An excellent game! I really loved the combination of beautiful artwork, an interesting plot, and the character interactions. But this interest has a flip side, as I'd like to clarify some points that I couldn't find (or maybe missed) answers to within the game itself. Apologies in advance for my English.
While playing through "Hypothesis," I couldn't help but notice how much it differs from its progenitor and ideological inspiration in terms of the depiction of female characters (and not just their appearance!) and the presence of a plot. Despite having quite extensive sexual content, the girls in the game come across as real characters, with their own motivations, desires, and goals that exist outside of any particular relationship. But sometimes I don't understand these aspirations and desires, or certain moments. For example:
Jean and her quirk about "fake incest," where she first suggests the protagonist call her "big sister," and then even starts acting like one. I'm not against it, but the way she plays this role feels somewhat... naive and forced. She doesn't give the impression of someone who's turned on by incest, even if it's pretend. And if it's part of "domination and control," her idea of control seems pretty liberal. Is this a bug or a feature?
Jean's invitation for a first date, while delivered with confidence, makes it seem like she's subconsciously expecting a refusal right up to the last moment. If you discuss relationships with her and voice your Napoleonic plans about a harem, she won't be thrilled. But the dialogue gives the impression that Jean isn't talking to a new student, but to a mix of Brad Pitt and Apollo, at whose feet women fall with a snap of a finger. Yet Jean herself is hotter than hell, the top psyker around, smart, beautiful, a Komsomol member, an activist, and an athlete... I mean, she's the kind of girl with a trail of broken hearts behind her, and not just from guys. Is it just me, or does she subconsciously value herself much lower than I just valued her?
Jean's "domination" on the first date consists of her timidly asking if she can order for you. On one hand, it's quite cute; on the other hand, it's so sad that I'd even eat sawdust soup if it helped her feel more confident. And in later dates, she doesn't act like a tyrant/dominant/abuser at all. The peak of her "domination" is that she wants to order for you (from what you yourself choose!), and on movie nights, you watch documentaries instead of feature films. Considering I like them about as much as she does, I feel zero pressure. During sex scenes, she acts with full dedication, and again, I didn't see any pressure. Is her quirk simply a desire for control, or has she already ordered a flugelhorn, a whip, and an SS leather coat from Amazon, and the delivery is just delayed?
The lack of a sexual relationship between Jean and Scott – is it part of their character, or players' ability to see NTR everywhere women aren't throwing themselves at their, and only their, dick? As I understood from the plot, Jean (18+) dated Scott (18+) for several years. Yet, when Jean suggests dating the protagonist, she gets offended if you ask if she's single, and mentions that she and Scott haven't even kissed. Meanwhile, the player is offered to date and get horizontal so easily and quickly it's almost awkward. Is the translation in my version of the game just that distinctive, or did the Jean-Scott pair really decide to take things that slowly?
The protagonist's regeneration – does it work by accelerating biological processes (healing), or by restoring him to the health level he had before being harmed? In the finale, his skin chars and immediately restores, then his flesh, and then his body burns down to the bones! And it restores almost instantly. It was epic, but fantastical even by the game's standards. My question is, with enough energy, can the protagonist restore himself from a skeleton, or is brain damage a one-way trip?
Why did everything stop when Null touched Jean? He can suppress her powers, not the ones trying to fry him. And were they even trying to fry him, or was it just a test flap of the wings?
Does Rouge have an inferiority complex? During the first meetings, it seemed she avoided others because of her ability, but then she says herself, and the plot reveals, that there are other reasons. But what they are, she won't admit, and I didn't understand. Is the answer in her romance route, or will it be revealed later, even on the "friendship" path?
Why does the protagonist have such a strange set of powers? It started simple – negating/suppressing mutant powers, and only mutant powers (it was funny with Juggernaut). But then, as someone rightly said in the school chat, it's like he's really pulling superpowers out of his ass. Regeneration and endurance, then energy absorption, and as players, we see the potential to upgrade to X-ray vision and shapeshifting. A strange and inconsistent set.
And what does the Null Hypothesis have to do with it?