Start playing during the week, finished it up last night. Wow. Simply an amazing journey. I laughed, I cried, I couldn't tear myself away from the story. Acting Lessons was the other game that springs to my mind that impacted me emotionally to this extent. I'm sorry for your loss dev, and I'm glad you were able to find an outlet with this AVN/game, I came for the sex and stayed for the story. It allowed me to escape some of the stress I'm dealing with, and frankly was helpful in teaching me some things as well. For my playthrough I wanted to try and play it organically, how I'd put myself in his shoes and let things unfold. As it follows:
Steph felt like she was going to be The One. Physically she looked perfect, so I was curious to see how the story was to unfold. Hooked up with her, and felt like that was going to start the rebound... then finding out about the 'husband' really soured my character, especially since there was no talk for over 2 years. So when Lexi made effort to connect with MC, it just ignited a spark that continued to develop and resulted in Lexi being the one... though don't get me wrong, MC also dipped his dick in Robin and Kira.
There were some devastating parts, really touching and sparked emotion, as well as uplifting and inspiring pieces. Ultimately I interpreted that the story is about moving forward, so while he got closure with Steph, he was already moving forward with Lexi, and I didn't want to crush Lexi's feelings. Also didn't pursue Holly as it felt like I'd be betraying Lexi. I think for replaying I'd like to go back and try Linda as the childhood crush ending up together, try one where he does relent to his initial love for Steph and gets back together with her, and probably a Cece run as well, though with her it was more like besties / sibling love rather than romantic by the end. I sort of felt like romancing her as a result of emotional trauma wasn't a recipe for success - pretty sure in reality those relationships fail more often than not. So it'll be a 'fantasy' spinoff in my opinion, but one I'm still interested in seeing. Not sure I'll do the throuple relationship, maybe sometime in the future, but individually would be a bit messed up - I sort of felt like those two are meant for each other, and even splitting between Chris it'd be too selfish.
One thing that was a bit surprising was how early to commit, it didn't feel like there were cheating opportunities but definitely saw scenarios where if you are with that girl, there'd be something 'extra' with that scene. The fact that you keep and maintain friendships with all the other LIs after you picked yours was something truly refreshing, and I think helps connect the player to the story more strongly.
Ultimately, it was a beautiful story that I truly enjoyed, and has been a memorable experience. For anyone who hasn't played it, please do yourself a favor and find time.
