Hello, kinda new to NTR games. I discovered the genre with Henteria Chronicles 2 , and although I tried a number of them since, I've failed to find anything that holds my interest in the same way. I'm starting to wonder if what I'm trying to find isn't a bit too specific, or if I don't know how to search for it so maybe you can help me.
What I'm looking essentially is a game (or another support if you think that would fit) that plays around the question : How did those two people not end (or stay) together ? and shows the strings of circumstances/decisions/actions that made two (not totally dumb) people that seemed compatible not becoming (or stay) a couple. Obviously I'm looking for NTR-centric games, not those using NTR as an alternative path or a failure state, and the kind that elicits (or tries to elicit) dread or a sense of impending failure.
Expanding upon it and trying to fit it into clear criterias, I'm looking for is a game with :
- "cuck" protagonist, preferably a gameplay that focuses on the actions and decisions of the "cuck" while the people they care about is getting seduced. A "seduced" protag where the seduced still pays a lot of attention to the "cuck" decisions and actions could still work.
- story actually intertwining the protagonist, the person(s) they like and the ones seducing them. I dislike games like Scars of Summer which feel like unrelated love stories, with no connection between the protagonist and their rival, and not even a strong connection between the protagonist and their love interest.
- conventional seduction (NTR Type A, at worst B), with no or minimal use of (possibly emotional) blackmail, drugs/alcohol/rape magic and the stupid "rape/harass until they like it" trope. It may be asking too much for porn games but I'm so bored by these and would rather the ones seducing away from the protagonist to be somewhat deserving.
- a relationship that makes sense. Just like the previous point, if the "cuck" is a child that doesn't even seem to be emotionally mature, or a total asshole, or if the person being seduced is a total airhead with no clue, or the childish "too shy to reveal their feelings", it deprives the story of what could make it interesting.
- top down perspective (like most RPG Maker games) or something similar in that it can display the actions of others characters while being invisible to the protagonist.
I'm well aware there's no such tailor-made game, but maybe you can give suggestions covering one or more criterias.
Games I tried and liked :
- HC2 : the first part with the corruption of a whole town, the use made of transparent windows and rooms and the week system was very impressive. I disliked most of what happens after the wood elf adventure as the writing started to show glaring limits. One thing I appreciated with this one is that, despite the protagonist being too childish and clueless, he displays some "heroic" qualities (according to the JRPG trope anyway) that can justify him being a love interest, and, at least for a while, so does the seducer.
- NTRPG2 : excellent work but it's more about corruption than relationships.
- Boy Hero Ken ~Haunted House Investigation~ : that game does one thing well, its focus on the actions and decisions of the "cuck", and there are some interesting ideas, a "power" that let him see what just happened but takes time, meaning he still misses what is currently happening, and going back in time yet still failing. However there's no real relationship between the protagonist and his love interest, the protagonist is clueless and childish, so it ends up feeling like the story of a peeping tom curious about the love story between two people he knows.
Games I tried, felt had potential but ultimately didn't like :
- Scars of Summer : a girl starts 6 relationships with 6 different people who never acknowledge each other and a stalker happens to see it all.
- The Edge Of : the male protagonist is an asshole, the seducer too, and the female protag is only smart when convenient, the initial relationship never makes sense and it's hard to care for the new one. Having to play the game twice to see the alternative scenes that the writer made painfully obvious on the first playthrough rather than displaying both at once was a chore too.
- Shadowcore : I didn't go that far on this one so I may have missed things but felt like another one where the protagonist and his love interest are strangers living next to each other. Worse, even the one seducing the love interest barely interacts with her.
- Amor Magical Academy : the setting is way too contrived, of course the naive childlike couple won't flourish in the Magical Rape Academy.
- Welcome to the Sexy Bar : while the gameplay is interesting, it's about corruption foremost.
- Seeds of Chaos : wide range but no depth.
Games I tried and didn't like : HC1, Thug Hero Party, To H... Tamani's Hentai Adventure Birdcage, Netorare Imouto Misaki, NTR Homestay, Pandora's Box.
I haven't tried many female protag games since those I tried had a largely absent "cuck" only appearing when convenient to make a scene more exciting but I probably missed some gems here too.
Thanks in advance if you have suggestions and sorry for the ramblings.