After a few days, I've come back to try the game again, and more of it....
And unless someone can promise me that it will improve vastly (especially if you're trying to go GF only), I think I'm wasting my time.
I WILL NOT write or leave a bad review. The art is good, the writing is not untalented. The game is entirely competent. This is a matter of taste.
But before I leave, I wanted to vent a little about why this game has disappointed me. And it is all down to the characters.
The MC is a whiny shit with no back bone. Take the scene where he loses his job. His boss told him straight out that he supported him, and voted for him. Said he thought the way the company was treating him was wrong and stupid. Then he gets a call from the dude who got promoted instead, and the MC trashes the dudes coffee mug on the way out and asks like a little bitch... because his former boss was civil on the phone and going through the motions of the polite congratulations edicate called for?
MC is a lawyer for christ sakes. Doesn't he grasp that certain levels of politeness and fake smiles are a nessessity?
Later, when expecting to do dinner with his sis, and thinking he may duck out from dinner early to call his GF, or get a call from her, he finds out sis changes plans because her boyfriend called. And he gets indignant and pissy about it. Dude, you have 3 months there. This is day two. Dinner can wait until tomorrow. Why the fuck is MC getting so bent out of shape that her boyfriend needs to see her? "Hey, that sucks, but I guess it's OK. I needed to call Nicole anyhow. Enjoy your dinner with him. We can try to do the Pad Thai tomorrow!"
Instead, he's acting like this is some huge betrayal, while trying to convince her that Brodie is just an asshole who doesn't care for her.
I do not understand his behavior. Whether it is total nonchalance towards people who have treated him like shit, or whether it is him being a selfish, petulant child.
How is this asshole supposed to be a lawyer?
Next is his sister. She is a liar and chronic manipulator, who knowingly connived him into spending money to travel, and to help her, despite knowing it could hurt his relationship, and that he was in financial distress, because his GF alone could not pay their bills.
She went from a sweet girl in the prologue who just wanted attention and love, to a manipulative bitch who, when forced to confront her actions on the start of your second day there, doesn't think to herself "I've missed him and I need his help. I need to stop lying and treat him better than this!" No, she thinks "Maybe it was a mistake to try to get him to help me."
She is a narcissist of the worst kind.
Then there's her mom and your dad. Her mom flat up tells you that she's a whore, and how exciting it was to jump into other men's beds when she left your father. She prevented your sister from contacting you and your dad. Then she has the balls to pretend she's happy to see you. She gave her daughter a hotel that her daughter had neither the money nor intellect to run, and washed her hands of it, despite knowing she just consigned her daughter to bankruptcy and failure. Your father is made out to be Mr. Military hardass who doesn't know how to love a family, and seems to hate his own daughter for some reason, telling MC he should never have trusted her and is making a mistake helping her. Because apparently the 13 year old girl who was forced to leave him a decade ago deserves his spite?
We don't know enough about Yuki to care, the twins have no apparent personality (as can be seen by the fact that their bio and points are joined. Even the creator doesn't see them as individual people), and the cousin is boring.
We get to see Georgina pop in long enough to encourage her sister to think about cheating on you...
The only two characters in the game with any redeeming qualities are Victoria and Nichole. Nichole is stressed from work, unable to handle the bills by herself, crushed almost as much as you are by what happened, and tries to help you keep your feet on the ground instead of sink into a depression. Because of the context of the first day, she seems overbearing, but considering that day, I don't think it's fair to define her as such. She loves you, and misses you, and is hurting that you are gone.
Victoria seems like the only other competent person in the game. She has a skill, an education, and a desire to help. She could be interesting.
Sadly, her story is doubtless going to involve drama, with her father. And we don't understand enough of why she refuses to work for him to get experience. She says it is because she wants to do it on her own... well, you get experience from working, and working for your father is still a job, especially when he makes it clear he wants to see you establish your own place... the job offer isn't mere nepotism. She treats him and his job offer like some kind of abuse, and seems to push him away, and we see no justification for it.
Lastly, you could aim to play this game where you fuck everything that moves, or where you stay loyal. The first at least offers the chance for things to get fun, but also betrays Nichole, who as I said, is the only really worthwhile character. The latter just involves you clicking through days, dealing with all the drama you don't give a fuck about, and hoping that the game won't force you into unavoidable sex scenes, as you're aiming not to cheat.
Which means, until you're home with your GF again, the game is just a waste of time.
All that? It's opinion. I'm sure others see the situation differently. Read the plot differently. Feel about the characters differently. And despite all of this leaving a bad taste in my mouth, I can not justify a bad review for the game based on my experiences and hopes for playing it. The game itself is not flawed.
But... I'm disappointed. This isn't what I hoped it would be. And unless someone can tell me that, yes, it will be worthwhile to stay the course, and that I'm being too harsh and too pessimistic, too early in the story?
Then I don't see a reason to stay.
