At this point, I'm getting Corruption of Champions 1 vibes from Threshold, and that's never good.
I personally have a much stronger preference for the first game than the second game.
CoC 1 has much more intimacy at it's focus and has a much more balanced cast sexuality imo.
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That being said, I think the common criticism of the weak main story for Monster Girl Dreams is a bit misguided.
I love strong narratives with consistent themes, and in-depth exploration like the next guy.
Shit like Disco Elysium and stuff.
That being said, I don't think Monster Girl Dreams ever
tried to make its main story the focus.
Unlike
Monster Girl Quest, which puts its main story front and center as the most important aspect of its narrative, and eschewed romantic relationships with 99% of the girls you face,
Monster Girl Dreams, cares more about making the player like every single girl you meet, over having an expansive and thought-provoking narrative.
Monster Girl Dreams', main story is kinda generic and derivative on purpose I think. I don't think it wants you to think too hard about why you're adventuring. It just says you are and so you go. You don't have a grand reason for being an adventurer like other games would give. I don't think it wants you to think about the grand conflict of the demon queen and the world, because no one in the setting honestly feels "threatened" by her.
Honestly, this means
Dreams has a hard time creating actual tension in the story, but that's not the kind of story it wants to tell.
The main thing, I, and I hope everyone else likes about Dreams are the Monster Girls. We're here for them, getting to know them, fucking them, and just hanging out.
To me the criticism is misguided in the same way someone's misguided for playing a
Fighting Game for the story.