I play single routes and harem games. I don't like when devs force relationship on the MC, I prefer to have a choice always.
Anyway, my criticism is about how long the slow burn is taking if that wasn't clear.
That is understandable. There is roughly two types of MC usually.
Either you have a "mostly empty", in term of values ad pre established personality I mean. Player can guide his choices, and it can go one way or the total opposite. Because the player is the master of all MC's personality.
Then you have the designed MC (if you have a better name for it, I'll gladly take it). MC comes with his sets of values and his personality. You can stir a bit with his choice, but you can't rewrite his base values, or personality traits.
Hillside is clearly the later. MC has a lot of values and a character quite well defined. You couldn't make it go harem, or cheating, not even corruption. It doesn't fit the character.
I can see why it feels like forcing, but that is just two very different approaches of a choice page game main character. I'm curious to have your opinion on that (if you don't mind)
What
Ragnar stated is mostly true. I believe it had taken a different direction a long time ago, around the time when things like he has mentioned were removed and modified, likely due to a new approach in which the story-focus is highly favored or change of heart or something like that. I'm a little disappointed too, not because of the stern focus on the story but doing it at the expense of
doing it.
For all the changes that appears (mostly people are sad to see the Emma changing scene blurred I guess) I don't think DarkBlue changed that much his approach. Charlotte was always going to be the harder relation to have. It will probably come a bit close to the end, like a reward kind of thing. With Kaylah or Lucy, I think we can expect something soon, because they are not what we can call shy ^^
All of this are personal view point of the situation.