So way back when the original Chapter One was first released, I decided to wait until the female main character option was included, and... Then totally missed when it was actually released. Oops. I... Kind of feel like Sarah now.
But now that I've actually played it, it's great! The interaction between all of the characters is wonderful, there's plenty of setup to establish that Something Is Weird Here, the humor lands well, and there's plenty of minor things to find if you poke around enough. Pretty much the only thing that didn't really work for me was the CoC game, and that's both Sarah's fault (give us a real plot and tactical options, Sarah!), and extremely optional.
Here's a collection of specific points I'd like to include:
-I looked through the game files after a few playthroughs, and was pleasantly surprised by just how many minor things I'd missed, when I'd thought I'd been pretty exhaustive (as well as making me wonder how I missed the catbowl, which was very obvious once I knew it was there, and why I hadn't checked my locker that thoroughly despite clicking on everything else a few times to see what happened) - as well as just how many of those things actually came up in other contexts later, like with the drinks with Chris. That said, I kind of wish that there was more of a hint that the two were linked, since I did most of my exploration on my first playthrough, and... Drinks with Chris the second, so I didn't get an opportunity to bring the topics up.
-Your Channel 7 Parody reward for repairing the remote was hilarious! I was seriously laughing by the end of it, and kind of wish there was an expanded version to lampoon more overused porn tropes.
-I love the relationship between Flirty!Fem!PC and Annie - it strikes a great balance between the player being genuinely interested, and still being friends with her without that overshadowing the entire relationship - like her whole joke about your "cunning plan" and detour into witchland while you share drinks. Even if nothing were to ever come of it sexually, because she actually is straighter than the game would suggest, I'd still think the relationship between the two was worth pursuing.
-Conversely, the other approach the PC can take to pursue Annie is entertaining in a different way - it feels like it's going to end up either blowing up in the player's face one day in a thoroughly amusing fashion, or Annie's going to wake up with the PC in bed one day saying "Okay, that was fun, but how the hell did I end up having sex with another woman?". It's almost like you're trying to confuse her into having sex with you at points (and I don't mean that in a bad way, to be clear).
-With that said, though, it kind of feels like we enter the flirting stage a bit too early with Annie - you're pretty much interrupting her work so that you can hit on her, and it's the first time you talk to her. But, well, when's a better time? After that, it would be while she's blaming herself for her ship almost killing everyone while she gets smashed - and after that, it would be during increasingly frustrating attempts to find out what's wrong with the ship, while you're supposed to be fixing the base or dealing with the Plot. The timing feels awkward, but there's definitely not a better way to handle it that I can see.
-I genuinely felt like a total bitch on the Asshole!PC route (and that's a good thing). I don't even mean blackmailing Sarah, either (though that felt a bit like kicking a puppy) - it just felt bad going around yelling at everyone for not hopping to my whims, when they were already extremely rushed and doing their best and it was only supposed to be a two hour hop gosh darn it omg whatiswrongwithyouPC! ...Ahem. To say that more coherently; it just plain felt bad to be a petty little bitch for no good reason to all of the characters you came to like on the other routes, when they were already dealing with a rushed and stressful situation. And it's a sign of good writing, in my opinion, that the penalties for that aren't forced - you feel bad because you behaved badly, and everyone's kind of ticked at you for it.
-Conversely, I'm glad to see that there's a penalty associated with pursuing friendliness at the expense of professionalism, though I didn't notice any effects thus far - it's nice to see a game acknowledge that, yes, there's a reason that people aren't always super-casual when they go into life-threatening danger, and that it's important that they listen to their officers and not just who they like most at a given moment. Eating an ensign for breakfast isn't a bad thing, so long as you don't take it too far.
-Relatedly, while I'm a bit disappointed to see that fem!pc can't go on a spacewalk, I appreciate the attention to detail that establishes why she can't save the day - namely, that without something like that, there's absolutely no reason why Annie couldn't save the day, considering that she's the space engineer. It'd be nice for the player to save the day, but not at the expense of making the crew look incompetent.
-Though on another note, it'd be nice if fem!PC could still die for blackmailing Sarah. It might be a bit harder to explain, but you are still alone in a room with Annie; maybe she could find another way to deal with you?
-While this isn't in the game yet... I'm very much looking forward to the talk on Patreon of how we're actually going to go about fixing the base! It's honestly all to common for the main character's job to just kind of be background noise and not actually matter - it's nice to see that we're actually going to be doing some engineering here to fix things, instead of just being told "Okay, you went to work and it's evening now, what are you going to do?".
I think that's all of the broader points... So now it's time to talk about the characters specifically!
Annie
Well, on the one hand, I do love her. She's funny, she's smart, she has great chemistry with the PC, and she'll kill anyone who messes with her friends. There's a lot to like.
But... At the same time, she's a conspiracy theorist, has a drinking problem, and appears to have issues following the chain of command.
As a player, I like her, and don't care about her issues - because they don't affect me. But through the eyes of the player character, I'd be frankly worried; things are already weird on Orphion. If a person predisposed to believe weird theories were to latch on to one of those oddities as proof that something nefarious was happening, and she wasn't willing to listen people with the authority to tell her to stop, what kind of consequences could that lead to? Even off of Orphion, I could see it going someplace bad.
And an engineer with a drinking problem just sounds like an invitation to problems - going off on a bender because you almost all died is fine. Empty bottles in the cargo hold and a warning from Chris that she has a habit of this kind of thing suggests she needs to cut back.
Chris
She's... Kind of extremely perfect? I mean, what's not to love? She's an amazing pilot with a strong sense of justice who looks out for her crew, and she darned well knows that she's perfect. If she existed in real life, I'd be tempted to try out women just so that I could date her.
That said, it really looks more like she's interested in friendship and a fling than a real relationship, so I don't really know how far I want to go with her. Flings are fun, but if there's a real relationship to be found with someone else, that feels like a waste. ...Even if it is a fling with Chris.
Sarah
I... Don't actually trust her, if I'm being honest. Not since looking through the files, and noticing the Flirt route that I'd missed. Oh, not in a "She's the one who sabotaged the spaceship!" way, to be clear - just in a garden-variety "She's deliberately trying to get on your good side by any means necessary" way. Which isn't a bad thing, per se, just a "How much of this is the real Rah-Rah" way.
I mean, I thought she was just a ditz with a penchant for technology and accidental innuendo, with a poor grasp of clothing - but seeing her flirt path, you see that she absolutely does understand what she's saying. So her "accidental" innuendo in other contexts - such as when she's talking about shaving her cat for charity - she absolutely knows what she's doing. Which, hey, I've done the same thing before, playing the innocent ditz so that others can have a laugh, but... I was still putting on an act so that others would have a better time. And if she's willing to do that here, it definitely makes me think that she knew her top was slipping in the other cases.
This is further reinforced in my mind when you see that she still leaps to invite you to VR no matter how horrid you're being to her, unless you outright attempt to blackmail her. For all of the other characters, you have to at least avoid being a total bitch to them - but she's willing to put up with any degree of abuse from you.
Maybe she's just being friendly, and has absolutely terrible self-esteem - but to my eye, it looks a lot more like she's about to be drummed out, and is desperate for a higher officer to put in a good word for her. Which isn't something I blame her for; it just makes me wonder about her sincerity.
That said, I still like her well enough when she's not DMing - even if it's an act, it's a good one. I just hope that I'll be able to push her onto a Research path later - she's smart, and (to oversimplify) you only have to get things right once there. Engineering, like Annie suggests, also plays well to her strengths, but I'd worry about a catastrophic accident if she spaced at the wrong moment. Her current position... Well, it doesn't play to any of her strengths that I can see, and I wonder how she ended up there.
Dr Jones
I don't really know what to say about her, honestly. She shows up, she dumps a big ton of personal drama on us, then disappears until Chapter 3 (I assume). I'd say I wonder which of them is more to blame, but I really don't - that's their problem to work out, so long as it doesn't affect anyone else.
Dr Jones
We really got off on the wrong foot. Not horribly so, but in definite "If our next interaction doesn't go better, I'll start to dislike you" territory. First he dumps a ton of personal drama onto us, then he's very insistent about our need for contraception (even if it is regulations, you don't have to be a dick about it!), then he blows off everyone else's research to brag about his own (which is admittedly impressive)... He's reallly not showing off any of his good points here. Except for being good at his job, which is appreciated.
But hey, he's not actually a bad guy or anything - he's willing to joke around a bit, and seems to have a conscience, so I get the impression that we can get along well enough so long as we're not talking about his colleagues. Just, a bit of a rough first day.
Though, it was totally fun to tell him that I thought it would be a fine idea to round up some ensigns to hunt Orphions for the good of humanity. Even on a non-total-bitch run I might be tempted to do that, just to be amused by his reaction (which should probably be a bigger affection hit, by the way).
Mike
I'm reminded of a puppy. A big, stupid puppy. I'm not entirely certain why - just because he seems befuddled by the current problem doesn't mean he's an idiot, and the other signs that he's not that great at his job aren't massive red flags either. Maybe the plant's just not having any other major issues, and that's why the cabinet is bare - and maybe the power logs are a "throw your hands up in the air and look at anything else that could be the cause!" kind of situation. Really, there's no strong reason for me to think he's an idiot.
Just... Something about him comes across as not very bright. And combined with his respect for you and your talent, just makes you think "puppy", at least for me.
Well, he's hot enough at least, so I could imagine a fling with him. I'm not really into dumb guys, though, so I kind of hope he's either brighter than he first appears, or that I have more options than him...
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And with the last of the characters discussed, I'd also like to bring up a theory, though it may appear insane at first glance.
First, that after playing CoC with Sarah, it is now my official headcanon that the Gloria series of books actually are bona-fide masterpieces, filled with complexity and conflict - and that Sarah is just absolutely horrible at describing anything that happens in them, especially when it doesn't involve orcs.
"Tensions have always been high between the Empire and the Orcish warbands that surround them - especially as the Empire's power wanes, wasted on conflict between the petty lords who hope to ascend the vacant Velvet Throne. The Orcish Warbands still remember the old genocides, and the humiliating demands for Orcish women as tribute; now, with the outlying towns abandoned by their once-protectors, they can do little to stop a new generation eager for revenge from claiming what they believe is due, even if they worry about the Empire's fury if it can once again unify under a strong leader"...Just ends up becoming "Gloria slaughtered a bunch of orcs after they pillaged a town! Isn't that so cool!?".
What I'm basing this on? Poor little Rah-Rah might be brill when it comes to technical matters, but she obviously needs a bit of help when it comes to describing other things - and she's not the only one to enjoy this series, so it's presumably at least a little bit better than she makes it sound.
