VN - Ren'Py - Completed - Where the Heart Is [EP25] [CheekyGimp]

Great game. Love the character design. Lots of different choice for every characters. Been following it since the beginning and glad to see it get completed. Wether there a sequel or dlc I can't wait to try them.

This game's renders is aging like your grandmother, the fact that it took 7 years for an ending is insane. Not to mention the rework is decent but nothing amazing like a complete overhaul. It literally still uses all the same assets.
Yet that is still taking abysmally long. This game should've ended in 2014 at best.

There's just no excuse for such renders. Secondly 3/4 in this dev suddenly decided that consequences are a thing and turned a mindless harem game into some pseudo life choices nonsense.

[SPOILER ALERT]

Where should I begin? Alright, I’ve bookmarked Where The Heart Is for almost two years. I decided to download it a few days ago because it’s a complete VN now. I played it for hours, I wasted my time for this. I’m currently at Episode 20 right now, but I feel compelled to make a review about this VN because of some huge issues that I’ve found.

But first, I’m going to speak about the good. There’s a lot of choices and 98% of them do matter. Renders are okay, they look good for a game that came out in 2018. The dev did some improvements to later episodes at least. Most importantly, the dev himself managed to finish his game.

Now here comes the bad (I think I’m gonna drown myself writing this part). First, why did the developer hide MC’s face for most part of the game? He’s not that bad looking, in fact he’s actually quite handsome. I know his model, it’s the same male model from Peasant’s Quest. It still baffles me why this is a thing, it makes the kissing scenes feel ridiculous to look at.

Second, it’s pretty much obvious that the superstar of this game is Katie. She has the most love points and she shows up on screen more often than other love interests. Then what’s the problem? The problem is that she looks very mid at best and the worst thing is, she has sailor’s mouth all the time. It’s infuriating at this point. Everywhere you go, she always shows up in front of you. She knocks at your door most of the time to wake you up, she always ask you to come with her doing bullshit things with her friends (I have no problem with her friends), she always calling you out of nowhere, yadda yadda. I don’t mind if she was pretty, but unfortunately she isn’t. She’s straight up annoying at this point, I feel like I want to lock her up in the basement until the whole inheritance bullshit is over.

Last but not least, the way the developer writing Jolina’s story is just straight up horrible and full of injustice. She’s my first ever crush in this game after the dev threw me a bunch of mid women along the way. At first, I flirted with her and she said a big nope and didn’t want to see me for the next few episodes. After that, I managed to apologize to her and we started over as a couple which is nice. We had a date and she invited me to her apartment but apparently Jenna disrupted the moment because she was gullible to hang out with a creep. After a few episodes, we met up again by doing a date and pranking the creep’s mother and we had sex in her apartment. Is that it? No, apparently our moment is forever ruined by the same fucking Jenna because she couldn’t stop snooping into her laptop for nothing. In the end, she won’t trust me fully and she can’t even stop bringing up the hacking incident everytime we talk. Why, why, why, WHY!?!??!?!??!? Why did you have to write her story like that?? I swear to god, Monica’s daughters are all annoying in their own way even though their mom is a sweetheart.

I'm genuinely pissed off right now, I don’t even think I have any enjoyment left to continue this game. Why did I even bother playing it for hours? Instant one out of five stars, by the way.

Good Harem story. *Spoiler, two paths that involve either the milf path or younger path with your girls. Little of a slow build up but then the sex scenes are solid and mostly animated. Character designs improved over time. Solid game and I enjoyed it.

This game has less focus on main story and more on useless choices like ,flirt ,compliment ,joke etc .Again and again these useless choices pop up .This game just wasted more time in useless talks with female characters .While the woman characters are goodlooking that alone doesn't qualify this game to be at top .Very few vaginal sex scenes with all woman characters .Lack of variety of positions during vaginal sex or anal .Camera angels could have been way better if tried .Creampie scenes not shown in many scenarios .In many scenes after choosing come in pussy ,pussy with cum is not shown at all .This game needs better story with better focus on actual relationship building through story not joke,compliment ,flirt choices again and again .Overall this game had potential at first but it disappointed me very well .

This game is a great one, with a fine story, great variety of characters (sexy, mature, timid, lewd, adventurous, corruptible, etc) giving a few choices depending on the player's preferences. Sex scenes are well done, and intrigues are simple to follow. I have played this game for several years now, and decided to restart from the beginning since it is now completed. Thanks to the dev.

Alright i will be more harsh than most people, judging by the rating, but this is another case of me not understanding how this got even remotely this high of a score. I generally try to judge games for what it is, so standards vary from project to project, so i judge this as a full on VN that takes tens of hours of reading to finish (or get anywhere, for that matter). And for me this was a truly miserable experience that just wasted my time without giving a lot.

First issue, the story. Lack thereof, to be precise. The central narrative would-be thread is deciding on whether you want to get father's fortune or pick your childhood mother and sister figures plus figuring out who sent the email to arrange this to begin with. Except the entire issue floats up from the abyss for maybe 10 minutes in this entire VN, EVERY other word is dedicated to rizzing up the female cast.

Here is a little litmus test for any VN, put on "skip unread" in options and skip for around 30 minutes. If you still understand what's going on and relashionships didn't change and you are essentially in the same place, then your VN got f*ck all going on. Out of 25 episodes here you can safely hold skip for 20 of them and you will miss absolutely nothing and will arrive at the same point. There is so much nothing going on that it makes all relashionships meaningless, aimless and fake since no one have any goals, conflicts or anything they work towards and only exist to be pieces of meat in various porn scenarios. Entirety of Wanda just left me flabbergasted in particular.

Second issue, even more glaring than first, is THOUSANDS of pointless choices. So how it works is, as usual you get love and lust points for every correct choice, the usual. Except every couple sentenses you are interrupted to pick "joke/flirty; flirt; stare at ass/boobs; that was sexy/hot".

Okay so you might think this is a sprawling big VN with choices, variations, different scenarios and whatnot, which is technically true and you can choose not to romance someone, but that is ALL you can affect. 99% of those choices lead only to point increases which just unlock some scenes essentially. Which essentially instead of you picking what you want creates a "you picked correctly/incorrectly" state, meaning there is essentially an optimal path to get everyone... except you cannot since despite playing as a harem game, looking as a harem game and functioning as a harem game it is not one.

And the choices are complete ass. Repetitive, mind numbing, nonsensical and often going against common sense or characterization of the characters. Almost every time picking Joke, Compliment and Flirt option will be an increase, you will press those THOUSANDS of times, but generally game considers shamelessly ogling and treating everyone like meat and borderline harassing people as the most positive relashionship dynamic.

Linked to this point, the protagonist is a braindead degenerate asshole at best and empty as a rock at worst, and it's extremely unpleasant to play as him, and choices far from always align with his foul nature and perception. It would be fine if he was portrayed as such and his relashionships were indeed based on pure lust and domination, but the game portrays him as a nice guy overall, at least tries to, which leads to even further disconnect.

Third issue, every girl is just a caricature and it's enough to say "you are sexy" or "you are hot" for ANYONE to drop their panties. There is no different approaches, there is no figuring out their personalities and circumstances, there are no personal stories, goals or conflicts, you just press "Joke, Compliment, Flirt" like a maniac until all of this blurs together into one miserable insufferable whirlwind of boring pointless conversations with nobodies. Sometimes you have to also guess whether combination of "Slightly crude/flirting, Crude/compliment or Joke/Flity" is the correct choice. Not figure out, just guess.

Which is a shame considering writer can actually write, yet instead chose to write hundreds of thousands of lines of... nothing.

Visuals are very dated, scenes get better only towards the end.


Overall what i got is a decently promising beginning that quickly became a pointless plotless empty puzzle without a goal, meaning or direction and stayed this way for tens of hours without ever finding footing. It wasted my time, drained all my emotions and left me bored to death.

It took a long time. Was it worth the wait? No. But that doesn't change that this game is a lot of fun, offers a nice story outside of the sex that keeps one guessing and most of all, is finished in a satisfying way.

3/5 - It's.. okay.

This game is over 7 years old, and it finally has come to an end. I will say, I am glad it at least reached a conclusion. Unlike some games that will never have an ending.

BUT!.. and there is a but.. a lot of butts. The ending feels rushed, there is no satisfying conclusion. Just a bunch of "dates", a meeting with the lawyers and a wedding. It doesn't really add much to the story, more than anything it's a quick selection based wrap up. It feels like this, "You want this girl? No, okay how about this one? Yes? Okay and what about this one?".

And I want to be transparent about the graphics. I see people praising the graphics. Can we be real here... it's not that good. It is fine, but not good. Idk why people are saying it's great.

I liked the story, as of right now it's above average story wise. But it feels like it had an idea of where it wanted to go with the story. Then fell off in motivation or wanted money, so it got dragged out. And then the story just doesn't go much further than the half way mark (with filler to pad the story). Theresa, carnival girl, Zarah, Angel, Comic con lady, Comic con girl, Random model lady at party, all of these don't progress the story. It's quantity over quality.

I really did want to give it a higher mark though, Because I've followed this game for so long. But I just can't.

Monica, the ultimate mom character, absolutely captivates with her irresistible sexiness and seductive allure—I'm completely hooked! Every glance and movement drips with temptation, making her the standout star of this visual novel. Her wardrobe choices are fire: skimpy tops, tight dresses, and lingerie that accentuate her stunning curves perfectly, fueling endless fantasies.

The gameplay and story build tension beautifully around her, but here's the one flaw—no scenes of passionate lovemaking while fully clothed. That missed opportunity for clothed teasing keeps it from perfection. Still, Monica's presence makes it a steamy, addictive must-play!

I know my 3 star rating says average, but to my way of thinking, 3 on a 5 scale is slightly above average, which is what I think this novel merits. I thought the beginning was fairly slow and uninteresting, but then I think it picked up momentum in the middle chapters and became one of the novels I most enjoyed. Then, the author decided to abruptly call timeout from writing the last chapter, so he could rework the entire novel and release for Steam, to get that good Steam money flowing in. Years later, he finally released a totally underwhelming ending. Suffering from burnout, boredom, and I suppose the burden of that sweet Steam cash, we get the usual tacked on, finished just to call it finished, ending. Several characters and story lines are completely and unceremoniously dropped, boiling down to unsatisfactory endings with the characters deemed important enough. It feels rushed, but considering how agonizingly long it took to see the light of day, it was by no means rushed. Still, despite my criticisms, this novel is better than most. Even the lousy ending fares better than most of the lousy, tacked on endings that we normally get.

Great update - game feels new and way better

I've played the old version up untill EP14 or something and actually supported on patreon aswell, since I liked the story. The renders on the other hand haven't been the best but got better over time. The game just didn't stand out too much to me so I let it drop. Now after quite some time I came back and saw a new version.
OH BOY.
Some renders might still not be top notch, but the whole story is way more immersive and I love everything about it. Can't wait for the next update. Big ups!

Remaster is great.
Models looked aged as fck.
Just outdated and uncanny, half the Lis in here look like they crawled out from a 2002 sega game.

Story and sex scenes are nice, writing is good too it doesn't jam your face with tons of exposition and quips. Overall a more than decent VN but just wait for the full remaster because holy shit the original is ass.

[Season 1 (Rev 1)]



In essence: a slice of life "dating sim" style VN with weak central plot and quasi-realistic relationship dynamics. It's not bad, just pretty mediocre. Current version of redux/remaster is more than 10hrs long so already a lot of content, if you want to give it a shot.

I forgot how good this game is. just really enjoyable, there's a good variety of unique characters, the pacing feels realistic, and there's a perfect ratio of dialogue to action. not sure what else I could say that hasn't been said already. this paired with xanusr's mod makes for a great game.

I really great game although some of the renders of the first updates have aged very badly. Just looking at some of those I wonder why the dev has not made a re-make of the earlier version of the game. I'm sure it would attract more people into this game cause the first impression might not show the real potential this game has.

This game has a truly absurd amount of content compared to others on this site. Also it has a story that's actually grounded in reality while still being interesting.

An incredible amount of variety in romance options.
The early episodes have some rough artwork, but the dev has improved with time. This game belongs amongst the very best of its kind.

This review was posted on episode 24, remastering the first 10 episodes of S1

This erotic visual novel, the first time I played it, was 6 years ago, I really want to give it 5 stars out of 5, because I really like it, it's very interesting, the plot is very discussable, the LI character is very distinctive, but the update cycle is just too long, especially remaking the first 10 episodes of the game without releasing the 25th episode, and I'm not saying that the remake is not good, but, yet, it's delaying the 25th Episode was delayed another year or two, which feels bad, and the ending I've been waiting for too long

These are my thoughts, in no particular order, after playing the revised version of the game. They will include my major gripes from the ep. 1 - 24, so bear with me. Here goes:

• Story - The story was refreshingly different when I started playing it way back in 2018, a whopping 7 years ago. It bore quite a bit of semblance to reality, reuniting with a close family with whom you spent your childhood and addressing the 'What-If' moments. It gets even better in the revised version, where it is much clear, the bloated mystery from OG episodes is right in the first few minutes and it sets up a nice tone. For the most part, it stays on the path whereas in the OG it almost disappeared for a good 5-7 episodes, if I remember correctly.
  
  
• Characters - The best part of this game. The characters were well defined in the OG but here, they are much more streamlined with their current story, back story and profile. This allows the player to be prepared with character traits and preselect with whom do they wish to interact.. ahem .. or even more going forward. This is a much needed change and with the revised story it fits very nicely. The OG characters - Monica, Jenna and Katie get the most screen time for obvious reasons as they serve to be the base on which you explore other secondary characters. Speaking of which, it seems Katie and her entourage of Debbie & Lilly seems to be the writer's favourite. Debbie and Lilly get much deserved backstories and unique arcs, which was missing in the OG episodes, where they serve as pleasant distractions from the OG characters. I really liked Debbie's storyline and I played a separate route just for her.
  Monica -- I really liked the reworked model and she's the least changed with persona from previous episodes. Minor scenes like viewing the stairwell photos, pancakes etc. reveal her motherly figure, literally & otherwise.
  Katie -- The most difficult character, if you're playing the revised version. Her model has been improved but her persona/character can be quite off-putting and obnoxious at times. Thankfully, the 2nd scene with her addresses this and you can decide to pursue her or not. In my 1st play, I skipped her.
  Jenna -- I really liked her rework, both of the model and backstory. She's very likeable and reveals her playful, experimental side even in S1 which encourages you to pursue her the most, at least in my opinion. Too bad you don't get the delightful Debbie and alluring Lilly but you do get Jolina, the cafe bimbo.
  Bella, even with the rework, both the model and persona, especially the model is quite average. Having known her future predicament, I played just to see the changes but regretted instantly.
  
  
• Music - Great addition to the game, they enhance the experience for obvious reasons. The sound effects can be better and well synced though.
  
  
• Pacing - This was my major gripe in the OG episodes. 24 freaking episodes with countless side characters added for your pleasure but the progress with OG characters added as a an afterthought? Especially the suspicion parameter, which put me off from Ep 20 - 24. I even forgot the will conditions, I just wanted to go through that verbiage and skip to the action. It wasn't executed well, over bloated and lost its plot. The writers perhaps forgot that just because they can write good lines, restraint has its value.
  
  
• Writing - This brings me to the final point. Writing has always been the strong suit of this game and while there are games with better models, scenes, animations and situations, the script of this game makes it stand out. As I pointed earlier, the writers have shown some restraint in the revision, cutting out unnecessary dialogue. Yet my critic is that, for the s*x scenes, please let go off your pen. We would rather read phrases, than sentences. The build ups sure deserve pointed dialogue, situation etc. So when you did the hard work of making us reach the summit, why challenge with even more dialogue? This applies to the choices as well. I've read too many of @CheekyGimp's posts wherein keeping track of the choices went out of control but they literally put themselves into these situations. Why not have limited choices? Only for s*x scenes, you can have incremental choices, but that too if the character had enough points. That could again save them from the mess they created from the OG episodes.
  
  Finally, at least I don't mind if we get 1 season every 6 months given the quality and quantity of content in a single season. Only addition I could suggest is to provide a human readable, 2 line summary of each character's position w.r.t MC, at the end of each season. The points do provide an overview but it would be nice to see if the character is head-over heels in love/lust with you, friends with you, trustworthy, complete bitch or straight off want to throw you off the cliff.
  
  Other than that, the reason for this really long review -- I love this game! Keep it up Cheeky & Co., we've been with you for 7 years, 7 more months isn't an issue.

Liked it a lot. Many beautiful women, good story, enjoyed the whole game. The only boring characters at the moment are Wanda and the cafe lady i dont even remember the name of. The other tiny thing I dont like is the face of Keira? What happened here? She looks like someone stole the face from another game. More creeoy than beautuy.