Personally, after "character creation" I don't think it makes any difference which Kate you embody.
In the real storylines there are no differentiations, except maybe a small subordinate clause. For example, at dinner with Krieg, whether one was sporty or preferred to read detective novels. The chosen breast size still gets the most attention here.
Otherwise, the Kinks only have a justification in their dreams so far, when Kate masturbates and imagines a scene.
Also, the two BJ scenes don't really make sense.
In one scene, she gives a blowjob voluntarily, without witnesses, so she could get out of the situation at any time and possibly willingly tells about it at the end. In the other scene, she already behaves like a professional, only to briefly have a crisis in front of the mirror - and that's it. The show must go on. A handful of water in the face, a minty lozenge swallowed briefly, and the scene is forgotten. I still have six hours of titty grabbing ahead of me. Uhh and I'm already wet in the crotch again.
The game has simply become too linear. Basically, it's only about giving the answer that gives the most plus points in the relationship values. Apparently, there are no other values anymore. Even the initial rivalry between Amanda and Ping (?) doesn't play a role in the later course, since you don't have to choose between the two anymore, but instead can increase the affection values for both of them individually.
There is simply a lack of continuity in the storylines. But this is something that was mentioned years ago but never improved. Everything here is somehow treated as a single scene that neither builds on past decisions, nor that it generates great consequences for future events.
That the life path has been dropped is a pity, but somehow understandable, considering the actual starting point of the story, where Kate is supposed to be quite unspoiled when she starts working in Bangkok. In the life path, however, it was possible to have Kate sleep with 80 people while she was still in college. So it doesn't fit. Even the minimum was around 15 sex partners. Basically, however, it would have been enough to massively minimize this number of possible encounters, so that at the end there is a self-created, but sexually not so experienced Kate.
But what helps in the current build to give Kate more personality again?
In my eyes, first and foremost, more references to the player-created Kate. More asides and comments on her appearance. More comments on her chosen outfit. For example, if she wears the leopard set, it might seem sluttier than just one in innocent white. Or just panties that cover half her ass than just a strip of fabric between her ass cheeks.
Oh yes, and clothes. Hach that was once a big topic. How many pictures of clothing suggestions there were. And what did they turn out to be? Once again only prescribed clothes, which actually don't fit the created character at all.
I understand that you can not draw here again for each Figurentpy and then the different chest sizes individual clothing. I think the old clothing folder had well over 28,000 combinations back then, because in the end each piece of clothing had to be drawn on average 10x. But if you chose Exhibitionist, for example, then the skirt you chose should already be 5cm shorter, and the blouse a little lower cut.
Perhaps the easiest thing for Crush to do would be to leave the character creation completely aside and implement a fixed character. That would keep fan expectations to a minimum and allow for a more linear game. But honestly, is that what we as fans want? Then we might as well move on to the next Tomb Raider game.
