So, I want to hear your takes on the CoC2 protagonist, cause it's actually something I've been wondering about. RPG games have all kinds of protags.
Some of them are really light - Persona series basically has pre-made MC who's personality you can lightly shape by some choices, as well as stable relationship with all companions. You WILL obtain them and they WILL be your friends no matter what, but it's up to you if you want to romance someone. It has the advantage of companions actually serving a solid role in the main plot and being developed pretty well.
Some are heaver - like Fallout, where you can be much more of an evil asshole, straight up murder potential companions and love interests and have a nice degree of choice. But naturally, those games are way less interactions with those companions - they cannot really be that major to the main quest anymore and typically stop being that interesting once their personal quest is done. Fallout 4 actually did fix that a bit (while making other things worse), but it's still far from perfect.
We then have legit CRPGs like Pathfinder or Baldur's Gate, which let you have ENOURMOUS customizability of PC and a massive array of choices that is borderline terrifying. Those games takes years to make for a reason and probably require a very specific writing style to make sure the story still flows well despite those choices possibly derailing all written content.
I've heard some complains about CoC2 protagonist, but they were more about lack of agency and freedom of choice. There are quests where you feel like you should have been able to do something, but you can't, because the written demands it. Yet, something like this would probably feel more appropriate in a Persona game or another RPG where protagonist, while being mostly a self-insert, still has his own agency and personality.
The reason what I am wondering about this topic is because I wonder what aspects of a main character are dealbreakers and which ones is something people can still vibe with. CoC2 already mixes a lot of aspects, due to multiple writers and often cause a weird inconsistent mix. Would the game be better if MC had their own, clear personality which you influence by choices and all companions are vital for the story, even if you never pick them in combat? Would it only work if the game then locked appearance options, because having this type of MC while still having freedom over their appearance creates disconnect? Do you think every quest should allow for an evil choice for the sake of roleplay, no matter how forced it might feel? Basically, I just want to hear others ramble about what makes a good protag for them to play as in this sort of game and what they find acceptable and terrible.