I really liked Now and Then but erm... i'm struggling with this one. For starters... it's kinda ugly, the color is muted and washed out, it's pretty bleak even if it is a kind of purgatory. The renders are also lower quality than i'd have expected after everything the dev should've learned after making a full game previously. Secondly... it's boring, at least to start with, does it get better? Does anything i'm struggling with improve later on by more than a little?
I've enjoyed TID.
There is some great story telling but it takes time for the world building to happen.
The setting is different than any other I have tried in an AVN and yes - it is depressing and the use of mostly darker colors is, IMO, done to help reinforce the idea that this is not the Spring of a world, but more of the depths of a winter that will not end.
I also view the render details as part of the style of this AVN (I see the renders complimenting the threadbare nature of this environment) so this works for me.
(FYI - the dev has mentioned working on a new AVN since TID will wrap up this year and I believe HS2 will be involved - we only have minimal details so far).
The MC interactions with the women and several of the Entende and Archons are the highlight of this story, and they are the 'bright' parts.
Once I got immersed in the setting and world, everything flowed well for me - I found myself enjoying the relationship building and the time spent with two of the Entende (Mira and Apollyon).
For me, I need to be able to have enough time to get immersed in this alternate reality so this is not an AVN I can enjoy in 30-minute increments.
It is also not lighthearted fare, so I don't take the time to play this when life is thumping me with a tough week, for example.
If you are in the right frame of mind and have the time to get immersed, I think this can be a very good story.
I know I have enjoyed it almost as much as N&T.
Cheers!!