Forgive me if this reply post ends up being giant but I got some insightful responses to go through! (And I will still edit this post some more) Let's see....
I'm probably in minority here but I skip all cuck sex. It doesn't bother me if it's in the games I play (much) but I'm not interested in it. It gives cucks pleasure I want them to be deprived of completely. Their micropenises and pe won't negate that pleasure.
Now to answer your question, in theory I prefer the 1st option but what usually happens is that alone is not a good enough reason for me to enjoy the game. Sometimes I like games that involve 2nd option because I'm able to enjoy their parts separately and they tick the rest of the boxes better. It depends on the overall package even tho I would prefer if bull snatched all the firsts including the kiss.
I understand why lots of people prefer 'established couples' who had sex and did everything couples usually do. It's more realistic, immersive and impactful later for them, also fits the cuckold definition better. For me things are different but like I said, it doesn't make or break ntr for me.
Funny enough I rock with you with regards to not engaging with the MC having sex with their FMC. If we're playing an NTR game we don't want to see the male victim have sex with the female. We wanna see the villain have fun with the female and reap the joy from that. Although sometimes, it's an amusing thought to see a scene where the MC tries some foreplay but is so clumsy and awkward that the FMC gets annoyed and frustrated.
I prefer the option to be open, like in
Nebel Geisterjäger, where you can have both options. However, a bit of experience is also nice, as in
Secret Dawn. What I like most is the slow inflection point, but also from a mystery perspective, for me that adds a lot of value, because you add your own imagination to the game, similar to what happens with some good books.
I agree that slow burn NTR games are some of the very best out there. Although I respect the desire to keep it open, I rather think that a focused narrative is better and enjoy it when the creator's intent and desires co-align with yours. That kind of wavelength with reader/author is quite the experience.
The former, by a lot.
>why we enjoy the corruption/NTR factor of hentai games so much
something like this:
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Hahaha! That's the term for that line of thinking huh? So in your case I assume you enjoy these NTRs just so you can say, to these fictional woman, 'you were a WHORE all along!'? Or something of the sort?
I think you see a lot of games fall into the 1st category because it's easier to emphasise the corruption of the FMC with her innocence being taken away; our current modern world favours virginity in women and experience in men. That being said, I would say that it definitely depends on the story surrounding these concepts.
The knife twisting feeling is experienced when you feel there is a genuine bond between the MC and FMC, and in that moment when the pledge is formed, the commitment from the FMC is the amplification of the betrayal when it's taken. Just a pledge alone is too bland(?) and doesn't emit any feeling to the MC, just a desire not to cheat within that relationship, like normal relationships are.
The second option I have seen a lot less, but that's because there is a proper need to build that bond with the MC, so a lot more resources are required to build that. However, I feel like in this instance the sex alone shouldn't be the FMC's only reason to pick the antagonist over MC; the sex is the initiator to that affair, and is usually deepened as the antagonists' hidden personality/character is revealed, leading to FMC to 'fall' for him.
Regardless, IMO in a vacuum, the first instance is easier and cheaper to convey that corruption vs the second, but the story around these concepts are easily as important to amplify/exaggerate that NTR feeling.
Thinking about it, I think I understand why I enjoy my former point more so than my latter point. It is much easier to produce a narrative when the couple are vanilla and innocent down to being sexless and then breaking them down at your discretion.
I prefer the first option because in NTR setting/paths, I'm not looking for a true love story. I'm looking for a story about a woman who naively throws it all (and by all, I mean all, including her firsts) away wither to protect her true love, or in the misguided search for better, only to ultimately find out she was nothing but a piece of meat to be used and tossed aside for fresh pickings when they get bored, which naturally means I prefer the Netori to be a virgin hunter.
I like it even more when the Netori is the obvious (from the omniscient viewpoint) bad choice: the fat bastard loser who can't get ahead without playing dirty, the sleazy playboy who's only looking for a naive pump and dump, the politician who's just exercising his power and influence, etc. If the Netori is doing it for love, it's already a turnoff for me.
Damn, you enjoy the vindictive part of it all! Although if it winds up being Netori doesn't really matter to me cause the overall downfall of the female, regardless if she gets stolen by someone else, is the thrill that keeps ya going!
It depends on the story mostly, but I'm fine with either, with some caveats.
I don't personally like it if a large portion of the game is dedicated to the love interest having sex with the protagonist unless the sex is clearly unfulfilling and done in order to, for instance (doesn't have to be this specifically) hide the fact that the love interest is having sex with someone else (a clear reason for this would be games with pregnancy mechanics where the female LI has sex with the protag to hide the fact that the child isn't his, as tropey as that is).
I don't mind about virginity in the slightest as I think it's a frankly absurd concept to worry about, although I know a lot of people enjoy the defloration aspect in games etc. I don't care if it's there, I don't care if it isn't - the one exception is that some games have a desire to put in an excessive amount of blood during 'defloration scenes' and this is too unrealistic for me and offputting. I realise sex is messy, but lots of blood does nothing for me and is nothing more than a trope in most cases (some blood isn't uncommon during first sex encounters when young, but if she's had her period or been active at all, a considerable amount is unlikely).
None of this is meant to belittle those who do like these things.
Too much blood is something I will agree with. Wanna know something that also common and too absurd, dare I say a copout trope that used to really drill in the corruption?
Too long dongs.
It may exist but I rarely if ever see a NTR villain where their penis is actually average/ain't large. Wouldn't it be a further twist in the knife if the villain has the same dick size as the MC but he uses it better?