Here is some of my toughts and maily criticism after playing the update.
So, after playing a couple routes (my solo Ellen main route and my alternate depraved route with Shanlon , Venus and all others except Chandra/Abby 'others') and with the latests Philly updates, i am sadly questioning that this game indeed went from a great story with sex scenes sprinkled through to now a sex scene bonanza with some story to get you to the sex scenes. Unless we have yet another few pointless 'fetch" side quests again to waste our time and 'prepare' to storm Baynard in the next chapter, the amount of sex scenes until the resolution of this game should literraly be zero until afterwards in the epilogue. Seeing the leaked renders from patreon, that will not be the case, and most likely will be cheezy scenes situations again.
Chandra: Even though a lot of people like her (i don't like very young teens as a grown up MC in games) sadly, i think Philly never had any plans for her except being a side character and upgraded her for fan service, but i think he never planned how to integrate her and wrote himself in a corner, which i think led to her basically being benched from the game. Now we have hints we will get a scene because poeple complained, and i am not agfaint it, because it sucks for Chandra fans, but that mostly will be forced and break whatever is left of the story immersion. Why? How? When? Oh yeah! Lets go to Meredith's house while she has the whole city looking for you so you can screw Chandra, poor little baby had no scenes in so many episodes, screw danger and story arc.
Victoria: Since i don't have any saves with her, going with what people wrote here about her i found dissapointing. If unless in the romance path with perfect points she never really apologize or feel remorse and only try to one-up Meredith, it will feel like a lot of character development thrown in the bin. I would theorize that spellbound Victoria and Mc will end similar to the Dragon in DA, which would make sense as the Mc is basically just a tool to be used, and on the romance path she will leave the Mc to go take care of the Red Moon Orphanage to give them the childhood she never had as a redemptin arc.
Katie: WTF is wrong with Katie. The last few chapters have really been weird. She went from playing hard to get to now, literally every episode she throws herself at my uncaring Mc to get screwed in everyway possible. I knew from what she said she was a wild college girl, but why did that personality randomly pop? I guess since admitting that without robots to do most of the job for her, she ain't much of a doctor and now she has to please the Mc to 'contribute' and be kept on the team as she needs Mc protection to survive? I don't know, feels weird. She is my next playthough route, i am interested to see if she reacts differently on her solo route.
Ellen: My favorite LI character, that once again just get the same sex scenes as the last 3 that even if you got in your deep feeling admissins from both is still basically considered as the easy side fuck when theres nothing else to do. Do your mission, come back home, fuck Ellen is the routine now. Dissapointing.
Gloria: I don't know what to think about that character. She was the clueless infant all game and now she's getting some attention but it's so late in the game it feels hard to have any attachment other than your the dad.
Venus: She went from a free sex scene provider to buff scenes count without too much questions asked to have been upgraded to at least secondary LI in the last few episodes. Am indifferent to the character, but nonetheless fits well with the Cyberpunk theme of the game. I am 100% sure we will have an epilogue ending with her, looking at how her character is getting developped, as well as Philly stating it became his favorite character. I just really don't like her hairstyle.
Sasha: I really liked her model, minus the unrealistic glow in the dark bolt tatoo, and i'm very dissapointed that Philly just basically threw her scenes at us because people demanded a scene for so long. I feel that she took Chadra's part placement storywise. And why a 3some with a random hoe? A solo hoe scene for depraved/spellbound players and a Chandra scene this chapter would have been better. I feel that if any one sex scene could've made sense in the next chapter, it would have been her. Mc get his car back, go to her for help so she could get Glenn to cntinue the mission of erasing Gloria from the databases, with a car sex scene on the way.
Shanlon: I like her in her role and am sad we wasted a scene with her on Terry back then. Hope we will get an epilogue part with her in the others path, after we make her even more famous breaking the story of the century and retiring, where she becomes our personal bitch.
It came really weird for me that every LI path have to lock their route the same way at the same time, feels a bit rushed and not really tought out well. For example, i was sure on my main Ellen route that i locked her in as my main LI when i kissed her in the van and said i wanted her to be more than fuckbuddy all the way back, or shut her route when you tell her your seeing someone else. (which strangely don't stop having sex scenes with her even though she knows your with someone else).
As many other people said, it really feels like there is zero tension and danger for the group while the Mc did all his side quests around the city. Once again, Red Moon, some fighting, escape again. He blasted him with the gun, just finish him there. Or he sends Venus, then at least give her the damned gun, she almost got him with her unarmed sex combat moves, imagine if she had the gun, but i guess he his needed to kill Meredith in the end before exploding. Walking all around town holding Victoria not even hiding, meh. Just steal her some shoes, or buy some. even better, have them hide overnight, gives a sex scene opportunity or more in depth dialogue and makes the group shit their pants having no news and thinking the worst happened.
I think it would have helped with the sense of urgency if Sonja and some other girls also had some involvement in needing to accomplish side objectives to be able to carry the mission on time. Right now, all those girls do is follow the Mc from hideout to hideout, be nuisances and wait patiently for the Mc to be back to be fucked.
In the end, i still love the game, i just feel like Philly spends to much time rendering sex scenes rather than continuing writing a good story. I feel like we are standing still and nothing progress since the last few chapters. In the end, I don't mind the number of the scenes, only that they should have been introduced differently than say, bring Victoria to the hideout, Ellen mad, go in the room and make Ellen understand with your magic dick.
