As much as i have been more critical, than complimentary the past few updates - ultimately I still really like this VN. Otherwise I wouldn't bother wasting my time to comment on it.
The Dev has done a great job creating characters that I care about. At the end of the day everything is just words and pictures on a screen. There is no real Anne or MC anywhere.
I may not always like the direction the story is going or the things the characters are doing, but i very much respect the fact that the Dev has created a solid VN.
That being said, my primary disappointment is - this VN started out as one of the best examples of the trophy wife genres and it has little by little evolved into the basic adult VN cliche fuckfest; where everyone just goes around fucking everyone.
In the beginning I really felt like Anne and the MC were a loving couple just looking to spice up their sex life. Sure Anne was fucking a lot of guys early on (At least in the Dominican), but it was a shared experience - they would discuss it beforehand, then they would enjoy talking about it afterwards.
I also realize that most of the guys that Anne fucks, the MC eggs her on to do so. The fact that there are others she fucks, that the MC doesnt know about - well its hypocritical for me to expect her to share every experience, when the MC has fucked most of his office, waitresses, women from resorts, random women he has met, etc, etc. Maybe that is the issue, maybe that is why Anne's dialogue is the way it is. She has figured out that her husband fucks whoever he wants and does tell her about, so she feels that she doesn't need full disclosure either. But the thing is - I have gone back through and played with keeping both faithful settings to true and I have made choices to ensure max love/relationship points and the story doesn't change all that much. Anne stills fucks the same guys, says the same comments and the MC still starts to question Anne's actions later in the VN. The only real difference in playing it that way is the MC is more of a cuck, not really having much fun on his own and mostly just obsessed with watching Anne get plowed. Which for me, is super lame and I'm not really into the whole cuck thing.
So no matter how you play the VN - the couple go from a loving couple on a shared adventure, to 2 roommates that are really more interested in fucking everyone they can get their hands on.
The scene where Anne and the MC went and met the swingers couple in their building was the perfect scene - they were fucking other people, but they were also watching each other fuck other people and getting turned on by it. It was a very shared experience.
Also the more I think about it - I shouldn't necessarily get too bent out of shape with Anne sharing that she is developing feelings for some of the guys she fucks. She is human (well - she is portrayed as a human, in a fictional story) and many times couples in an open relationship will even have boyfriends/girlfriends, while still remaining married and very much in love with their spouse.
I guess for me, the overall vibe of their relationship has changed. I just don't feel like Anne and the MC are a loving couple that are looking to spice up their sex life any more. They feel like they are more friends with benefits now, which honestly is fine as well. Many married couples eventually realize that they are better off as friends. But I don't think anyone would have anticipated a VN titled The Adventurous Couple would end with the couple becoming just friends.
My other source of frustration in this VN is - I don't feel like the love/relationship point system matches up with the experience you get. If you are going to implement a love/relationship point system, then i feel like the storylines should match up with the amount of points you have accumulated. So depending on how many story paths a dev wants to create it should be something like - high/max points should be a story path with a very strong loving relationship, mid-level points should be a story path where they get along fairly well (good moments, bad moments, maybe some cheating here and there), low points would be a terrible relationship where they don't get along at all and tons of cheating. In following a path where I am pretty close to max points, I feel like the storyline is more consistent with if I were more at mid-level points.
Ultimately I respect the fact that the Dev can create the VN however they want - it is their VN.
I am just sharing my thoughts and experience with the VN.
