Finally played through most of the content to form my overall opinion about Chapter 3 Alpha. It was very extensive. I'm amazed at how Eva keeps it up. This update was like Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 combined so it's understandable why it's less stable than the previous ones. And in addition, she even changed some things to Chapter 1 as well! Eva, you madwoman.
+) Plot thickens. It seems like both Ian and Lena are at their lowest point right now, so it means the Greatest Change is in order. Some really unexpected twists without seeming like they come out of the ordinary. The narrative had me at the edge of my seat during the initial playthrough. Ended up playing through an entire night. This update just gives the hardest choices.
+) Holly. I just love Holly, she's such a sweet Cinnamon Roll that you just want to cuddle and never let go. The meeting with her and Lena was fantastic. Strangely, she seems like the glue that brings Ian and Lena together even more. Can't wait for her character development, it seems she needs something more to boost her self-esteem than just saying sweet words, considering how hard it is to break through her shell of insecurity and make her see her worth. But man, why does she have to get the short end of the stick... First, making her wait after fun with Cindy and then making an impossible choice between meeting her and Lena or see more of Alison... Seems like everybody wants to do everything on the most inconvenient days.
+) Cindy. She's a very interesting character, to say the least. She definitely has this unlikeable shallow side to her that doesn't make things easier for those liking her. But I was glad to see her other side as well. Her genuinely sweet and caring personality. I didn't expect her to be an empath. But it was funny how she couldn't understand a profound compliment from Ian. She's very similar to Iris from GGGB in that regard. She's very sweet but very naive and not bright at all. it's especially evident in the scene with Axel, granting how easy it was for him to say a couple of nice things and she was all over him. She's fun to be around but that fun is not for the long term. I pity Wade but he digs himself into an even deeper hole. He has so much potential and wastes it away. I decided to go with Cindy but not for personal desire to score with her, but just to oversee that she doesn't do anything stupid on her own in her frustrated state. There's this interesting dynamic between Cindy and Ian. It seems like each of them has what the other needs to grow. Cindy is so positive and supportive of Ian, the best qualities for any girlfriend, but she also needs to be less self-centered when it comes to money and learn some responsibility. Refusing to pay for her drinks is so far is my favorite route with her, and Axel's introduction feels much smoother since he's ready to play a devil on Cindy's shoulder and convince her that she doesn't need growth in order to get what she wants. I was surprised that he paid for Ian's drink too, so it's an interesting difference between him and Jeremy. I guess if Cindy finally decides to break up with Wade, she'd want to go an easy route and pick a sugar "daddy". I can already see how she ends up working for Seymour participating in something very nasty and depraved. She's not smart but you don't have to be smart to be a pretty whore. I feel the duty to save her though. She says that she can handle herself if a guy acts like an asshole, but to me, it just sounds like a rebellious talk. While I agree that she'd make a fantastic model, she needs to meet Lena and learn how many creeps there are waiting to take advantage of beautiful girls at every step.
+) Louise's sex scene was the hottest one yet. Finally, we saw her naked and damn, she's gorgeous. Even Lena can't help herself but be mesmerized by her friend's sexuality. But it's going to be tough for her in the next update. She's probably going go full lesbian. Unless she gets to meet Ian and Perry. Enjoyed the solo scene too, the fantasy about Holly was surprising, especially as it comes in a package with desire for Ian (if they kissed). The threesome is blossoming.
-) My biggest complaint so far is that individual days were very short and it felt like Eva wanted to rush through them and fast forward which was surprising, especially compared to how naturally the narrative in Chapter 2 flows. Also, Lena's scenes were becoming too similar to GGGB. While it's not bad, I would like to see fewer re-treads and tropes. It feels like Lena's route wasn't as fleshed out as Ian's was this time. She gets her moments here and there, but if she doesn't see Robert and chooses to not go and see Seymour, then her chapter is kind of uneventful.
Overall, great update. No doubt Beta has even more in store aside from bug and typo fixes (I wonder why every time the word "hug" was spelled as "hugh"). I'll explore the code some more, to see if there's anything I missed.
