Once a Porn a Time Review (Miyun)
First and foremost, it's important to note that I played the entire first chapter when it was available on other platforms. Therefore, my playtime on Steam doesn't reflect the total time I've spent on this game.
Now, about the game:
While I'm not a die-hard fan of erotic and sexual games, I've tried quite a few. The ones that stand out to me are those that offer more than just a generic porn session.
This game doesn't have voice acting. It doesn't have highly time-consuming and costly 3D animations or a leveling system. Because, in my opinion, this game doesn't need them. I'll just nuance here: there ARE animations. The whole game is in this cartoonish 2D design, which I love.
Games from this developer have always made me smile at situations or worry for certain characters. I've always enjoyed learning more about them, and it has never felt "forced".
Let me explain.
Many erotic games have a sort of "attraction bar" that you have to fill by interacting with the character, which means you can choose a character to seduce first. This game is more linear, but that gives it the strength to focus on better dialogue writing and allows for references between characters.
Moreover, I've played games that were just a scrolling text in situations with occasional 3D animations, where the player's choice is somewhat (or not) important. Like the games Walking Dead or The Wolf Among Us. A good example of this type of game is "Ripples" (note: I'm not knocking it, I appreciate the effort of the story, on the contrary). Once a Porn a Time as a game, despite its linearity, still allows you to see several different characters per day, and has mini-games to earn in-game money, providing a semblance of gameplay.
Some might say it's boring, but I find that it gives a more active sense of reward to farm occasionally to get something. Not in an obsessive way, but you will spend two or three in-game days (so about three minutes in real-time) playing the mini-game to have enough to buy components.
However, the heart of this game is the effort put into the dialogue, as you start to appreciate the characters for who they are, rather than simply as "targets" to seduce next. Sure, that's the case at first, but as you learn more, you become interested in them. And even if they're still a "target"... you start to care a bit more.
I find it to be a good, well-balanced game, so I've placed it at the very top of my list of erotic games. I recommend it.