First, thank you to the hero who shared episode 1 with the F95 community.
It's too early to draw any conclusions. I can only judge this game as a live concept and further evidence of the Inceton NTR team's continued work. I wish they would focus their efforts on completing ToT instead of starting a new game, but "Ah s##t, here we go again."
Let's see how the story develops. The writer has free rein to push limits on their imagination while developing this "tale". I can't say whether the beginning is a breath of fresh air or "solid," but it's acceptable.
One thing I can say for sure is that this is the first visual novel I've played where you need to create five unique names for the protagonists.
In my honest opinion, the visuals meet current standards, and the animations are as good as ever.
I find it odd that the team is divided among several projects simultaneously. My guess is that they're trying to find a long-lasting concept with logical connections between characters. Unfortunately, character development hasn't been their strongest area in this Inceton NTR team branch. Even the Inside Jennifer story, while visually impressive with its scenes, animations, and renders, wasn't a absolutely good at storytelling. Some fans are demanding a IJ season 2, but the developers would need to choose a canonical ending or, less likely, follow the ViNovella team's approach of creating extra DLC for each ending.
I strongly believe that the IJ story is concluded. A cameo appearance without affecting the original story is possible, but I find it unwise to make choices like the Inceton NTR team did. If your ending in IJ differs from what they're proposing as canon, the story here will make even less sense. And yes, I know that it's just like a Marvel's multiverse story, but still.
I'm glad they brought Sky back to this world from dead end "Limits of Sky" storyline. Her model is cute.
My honest opinion is that this game deserves 4 stars right now, but I'm giving it a "5" in anticipation