VN - Ren'Py - Somewhere I Belong [Ep.2] [Mr Baker]

So this is a game with really tremendous visuals. The renders are top-notch, and the dev is obviously very talented with 3D graphics. The writing is pretty compelling from what I read.
Unfortunately - and the reason for the 1 star rating - the mechanics are so infuriating that this game is painful to play. Painful. When I say it is a 'clickfest', I know what you're thinking - oh, you have to constantly advance the dialogue.
But that does not begin to cover the infuriating amount of clicking this game requires. Imagine, if you will, you're reading a comic book. And in this comic, the hero is walking up the stairs. Except every step the hero takes, every time he lifts his foot onto the next stair, you have to turn the page.
Step; turn page.
Step; turn page.
Step; turn page.
You don't know how many stairs the hero has to climb, but you know it's a lot. Would you continue reading that comic?
That is what playing "Somewhere I Belong" is akin to. It is one of the most maddening experiences I've ever had with a Renpy game. Constant clicking, so much so that I turned on "Skip Unseen" which meant that inevitably I started skipping over dialogue, too, and thus lost what I had been enjoying about the game. All because the dev couldn't be bothered to not show me tons of renders of such riveting scenes as:
- Running down a hall.
- A van driving down a street.
- A girl walking to a desk to pick something up
... and more exciting moments that just HAD to have a half-dozen renders showing the progression of such acts.
You know, I almost wish the story WAS trash and the visuals sucked, because then I wouldn't feel so cheated by the dev pissing in my face with these shit transitions. Why would you make such a high-quality product and make it a literal chore to play?

This could easily have been a five star game but there's a few things that's holding it back.

Let's start with the positives. It has absolutely amazing renders, the environment, the characters, the details is top notch. The quality makes it easy to immerse yourself in the game.

The characters are a mixed bag, they're certainly nuanced enough and most of them got a backstory which adds dimensions to them. Personally I don't care much for the MC. He's pretty boring, not particularly intelligent or funny. But his flaws are perhaps what makes him relatable, he's human, albeit a dull one with all the white knighting going on.

The game suffers from "I am the main character" syndrome. Everything more or less goes his way and perhaps this is explained later on but everyone around him gives him way too much credit, trusts him way too much too early that you can tell it's bullshit.

The sex is animated and spectacularly fluid, the girls are all gorgeous so it's easy to enjoy it. It's pretty vanilla as for now though so don't expect too much if you're into wilder stuff. This doesn't seem to be that kind of game.

To summarize: This game is absolutely gorgeous with a living story that makes it interesting to play. The characters mainly add to this but you can't shake the feeling that sometimes they're just props for the MC to go through. The dialogue between them all is ok but I think the MC is just another protagonist who is given too much responsibility for what he's capable of. I hope the future releases will be interesting!

The game itself is very pleasant the plot is very interesting and exciting the characters are beautifully made the world is very apocalyptic the atmosphere of the game is very soulful conveys all the emotions and feelings of the game itself the whole game is very coolly made

Highly recommend trying this game out.

It has some beautifully made renders that are consistently great and high quality all the way through. But what's more impressive to me is the establishing of a plotline, premise, and setting that dissociates itself away from the same mundane ones that a lot of other great VN's focus on. It's really a breath of fresh air that still manages to keep readers hooked.

The main LI's thus far (version 0.1.0.0) provide a great variety of personalities (and other notable features ) to choose from no matter what your preferences are.

It is still relatively early in development, so it remains to be seen if this level of production and attention-to-detail continues to be the standard all the way to the end, but it will be fs be a VN worth supporting if it manages to do so. Really content with I've seen so far.

Reviewing as of 0.1.0. Nah, didn't expected such quality. Must recommended.
Zombie apocalypse storyline. Renders and Animations are top notch. Characters have back story too, not forced or anything like that it fits perfectly in the story. Good to see AVNs focusing a bit more on the writing side. Can feel the story and characters while playing, which a few years back was very hard to find. But now, many devs are coming forward with their osm writing. And this will too inspire others to make polished AVN for sure.
Don't worry there's a lot of sex in the game for few releases.

The game is truly amazing. It's a solid 10 out of 10.
Before playing the game, I had a certain level of expectation, but the satisfaction exceeded those expectations.
The rich story and top-notch graphics combined to create an experience akin to watching a TV show or movie.
I felt a fresh shock similar to when I first played 'Summer's Gone' or 'City of Broken Dreamers'.
If regular updates containing sufficient content are made periodically, I am confident that this game will be evaluated as a top-tier game on the site.
I applaud and express gratitude and support to the development team.

[Reviewed v0.1.0]

This game is quite special -- great premise in a somewhat familiar zombie apocalypse setting with tons of H-scenes and animations. If you like survival stories, this is close to perfect.

The Good ()

• A diversity of girls with different personalities and body types (though "curvy" is definitely a prominent theme)
• Well-done renders and environments, with some unique settings
• Great, varied animation
• Well-crafted story content
• Likeable MC where you can believe the character's progression

The Not-So-Good ()

• Sometimes the narrative jumps around / lacks context -- the transitions between scenes / settings can be choppy
• Wish the updates were a bit richer in content

I've really enjoyed following this game from the start and wish continued success to Mr. Baker!

I think this is the first game that is associated with the southern American bustle, in general it is a good game, there are also plots and stories, as if you are playing a little bit of “The Walking Dead” only in a modern style. the only negative in the game is the slow narration and the dialogues are, to put it mildly, a little weak...

Otherwise everything is fine, the animation leaves much to be desired, apparently the developer still has a lot of work to do in the future and this is for him in the new one, but the quality of the game itself is very beautiful in HDR style. I give it 5

i like this game so far its really promising love the post apocalyptic zombie setting for a game like this the characters and models are really good so are the animations i really like the li they're all really attractive i hope this project continues to get better and better keep up the good work dev

V0.1.0.0 (or 0.1 to the normal amongst us)

okay so the art is great. a little realistic for those of us leaning towards fantasy tastes, but it takes all sorts. still images are great so no problem there.

the writing is good. none of the dialogue had me feeling like the writer has never read anything more than a picture book (which i find pretty common for VN's over past half decade) so some skills on display from the writer......except for the plot. been there, done that springs to mind. how many zombie games/films since 28 days later?
plot is nothing new especially for this site, just better in delivery for me than most.

but then we come to the 'adult' part. the animations. i loved soft core porn as much as the next person.......when i was mid teens. why do devs now hide the penetration? it all feels very NTR as i am no longer the MC, but instead watching the MC from a fly-on-the-wall perspective. how involved do i feel? not very.
i don't want to be told the penis is in the vagina/rectum unless i have an angle to see it. leave hollywood sex scenes in hollywood.
let's see the sex scenes from ALL angles. involve us. show us dick in pussy/arse. let's get stella barey dirty with the V.

so apart from the dead premise and the choice of angles, i quite liked it but i was just not hooked in. no aspect felt new.
i'm firmly in the 'take it or leave it' category.
sorry dev my boat did not float

Must say, I am pleasantly surprised on how good the story really is. I assumed it was gonna be meh at best but the ending to the recent episode especially is really good. The characters all seem to have an interesting story connected to them keeping each one of the interesting. I really like the direction the story is heading which I cant say for a lot of other VN's.

Edit: Just wanna really drive home the fact that I really enjoyed this games story and think its top tier don't think I did enough justice in my review. The story is actually captivating and the way it introduces new characters is done very well, as well as telling their backstory. Also gradually adds more lore into the story as the game goes on which I really enjoy. really makes this world come to life and is way more thought out than any other VN ive played. The Characters themselves feel like actual people who all have their own situations going on instead of them just being another character for the story. I really applaud this dev for his skills in character and environmental writing.

The Character models are also extremely good plus the environment is the best ive seen in a game. The locations and setup of all the locations looks extremely realistic and nails it better than any other VN ive played. The character design itself is top tier for me and is extremely impressive.

Short review but all in all this game is a pleasant surprise and I am really looking forward to see where the story goes from here. I would really recommend this game to anyone who wants a nice compelling story with well written character, very good environment and character models.

Model/animation is Good, so good zombie or infected look good "zombie teeth perfect! pearl" and npc look well made good job!

Music/sound is there and i like listen music while playing this click click game awesome to jerk off

STORY oh my.. unrealistic well zombie apocalypse world i want to be in this where mc look good! npc look super model.. shoot! even zombie look sexy.. No force sex.. is like rainbow world of apocalypse.. with honey sugar milk... yum! what horror ? hahaha happy apocalypse.. no doom gloom everyone is AWESOME! eat carrot cabbage all is Vegetarian

I'm really excited about this game! It's no longer a game with the favorite theme of the majority here on the forum (I'm included ‍♂ in this part MILF & Inc stuffs)

After playing the version "EPISODE 2 Part 1 [v0.1.0.0]"
- The game addresses a theme that became well known after the Series "The Walking Dead", other game artists with this theme have already appeared, but unfortunately for various reasons they gave up on continuing the games! I really hope we can support Mr. Baker so he doesn't abandon us too!
- I would say that the development of the game is going very well, after all a human survival game has many adverse factors happening, so it is important to do this introductory part of the characters that will possibly be important during the game.
- I thought all the scenarios were really good, because with the game's theme, it's not so simple to find many ready-made scenarios, so the DEV has additional work to put together and leave it in the format he wants for a better iteration with the game. player.
- Very good character dialogues too, with conversations that to some people may seem silly, but are something that if we were really in a situation like that, we would want to talk about something casual so as not to go crazy in an Apocalypse situation.
- Female characters are great, with very hot bodies.
- Well-designed action scenes in fights with the effect of movements in the images.
- Quality of images and details are really exciting.
If you gave a rating from 0 to 5 instead of stars, it would be something like 4.5 or more.

The game is good,looks promising,story is also good,art and animation is one of the best I have seen, story pacing is decent.
But at the begaining when there is some hard word to spell(don't know how to spell those) It would be better if you take a look at them. Even tho character development is decent but some is going bit fast ( for me)

the game is underrated. keep up the good work it will become one of the best game

Review for 0.1 (1,5 episode)

If you are not a fan of Bimbo and/or Fatass, your choices will be limited to one girl.
Overall good with a pretty interesting story that you as the player obviously influence with your choices. Also I have a choice with whom you enter into a deeper relationship, the only downside in my opinion is the imposed knight in shining armor. The game gives you no choice in this aspect, the MC throws himself into saving absolutely every woman.
I got as far as one sex scene, although there were many more options along the way that I rejected, the animations and sex graphics are good, although the choices where limited and ridiculous, by the scene I got to I had the choice of vaginal penetration, anal or outright cum, even though it was me eating pussy, so I don't know how without stimulation the MC would have cum.


Positive:

Quite an interesting story
Good graphics
Decisions that affect the relationship and apparently the story as well
Long enough update

Negatives:

Lack of diversity among the girls, practically all are bimbo and/or fatass
Constant reminiscing about lost friends that you as a player practically don't know well, so you don't give a shit about them.
The game offers choices that are supposed to shape the main character's personality, but he is still the knight in shining armor, even if you choose the path of a merciless killer.

I was pleasantly surprised by this doomsday game.
This is the only doomsday game I'm happy with after 2023 with the new graphics technology, the perfect combination of wonderful images and the author's unique creativity.
Every minute I play this game, I can feel the author's unique ideas and his personal preferences.
A game like this one that satisfies both the creator and the player is a success.
This game I recommend you to try, can be said to be photographic, as long as played enough to retain in the brain.

Nice game so far.

I hope that in the future, we can see that our choices will affect changes in the game. So far we dont have much choice, but I am sure things will be change for the next episodes. Good luck for dev.

Now, this game does have some great and sexy ladies in it. This is definitely a game you will enjoy seeing the women in different animations all doing sexy things with the main character.

The problem is that is all the game really offers. Their is no combat in this game. Just a few basic choices about what to do. That is really disappointing, especially considering this is a zombie survival horror game.

The story also did not grab me. This is two years after a zombie apocalypse but I don't feel that in the story. Electricity still runs. People still use paper currency instead of bartering. Their is still a functioning government (All be it a corrupt one.). Was expecting something similar to The Walking Dead where rather than whole nations, the human survivors are small groups of about a hundred people. Surviving the first wave of infection and scavenging to survive. Or if this is a full nation, Why do humans not eradicate the infected from their nation? Bullets seems to work well against the horde and are practically braindead.

An erotic game that starts with an extremely hot girl whom you already have some sort of intimate relationship? I thought this was illegal. Jokes aside Anais was enough for me to pledge but rest of the game looks very promising too. Seems like dev put some great effort into creating an immersive world with good looking cityscapes, nice crowded areas and such. Renders are superb and cast is not your same old renpy models. I can't wait for more!