I have some genuine criticism regarding Chapter 2 and 3.
The critisism is about blackmail plot points.
First, let me compare a similar blackmail situation from MNGF.
The MC in MNGF was convinced more quickly to accept the blackmail, but it made sense because his relationship with Violet was recent, and Ari was her best friend. So, she had a higher chance of believing whatever Ari said over his words.
Now, onto the SOA blackmail part:
The blackmail in SOA feels worse to me because Alice and Kate are complete strangers (from what I’ve seen so far). Kate didn’t mention having any connection to Alice, which would’ve probably made Luke "lick the floor" if she had. Alice has no reason to trust a random girl's word over her boyfriend’s—especially someone she clearly loves.
What's more, Kate doesn’t even have any evidence.
Sending her the dick pic only gives her more leverage and feels like shooting yourself in the foot. Also, the MC came off as kind of a pushover—he didn’t defend himself or act even slightly condescending or intimidating toward her. That kind of reaction could have made her back off, regardless of whether it worked in the end.
If I’m not mistaken, Kate has nothing but verbal threats to back her blackmail.
You could argue that Alice has recently been cheated on by Rob, so she might be more inclined to believe Kate—but that’s a separate issue and still speculative.
In conclusion, the blackmail scenes in both games are kind of ridiculous in my opinion, but the one in MNGF was slightly more believable because of the best friend situation.
