4.40 star(s) 70 Votes

ClockworkGnome

Active Member
Sep 18, 2021
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Damon is GAY?!?. What a plot twist! Who could have seen that coming! Not MC apparently who is oblivious to everything
To be fair, he's kind of a narcissist, and he's dealing with his own issues. So he spends a lot of time in his own head rather than paying attention to the world around him.

It's part of why it's easier for the players to pick up on stuff he misses, because we have a wider scope than he does, and we're able to see things he misses completely.
 

MrFriendly

Officially Dead Inside
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Feb 23, 2020
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Don't forget Ada. She did actually throw the ring away. Granted, we may not be first choice, but, she chose the MC. I'm not a fan of that at all. Taking him to places Chris took her. I get the last place, where she throws the ring away, but, come on. Fucking Chris has 2 women pining after him. Going to restart again and choose Mira all the way through.
Yep, the MC is the second option for everyone except Mira and possibly Naomi…Wish we could play as Chris since he’s at least got two women who want him and are sexy as fuck. The poor MC has a “stalker” (Mira) and an ex-girlfriend that just wants to be friends.

When all the secrets come out it would be nice if the MC had the option to burn a few bridges. Really wish the MC wasn’t forced to reconcile with Naomi and to not be mad at Damon & Mira. There are too many things being kept from the MC for this to end well. But then I don’t believe the players will be allowed to cut off relationships like anyone normally would.
 

Deleted member 1571716

Conversation Conqueror
Aug 7, 2019
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Yep, the MC is the second option for everyone except Mira and possibly Naomi…Wish we could play as Chris since he’s at least got two women who want him and are sexy as fuck. The poor MC has a “stalker” (Mira) and an ex-girlfriend that just wants to be friends.

When all the secrets come out it would be nice if the MC had the option to burn a few bridges. Really wish the MC wasn’t forced to reconcile with Naomi and to not be mad at Damon & Mira. There are too many things being kept from the MC for this to end well. But then I don’t believe the players will be allowed to cut off relationships like anyone normally would.
Agreed. Reconciling with Naomi, was a good idea, just not in the way in went down. As you said 'forced'. From the get go, I just wanted Ada. You know how I am about Asians and it's very rare that one stands out and I like them. So, that was a kick in the nuts. So, restart and go full on Mira. But, then there's also Naomi. She didn't do anything wrong. If the MC REALLY needed her, instead of screaming and yelling at her, he should've went to where she was. Not a simp decision on that. Just facts. So, I'll also do a second save for just her.
 

ClockworkGnome

Active Member
Sep 18, 2021
737
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When all the secrets come out it would be nice if the MC had the option to burn a few bridges. Really wish the MC wasn’t forced to reconcile with Naomi and to not be mad at Damon & Mira. There are too many things being kept from the MC for this to end well. But then I don’t believe the players will be allowed to cut off relationships like anyone normally would.
At this point I feel like the best possible golden ending would be one where the MC flips literally everyone the middle finger, skips town, and heads off to college in another state and never interacts with any of these people ever again. That way he can get his own self in order and find a new love interest without all the baggage.

But I also feel any player who tries to go that route (assuming the game even allows you to call all these people out on their bullshit and walk away) is just going to get an ending that craps on us for being selfish and not being willing to compromise ourselves to desperately fling ourselves at someone broken. Or rejecting every potential route will wind up with you forced back with your ex because you clearly couldn't get over her (even if you were actively rejecting her along the way as well).

Though I still say that 99% of the problems in this story all stem from the fact that literally no one is willing to talk about anything. Almost every crisis and problem is created by people keeping secrets, or being unwilling to talk about how they really feel or what their motivations are. If everyone had been honest and open the story would have been over in about 20 minutes and everyone would be much, much happier. And it gets kind of frustrating being at the center of this passive-aggressive vortex when the game clearly expects you to be the bigger man and forgive everyone else's bullshit.
 

UncleFredo

Well-Known Member
Aug 29, 2020
1,934
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Damon is GAY?!?. What a plot twist! Who could have seen that coming! Not MC apparently who is oblivious to everything
There are none so blind as those who will not see. - Besides, if Damon hasn't confided in the MC, his best response is to remain oblivious until Damon decides to bring it up. Give your bro his space brother.
 

UncleFredo

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Aug 29, 2020
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I really don't like how you're forced to deal with the ex gf. If you like her, it's no big deal I'm sure but I have 0 interest in her and MC has all the interest in her and it's just annoying.
Since there is the Damon involvement you can't avoid her completely, but just "say no". Don't pursue. Avoid meeting her whenever possible. Given their history, she's going to be part of the story but you can minimize your involvement.
 
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IndigoHawk

Member
Aug 9, 2016
153
563
I go through most of the paths to see the new content, but I like playing the MC as a friend instead of a second choice. Listen, be there for people, but don't get romantically involved with women who aren't that into him. Even with Naomi, it feels like being her friend may be better for both of them than getting back together.

Ada is still my favorite, but the date revisiting places she went with Chris ... She's really not over him. She needs to make her own decision about the ring so that she doesn't regret it later. Get back to the MC if she's sorted it out and wants him. It's fine if she wants to go back to Chris and break up the doomed relationship he has going with Rose. Either way, Rose needs out of that.

I was definitely surprised by the number of animated scenes with music. Great update overall!
 

ClockworkGnome

Active Member
Sep 18, 2021
737
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So you'll be rating it 10/10 for realism then :) ?
Ehh, at a certain point, it goes beyond realism and into the bounds of farce.

And in the real world, it's more like "some people keep some important secrets and it can cause problems", but in this it's "everyone is keeping every possible secret and it's responsible for nearly every problem". It's magnified to the point of unrealism.

Also, at a certain point, someone should be capable of sufficient awareness to realize that in almost every case keeping those secrets is causing far more pain, misery, and chaos than simply revealing them would, and almost every problem could be solved if people would just start talking.

In the real world that misery train tends to end with broken friendships and divorces, or with drifting apart and misunderstandings driving a wedge can eventually leads to the end of those sorts of relationships. Or with someone with a bit less tact and a bit more courage spelling things out for everyone else. In this world no one seems capable of breaking the silence, and no one ever lets go of anything, ever.

Though maybe being too close to reality is part of the problem. It wouldn't be so frustrating if it didn't touch on the same nerve as real world past bad decisions and emotional wreckage most people have been forced to deal with themselves.
 
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ClockworkGnome

Active Member
Sep 18, 2021
737
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Since there is the Damon involvement you can't avoid her completely, buy just "say no". Don't pursue. Avoid meeting here whenever possible. Given their history, she's going to be part of the story but you can minimize your involvement.
I think their complaint is more how the game presents the MC's inner dialogue as still being clearly madly in love with her no matter how you might feel. Sure, you can pick options to avoid engaging with her as much as possible, but the game is still kind of rubbing your nose in the idea of her being this perfect woman and the absolute love of your life even if you do.

Being part of the story is fine, but the story giving you choices to decide how you feel and then seemingly ignoring those choices to decide how you feel for you is kind of not.

Hopefully, this is something that evolves over time, so it leans less into hopeless love and more into friendship as events progress, but early on it can definitely be discouraging.
 
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MrFriendly

Officially Dead Inside
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Feb 23, 2020
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Agreed. Reconciling with Naomi, was a good idea, just not in the way in went down. As you said 'forced'. From the get go, I just wanted Ada. You know how I am about Asians and it's very rare that one stands out and I like them. So, that was a kick in the nuts. So, restart and go full on Mira. But, then there's also Naomi. She didn't do anything wrong. If the MC REALLY needed her, instead of screaming and yelling at her, he should've went to where she was. Not a simp decision on that. Just facts. So, I'll also do a second save for just her.
Yeah, I am fine with the reconciliation, if players want, but the railroading into reconciliation was too much. And the next day they are hanging out like good friends who don't have a ton of baggage. It was ridiculous.

Ada was my first choice but she is too hung up on Chris, Chris is too hung up on her. I just feel like if someone cuffed them to an interrogation table and told them to talk it out it wouldn't take very long for them to be back together. One good long talk would heal that relationship. Mira is too plain jane and I don't like that she seems to know all of Damon's secrets and, possibly, all of the MC's secrets too. Naomi looks weird but otherwise I agree she didn't do a thing wrong. She had a volleyball tournament, she had commitments, responsibilities. The MC could have gone to her. I don't really think the MC was as committed to their relationship as she was, he never went to her games and he didn't even know her favorite book was Beloved by Toni Morrison. How do you not know that shit about the woman who you think is your soulmate? How do you not go to her events when she is trying to become a professional volleyball player?


At this point I feel like the best possible golden ending would be one where the MC flips literally everyone the middle finger, skips town, and heads off to college in another state and never interacts with any of these people ever again. That way he can get his own self in order and find a new love interest without all the baggage.

But I also feel any player who tries to go that route (assuming the game even allows you to call all these people out on their bullshit and walk away) is just going to get an ending that craps on us for being selfish and not being willing to compromise ourselves to desperately fling ourselves at someone broken. Or rejecting every potential route will wind up with you forced back with your ex because you clearly couldn't get over her (even if you were actively rejecting her along the way as well).

Though I still say that 99% of the problems in this story all stem from the fact that literally no one is willing to talk about anything. Almost every crisis and problem is created by people keeping secrets, or being unwilling to talk about how they really feel or what their motivations are. If everyone had been honest and open the story would have been over in about 20 minutes and everyone would be much, much happier. And it gets kind of frustrating being at the center of this passive-aggressive vortex when the game clearly expects you to be the bigger man and forgive everyone else's bullshit.
Yeah, I would love a "nukes them from orbit" option when all the secrets come out. Even Erica, Naomi's ex-volleyball partner, knew that Damon was trying to reconcile Naomi with the MC. It's ridiculous the number of people who know something about why his mother left and yet don't feel it is right for them to share that information with him. The problem is that there is a definite sense of being "railroaded" in certain relationships. The MC can't stay mad at Damon about anything, he HAS to reconcile with Naomi, he has to hang out with Mira...

If people would actually tell the MC what is actually happening then I wouldn't be so annoyed by the manufactured drama. But no one is willing to tell him a damn thing. As if the MC is either an infant OR so mentally unstable that they worry telling him anything would result in him going catatonic. When the MC tries to angrily walk away from Damon it lasts only a few seconds. When Damon does it the MC can't do anything to keep him from leaving. Just want the MC to actually get answers so the audience doesn't go mad waiting.
 

UncleFredo

Well-Known Member
Aug 29, 2020
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I think their complaint is more how the game presents the MC's inner dialogue as still being clearly madly in love with her no matter how you might feel. Sure, you can pick options to avoid engaging with her as much as possible, but the game is still kind of rubbing your nose in the idea of her being this perfect woman and the absolute love of your life even if you do.

Being part of the story is fine, but the story giving you choices to decide how you feel and then seemingly ignoring those choices to decide how you feel for you is kind of not.

Hopefully, this is something that evolves over time, so it leans less into hopeless love and more into friendship as events progress, but early on it can definitely be discouraging.
I hear you. Admittedly, because I find Naomi very attractive, I approach this from a different perspective than those of you who do not. That said many (most?) of us have a love we lost. We know that it's unrecoverable. If only because, as the therapist explains, neither of us are those people any longer. That love was between our past selves. I disagree that she's portrayed as "perfect" after all they both made mistakes when and after things blew up. The MC regrets what he has come to see as his over reaction, but, to the degree he sees her and their relationship as perfect, that was before the shit hit the fan. He reflects on the fact that as soon as things got tough they both gave up.

You're deeply in love with someone and it goes sour. One or both of you move on, but you have people in common. So some amount of contact and interaction is unavoidable. Still she's a necessary part of the story, so minimize her to the n'th degree and move on.
 
4.40 star(s) 70 Votes