Sorry if I left your comment out of these quotes. I just got through reading the last 12 pages of the thread since playing the game last night and started clicking the QUOTE button because I had a response in mind, then changed my response like 15 times while clicking QUOTE on messages that interested me, but oh well, here we are....
My first reaction to this update is that the ending went from drama (good!) to melodrama (not good!). Then I saw that
@Burt Reynolds Mustache commented on this exact point already, more adroitly than I can, which is why he makes the big bucks as a writer I presume
.
Then I was thinking, okay, the last few updates have ended in "cliffhangers" only to find that the next update clearly showed there was no cliff nor hang. Others above have explained more eloquently than I can how using "fake" cliffhangers multiple times in a row has cheapened the game. So, look, if you are at all worried that one of the ladies might not survive, you just haven't been paying attention. I'm pretty sure by the 7th click of the next update you'll find that both are healthy (but I imagine the one you didn't choose to save might realize it... which sounds like cheap melodrama rather than actual
quality drama, as others have mentioned). But's it's kinda sad that one of the most intriguing dramatic plots has turned into a second-rate soap opera.
My main interest though is the extent to which people don't want to play an adult visual novel that forces them to confront difficult, challenging, adult feelings. I should mention up front that my own life was turned upside down at the age of 12 when my 10-year-old brother was diagnosed with cancer. I vividly remember him vomiting for hours on end every week after chemo, which went on for over a year. He got better. Then he had a relapse when he was 16 and the treatments were even more severe. But he beat it, and now he's healthy and doing well. I'm only mentioning this to say that I completely understand anyone quitting this game because they would rather not confront those kinds of feelings when playing a porn game. Those scenes with Liam and his friend triggered some harsh memories for me. If anyone quits this game because they just would rather not be confronted with characters they love battling cancer, you have my complete sympathy and understanding.
But for me, it's cathartic. This is going to sound pretty lame maybe, but the MC is having conversations and bonding experiences with Liam that I wish I could have with my brother. I mean, we weren't exactly helping get the other laid at 12 years old haha, but as someone who has loved a brother with cancer and still loves and cherishes a brother who beat it, I have valued how this game has fleshed out this party of the story. This is powerful, quality story-writing.
Also, it's interesting that so many of the angry comments are about what MIGHT happen rather than what has actually happened. If anyone wants to quit the game because his girlfriend/wife/significant other cheated on him and this story brings those issues up, that make sense too! Oddly, I haven't seen many people comment that they don't want to continue with the game because Ana cheated on him, which I can only assume is a much more common real-life experience than "I am in love with two girls who have agreed to love me back,
but I have to choose which girl to save!!!" (commence eye rolling)
TL;DR The dev has used melodramatic cliff-hangers before, so the girls will be fine, but melodrama
might be spoiling one of the better adult visual novels I've ever played... I'll keep giving it a chance, because the dev has shown he has the skills to redeem himself.