but the warning about the game wanting to download stuff on its own is kinda scaring me off...
That obsolete warning related to the old online-only client, and the current online client. (As in, you have to have an active connection and it'll download new stuff when ready, whether you want it to or not).
Downloading the offline version of the current client, is like the offline versions of the old client.
Basically, ignore info in the OP that isn't from the linked FAQ.
also the MC looks like a bland Ariana Grande look-alike.
Oh you haven't seen anything yet... There's her "clones" too!
Not just her sister, but other women unrelated to her that have near identical bodies and barely altered faces... Almost like DS took the lazy way out of populating the game world with young women
Is there anyway to enable cheats or is it not something you can do?
Ignore that option in the menus. It's basically a pointless UI decoration.
Type the relevant word into the search box if you're that desperate to cheat. Won't remove the grinding you'll have to do though.