Yes, kinetic isn't the most popular, don't like it myself to be honest and wouldn't bother even trying it normaly, in this case i must have overlooked the tag.
That being said, i think the writing is among the best i have ever read here. Story is good, so are the characters and the MC is way better than in most games.
It's understandable why he makes it kinetic from what wrote in the dev notes and i think there is no problem keeping the story linear, even most games which offer choices have not much in terms of divergence in the main story.
I think just giving a choice for the LI paths would already be a great boon.
It's pretty much the most important thing, at least for me, as being forced to be romanticly/sexual involved with a LI i don't like is the one thing which annoys me to no end and is the fastest way to make me quit a game.
But popularity is also often luck i'd say, there many good games which are underrated, same for overhyped ones, which make a lot of money...