She has done a good job but the "everyone" bit is a bit of a stretch. I'll always prefer GGGB purely for the playable character.
I know a lot of guys prefer playing their own gender when it comes to things like this but the same can be said of some of the women folk, specifically me.
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With this game i'm invested in one half of the story and rushing through the other half to get back to the parts I enjoy.
I didn't mean in my post that Our Red String is necessarily a better
gaming experience for everybody (which I assume is the word that made you take my point the wrong way). All people are biased in some way and can't like the same things or like something to the same extent.
It's perfectly fine that you like GGGB more for the possibilities it opens for you to make Ashley whatever you want her to be. The difference between Ashley and Lena is the fact that Lena has her own defined personality, while Ashley is a blank slate, a vessel for the player to insert himself into her shoes. My comparison between GGGB and ORS wasn't about which presents more freedom for the player expression (we pretty much established that it's GGGB). But which game has better-written characters and a more believable narrative? Our Red String, hands down. I know that because I played all paths in GGGB, and the only path that is not written like your typical porn is mostly good Ash. But if you play Bimbo and Thug routes, it's obvious they have no depth and take place in some fantasy land with porn/trash movie logic.
So, it's okay if you like GGGB more for subjective reasons, like only having one playable character or being able to make sweet love to reformed Jessica (which is the pinnacle of GGGB writing). But when it comes to pure writing quality and more believable storytelling? GGGB is limping far behind. If you want to challenge that, you'd have to present less biased arguments.
And the fact that I'm a male and can play as Ian has nothing to do with my love for ORS, because I love Ian's and Lena's stories equally. Even though it's easier for me to relate to Ian, I'm invested in Lena's POV even more because I already understand Ian's character but I'm curious to get to know what Lena has to go through in her day-to-day life experience, so I can learn from it (and I did). I empathize with Lena more than I ever could with Ashley.
It's hilarious how before this update everybody was complaining about condoms in the game and how much they wanted to get rid of them and now that you get the choice they're complaining it feels out of character lol
It's not an accurate observation. While it may appear so from an outside perspective, the actual issue is not about whether or not Lena has the option to go bareback or not or allow Mike to cum inside her or not. I think those choices are in fact handled quite well. When you're in the middle of sex, sometimes the influx of happy hormones makes you careless.
The actual issue is with the choice to seduce Mike and how the writing of that choice handles Lena's character. That's just not something that Lena, still fresh after her break-up with Axel, who cheated on her, in her right mind (she wasn't drunk), would be comfortable doing. Or if she is, the game failed to explain why to fill the blanks for us. The canon Lena we've seen so far is a very compassionate person who, despite being interested in Ian herself, regardless if she's fucking Robert or not and regardless of her Lust level, tries to empathize with Holly and show restraint with Ian, even though she doesn't have to when it's clear that both of them want the same thing.
So, being the compassionate person that she is, Lena, after realizing that Mike has a girlfriend, would most likely take a moment to reflect on things and respect his dedication, being glad that there are still men with integrity, instead of going out of her way to try desperately to seduce him like some bitch in heat. It's not about "If you have a problem with this choice, why take it". The game so far tried really hard to write consistent characters. So, any choice that is presented in the game, should be consistent with Lena's character. If Lena can seriously choose to make Mike cheat on his girlfriend, the writing should've better conveyed Lena's logic and motivation behind this choice so that we could actually understand why she goes through with it like it makes us understand why Ian might want to go for Emma or Cindy. Instead, we are left to guess and come up with a rationalization.
And after that choice, when Louise needs her help, in no way would Lena choose to fuck this stranger instead of trying to help and comfort Louise. Not after seeing a completely different Lena just in the previous update. Getting his number and parting ways makes the most sense in that situation. The only route in which going through with her seduction of Mike would be consistent is if:
a) Her relationship with Louise is poor;
b) Her interest in Ian was low and she decided to friendzone him;
c) She was fucking Robert all this time and he awakened her inner slut.
If these were the only conditions for Mike's scene to happen, I wouldn't have so many problems with it. As it is, it's accessible to any Lena, as long as she has high enough Lust score. The only scene that goes completely against Lena's previously shown behavior, regardless of route, is her trying so hard to make Mike stay for the night or at least for the shower. That dialogue was pure cringe in my playthrough and I can't see any possible reason for Lena to behave this way. And unlike the previous choices, this dialogue happens without any say from the player so you can't excuse this writing using the argument of player choice. We needed at least a couple of more updates where Lena gets some character development so that she can arrive to that point a bit more naturally.