Quetzzz

Member
Sep 29, 2023
425
588
What about all the therapy sessions?
The 'never' was meant in the context of the story before the sexual abuse was revealed. We never got hints that Haley was fighting with her inner demons, or that it impacted her life in any way. As for the therapy sessions themselves, we only experience them tangentially, except for the one where we were briefly present (at least in my playthrough, I don't know if other paths have more therapy content.)
I appreciated the MC stepping up and pushing his sister to get therapy, though, being the brat she is, it was predictable that she'd make a mockery out of it at first. In that regard, I also think the game/story failed at conveying how damaging the experience with Klaus was. Haley refuses to talk about what she experienced or feels about it, so the players are left entirely in the dark as well. All we get to experience is her (being in) denial.
The conclusion of the therapy sessions wasn't satisfactory for me either. After a breakthrough, a therapist will want to check up on their patient a bit more, instead of less. I also got the impression that Haley became even more manic than she was at the start of the game (Komodo Dragon, being irresponsible and evasive about birth control). I would expect that successful therapy would make her more grounded, and in touch with reality. To me, her behavior in the dad-arc seemed more like that of a teenage girl, instead of an adult.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Yngling

Visick

Newbie
Sep 27, 2021
54
35
So what does the "pre-patched" version mean? Am I missing out on anything playing this one instead of, what I'd assume is, the "post-patched" version?
 

WaltS

Si vis pacem para bellum
Donor
Apr 4, 2018
2,069
2,521
So what does the "pre-patched" version mean? Am I missing out on anything playing this one instead of, what I'd assume is, the "post-patched" version?
Pre-patched is already patched i.e. it comes w/ the incest patch included.
 

Segnbora

Well-Known Member
Aug 30, 2017
1,781
3,184
In a more ambitious narrative, Klaus could've meant something. An honest, unstinting examination of whether Haley's attachment to her brother was authentic or born of trauma. Or both? It would be utterly fascinating to see an incest game really dig into the "why" of it all. A truly brave one might, and though I've never had an idea for a game despite all my writing, this might've given me one. But the devs clearly checked out soon after Klaus was introduced, lacking interest in following through on the extreme provocation, and the rest was "let's just get this done as quickly as possible." What purpose did Haley 2 serve? None at all, save to send Haley 1 to therapy. She wasn't old enough to be an LI. Did she end up okay? Who knows? After that, a casually panicked "who are our beards?" to scramble towards the endings and then nothing but tepid semi-resolutions.

Yes, I'm annoyed at the way this all played out. Haley and her brother were one of the most brilliant and believable brother-sister relationships ever, sexual or not. And they threw that all away.
 

Segnbora

Well-Known Member
Aug 30, 2017
1,781
3,184
I'm pretty sure they're done with it forever. And what would the sequel be, anyway? Fatherhood? Changing diapers? For it to be interesting, either Haley (or Sandra, if you're with her, or any of the other beards) would have to be put in some sort of relationship peril, and this really wouldn't work as a cheating/swinging/netorare game. The setting just doesn't allow for it. I say this as someone who doesn't dislike any of those things, necessarily, but there's no actual story if it's just Haley and the MC being faithful adults. It's just "more sex scenes," and that's boring as hell.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LSC82 and Yngling

Yngling

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2020
1,472
3,123
In a more ambitious narrative, Klaus could've meant something. An honest, unstinting examination of whether Haley's attachment to her brother was authentic or born of trauma. Or both? It would be utterly fascinating to see an incest game really dig into the "why" of it all.
I'm not sure if Klaus was that important. There was a connection between the MC and Haley way before Klaus, which didn't turn physical but IIRC both already fantasized about it.

I think that there can be a couple of "why's" when it comes to incest. When it comes to sibling incest, I think it's mostly just experimenting and getting sexual gratification out of each other, rather than the true romance we see in this game. But yeah, it would have been really nice to have had it fleshed out more.

Haley and her brother were one of the most brilliant and believable brother-sister relationships ever, sexual or not.
(y)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Walter Victor

Segnbora

Well-Known Member
Aug 30, 2017
1,781
3,184
I'm not sure if Klaus was that important. There was a connection between the MC and Haley way before Klaus, which didn't turn physical but IIRC both already fantasized about it.
Ultimately, Klaus wasn't important because the devs gave up on his story. But Haley makes the connection between what he did to her and subsequently clinging to her brother (when they were both much younger) explicit, and it's fairly clear that her mother isn't blind to the timing of the connection...even if she doesn't know how it manifested.

I have a deep and ongoing annoyance with most incest games because almost none of them attempt to justify flipping the attraction switch (much less following through on it) outside porn logic; there's a boy, there's a sister/mother/aunt, and they will inevitably fuck because Reasons. Far too many of them advance plots with things like sleep rape, because the authors aren't mature or sexually experienced enough to conceive of any other possible reason that a woman would want to have sex with someone who'd previously been considered off-limits. I'd find these games a lot more interesting if there were reasonable justifications in the narrative. And I'm certainly not saying that I want incest games to be tortured psychodramas about childhood trauma, the Westermarck Effect/sexual imprinting, or crushing waves of guilt that only decades of therapy can solve, because no one would play games like that.

But one of the reasons I was willing to give the Klaus story the benefit of the doubt — a wasted benefit, as it turned out — was because it could've forced Haley to examine the actual source of her obvious attraction to her brother. A little psychodrama. Some therapy. Some dealing with the guilt. Not taking over the story, but an internal conflict that has to be resolved before she can move forward with their relationship. It could've taken a story and characterization that was already stupendous and made it legendary. They still could've ended up together (with or without beards), but with a much more solid foundation that we actually got.

Obviously, it ended as nothing of the sort. But it remains a wasted opportunity.
 

Quetzzz

Member
Sep 29, 2023
425
588
Ultimately, Klaus wasn't important because the devs gave up on his story. But Haley makes the connection between what he did to her and subsequently clinging to her brother (when they were both much younger) explicit, and it's fairly clear that her mother isn't blind to the timing of the connection...even if she doesn't know how it manifested.
Not trying to fact-check you, but do you remember how Haley makes that connection? I remember them talking about Haley having had feelings for the MC for a long time, and the MC admitting that he thought of her in a sexual way only once. But I missed her making that connection to Klaus.

Their mother knows what happened with Klaus, since she put a stop to it. She even encourages the MC to stay with his sister, when dad talks about them splitting ways. I think she also makes a remark about "dating an older man", when the topic comes up about Haley breaking up with her lover.
I don't think the mother knows that the siblings are intimate, and her motivation has more to do with having little trust in Haley's life choices.

I have a deep and ongoing annoyance with most incest games because almost none of them attempt to justify flipping the attraction switch (much less following through on it) outside porn logic; there's a boy, there's a sister/mother/aunt, and they will inevitably fuck because Reasons. Far too many of them advance plots with things like sleep rape, because the authors aren't mature or sexually experienced enough to conceive of any other possible reason that a woman would want to have sex with someone who'd previously been considered off-limits. I'd find these games a lot more interesting if there were reasonable justifications in the narrative. And I'm certainly not saying that I want incest games to be tortured psychodramas about childhood trauma, the Westermarck Effect/sexual imprinting, or crushing waves of guilt that only decades of therapy can solve, because no one would play games like that.
You're absolutely right about this. Guy leaves home for 6 months, after returning, all females in his vicinity want to jump his bones... Exploring actual reasons would be interesting. It doesn't have to be trauma, it could be a boy stepping up and taking care of his family, becoming an attractive man to them. Exploring those conflicting emotions, the push and pull, could make for an interesting and erotic story. Hell, it doesn't even need to be incest related. A boy stepping up and becoming a man is in itself is a reason to suddenly get the attention from women.
 

Segnbora

Well-Known Member
Aug 30, 2017
1,781
3,184
Not trying to fact-check you, but do you remember how Haley makes that connection?
I could swear that there was a conversation between two someones in which Haley's attraction to her brother escalated post-Klaus. But I'm not going to go back to the game (which I no longer have on my hard drive) to check, so maybe I'm making the whole thing up.

Their mother knows what happened with Klaus, since she put a stop to it. [...] I don't think the mother knows that the siblings are intimate, and her motivation has more to do with having little trust in Haley's life choices.
I'm not saying that she knows about the siblings' actual activities, but that she has a very specific view of Haley's decision-making abilities and why she needs to rely on her brother, while at the same time having a negative view of that reliance because she doesn't respect her daughter. That, to me, suggests that she understands (perhaps subconsciously) that there's something dysfunctional about the siblings' relationship.

You're absolutely right about this. Guy leaves home for 6 months, after returning, all females in his vicinity want to jump his bones... Exploring actual reasons would be interesting.
Exactly.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Yngling and Quetzzz

Quetzzz

Member
Sep 29, 2023
425
588
I'm not saying that she knows about the siblings' actual activities, but that she has a very specific view of Haley's decision-making abilities and why she needs to rely on her brother, while at the same time having a negative view of that reliance because she doesn't respect her daughter. That, to me, suggests that she understands (perhaps subconsciously) that there's something dysfunctional about the siblings' relationship.
Oh right, In that case we agree completely. :LOL: I would've loved exploring her motivations more. I wouldn't be surprised if it's caused by the "keeping up appearances"-syndrome, and using her son to avoid the daughter bringing shame to the family (again).
 

Segnbora

Well-Known Member
Aug 30, 2017
1,781
3,184
I wouldn't be surprised if it's caused by the "keeping up appearances"-syndrome, and using her son to avoid the daughter bringing shame to the family (again).
Haley's dad, of course, rather strongly suspects something's going on, and acts accordingly.

I would just love to see a game that took the inevitable reluctance seriously. I don't mean that the game has to be a massive slow burn — one sister could be "I've always wanted my brother, because (let's have the game give us some reasons other than he's been touching her while she sleeps") while the other proves a difficult puzzle to unlock — but make it make sense, at least.
 
Last edited:

Quetzzz

Member
Sep 29, 2023
425
588
Haley's dad, of course, rather strongly suspects something's going on, and acts accordingly.
But he also does this in a boundary crossing way. I get that he's worried, but checking up on her while she's at therapy? That's a big red flag. I don't understand why Haley wasn't mad at that intrusion.
And if their father didn't suspect actual sexual activity, he will as soon as the MC gives him the "Do you really want to know what we're doing?"-speech.

Again, so many missed opportunities for characterization, to have people actually talk out their issues.

I would just love to see a game that took the inevitable reluctance seriously. I don't mean that the game has to be a massive slow burn — one sister could be "I've always wanted my brother, because (let's have the game give us some reasons other than he's been touching her while she sleeps)" while the other proves a difficult puzzle to unlock — but make it make sense, at least.
From what I remember, Sisterly Lust does this, somewhat. It's been a while, so I could be entirely wrong. The path with the older sister is more difficult and longer, with her love path opening by taking care of her and being there for her, and a submission path using blackmail. (I suspect this game started that whole trope, but I can't be sure.)
I think the nightly visits are entirely optional, at least.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LSC82
4.20 star(s) 301 Votes