Episode 8 review: I didn't get to the end of the episode 8 before I had to shut it off.
I was supremely annoyed with the original Summer with Mia and outlined my views in a review on that thread. The last act of SWM1 was a huge improvement from the first two, though the drama toward the end seemed so rushed, forced, and far-fetched that it didn't really rescue the game in my eyes. However, the description of the sequel here seemed more interesting as I hoped it would continue with the trend of the third act of having some real stakes and real emotion. Reuniting with a lover that you've wronged, redeeming yourself, rebuilding your relationship and your life all sounds interesting.
Starting the sequel, it certainly looked like that was going to be the case. I was pleased with the depth and drama in the first four episodes. There was some tension being built and some impactful choices being made, and the characters were intelligent and their dialogue was interesting. During the next three episodes, there's a rush to jam-pack drama into the plot. There's constantly a new, unwelcome surprise being revealed, and no satisfying resolution or options on any of them. It's also during episode 5-8 that, in between sex scenes and ominous or threatening drama, the VN transitions into a crappy sitcom. The characters, each and all, become idiots (except Cindy who segues from mentally-handicapped to just a bit dim), but especially the MC becomes the typical sitcom/slice-of-life anime doofus that ruins those genres. There's incessant bickering that adds no value and treads over the same ground time and time and time again. It's mostly between the MC and his aunt's best-friend, who had a threesome (or didn't) with him and his girlfriend. It escalates from playful banter and jabs to outright animosity, with the MC being made to play the fool in all situations. Not only Vivian, but all the characters send jabs at the MC for his mediocre looks, weak physique/athleticism, lame jokes, middling to inferior intelligence, mundane movie taste, lack of tact, and poor decisions. According to canon, everything about this guy is unappealing, but his cock and sexual prowess, apparently. I can't really blame them, the writer made this guy suck. At least he upgraded his conscience a little from the first game, but in every other stat he's stagnated at or slid into a sub-par rating. I used console commands during episode 6 to rename him from my usual MC name to "Ross Gellar".
I'm not sure if it's because the writer doesn't have a plan or direction with these plotlines, if he's being influenced by Patrons and fan-votes, or if it's because he binged Friends on Netflix while penning the script, but this story started strong in the first four episodes, entered a slide in the next three, then the last episode fell off a 100-meter cliff right into giant steaming pile of shit. Even if the girls are hot and MC gets lots of sex, I can't stand reading the tedious dialogue, choosing between bad or worse choices, or engaging with the unavoidable, stupid, and unbelievable "events" that keep coming up.
To rescue this one, the last episode needs to be completely redone, and the previous three need some heavy reworks. As it is now, it's unreadable.