There are two types of players/readers here : those that consciously or subconsciously identify themselves with Harry and they keep complaining how bad the game is yet they don't seem to be able to move on.
Those that don't, that play Harry and think "good that I'm not this guy" and they simply enjoy the VN.
After reading a lot of cheating stories on reddit and reading illicit love (fun ride with the power golden sun) I have disconnected myself from the self insert type ideology, I just feel bad for them. Not saying I enjoy ntr like everyone else, but I also don't hate it I like some aspects of it (I think is netori the one that steals the girls) feel free to laugh at me.
Aria I'm just tagging you and not quoting because I want to just give you a general answer. I haven't played much NTR games as you did but I have enjoyed the genre in other media just as long. I think we like NTR for similar reasons (And I hate when we are told women can't enjoy it and only dudes with a cuck complex do). Just, if I may add: I think Harry is the worst scum, that's where we disagree. He is nice on the outside, but his insides are so filled with toxicity I hate the guy. I want him to suffer. Luca I do not care at all either, he's just the forniture dick who provides the dick. For me is all about Laura's (And hopefully Aya's in the future) corruption.
There are some points Lucas makes that I fully agree and I feel so hot for, altough, even them, I do not care about him, he is just fullfilling a role. I would have prefered a black chad for that role then I might have cared for him a bit more lol. But that's another subject.
I'm just tagging you to be a simp and ask where is the of link? because if that waist is you in that banner I'll be throwing my money at it xD
Many people who think they are fans of NTR are actually fans of corruption instead. I don't mean this as an attack on anyone but is important that we wave the correct definitions regarding each genre. The essential aspect of NTR is the suffering of the cuck. That's it. It doesn't have to be extreme, as long as there is a feeling of loss and sadness for having your partner stolen that is NTR. The corruption aspect in this context is meant to enhance the experience but is not strictly necessary, you could have a 100% MC cuck POV narrative and as long the MC sees his partner being stolen and suffers for it that is enough to classify it as NTR.
I do see where you are coming with that, I love the aspect of corrupting girls, but I don't like the idea of those girls going to other man (game wise), so I can comprehend where you are coming with that
It's good here, but it doesn't meet its potential without player agency attached to it. It would take a LOT of work, but I love the idea of building an NTR game around branching choices about adding/removing rules. From either a netori perspective, picking and choosing what rules to use against the woman, or from a netorare type B perspective with a "resist orgasm/corruption" mechanic for the woman.
The game that I'll see the mechanics play out for a game like that, would be involving mini games/quick time event and day system for either male or female. For the male, you have a mini game where the goal is to max her orgasm bar. For the female, you have a quick time event to "prevent" your orgasm and I use quotations since most if not everyone wants her to be corrupted, so it'll be pointless to developed a mini game system if you want her to be corrupted as the story goes, but the difference will be is that the more you sleep with the guy, the harder/faster the qte will become for the fmc. Regarding the time management, how the system will be effective would depend on the rule. As, meet me at night only wearing a collar and coat, or were a skimpy outfit for work where people can see your underwear and send a photo at your desk wearing the outfit, and so on.
I kind of see the rules system as a missed opportunity since they are all hard-coded and Laura's failure is inevitable. So it adds a little flavor but leaves a bad aftertaste. Like you said, having the player choose rules and have the consequences be what changes the course of the story might have been better than having Harry pick from two equally dumb decisions at random points in the story. I think that the main reason why it wasn't the case is that it would make Laura seem too much like the protagonist and Harry just a supporting character, which is still true if you ask me. Laura drives the story and Harry is pretty much just along for the ride.
Honestly, when the game was on its early stages, I thought that the it would be possible at least choose laura rules, but that didn't happen, and I thought it the chance of (maybe) not having a hard ntr story, but I was wrong. I'm not complaining I'm just sharing my thoughts at the time, and just like you and the other person, I thought this game had more choices and branching paths.
On another note, what are the spoilers on the recent update and where was the preview? I been waiting for it #spoilergang