VN - Ren'Py - Timebound [v0.1] [Lyn]

From first impressions, it's a very good game. You can tell the developer really likes Eternum cause there are some things this VN picks up from Eternum, Harem Hotel, Mythic Manor, and others of the genre.

The girls are done amazing and the main character has a very likable design, he's like discount Eternum MC. He's funny, rather personable, and has his own quirks. Meanwhile, each of the girls, manages to bring her own personality forward without it feeling stereotypical, something a lot of a games have trouble accomplishing.

The premise of the story is also very interesting, dealing with the aspects of time travel and its disruption. I'd liken it to Doctor Who or Star Trek in some aspects. There are a few issues that stiffen the dialogue a little, but for a 0.1 I'm down to overlook that for now.

Now, onto other things. I believe the girls start 'falling' for the MC a little too quickly. Granted, I think I can suspend some disbelief if they haven't been around a man for some time, the clothing malfunction scene certainly didn't help. However, I believe a more laidback approach to be the proper course down the line, at least for some girls more than others.

As for the MC, given the apparent flashback into a moment of his past, I find him to be a bit too cheerful, considering the circumstances. I understand he took a long leave of absence, but I'd hoped for an MC with a more... even expression, (not necessarily gloomy, emo, emotionless, or bitter) but something more controlled and measured. Like I believe it would have been better if he tried to learn to trust team members again, but that's down the developer's discretion. As a 0.1, there's time to sort these things out.

There are a few grammatical errors, such as Violet calling the named character 'MC' on more than one occasion, but most VNs have those so that's an easy fix.

Overall, a VERY promising start. And one, I believe deserves watching closely. The comedy is there, the outline is proper, and the passion is evident. This has all the makings to stand up there with the greats with some time and work.

4.5/5!

Reviewing V0.1

TL;DR: The game is garbage packed in a nice package with a cute ribbon on top of it, and you can tell to yourself about how nice the package is, but the trash in the package is still there even if you ignore it.

Pros
- The graphic: The graphical level is above average, but not top quality, yet it still is the best thing about this game
- The music: is kinda good, not my favourite genre but i kinda enjoyed it.

Cons
- The writing itself is just awful: This point is more of an introduction to MC and the other characters and the plot.
- The premise/the introduction to the plot: mankind went to space due to destruction of earth(caused by wars due to lack of resources) and after a while scientists decide to...went back in time. Yes this is the problem, they couldn't handle space-travel for long but they managed to invent time-machines to go in the past(implying that they will gather resources from the past)...but wouldn't this be the reason why earth lacks resources to begin with? Meaning that the people from the future are the reason why their ancestors waged war on each other and then left earth altogether...it sounds stupid.
- MC is boring: This is a problem because i don't like MC, subjective but i've valid reasons, such as "MC is the usual pervert", or "MC gets introduced like he is this traumatized cool guy but he isn't cool at all, and his trauma got brushed off easily, aside when the developer wants us to care about MC", for example MC is so traumatized that he got temporary amnesia but it only lasted a few months, and with Celestia, kinda brushes it off, yeah sure he grieved, but a in-game day ago MC went on (through inner monologue) about "finally finding a family", we even got a short flashback(over a black screen, so no pictures) of MC surviving this traumatic event, and yet he doesn't know if anyone of his old team survived, even after he is cured of his amnesia. Overall MC is a pervert, and the first thing he does when he meets someone, is ogling them, and then complains that people are calling him a pervert.
- The other characters: IF MC is boring, annoying and overall pathetic, the girls aren't much better, believe me:
- The game is full of cheap comedy that i saw in the most boring uninspired manga and anime i've ever seen, and they all rely on MC being a pervert or some weird anime-ish misunderstanding that could be solved in 10 seconds if the characters talked about it in the most honest way possible.
- For a sci-fi game, we don't see much Sci-fi, like the spaceship? The interior is designed like an actual house...yeah sure...i bet the dev is too lazy to find the spaceship-maps.
- The grammar and some sentences must be proof-read because some dialogues were weird to read and i asked a few native-english speakers to check them for me...but nope it's just that bad.

Conclusion
No comment, really, i had no expectations and i'm still disappointed, nothing of this game makes you want to play the game, the good graphic is pretty much a bait, the characters are boring at best, exhausting at worst. The dev nailed the graphic, now he must re-do the entire writing, because it's like a horny 13years old kid wrote this while high on his power-fantasies.

Honestly for a first release I'm pretty hopeful. The game gives me Caribdis Eternum Vibes, not just the models/ui but even the writing and comedic timings. Harem is cute and can't wait to see what gets animated with em.