Life In Rio

Midplayz
4 days ago
4 min read

Corruptions Knows No Bounds

Life in Rio is a Ren’Py AVN that obviously takes place in Rio De Janeiro. This kinda makes it a bit unique since most VNs take place in generic American cities. You take on the role of Elza, an innocent church girl who suddenly gets thrown into a morally messy and chaotic world. The entire base of this game is a story based on corruption mixed with a lot of drama, temptation and a whole lot of personal struggle. I would also like to point out that the game is actually out of Early Access, yet the developers forgot to edit the Steam Store Page description to remove the early access part.

About This Game

Storyline

The story focuses on Elza, a beautiful & young woman raised in a very strict and religious household where purity and obedience were basically the bare minimum. She was taught to always keep her head down, be obedient and save herself for marriage. Then, as expected, life happens and she ends up being surrounded by people who do not share any of those values. The major theme is pretty clear from the start. It’s faith versus desire. Innocence versus reality. Innocent lamb versus predatory wolves.

What I really found intriguing is how the game leans a bit into her inner conflict. Like, she does not instantly transform into a completely different person. You see her hesitation, fear, curiosity, and guilt. Some moments actually feel heavy, especially when she realizes she is already too deep into the situations she never expected herself to get into. There are a handful of twists along the way, and some paths hit way harder than they should. It is not only about corruption for shock value. It is about watching someone slowly break down and question everything she believed.

Gameplay Mechanics

The gameplay sticks to the usual AVN formula. You read dialogues, you click to proceed, and you make various choices that branch the story into different routes. Some decisions decide which characters you choose to follow, while others mainly affect the scenes you are shown. There are multiple paths, and you can surely miss a lot of content if you just stick to only one route. This obviously means that replaying is highly encouraged.

There are also a few optional side stories that focus on some of the secondary characters, which helps make the game’s world feel a bit bigger than just Elza’s personal drama and dilemma. An actually nice touch is the addition of a gallery and diary system. The gallery is unlocked right from the start and includes extra images, while the diary lets you replay your favourite story scenes.

There is one small issue at the start of the game. It begins in Portuguese, which means you need to go into Options to switch the game language to English. After that, the English is pretty decent. There are a few typos and untranslated words here and there, but nothing that actually breaks the experience.

Visuals & Audio

Visually, the game starts off a bit rough. The early renders & animations feel pretty basic, and the art style sometimes switches between 2D & 3D, which can make the game feel a lil too inconsistent. But there is good news! It actually improves by a lot as the game goes on. Later scenes are noticeably better and way more polished.

Character designs are pretty eye-catching. They look believable. No plastic Barbie dolls and people with weird anatomy. Elza herself is actually curvy and expressive, which fits the story of why so many people are drawn to her.

Now, time to address one of my icks. The developer has used AI to create some backgrounds, music and some animations. I am generally not a fan of AI use in games, but honestly speaking, I let it slide in this case because the final result still works and the game itself is genuinely enjoyable.

Pros-

The story is pretty well written with surprising twists and emotional scenes
Elza is a strong main character with a clear personality and inner conflict
Characters feel realistic instead of exaggerated
Multiple paths give it good replay value

Cons-

English translation has minor issues here and there
Early visuals are pretty rough and inconsistent
Slow start that requires patience

Conclusion

This is one of those games that looks pretty basic and simple but turns out to reel you in and ensure you stay hooked till the end. Watching Elza struggle between her faith and desires is oddly compelling, and her character growth feels more natural instead of feeling rushed.

It is obviously not perfect and is a bit rough around the edges. It is clearly a first game (and it actually is), and it shows in the early roughness and unfinished paths. But it has heart and a surprisingly strong story for a corruption-themed AVN. This makes me look forward to more games from this developer!

If you like morally grey stories, strong character development and watching an innocent character question everything she believed, this one is worth your time. You just gotta be a bit patient with the beginning, because once it gets going, it really gets going.

Rating: 9/10

Staying Innocent these days is a sin??