I think this "game" lacks the required influenceability by the player to the story to be considered a game per se. Anyway, I don't really think that's bad. To be honest, when the game starts being really engaging is on part 2, when it stops pretending to be a game and really starts embracing what it really is: an interactive story in which the only effect the player has is to decide the order in which some events happen. The events before that try to create the illusion of the player being able to get a different outcome giving us more options and forcing us to choose the correct one to progress in the story. That repetitivity on the beginning made me skip most of the text of the beginning, just because it felt like regardless of whatever I choose I wasn't making any progress, so I only bothered reading the things that looked different.
The thing changed when I arrived to the part where I could stop choosing between going class or skipping class and the few options I had to choose started giving me an illusion of autonomy. Yes, I had less choices to make, but the few choices I had to make felt like they mattered. It stopped feeling like a loop. It let me started feeling a connection with the story and the characters.
At that point is when I started to learn that Zack (whom I feel identified more than I would like to admit) is a complete mess full of insecurities, that Braden isn't just a prize we as players try to win, that Mikhail has more insecurities than he lets us see, and that even Max (alias Mom-fucker) has his good side. That point is where I really started to care about what happened more than in how to progress.
I already played the game about a year ago, and even if this time I cared more about the characters and even I chose to play the game from the beginning I just skipped most of the first part (again), I just couldn't avoid it. That happened until I arrived to the point where choices started feeling like they mattered (even if I know most of them don't). That's when I started to read EVERY SINGLE WORD. I just couldn't help it. Even if I know what was happening I was just too into it to not read it all.
Now, after finishing all the current content I'm at a point where I want more. The end of the current content was too... drastic. I know they'll go through it as long as they are together. I know it is harsh and it probably wasn't easy for you to make them go through it. I only hope they can keep being roommates.
TLDR: The beginning feels like a loop where most of choices don't matter, it gets way better when it stops pretending to be a game. Keep working hard
PD: I read in your Patreon page that this project is your first time working with 3D art. Is there any advice or tutorial that helped you when you started trying to get something decent in DAZ Studio?