- Jul 2, 2020
- 5,054
- 3,250
Potentially controversial opinion:
I am really not a fan of the last update and the direction taken (read: Naamah and all quests to do with her)
To give the positives first. I understand people's desire for "giant demon lady with pierced nipples and bdsm gear", so I get that people may like the design. I also appreciate that there have to be some ramifications eventually for playing both sides of a conflict.
However, the way this was played out is stupid. Not only do we already have a similar design we have a much greater emotional attachment to (Erevi's daughter, hello), but also she acts like a total bitch right off the bat which may fit the aesthetic, but ruins everything surrounding it.
And the biggest centrepoint here is the MC. I like his characterization a lot throughout the game. Yes, he's horny, young, and sometimes stupid, but he cares about every one of his girls, and can be smart and unbending when it comes to defending them.
So what happens when Naamah abducts Alice? (Which is a stupid move on her part anyway). He immediately looks for a way to find her, turning to Erevi and LOCO (Smart move). And then when encountering Naamah, immediately fucking folds and doesn't try to negotiate beyond Alice's release. No attempt to counterargue or manouver the conflict, not even reframing the situation as "You release Alice no matter what, and then I'll see if I can help you, since that's in my self-interest anyway", none of that shit. He just becomes a wet fucking blanket once again, which he was before, and I thought evolved beyond that.
And then, once the situation is slightly sorted, falls into the "worship me" role Naamah laid out for him, despite having many a reason to distrust, if not loathe her for how she acted. It's just not how he's supposed to behave at this point.
Also, the fact that he takes NO issue with Naamah spying on him that closely, and especially his familiar effectively betraying him in this way is also a ridiculous oversight.
Naamah too, seems like she would be smarter than kidnapping a mother of MC's children, and expecting cooperation of any kind instead of seething resentment, and it's only by the power of plot convenience that she gets away with it, instead of getting his attention in some other way, and then playing on the same facts she laid out anyway, that she holds some leverage over him in the form of information she could feed to Nergal. And, even though this is a lesser issue, why does she even exist when we already have Erevi's daughter? Story reasons aside ofc.
Tinkerer has been very solid on the writing in the past, and on the character front too, else me and everyone else would not have gotten as attached to them as we did. So the only way I can explain the mistakes made here is that he wanted le big demon lady, and crowbarred it into the story in the simplest way possible, instead of the one that was best when it comes to the integrity of his own characters.
My read was that the MC cares more about Erevi finding out than Nergal, it's just that Nergal finding out has downstream ramifications for her since she is one of his faithful. In that line of thinking, nothing about the MCs motivation has changed. He just finally met someone willing to blackmail him. Erevi still has no idea that he's been involved with the other temple, and I'm pretty sure Namaah openly suggests spilling the beans. That secret and the fact that the MC+Erevi's daughter brainwashed her into having more children are both bridges left to be crossed. Namaah's threat puts both his relationship with Erevi and her safety at risk.
Alice has always been a masochist, so I imagine the idea that her captivity was more of a playful romp was meant to soften the blow. Either way, I don't think the direction Tinkerer took was out of character for anyone involved. Had Alice been injured I'm sure the "relationship" with Namaah that takes place after the quest would not be the same.
All that aside, as powerful as the MC has become he still isn't a match for Namaah on paper. The idea that we finally met an entity capable of wiping the floor with him (for now) is a needed reality check if the gods themselves are coming into play soon.
So far MC has been able to fight every beast & being that has crossed him. But Naamah is a true Succubus, a powerful demoness of desire & sex, who also has the power to not only wipe the floor with MC but also ruin his life. I agree that her telling Nergal isnt the major threat for MC, its Erevi & ED finding out.While it's true MC folded too easily, there was nothing he could've done... if he tried to fight Namaah, ED would've spilled the beans to Erevi, and Namaah would've just whiped the floor with MC. But it's also true thiis is barely the beginng of MC's nvolvement with the gods... maybe someday MC will turn the tables on Namaah.Her horns would make for perfect handlebars
Do I think things in this update could have played out/been done better? Sire. But MC finally ment someone able to blackmail him, hes been outplayed by a figure who has been building a case against him since the conception of ED. MC is also the kind of guy who would want something for his troubles, I see him as a switch in the bedroom, becoming submissive or dominant or loving depending on the girl he is with. Naamah wants to be worshipped so that's what MC gives her, for now(?)
Hopfully her character is built upon as the main story plays out. I doubt this is the last of her we will see as part of the main plot.