I feel like this moment should have been part of the core game, because we don't really get to explore the relationship dynamic with mom in general, she just kind of pops up in some moments so we don't forget we're not an orphan. We see more of the other parents than our own. And the one moment we could have, she got called in to work so it's like ehh...
Exactly, this is what I'm talking about. You've summed it up perfectly:
If you've barely given any attention to the protagonist's relationship with his mother during the main episodes, then don't make a DLC that revolves around such a deep conflict with her, but whose consequences won't later be reflected in the main plot. Either you include this part in the main corpus, or you make the DLC more emotionally light or inconsequential in terms of the relationships between the characters.
In any case, I still don't agree with the fact that, because it's a DLC, the player's will had to be forced, and I say this for the following reason:
Unless the developer changes its mind in the future, at the beginning of Step Two, when the MC is recapitulating his childhood years in the city and how his relationships with those around him have evolved, there's a moment where the player is asked about his relationship with his mother.
Let's assume I'm a player who hasn't had access to the DLC, so I didn't take a position on the conflict at hand, nor am I aware of it. When it comes time to decide the relationship with the protagonist's mother in Step Two, I'll choose good, bad, or average, depending on what I've done in the main episodes of Step One.
If, on the other hand, I have played this latest DLC, when it comes time to answer the question in Step Two, I'll do so in a way that's consistent with the stance I took in that episode.
Nothing changes; GB isn't putting any restrictions on developing the plot in the future, nor is it making the plot conditional on having played the DLC. In fact, as the game stands now, I could tell the protagonist's mother to go to hell in the latest update and, when Step Two comes around, choose the option that the relationship with her is good, because, over the years since that incident, things have resolved.
What I'm trying to say is that, since at the beginning of Step Two the developer is going to ask all players (whether they've had access to the DLC or not) about the protagonist's relationship with their mother, the explanation that all negative options are omitted so as not to influence the main narrative for those who've only played the main episodes doesn't work for me.
But anyway, I think I've made my point, and I don't want to tire people out. I just hope the developer decides to revisit this moment in the future, as some of you have suggested, to include a more satisfying resolution.
