OK, I have now played through this episode on all major paths (four LI paths, plus my Massive DiK path). My thoughts (SPOILERS AHEAD, BE WARNED):
TLDR version: there's stuff to like here, some of it a lot, but it's found within a deeply flawed episode.
Firstly, I don't dislike the Episode the way a lot of people do, despite the fact that I agree with just about everything they are complaining about. Yes, there's basically no forward story momentum, the entire episode is one huge Free Roam and can be rather tiresome as such (particularly on subsequent playthroughs), and the pacing is wonky as hell. It's also hugely disappointing how things that were built up as being big, potentially life altering events -- like the pregnancy or the sure-to-be-uncomfortable evening at the Burke's -- ended up being absolutely nothing. Your decisions have startlingly little impact on the dinner, which never delivers on any of the potential sources of high drama it could/should have, and the pregnancy was just cheap, a cliffhanger for the sake of a cliffhanger and nothing more.
All that said, this episode also contains some of the most genuine and sincere character moments between MC and his chosen girl(s) we've seen yet in the game. I was actually impressed with how reinvested I felt in most of their relationships after the time they each get to spend together. It's there in some subtle interactions, but also in bigger ones like anytime you tell an LI they are your one and only, or whenever you had to tell another they weren't. There were some good emotional beats in there that really reminded me why I like these characters in the first place, and I like that some of them got mini-cliffhangers that didn't need to be earth shaking, just some mild bumps in the near future road.
Also, it seems everyone love the party planning minigame, and I do to. I can't explain it, but yeah, it's surprisingly fun. I do echo those who are concerned that BaDiK might become a series of episodes just like this one, centered on free roam parties as the dominant portion of the episodes. I hope that's not the case, because I much prefer that sort of thing in moderation (having so much stuff going on, with so many characters, in such a large free roam makes it very difficult at times to find the specific person or event trigger you need to move forward).
All in all, I can't argue with anyone who thinks this is one of the weaker episodes so far, because I totally see why they feel that way and even share much of their sentiment, but after several chapters of emotional wheel-spinning this finally gave me a connection back to these characters. The episode is very flawed, yes, but for me at least it delivered something I very much needed from it at the best possible time.
THAT SAID (mini-rant incoming)...
You know what the actual thing that bothered me the most was, once I had a chance to think it over? The very first part of the episode. We get a bunch of shots teasing something related to Christmas, each of them animated with zooming in and panning around. Then we get a brief conversation between Tommy and Jacob, followed by another series of shots showing all the Halloween decor, again each of them animated, zooming and panning. These two sections combined are nearly two minutes long if you let them play all the way through.
So why did that bother me? Because it's pointless showiness that adds nothing but undoubtedly took a really long time to do (I'm sure others who know more about animation can give you a better idea how much time it may have taken). It's no better than a series of simple static images would be for something so inconsequential, everyone is skipping it after their first playthrough anyway, and your fans are ripping their hair out waiting. I'm generally of the opinion that DPC should take however much time he needs to execute his vision, but this is a blatant waste of development time and resources that added literally NOTHING.
Mini-rant over. Now let's get back to the important things like holy shit what/who is that sack-wearing thing at the bottom of the main stairs during the blackout (the next screen after you run into Tommy)? Is that person visible in any other shot in this episode? Because I don't think they are and that makes it creepier.
