Version: 0.17.2
(Played with the excellent walkthrough mod.)
The early game plays very much like a typical free-roam based AVN, there's exploration, character events and basic resource management. After a while, this gameplay drops off, and a large overarching story gets shaped. Each young woman who comes to live at the hotel, has their own coming of age story. They each have their own experiences, beliefs and personalities. The MC is there to help them where he can, and to get in their panties.
For me, the world, lore and story that Harem Hotel builds, is the most interesting aspect of the game. And that's not knocking the other content, like erotic scenes, renders, and character design.
Harem Hotel does have its flaws. Its music is uninspired, and the male protagonist is the typical HS2 body with a dong attached. I'm not too bothered by it, because this is a technical limitation.
Story-wise, Harem Hotel gets very deep and complex. There are a lot of details that are gathered through different LIs. Sometimes the game fucks up, where a character gives exposition that they were previously unaware of. (Sylvia is probably the biggest offender here. She was unaware of certain creatures during an event, then later provided a ton of exposition about these creatures and how they're integral to her society.) Sometimes I got the impression that plot-holes were retconned or overexplained in later events. I can't be too sure of this, since I haven't played earlier versions. Still, I have a small worry that the writer has set up a minefield of details and exposition, and I hope they're not writing themselves in a hole.
There are a few suggestions I'd like to make:
I'd love to see an overhaul of how different building/events are integrated in a character's story. Mostly the Dungeon. It just seems to be there for an LI to be at the mercy of the player, not contributing to the LI's character development. Emma might be the exception here. I think there's an opportunity to have character-based kinks that can tie in to an LI's story. For instance: Ashley could be helped by a DD/LG scene, showing her the fatherly love she never had. Felicity could be brat-tamed. Orgasm denial fits Maria most.
The submission trait feels useless, and more about breaking someone. This in contrast with what BDSM is about, where both the Dom and Sub get a valuable experience.
The exhibition trait is another one that's in a weird spot. I think the way it's done for Autumn is actually pretty good. For most other LIs it just seems to come down to a dare.
It could be interesting to have a different progression for different characters. Maria is so dominant, that it could make sense to gain submission points with her first, before she opens up emotionally. For other girls, it would make sense to need a higher level of submission before they can be enticed to do exhibitionist actions.
I'd love to see more intertwined content (events across LIs being referenced) that are mutually exclusive, specially in the current early & mid-game. Added to this, I'd like more events with minimum levels. After building the 2nd floor, I suddenly had a bunch of new tenants. I didn't really interact with them because the Floor 1 girls still had events going on. Then, thanks to the walkthrough mod informing me of some cross-LI content, I decided to grind the events of the Floor 2 girls. Having some more minimum level requirements for events would even out the pacing, while (sadly) somewhat limiting player choice.
All these suggestions are mostly related to the early game and integration of different (and probably newer) systems. These are just ideas, and I'm fully aware that remastering such a large part of the game is an immense task.