Speaking for myself but some of the bad and Ugly I still like cause I find them fun characters ( Lisa , Jenny and Linda). I think that's the way to make " bad" character have them still be fun to the point where I want to play their path or see some of their content because they are fun to be around but morally I know they are bad characters. Linda wins that contest for me she is fun but still flirting and doing inappropriate things with Ava's boyfriend or friend depending on your choices.
I like them as characters 100%.
Let me clarify a bit. Most games I play on here are so far removed from reality, that I insert myself in a fake (fantasy) world. There the cheating, lying scum of an MC is accepted as normal and I really do not even notice his faults. I even enjoy most games as a got to catch them all (ala Pokémon style), because in the fake game world, he does not hurt the girls even if he cheats on them. (OK in a lot of harem games, the cheese gets a bit much and my eyes just start rolling)
But because this game is written in a more realistic setting, I judge the characters accordingly.
First off, the MC is not my cup of tea, even if you play him as faithful to Ava. He is obviously very promiscuous, and his attitude to Ava while he talks to Lisa on his trip homes, speaks volumes of his character. I mean he was Ava's BF in everything but name but did not hesitate to bed anything that moves while on his world trip. The way he speaks about her to Lisa as a non-attractive FWB is not very flattering.
I don't hate him. Maybe in the back of my mind, I wish I was like him when I was younger, but morally, I just cannot get myself to live such a live. (I'm from an older generation, so maybe me still equating sex to some kind of relationship is the reason)
Lisa, we have all seen girls like her. In the moment people, that just does what she feels like in the moment. That is 100% why she cheats on her BF....twice. Once again, I don't hate her, but she is impulsive and doing shit without thinking about the consequences and that is a character flaw that will end up hurting a lot of people close to her.
Jenny, first off, her choice as a BF is questionable. (Look, I don't want to get into religion, but certain cultural aspects cannot be ignored). Let's stick to her BF, but hypocrisy is one of my major pet peeves. He sleeps with Jenny often but does not allow his sister to even be in the same room as another man. I know it is how he was brought up, but seriously!? I cannot stand him. And that was way before Jenny cheated on him.
So back to Jenny. She has an Asshole BF (Sorry not Sorry). That she cheated on him, I can forgive, but that she cheated on him with her friend's BF is really a low blow. Surely there must be a female equivalent of the Bro-code? As her brother, of course I understand where his loyalties lie, but forging her by even other girls like Ava and Zoe. I mean WTF? what she did warrants at least some repercussions.... Not talking to you for 2 weeks or something.
Linda is playing with fire. She knows the MC has a crush on her and still flirts (more than flirt really) with him despite him now being her daughter's BF. Make no mistake, I find Linda to be the most attractive lady in the game, and me playing as the MC is 100% going to cheat with her, but judging her as a realistic character, she is playing with fire and I'm pretty sure she is already cheating on her husband.
What if we assume that the MC's father and Linda's husband gave their wives a free pass while they were on long business trips? Then mom is not really cheating, but taking advantage of her freedom, and the main drama here is not about her cheating, but whether she will have time to become emotionally attached to her colleague. And the drama for Linda is definitely the sexual relationship with her daughter's boyfriend.
I don't read it like that at all. They are 100% neglecting their wives and the wives are actually complaining about their continuous absence. I do have a lot of sympathy for them, but cheating is still cheating. As a married man, I know there is flirting, but then there is also I line you do not cross and I'm pretty sure they have been crossed already. We also need to know how long and how frequent these trips are. I know lots of people in my home country where the husbands work offshore or does seasonal work. So the wife needs to handle being alone for 6-9 months a year.
Getting a male friend(s), flirting a bit with him etc. for me all falls into fair play. But there is a line you should not cross and I'm pretty sure that line has been crossed by both women here. Linda flirting with her daughter's BF does not help her case at all. She is playing with fire.
In general, I do not like pretty much all the character's takes promiscuity. Ava and Zoe is kind of the best, but even them handling Jenny's infidelity is a pretty low bar. Also, the advice the MC give to Lisa and Jenny for that matter is pretty bad. (For Jenny I don't really mind, since her BF is pretty bad [fuck that guy] and Kenji seems like a serial cheater. I hope Suzi breaks up with him). For Linda the advice is horrible. David seems like nice guy and most men worth their salt does not take kindly to cheating and will be pretty unforgiving. If she wants to keep her BF, the best advice would be to stop your shit immediately and pray he never finds out. Once he finds out, that trust has been lost forever. Expecting your partner to take you back after that is a 50/50 gamble at best and even then, your relationship dynamic will change for ever (for the worse). The trust will never be the same.
Anecdotally, I do trust my wife with any man. I'm not a very jealous man and would not even mind if my wife flirts a bit with someone, she finds attractive. But there is a line and once that line is crossed, that level of trust that existed is gone forever. Men being super jealous (Mila's BF) for me is the mark of a very insecure man and should be a red flag for any women but having said that, the trust that someone places in their partner should be the building block of a relationship.
PS! I'm not criticizing the game. I actually enjoy this game a lot. It's because the game is pretty realistic that I judge the characters as real people and not as game characters.