Bright Past has lots of grind, a mess of bugs, some cringe in the writing and zero non-scuzzy male love interests, but as bad as I'm making it sound, it's worth checking out. The amount of ambition and depth of the game so far is like nothing I've seen in a porn game. I just hope the dev hires a native language English speaker with some writing talent to smooth out some of the rough patches once the game is complete, plus redesigns some of the cringier male character models. Lots of lesbian options, if you're into that. It needs A LOT of work. But it has the potential to be very good if the dev smooths things out. Warning: You're basically going down a deep corruption path to move the story forward, no matter what. The level of choice in that regard is lacking as well.
Other VN suggestions I've posted 100+ times here: Heal Slut (best non-EvaKiss F-protag VN out there), Jessica O'Neil's Hard News. I won't mention Eva's other game due to the "no shit Sherlock" factor.
Non VN: Last Evil (fantastic from a gameplay aspect. Warning: Monster rape).
Nothing else I've come across for female protag is any good. (Though TBF, there aren't many good male protag adult vns either. Most of the content in this genre as a whole is pretty terrible, which is why decent games like this one have such a dedicated following).
Let me know if you are open to Male Protag vns though and I'll list a few more.
Hey, I've been trying new things for a while now.
1) Bright Past — certainly interesting and with great potential, but too grindy, and I hate grinding with all my heart. I will wait for the development of the game, because this kind of gameplay tires very quickly.
2) Heal Slut — honestly, I didn't really like the crumpled plot and somewhat unpleasant male partners, but the game is worthy and deserves attention.
3) Jessica O'Neil's Hard News — yes, I've been following her since I appeared on this site. Only very slow development is depressing.
4) Last Evil — I love RPGs, but I don't like rogue-likes.
My recommendations:
1) Claire's Quest is an RPGM game with a minimum of grind (it is practically non-existent, except for money) and concentrated on the plot, quests and lore. The scenes are mostly rapey and submission and bestiality, but the game's main selling point is its storyline, ext. quests and elaborate Pseudo-Renaissance dark-fantasy setting and developing lore. I strongly recommend it to fans of RPG and fantasy.
2) Defenestration — the developers, unfortunately, have been milking lately and the game has stalled in development, but what is already present, I think, can attract attention. The setting of the USSR in the future and a very interesting "spy" plot. The game is full of satire and black humor. The scenes are mostly rapey, harassing and submission.
3) Desert Stalker — discovered this male protag VN a couple of days ago. Post-apocalyptic setting inspired by Fallout and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Very entertaining and despite the early stage of development, it already has a lot of scenes. After Eva games, I usually play fem protag, but this game impressed me a lot. The only thing is that she is a little harem-like and about the macho MC that all the girls want, but in the game itself it is not as bad as I describe and does not spoil the impression.
Yes, I don't mind, after the last game I became more interested in it.