks for some. (Which imo should be expanded if you want a true route-esque game - which it appears it eventually will try to be as you can end certain relationships with people, or take sexual actions with people in order to further progress or diminish relations with another)

In my opinion, the rendering for the game is actually super well done, though I do think the actual animations are quite off and not necessarily the best. The renders are high quality and give off good environmental vibes for the player.

The story is pretty well composed and though it doesn't go as far or as deep as I would like for now - I do appreciate the ability to turn off NTR and the certain deep plot features that you figure out by taking certain routes.

Overall the game is set up with the potential for very wonderful execution with at the moment for going deeper into storylines and building up relationships (in my opinion). At the moment the main issue for me is the lack of development for certain characters as well as the lack of relationship effects of picking certain dialogue options - don't get me wrong, there are dialogue options that do effect them but they are quite rare basically allowing you to have a positive relationship with everyone, having the ultimate harem. Though this could be seen as a positive, for me it isn't the best and would be better for replayability if it was changed - then again that's just me : )

First Ill talk about my personal hangups and issues I have with adult games. First of which is NTR. I hate it. If a game has it, I already want to shrug it off. Even games with "avoidable" NTR never feels quite right. Like content just gets skipped rather than writing around it. This does a good job of preserving the peace. There are a few scenes that still bug me, but as you control the female character its easily avoided. To top this off, the game tracks a NTR stat like other games that may track lust or affection. Making it even easier to avoid any possible lazy writing moments by just avoiding those options.

Secondly, its viewing a different characters POV. Especially in a first person POV like this. The reason for choosing first person is to place you into the role of the character, instead of making you control the character. Increasing immersion and getting you to care about choices you make. Games or stories in general that have you see someone else's perspective destroys that immersion and it bugs me. This game didn't do that to me. The scenes were short (I'm assuming, If you play with NTR those scenes will likely be longer). I didn't make me want the characters to stfu and get it over with.

The story was also good. The description (as of 0.5) is very short and doesn't explain anything. I had just assumed that it was going to be just another incest story, but I was dead wrong. Theres mystery and intrigue that makes me want to study the characters to see if anyone has dropped a hint. There are plots, and subplots, and depending on your choices seem to open up even more subplots. I'm expecting more down the line.

As for the characters, I rather enjoyed them. As I said before, I expected a generic incest plot. You have mother, sisters, maybe aunt and cousin, possibly an asshole father to deal with, any other character is a side character, and virtually irrelevant aside from a short story and some sex scenes. This is different.Many of the characters seem important. They have their own lives and potentially effect the story as a whole. Even male characters seem fine, or enjoyable. Coming from an NTR hater thats blasphemy! All the characters have well written personalities, their all different not just the same person with a new bucket of paint thrown in. I really enjoy them so much im not really sure who id call "best girl"

The art is also really well done! maybe one location looked very familiar to me, but I'm not certain, so there are no borrowed assets. Which is a plus for me, considering I've played too many of these games to be proud about. The girls look nice, seems to have a kind of look for everyone to enjoy!

I'm looking forward to see the future. I'm impressed.

This game is definitely a special one. It has a relatively interesting plot and a more than interesting family dynamic as well as characters. I like the way the game presents itself. It includes wonderful renders and some more than exceptional animations paired with decent to sometimes great dialogue.

Some parts of the game are pretty emotional and I feel an attachment and even empathy towards some of the characters. The game does not seek to be basic by any means and there is much more to the story than what is seen on the surface. I am genuinely interested to see how the story goes as of 0.5 the game ends on a pretty exciting/curious time in the story.

I honestly believe the game is under rated as I have played worse games with far more attention recieved by consumers than this one. I hope more people get to see what a promising game this truly is. I would totally recommend giving this game a go and as I stated before I can't wait to see where the story ends up.

The writing in-game is what immediately piqued my interest, from the start you don't have the best-looking models but the writing for me just topples the visuals and brings life to characters that I didn't quite like at the start, the story is somewhat a rollercoaster, that in most games on this site would turn into a mess but this one pulls it trough with constant choices throughout the story that change the characters and events, and after playing a second time with a walk through the story content further expanded revealing more pathways. Overall really enjoyed the game and wish the dev luck on further development.


Edit: Not really feeling the remake. Visually it's obviously a big step up but the writing, the characters, and the dialogue became more pretentious and less fun.

I just finished my first playthrough and I am surprised by how many things are still left when I finished. There are a few branching paths you can take with a few characters. A few storylines that can only happen when you choose specific actions. A little buggy on how things should go ( some conversation and events should not have happen if mc have chosen specific actions ) but overall a satisfying game and story.

Honestly, I'm flabbergasted about the quality of this work. It's amazing and I hope you keep it up.

People often forget that from a porn game we expect more than just porn pictures. For that, we have so many image boards and porn videos. We expect an interactive story with great plot AND great porn and you deliver on both sides.

I welcome the fact that each character is more than a cardboard cutout. You made them feel alive. Almost every action had consequences and some more than the arbitrary number going up or down - whole scenes were changed.

This is really one of the better games I’ve experienced. There are some technical things that are slightly iffy in regards to some of the earlier renders, but it’d very apparent that with each update this game is growing by leaps and bounds. The most recent update (0.5) actually has some of the most expressive and diverse looking characters I’ve encountered.
Likewise, there are some small time grammar and spelling issues, but considering that English isn’t the creator’s first language it actually reads remarkably well.

There’s a good variety of fetishes too, moreso than you usually see around these parts and though it’s still early days yet and we haven’t quite seen the impact of all of them, it’s refreshing at least that a creator is trying to be diverse. Any game that allows the player to indulge in impregnation is alright in my book.

But really, what makes this game stand out is how interesting the story and characters are. Miru is a little much, but her shortcomings are more than made up for how interesting the MC’s family is. There’s a true sense of history between these people and the town they live in, it gives a greater feeling of depth and I often find that I’m genuinely interested in seeing where things go with them, beyond the H scenes.

It’s still early days yet, and that’s somewhat frustrating, but I can very easily see this game becoming a classic once it really gets going.

As of 0.5 - good game, don't get fooled by the somewhat weak synopsis.

I guess I have to start without spoilers, so...
Um...
Ah, yeah, Graphics.

I'm usually not much in to the Graphics - I don't much care for 4k and whatnot. It's a Daz game with some really cool models and the dev obviously spent some more time designing them compared to most of what we see. Some really strange shadows at times and the lightning can't seem to decide what time of the day is it often enough, so that I noticed it. That said - graphics are workable.

The Story. Without going in to spoilers I can't say much about it. It's complex and tries to be multilayered, but is often distracted by sex. Yeah, I didn't really expect to say it about a porn game ether, but in my opinion if the game was story first, sex second (kind like it was in the start) - it would be better.
Don't expect Russian classical literature, tho. it ain't no War and Peace. It probably reminds me most of some anime in style and presentation (and POV shifts and "in the meanwhile here is what the other guys are doing").
I like what I have seen. Sadly for now it's mostly set up. As we know from other forms of media - layering mystery over mystery works... if you can deliver on the conclusions. Only time will tell if the Dev delivers.

Cast:
Huge. Most are cool and have enough personality to be interesting. I can also imagine (most times) how they got where they are personality wise. Some didn't tick with me, but most kind of did.
Also a good note - you are not the only guy in the world! And it seems no all of them are total assholes. I;d like to grab a beer with Sven.

Gameplay.
I have the most mixed feelings about that. I played the game, later read the walktrough and it seems easy for a few things and very hard for others:
NTR - yeah, it's so easily avoidable, that I have no idea why the option for it to be there even exists. If you are an asshole - people will bang other guys. This is the part that is easy and obvious.
Pregnancy - God bless options! Personally I care nether way, but still - forcing, banning or leaving it to chance is all well and good. But...
Chance - Don't get me wrong, I like chance. Chance is cool and gives variety. But I also have a golden rule - chance is there to save your ass, not to bend you over. And it seems to me a LOT of the story can be blocked by pure RNG. In my book that is bad. Now you can avoid the bad stuff but it seems to lock up a substantial portion of the story. And I really don't like that.

Overall - if you don't come in expecting Tolstoy - you will be satisfied by the game.

Honestly some games on this site you go into it expecting a story with decent animations & visuals but little attention to character development or story arc. This is not one of those games though. It has plenty of branches to keep you entertained multiple times, the girls are diverse in looks and personalities with fleshed out backgrounds. This is definitely one of the best early releases on the site with a few hours of content already when you take your time and enjoy the dialogue.

I think it's the only game with NTR tag, where characters are not stupid as f*ck, which is making this game hot right from the beggining.

The plot is consistent, NTR avoidable and renders are good quality.

It's a pitty, that dev has only $682/month from it. A lot of shitty games with disgusting renders, enormous tits and stupid plot can have $3000 per month, and this can not? What went wrong?

Anyway - this is a must play here - my only wish is for this game to keep it's standards and still have a little bit of NTR, but not too much. Supporting right now

Easily one of the best games on here. The story is very original, it has dramatic parts, and it has funny parts, and is a bit of a mystery. There are points where random things happen. Such as a 10% chance of a condom breaking, or 25% chance on one of 4 girls. The artwork is also great for the most part. There are lots of choices. Look forward to finding out what happens next.

This is becoming one of my favs..the choices really make a difference..i can avoid that which i do not like..i can avoid dames i do not like or go after those i do..the only real issue it engrish is still present..otherwise this could be a WTHI type game that has us fans discussing all the variables till the cows come home...the gameplay is smooth and fluid..the renders are (except for Miru who is ugly AF ) beautiful...the story itself is really good with something mysterious happening ..there is plenty of sexy to be had or avoided..up to you..and the Dev is great..right there willing to chat and fix things ASAP..a huge bonus..if he can get a proofreader..and maybe speed up the time between updates(pleasseee..so much need) this could be one of the greats ..highly recommended..Helen,Rhonda,Emilie 3x LI

I really enjoyed it. It's weird, it gets crazy in parts, sometimes it becomes a soap opera, then becomes a comedy and then a sort of surreal procedural.
And I'm not complaining, It's a fascinating read precisely because of that. At some point I even started skipping the possible sex scenes because I wanted to go back to the story.

Imagine that you're in a restaurant and order an amazing burger..as soon as you take a bite the waiter snatches it and gives you a pizza. As you take a bite from the pizza , the waiter takes it away and gives you a taco. When you take a bite of taco the waiter takes it away and gives you sub.. Well thats how I felt playing this game. ..
There are so many characters that at one point you forget who is who..except 1 or 2 characters , none of the others are properly introduces..the aunts character is rushed..and more than half of the people that played probably hate the girlfriend.

I couldn't make it past the first gonzo sex scene in this game.
Always a telltale sign of good writing when the second image or so goes right down to business.
Graphics look nice enough, but overall not my cup of tea, but YMMV.

At the moment it's one of the better VNs on here. It does genuinely seem more impressive the more is added though. The dev also seems to genuinely be putting the work in to offer multiple choices. It'll be very interesting to see what it's like 6-7 months down the line.

Story- This is why it's 4 instead of 5 stars. Some of the characters just act like their crazy. Miru and Katie especially. As an example the Asian gf gets upset when the sister asks to talk in private It's literally their first time meeting , who gets upset when a sister wants to talk about personal matters with her brother? Then wants to help a random person she's only just met beat up her bf. She be crazy basically. There's a few moments like that. It doesn't help the story seems to involve some sort of conspiracy. You don't expect realism in a porn game but it's a little to much at times here. What saves it is not every character is like that all the time. The plus side is there's plenty of scenes, choices and the women are often hot . If it keeps going down the route it's going it'll be fantastic but I do hope the dev dials back the crazy a little.

Scenes- Basically really good there's quite a few and they're done well with a decent amount of choice. Some renders and dialogue could be better but on the whole they're good.

Graphics in this game are good and the story line is good in the beginning but in my opinion goes way off of the rails and continues for a full episode before it suddenly drops you back into the story. And even though you can tell that English is not the story tellers first language you get the gist most all of the time. I think the game still has a bit of potential but needs to narrow down the focus and stick to the plot.

Pros:
- I hate NTR stuff. But I liked it in this one.
- Good renders.
- Story is interesting enough.
- There are plenty of choices that effect the story.

Cons:
- I liked every other girl in this game exept girlfriend. I don't know why but I didn't like her. I think it's because she has a weird face and unlikeable character.
- Although I liked the story in general, aunt jumping on MC without a proper development, bothered me.

General:
Although there some things that need to be improved, it's a good game.
If you're into NTR and incest stuff I recommend you to give it a try. Even if you're not into NTR like me, you should try this game. Because even though I don't like NTR in general, I liked it in this game.

Promising, could turn out one of the best VNs here, but with a lot of "rough edges"

+ Plenty of choices, decisions, already leading to different scenes, dialogue, etc
+Seems there will be a lot of options with variety of sex scenes. NTR is actually pretty well implemented ( it simply fits the girlfriend character)
+ Good pacing, Learn as you go, as it moves forward, which makes the story, and characters more interesting over time

- Some of the characters, how they look or act, makes them either extremely unlikeable or unrealistic. Aunt that immediately wants to jump on her nephew ( and is hardly hiding it), Younger sister clearly in love with her brother and acting like 8 year old trying to attract attention by constantly harrassing/abusing him ( She even slips him heavy drug as a childish "prank", which sends him to a hospital, without even considering of offering apology afterwards). Father/Mother look too young and barely few years older than the older sister), etc, etc
- Not a fan of "dual" protagonist, at least when it comes to making choices ( I would keep Miru as one of main characters, but remove player choosing her dialogue options, she seems more defined as a character, make her more reactive to MC's actions)
Dialogue quality is also pretty inconsistent with some very well written scenes ( Miru/Katie on a bench), and sometimes not so ( Miru's comments, etc)
- Better renders, some sound, music would improve a lot of scenes