I finished playing update 0.65. I want to start with how much I enjoyed it.
(+) The visuals are amazing. Novel does an outstanding job with Image-2-Video AI. I am saying this as someone who has been very skeptical of AI CG, but Novel is the first AVN developer who has successfully used this groundbreaking technology with such finesse and has produced fantastic results, which keep getting better which each update. His update timelines for this level of quality are also unprecedented.
(+) Emma is very pretty and, in principle, a likeable FMC. I like when we can read her thoughts and how she analyzes her surroundings and evaluates consequences of decisions, I would love to read more of that as this is crucial for bonding with the FMC. The immersion is sometimes broken with the sandbox stats grinding.
(+) Some of the scenes are very good. My top favorite lewd scene remains the Justin (neighbor) shower scene at the beginning.
(+) I like the cast of characters. Justin as attractive neighbor is the most plausible love interest from a hypergamous perspective. He is better looking and more buff than Tyler, and thanks to Shelly's sharing proclivities may even be available without remorse. Mr. Stevens and Victor as potential romances at work. Both of them pull off their intrigue game well, Mr. Stevens perhaps most believably. Andrew is a dominant photo guy, there is some chemistry there, too. Kyle the horny neighbor (hopefully of legal age). Nathan is more meh, but he is okay as a platonic bar guy.
(+) The female cast is great, too. Maggie the college friend, a potential accelerator to corruptive tendencies. It would be fun to integrate dialogue choices for Emma to further her tendencies to be more open to affairs (or the opposite). Would be nice to see Maggie visit Emma one day. Romantic rivals for Tyler: Samantha is a near peer to Emma terms of looks, although without Emma ever meeting Samantha, Emma never gets to experience her as a threat. Perhaps in future content. Similar for Liliana who does the innocent girl type, while behind Emma or Samantha in terms of looks she still could be a threat if Tyler is vulnerable after Emma having pushed the envelope too much. Shelly of course is a great scandalous neighbor, perfect for pushing Emma outside of her goody two shoes persona. Female colleagues are also great, Sophie as enemy (I enjoy her interactions), Amelia as rival plus maybe some common ground versus Victor, Jill as friend (and lesbian LI?)... all engaging and enjoyable.
(±) There are some minor inconsistencies. Justin has his sleeve tattoo on and off in the bar scenes (when Emma, Tyler, Shelly and Justin go drinking).
(±) The overall story is a mixed bag. While I like the general setup, the flow is a bit all over the place, and the stats grind breaks immersion. Some of it is over the top. Still, within the frame of this being an AVN it is okay and I enjoy it (I may have become to spoiled after playing some really good story focused FMC AVNs recently).
(–) Stats grinding and sandbox format. I don't enjoy it, but the visuals are too good to let this sour the experience, so I find myself coming back over and over. The cheat code makes it tolerable, but just barely, because even then, you get into experiences that break the flow of the story. For example, when the husband gets a blowjob from Samantha in the sauna, which is a pretty, shall I say steamy scene (forgive the pun), after which Tyler has lots of remorse, Emma can find him on the couch in the living home right after that, and ask him about his day, and NOT A HINT of something being off. Instead, Emma farms in her +1 Tyler relationship as if nothing had happened. This is immersion breaking after such a huge cheating scene.
Also, when playing for real without the cheat code (I've tried it once), it is immensely frustrating to miss content in the absence of clear explanations which stat to grind AND an unforgiving time limit. That said, the decision to have grinding in this game has been made and given the visuals and FMC I feel compelled to come back. It is still a good AVN.
(–) The Kyle interactions feel awkward. They can happen while the husband is still at home in the morning, which is insanely risky and unrealistic. Also, I might have missed this due to Emma sunbathing nude, but I hope Kyle is meant to display an of legal age character.
Conclusion: Groundbreaking visuals and very fast production speed. Pretty FMC with some spicy interactions. Enjoyment tempered by stats grind. Story not en par with the visuals, but still absolutely worth a download. 4/5 stars.