It’s not often that h-games are well-rounded, so when you have something that’s competently made in every respect, even if it’s not a masterpiece, it deserves thorough appreciation.

LAB Still Alive, created by developer Neko no Meme, is a short, 2-hour 2D H-platformer in the vein of old-school ryona games. Within the context of the non-story (the game lacks even a single line of dialogue), you take control of a hot girl trying to escape from a lab overrun not just with vile monsters, but with the security forces and scientists that ran it and who are trying to put a lid on the contingency.

Unlike other, more tedious H-platformers, LAB Still Alive is not a “die and get raped” situation, where the only way to access H-content is to get a game over (though “dying” always leaves your character naked). Additionally, it is not a “have sex to progress” style of game, and it really can’t be played one-handed, either. Rather, it’s a game where sex is built into the gameplay: you’ll take it as damage, and doing so unlocks CG content for you to revisit once you’re done playing and actually feel like taking care of business.

Old-school, yes, but monster rape old school. I can appreciate that.

The gameplay of LAB Still Alive is 2D platforming that places a greater emphasis on collecting weapons to combat monsters than it does on clearing difficult jumps. As you progress through the game, you go from a knife and a pistol to obtaining a katana, a lightsaber, and a railgun that can shoot through multiple enemies, among others. The experience isn’t particularly hard, though completing the game once does unlock a “Hard Mode” with somewhat stronger enemies.

The strength of LAB Still Alive is less the rather basic platforming aspect and more the variety of enemies and little details that you’ll encounter as you progress through the lab’s many installations. Initially, you’ll be mowing down rather harmless robots, but soon you’ll find yourself against actual enemies like squids and slugs who are out to rape you, dominatrices who will bind your character and beat her, groups of scientists who will spitroast her when given the chance, and multiple tentacle fiends who do strange, but nonetheless arousing vore/impregnation combos, wherein your character is swallowed and then is subsequently plowed by tentacles inside. Despite its visual simplicity, you’ll find the porn to be very fun to look at, and the actual combat rather satisfying.

Lab installations are made up mostly of simple geometric shapes, but they still somehow manage to look pretty.

Another praiseworthy thing of note in LAB Still Alive is the attention to detail. Leave your character unattended for a bit and she’ll start looking around, tapping her foot impatiently. Have her stand where there’s a bit of breeze and after a while she’ll notice her miniskirt is fluttering up, causing her to cover herself in embarrassment. Wander next to a save point and you’ll always find a shower installation, where your character will not only wash the grime off, but also give you a show. Enemy female characters you encounter are voiced with their own screams and moans, secrets abound near doors locked by keycards, and backtracking to reach new parts of previously-cleared installations is essential to progress.

Cutest part of the game, I’d say.

As far as production values go, it’s clear that LAB Still Alive was designed on a budget, as evidenced by the pixelated 2D graphics. Still, what it manages to achieve within that budget is fantastic. The backgrounds may be simple, but the sprites are fantastically well drawn, and the terrified expressions of your character as she gets held down and penetrated by men, seafood and pig monsters are fantastic to watch. She’s also fully voiced, and the actress does a fantastic job at screams of pain and moans of pleasure.

The music is definitely another treat that bears mention. I do not know if it was the developer who composed this chiptune music or if it’s royalty-free, but I can tell you it’s ridiculously catchy, to the point where you might actually just stop occasionally and simply hum along the track playing. In that regard, it really does pay homage to old-school 2D games, which often managed fantastic music in spite of the very limited memory resources that could be devoted to it.

This compliment also extends to sound effects as well. The noise from firing, stabbing, footsteps, landing, etc. is chunky and satisfying, the sounds of sex and penetration are convincing enough, and the aforementioned pained screams of your character are a real treat.

I sure hope you aren’t scared of a bit of vore. Luckily, you don’t have worry about being digested.

Bottom line: I can’t find anything wrong with LAB Still Alive. It’s not some masterpiece, but it’s not mediocre nor bad. It plots out exactly what it’s going to do, and does it with competence and a bit of zest. It’s short, it’s sweet, features good porn, and you won’t regret the couple of hours you’ll spend to complete it. Moreover, in a niche like H-games, where atrocious games abound and gems are rare, competently-made titles such as this really deserve appreciation.

If you’re at all interested in trying out LAB Still Alive, you can grab it from DLsite for $10. While technically a Japanese-original, it has no dialogue and all the menus are in English, so you’ll have no trouble navigating it. I really do recommend the title, though the price may be a tad too high if you haven’t accumulated DLsite points for a discount. Still, it has a trial version, so you can always be a smart customer and try before you buy.