VN - Ren'Py - Abandoned - Midlife Crisis [v0.34 - v0.1 Dark] [Nefastus Games]

The following review is based off my personal experience with playing this Game/Visual Novel... I try to be as brutally honest and detailed as I can, and these are my own opinions and thoughts, from one or more play throughs... The version this review is based on is v0.06...

The visuals of the characters are ok, with only a couple very similar to ones I've seen in other VN/Games... Same goes for the backdrops...

The script is ok, with just some occasional spelling/grammar errors... The plot revolves around an older male protagonist living with his wife and 2 women tenants (most likely they were originaly setup as daughters)… He is basically going through a minor midlife crisis involving lots of various plot devices, mostly revolving around extra marital sex options... This VN/Game offers lots of choices, to determine what women he wants to have relationships with, and slight control over how those relationships play out... He can go for them all, or just some...

There were many issues I ran into with the story and text, some were just minor and some a bit more than minor... But nothing terrible... First was, on occasion the story pacing moves a bit fast, with some plot gaps... This could be related to how choices, that altered content, didn't always mesh well together, as the story was being told, post choice... There were also moments that kind of sprung out of nowhere, when the story would do some quick flashback in a fast paced summary of events that had taken place... Which at first I wasn't prepared for, and had to go back and replay it, to understand it was an actual summary, rather then messed up content... Some of the characters had some odd personalities, and some were slightly over the top... There was even a moment when it was obvious that the developers missed some pieces of the text when converting from an Incest story, because a few family references are made concerning the male protagonist and the two women tenants, pointing to the protagonist as their father...

There was a valiant attempt to make this VN/Game more story driven, but because of pacing issues and some moments of story confusion, it didn't always do a good job... I felt confused now and then as to what was happening, not a lot, but more than I should have... Like the relationship with the two tenants, sometimes felt a bit artificial and odd... Not always, but sometimes... I did like how the story was handling the situation with the wife, since I had selected to not pursue an on going relationship with her, each time a choice was presented... Mostly to see how the developers handled it... And in most cases it was handled well, especially when he began preparing for a possible divorce, just in case...

You can tell the developers were trying to setup certain sets of characters together, probably for group content later in development... But the dynamics didn't always feel right, some of the time... In the end, the bits of the story that felt a bit confusing or odd now and then, either were because of choices made and/or just inconsistencies in the story telling... Sometimes everything seemed to be working and playing out fine, and other times it felt either rushed or odd or both... From what I could tell, there are a few characters setup as love interests, while most were either lust interests or just characters meant to tease the entire time...

Overall, you can tell the developers are trying to put a good amount of story elements into this VN/Game, and lots of choices that effect content... But it didn't always flow well... It's kind of a mix of porn fest, teasing, and plot driven story all at the same time... In varying qualities and quantities as you go through the VN/Game... It's not a horrible VN/Game, but it's not great either... It's sort of in that middle ground, when looking at everything as a whole... But, it is still early into it's development, based off it's version number... So who knows what this VN/Game has in store for the future... Will I revisit this one? I don't know for the moment... Have to wait and see what the future holds...

This is one of the good ones, ladies and gents.

Midlife Crisis is the story of a man hitting - you guessed it - his midlife crisis. He then decides to fuck his entire family, and everything else that moves.

If that description makes you nervous, I understand. A lot of games sound like that, and are nothing more than cheap excuses for porn renders and grind mechanics. This game is nothing like that.

The characters are all actually characters. The have different preferences, look different, and are even written different. They're sympathetic, interesting, and attractive, something so rare in porn games that it might as well be a gold fucking medal hanging on the game page.

The writing is really what shines in this game, and it has sold me completely. The player character is a dad, and he acts like one; embarrassing his kids, making corny jokes, all of it. He even looks schlubby, although this is changing (imagine that! a changing render) as he exercises in-game. The women in the game are all equally well-written. I really have no complaints to make.

That said, the renders can be iffy in places, something the creator pokes good fun at within the game, leaning on the 4th wall a bit. Colors and lightning go funky at times, but honestly, I don't care. If the game had garbage writing and was full of grinding then the renders would bug me, but I'm happy to give them a pass in something actually good.

Additionally - and this is going to be a bit subjective - the creator really seems to give a shit about this game. A sense of humor is pervasive throughout the entire game, along with something missing in a lot of porn games: empathy. The creator cares, so we players care. This never feels like a cynical cash-grab or patreon scam. It's really quite refreshing after trawling through so much garbage in this hobby.

I heartily recommend Midlife Crisis.

An enjoyable and amusing game

The Good:
--meta-humor that had me LOL.
-- the depiction of some of the relationships are reasonable for a porn game. Dialogue is fairly well written
--The renders show a variety of body types, some adorable. The wife actually looks her age and like she's had kids. Some will be turned off by this, but whatevs.

The bad:
--The renders are really inconsistent, which is something the Dev is honest about--in-game in some instances. Though I found some of the young women adorable, not all of their renders looked that great, and at times it was distracting. I love the renders for the youngest daughter when they are done right, but in some cases, she just looks washed-out or ghost-like.

The quality of the renders should make this more like a 3.5-star rating, but I was entertained enough to give it a 4. Some early bugs need to be corrected.

having recently downloaded this game, I felt the need to post my review of it for the benefit of others on here.

On my computer, I have a LARGE number of games (some from here and some from other sites) that I try out and play. Out of all of the games that I have played, I must admit that this one is within my Top 5 games, both for content and for, what some might call, extras.

Content:

First of all, I really like the idea of a game that follows so closely with what many would consider "true to Life". Being in my 50's I can easily attest to having had a Midlife crisis myself, and while it did not follow along with this particular story line, I could easily see how it could have possibly happened.

The renders are very nice and what I liked most was what has been lacking in a LOT of games on here, i.e. Small breasts. Sorry, I am definitely not a fan of D, DD, E or larger breasts, either in Real life or Fantasy life.My opinion from seeing the girls (with the exception of the wife) is that they are all around a C Cup or B Cup. Made it seem more "realistic" to me.

Extras:

Obviously, one of the best extras in any game like this is to be able to name the MC/PC. While some games that do not are very good, I personally like being able to do so.

Another extra is being able to name the NPC's within the game (or, of course, use a default name). That allows a player to tailor the game to their liking or "fantasy".

But by far, the absolute BEST extra within THIS game was to be able to determine and set the ages of the daughters. In no other game that I have played so far is this allowed, and that extra alone is a reason to support this game. It opens up a WIDE variety of play settings to a VERY large range of audiences.

I know that some might fear the game would or could be used to play out "loli" fantasies, or some such. If you are not into that sort of thing, then set the ages to what you feel appropriate and let others do what they feel like. Considering the fact that most freshmen in college average between 16 and 17 years of age, I find no problem with using those ages for the younger daughter, and around 19 to 20 for the older. But hey, that is me. use the age how you see fit and let others do the same, lol.

all in all, this sits at the top of my top 5 games. It is my sincere hope that the developer of Midlife Crisis continues to update and improve the game, and I will be eagerly waiting for any and all updates.

Sincerely;

Christof Rauch

P.S. For the community here, I was a prolific reviewer of games within Japan (mostly of the hentai, ecchi, or erogi genre), and have recently moved to where I am now living. Having discovered this forum board and learning of the games being developed in English, I felt drawn to review and comment on only those games I found exceptionally well done.

gameplay: meh +1.

draws (cg): really good.

scenes (erotic ones): really hot.

characters: there is a lot of them and they are kinda well done.

conclussion: "this game is a easy to read male fantasy" (insert meme here)
cleary is not revolution in the game industry, but it got what you want.
sexy characters CHECK,
hot scenes CHECK,
a character that is not an asshole but neiter a naive saint who doesnt know what to do with his PEEPEE check,
even the gameplay is well done. oh, there is even a good sense of humor.


this game deserve your time and money.

This is a great game. I didn't mind the odd render looking Odd because the writing is very funny, in fact the funniest and most original comedy script I've read in a long time. This is a parody of Incest games at no point does the game try to concoct ridiculous rationalizations as to why putting your dick in a family member is OK. It just allows you to have fun, more games should be about fun. Sex is fun, it's not dark and depressing but most games try to pass of rape and sexual assault as sex. This is great, if the renders can be cleaned up in places, it would be one of the best games I have ever played. No despite this flaw it is still one of the best games I've ever played.

After playing a single play through on version 0.04a I can say that I love this game. I feel that Jimbog, mileduets and fugazi666 nailed it in their own reviews and there's not much that I can add.
I love the story telling and the way the author writes the characters. It's not your average, 'translated horrendously into English or written by someone with out a really good understanding of English,' game that I've seen so often recently.
There's some actual decent writing. Not spellbinding stuff sure. But I find it to be fun and that's what matters.
The humour is good. It got some chuckles out of me. Specifically when Max from Big Brother makes a cameo... It's glorious.
The art? models? cg? what ever you want to call it... It needs work. It ranges from okay to out right ugly/creepy/horrifying. The author is aware and I suppose doing all he or she can to get better at what ever program he or she is using to make them.
The gui? is easy to play with. It's more of a straight up vn with possible actual branching plot (I only played the game once from start to where v0.04 ended). So far as of v0.04 there is no grinding away doing stupid shit lengthening the game artificially. It's just a story. I sincerely hope this does not change.

If a game sells you entirely by how pretty it is. This isn't the game for you and kindly ignore it.
That being said... The game is more than any one of it's parts. The cg might be ugly but the writing counteracts this enough that I enjoy it. I don't rate this 5 stars because this is the best thing since sliced bread. I rate this five stars because I whole heartedly recommend this to someone who's interested in some of the tags and is looking for a game that has an actual story.

The writing in this game is superior to the renders which is the opposite of many current games, but even though the renders can be a bit off, the overall feel of the game is really good. I would also mention that the author is putting pubic hair on the women which is something that most authors avoid. I consider pubic hair "mother nature's dental floss" and appreciate seeing it on the models.

PS (edit) I also give the author big points for trying to put things into the renders that most would try to avoid...... Stretch marks on the mom, pubic hair, the youngest daughter isn't really all that pretty(but still really sexy).


The author has made some interesting choices compared to many other games, the MC is middle-aged, does not have a 24 inch dick, and is successful. The MC knows that he is being creepy but finds himself in a place where he is in the flow, surrounded by ladies that he lusts after and that he genuinely cares about, but really really wants to put his penis in.

I rate Midlife Crisis 5 stars, not because it is perfect but because the author is doing a really good job of putting together a story that is interesting and really sexy.

2.5+ OOOOF

I'll keep it short on this one.

Story is just average, but it's good to play MC that is successful. There is really no plot at the moment, so there is no need to mention pacing. Writing is decent, surprisingly some dialogue was funny and believable.

Models need major work (even though devs himself/herself mentions this in game), youngest daughter is the worst offender as her face makes her look the oldest. Facial expressions are practically non existant. Additionally, all characters lack personality. There are major clipping issues, lightning and camera positions leave a lot to desire as well.

H scenes are disappointing, too fast, too short and writing on it is meh.

Only unique part about the game was an ability to fill in fields like age, title and occupation. Wish more games would do that.

ok, the renders could use work (and the dev seems to be aware of that), but the story, well defined characters and especially the humor quite make up for a creepily shiny face or a vagina that looks like an early 90's paint software job . half an hour into the game and i have already laughed a few times. then there's the multiple options (re-playability) and the prospect of delving into fetishes (at least with the hooker beauty), so there's enough to like and look forward to about this one.

edit: might just be me but the patch messed up my game so i'm continuing without it. the landlord-hot tenants theme is good enough.

2. edit: the renders became better over time too, so 5 stars.

I like the fact that wife and MC have a realistic "midlife crisis" look, not looking 20 years younger. Same for the girls: They are pretty in their own way - their small defects make the characters appear more realistic, which is a hell of a lot more sexy to play with than with too perfect looking dolls. The girls also have their own special and far from perfect character traits revealed in the dialogues. I like that.

Finished 0.6 and i got to say it evolved really nice; 0.1 was just bad, nothing ordinary and no fun but now its at the opposite. Renders still suffer but the chars and events make up for them. Very enjoyable so far, so from one star to four stars.