Huge fan of the Psycho film and the novel it was based on especially with the storytelling and use of the Norman character in this setting. I also liked the Bates Motel show as well while it was airing. I can tell the dev is a fan of at least the original film and story and it shows not just in fan service or use of assets, but in storytelling. The tone in this is very creepy, and gives off a very similar vibe to the Psycho source material and various spin-offs and adaptations to some degree. The main cast are interesting thus far and their relationship is something I look forward to the most in future updates.
The mom is very much like how Norma is described and presented in the various Psycho works thus shares her name as a default. She gets the most screentime thus far of the family members outside of the MC. There are hints at religious leanings and very suspicious circumstances regarding the death of her husband which kickstarts this story. She has very interesting views and beliefs bordering on being very radical. I suspect her religious beliefs and ideological leanings will be explored in the future, but as of now it is just interesting seeing her interact with her children.
Grace is the MC's twin sister, she is the least corrupted of the MC's three sisters and exploring sex. She is more on the introverted and nerdy type, but she is very flirty with the MC. She gets a proper sex scene by the end of the 0.55 update so I suspect things to escalate as we move forward.
Alex is another one of the MC's siblings. Alex is a transgender female. I played with shemale content enabled so I got to do several sexual scenes with her. This is also an interesting relationship not just because she is trans, but also because there is the dynamic of Alex trying to step into her identity as a woman while also having some weird fascination with the MC. Where Grace seems to have a mutual chemistry with the MC, Alex seems to have almost an obsession. I don't want to spoil too much, but during one sexual encounter with Alex, Alex states she transitioned for the MC and doesn't go beyond that. There is also implied rape or sexual abuse by their father on Alex as Alex explains that she knew this about herself since even then and quickly shuts down the conversation about it when the MC questions it, where Alex states no one else knows about it, well except the MC now. I hope these things get touched on in future updates as this can also lead to interesting interactions, development and characterization.
Rose is the older sister, and gets the least amount of screentime of the family thus far. Makes sense considering she and the MC are not exactly on good terms, but it isn't like she hates him and I suspect maybe at least with the MC's handicap towards the end of the 0.55 update, maybe things will turn around, lots of things can happen here.
Another highlight is Princess Savage. A homeless girl who seems to have been captured at a young age, escaped when she was about 10 and has been living at the motel the MC's family has bought and in the surrounding area. She can barely communicate, has no real sexual experience as far as we can tell, but is very fond of the MC. Her interactions with the MC are very cute and I love the scenes with her and look forward to more, especially if the MC can convince the family to let her stay with them and maybe learn to communicate better. There are options during her scenes to be a bit rough with her and wanting to teach her sexual things or to be more gentle and compassionate. I of course chose the more gentle approach especially considering her conditions and I grew to really care for her, even by the end of the 0.55 update I kept wondering when the MC would maybe deliver more food to her and check up on her. So, really look forward to more content with her.
Ashley is a girl who lives in the nearby town where the motel is, and meets the MC while he is shopping for groceries as her mom runs the store thus she helps out. She isn't shown much outside of visiting the MC the next day to check up on him, but I do hope we will see more of her and more girls from the town to spice things up especially since it is clear the Gates siblings have had little interaction with other people and probably never were able to make real friends before moving to this town. Norma does not seem fond of Ashley for being a punk type of girl and smoking and such, but I do hope we can either convince Norma to see a better side of Ashley or getting to find time to sneak away with Ashley while in town.
The last character we see is Dr Carrie Handcock who checks on the MC after an accident and implies sexual services disguised as doctor's orders. Not much to her as of yet, but would be interesting in potential content with her.
The sex scenes overall are really nice and I would say unique. The MC has an uncircumsized penis which makes sense considering his mother's beliefs, and many of the scenes thus far focus on that. The character models look really nice both in and outside these scenes and subtle changes or animations such as where their eyes are looking or facial expressions are really nice and show a great level of care by the dev.
The standout of this game is the writing by far. It feels very eerie and puts me on edge because these characters and their thinking are very bizarre or weird at times, but they go along with things because they are used to it. In many ways it does a great job of emulating a similar feeling as the original Psycho film and book. The dev does a great job with this aspect and I look forward to how the writing is used going forward as we see these characters develop and grow closer. The only negative I have about this game at this time, is the narration by the MC. The narration is fine, but sometimes I felt it was excessive and drawn out. The actual interactions with the characters is great, but it can take me out of the moment at times when the MC goes into a long, drawn out narration especially in the opening few scenes. Overall, fantastic game, and I am glad the dev is doing better and I look forward to future updates and I am surely a fan of this game from now on.
