Alright, time for my extended Chapter 5 review.
Holy shit, that was the most content-heavy update ever and what content it was... I don't mind waiting another month without an update after that, I'm very satisfied. Didn't dive into the script yet but I'm confident I saw every event that was available. Aside from the technical issues (that are to be expected from the Alpha), I can say that this was my favorite update yet. Things are about to get very interesting.
1.
Plot. This update is called "Playing the Field" which naturally focuses on multiple relationships surrounding Ian and Lena, as well as multiple temptations. On one hand, it was pretty straight forward, just following the threads that were set-up in Chapter 4, which are basically told during 2 memorable days for Ian and Lena respectively, with not much going on aside from that. But on the other, it included almost every important character in this game and even introduced a couple of new ones. First of all, I'm happy that Ian is finally able to pursue his goals and venture beyond his lame job. Not sure that working for Seymour is the best choice in the long run, but it definitely opens a lot of doors. Lena can also focus on getting more money for demonstrating her sexual side... and this probably is her turning point. With her main jobs in jeopardy, and with so many allures out there constantly pushing her to consider less ideal but more rewarding options, and reminding her that sex sells... It's easy to give that lifestyle a chance and also find some joy in it. But would it be worth it in the long run? Will it make her problems go away or only make things even messier? Most importantly, is that the best she can do?... Or will it simply distract her from what her true goals to find happiness? Is it even possible?... Only time will tell.
2.
Characters. The best part about this update. It's hard to separate the events with all the characters from the rest of the story, but I'm afraid it's necessary, otherwise the text would just be too long.
- Ian and Lena. So far I'm liking their character progression and their behavior, no matter how sexy it gets, is in line with their personality. I'm glad there are no polarizing choices like there were in GGGB, where at one point Ashley just decides to act slutty or join thugs or become a dumb blonde bimbo... and then be locked out of the rest of the content. Here, it feels like all of the content is available to you all the time, as long as you are witty, charismatic, or horny enough. I guess Lust is the most controversial trait, by the same nature of being similar to Bad points in GGGB. But so far, their implementation was pretty clever. It's perfectly natural for a geek who lucked out and managed to get in good graces of multiple girls, to start acting a bit more confident and trying to pursue more and more. With Lena, her desire to forget about Axel and her money problems motivated her to explore more of her sexual side. I'm actually considering following Ivy's advice and start acting sexier, start doing sexy photoshoots and entice fans via Stalkfap, in contrast with GGGB, where I wasn't really tempted to try things and act naughty all that much. The only action so far that seems out of character for Lena, or maybe "too soon" for her, is the seduction of Mike but more on that later.
- Emma. Oh, how the tables have turned. It's funny, I remember multiple people saying this couple of months that Emma was the least interesting/attractive girl in the game, and now, with this update, it's undeniable that Emma is the true queen and is the sexiest girl of all. It was the nicest surprise this update had. And finally, the first girl to have some pubic hair! I almost expected to come to terms that the game takes place in some alternative porn universe where everyone is shaved. I guess most players suspected that Emma was open-minded, but this update teased us with what might be in store. Perry is such a lucky bastard. If my Ian wasn't such a good friend, he would probably never be able to get closer to his perfect soulmate. But wow, I'm curious to explore the full extent of her perversions and find out her hard limits... The conversation with her makes it seem like she's down for pretty much anything. Lena needs to become friends with her ASAP. I can imagine Ian + Lena / Perry + Emma serious friendship in the future. The dynamics could be interesting. And I'm seriously considering cucking Perry. It's probably one of his kinks, anyway.
- Alison. "I love you!", huh? What were the odds that the girl who doesn't want a serious relationship would blurt something like that? It became obvious to me that this easygoing and confident exterior is just a facade to mask her serious crush that she still has after all these years. All her "slutty" actions were motivated by her desire to make Ian jealous in hopes that he could finally notice her sexual side and make a serious move to reclaim her. When Ian decided to have fun with Emma, no matter how good the relationship she has with Ian, she instantly chooses to give herself to Jeremy, with the intention to teach Ian that he made a mistake. It was clear to me that she's not the type to nag other people and beg for attention, choosing to instead use not so subtle hints to convey her message. Now I can clearly see that, for all the talk that she wants to keep things casual and that she doesn't care about who Ian sleeps with, in truth she can't help but feel jealous and just want to win Ian's affection and devotion. Once again, all the people who said that Alison is not the relationship material got played.
- Holly. Finally, a proper date with her, even if it was quite tame, but I guess you can't expect more from Holly. What a cute date it was. As expected, she's very romantic and wants to be Ian's girlfriend... wish there was an option to at least give her a peck on the cheek to make her week. I'll be honest, I'm a bit afraid to get close to her while I'm trying to score with Lena at the same time. She's so sweet, gentle, and vulnerable that I just can't bear a thought of breaking her trust and breaking her heart. But how could Ian not to? She clearly has a crush, so if Ian doesn't try anything with her, she might feel very unhappy and sorry for herself, thinking that men are not interested in her... And if he tries to make a move on her and then she learns that he's sort of with Lena, it might be 10 times more painful for her... She needs to get out of her shell a bit first and learn that relationships are not as simple as they appear in romance novels. Maybe if she accepts that there's no rush for serious relationships and learns to explore her sexuality, then everything will work out peacefully. Her reactions to Ian and Lena's date were funny though "Say hi to Ian!"
- Cindy. Oh boy, that photo shoot with her was very erotic, but unfortunately (or for the best) it didn't happen in my "canon" playthrough... I really liked her attitude when she decided to bare it all. Her last picture that said "Here. I'm naked and not hiding anything. Look all you want, I'm not scared anymore" is gotta be my absolute favorite. Very interested to see how much it complicates her relationship with Ian and how Axel might affect it. Wade better get his motivation back if he wants to save that relationship...
- Jeremy. Poor bastard, haha. Ivy was savage with that backstab. Perfectly justified. Ian and Lena cockblocked him with all of his girls. After being dumped by Louise and getting shit from Ivy, his only hope was Alison but because I managed to bring Perry, Alison was too ecstatic to leave with Ian that Jeremy couldn't even do anything about it, lol. Tough luck. But that's what you get for pushing your luck and playing dirty. Karma is a bitch.
- Ivy. That dancing outfit is extremely hot. I guess that's what it would be like for Lena to work in the club. I wonder when she's going to consider stripping, I doubt she'll be averse to doing the same thing in the nude. I'll admit, I expected her to say Hi to Ian and his friends but I guess she wasn't in the mood after what happened with Louise... I was happy that she took her opportunity to defend her dignity and show Louise that she was blaming the wrong person all along. It was rough though, a more subtle approach might've been the best one. But I guess Louise cornered her with all that trash talk, so I perfectly understand why Ivy lashed out. Boy... fixing their relationship will be a very tough task.
- Louise. I'm very conflicted with this one. I wish she didn't act that stupid. She's very similar to Perry on that front. Trouble will find her easily with that confrontational attitude. For a person who constantly gives shit to Stan and blaming him for even breathing, she's extremely quick to believe her "boyfriend" and blame Ivy for everything. You'd think she'd be more inclined to believe women, but oh well... Though after all the drama, when she asked for Lena's comfort... I couldn't resist her. I know it was wrong, taking advantage of her in that vulnerable state when she couldn't think clearly... But didn't she equally take advantage of Lena's care?... Again, curious to see how it will complicate things. The idea to make her submit to Lena and then make her pleasure Ivy is definitely alluring because unlike with Eva and Jess in GGGB, Ivy never bullied Louise and tried her best to stay civil. Or maybe Ivy could pleasure Louise and show that there's no reason to fight?
- The new guy. Mike. Finally, a decent dude for Lena to choose, who is chill, caring and sexual. Though I admit, I think his personality is too similar to Ian's, to the point of even being a nerd but without all the baggage. To seduce him, Lena needs to be very horny and slutty, and this is probably where the game's believability was a bit lost to me. Seducing Mike, despite knowing that he has a girlfriend, seems outside of Lena's personality, or at least it feels like there were a couple of steps missing where she went from being too afraid of how Holly might react to her dating Ian, to that kind of level of neediness, constantly begging for this stranger's attention... What gives? At least when she had one night stand with Robert, they were colleagues for a long time when the first opportunity to bring him home appeared, and it even takes some Will from her to agree to that, and her interactions with him were pretty casual. But simply seducing a stranger like this... I don't know, I guess having to write the walkthrough and pay attention to all the routes at once really highlights this strange character shift for Lena. I admit, she had these occasional naughty moments, like flirting with Ed or acting very sexual during Seymour's photo shoot... If anybody read through all that and had a high-Lust Lena since the beginning, let me know if you found Lena's behavior jarring when it came to seducing Mark.
- Robert. Well, not much to say from me. Glad he wasn't really in this Chapter. Good riddance. He'd make a perfect cuck.
BONUS TRIVIA: Perry has a watersports kink. Emma likes anal and hard sex. Lena has experimented with girls before (I wonder if she ever did anything with Ivy?).
This review is getting too big. I'll have to stop here. I'll just say that I also liked the new music, even the one in the club, despite the game saying it was shit, haha.
