Writing this review as of Update 8, I can't help but feel profoundly conflicted as to whether Chapter 3 deserves four stars or five. When I reviewed Chapter 2, I was so impressed that I gave it a full five stars despite a handful of very personal issues that I had with the game. And with the graphical improvements that have been made with the character sprites and environmental design, it feels like it would be almost sacrilegious to imply that this is somehow worse than Chapter 2. It is better in almost every way that I can think of, from the art to the sound design and even the quality of writing.
But with that being said, I feel the need to moderate my praise of the game in some small way for multiple reasons. I've shared most of these thoughts in the thread itself already, but figured it couldn't hurt to formalize them into an actual review.
— Plot —
Compared to Chapter 2, I think that the story is shaping up to be more interesting, but only time will tell if that truly pays off in the end. There is plenty of build-up for the tension surrounding the antagonists, but I do think that it might be dragging out the actual nature of the mystery a little too long. The antagonists are implied to have some connection and that they are all scheming toward the same goal, but after around 8 or 9 hours of playtime (admittedly, this number might be slightly inflated due to my habit of exploring the map), I really should have at least some idea of what the stakes are but haven't learned much of anything about the "artifact" or why the antagonists are so keen to get their hands on it. It's just constantly coached in vague language to make it seem important without explaining much of anything. I don't mind the mystery, but the pacing of it leaves me a tiny bit frustrated at times with how little meat there is on the bone so far.
— Characters —
Overall, I am pretty happy with the new cast of characters! One of my only major complaints about Chapter 2 was the antagonists, and while they aren't perfect, the ones in Chapter 3 have been a notable improvement. The Duke is my favorite rival by far, both because his "ugly bastard" appeal adds some variety that was sorely lacking before, and because his manipulation of Rose (the protagonist's main love-interest) feels more complex than just a standard blackmail plot from any random NTR doujin. The situations might be a little contrived at times, but Rose buckling to his advances actually feels earned and reasonably sympathetic compared to Celis from Chapter 2.
My opinions of the other three antagonists are a bit more mixed, unfortunately. Despite being reduced to an optional sidequest, Haylen still remains my favorite character in the game, but her being paired with Jazon can make it hard for me to really enjoy most of her scenes. So far in the story, it is clear that Jazon is a fickle misogynist who is merely playing nice with her as part of his seduction, but I constantly find myself spending more time fantasizing about when his true personality will be revealed to her than I am actually enjoying any of the scenes I'm watching. They aren't bad, mind you; especially when you are given brief glimpses of what he is thinking behind the "nice boy" mask. I just hope that there will be plenty of time left to enjoy a more aggressive version of their relationship once it reaches that point.
I am also a very big fan of Cyanna, but unfortunately, I think she is being held back by her connection to "Brutus." There is a core conflict of character traits going on with his arc, that he is introduced as this brutal force of nature who takes what he wants through sheer strength... but then it slams on the brakes by having him guilt-trip Cyanna into such minor sex acts that it severely undercut his menacing presence as a villain. It feels like two halves of a character arc that were written in isolation from each other and don't quite fit together, making him come off as oddly pathetic at times. I can understand the necessity of it, that the story needs to ramp up the tension and can't just have him immediately force himself onto her two hours into the story while the other girls are still dabbling with foreplay and that it makes sense on paper with their tragic backstory, but I am constantly thinking that there could've been a much more interesting way to find that balance. Thankfully, as of this update, it seems like there is finally some sense of momentum and I just hope it sticks!
As for Lily and Nezar, I don't want to be too harsh on them but can't say anything positive either. Lily's relationship to the protagonist feels the most tenuous out of the four by far, where you could cut her out of the main group and lose nothing of substance. It just doesn't feel anywhere close to NTR for me, paling in comparison to even some of the little NPC storylines you can stumble onto around the map. In a perfect world, I would have made the decision to reallocate all of the time spent on her sidequest into making Haylen's more integral to the main story, but I'm sure some fans out there are much more interested in Lily's than I am, so that's just an inevitable part of trying to cater to multiple audiences.
As a whole, my one big takeaway from Chapter 3's villains is that I hope a hypothetical Chapter 4 might be a little more adventurous by breaking from the "1 girl = 1 rival" formula. Having four out of four storylines follow that pattern feels like such overkill, so I would really like to see some more group/gangbang NTR — even if it's relegated to a secondary tier, like with Haylen and Lily, so that fans of the series who aren't into that can avoid it at their own discretion. Also, I am very hopeful to see more monster-focused content at some point after it was briefly introduced in Chapter 2... It would be a fantastic way to shake things up and introduce some new tension.
— Gameplay —
Weirdly enough, no complaints here! It's hard to think of anything specific to praise because the whole experience so far has been smooth and pleasant. No frustrating diversions into puzzles or wasting the player's time with a bunch of back-and-forth busywork. Every step feels very efficient and meaningful. Henteria still remains my favorite H-game series for how it takes the "combat free" approach compared to a game like The Legend of Queen Opala: Origin... which can feel like a maddening exercise in frustration at times for how unpredictable the difficulty can be. To anyone who ever enjoyed NTRPG 2's style of storytelling, Henteria is the one true successor to that in my mind.
— Conclusion —
I look forward to updating this review in future updates!
