I'm judging this game by its own lofty standards, so this episode felt almost... kinetic novel-esque? Of course there were many hoops to jump through, but there was also the sense that you really couldn't do anything wrong. Now that I think about it, that might have been the case for the previous episodes, but for some reason, it felt more pronounced here. Maybe because things lined up a little too perfectly for the MC on this one, there was barely any tension. Even Hammerdick was mostly a laughing stock.
And I definitely was more into the story than the sexy time as well - Lana's eye, Sev, and Mad's jailbreak were all engrossing arcs. The sex scenes with Lana felt a little impersonal in comparison (the demon wine setup was definitely creative, though). Simm was nice, although that progression did feel a bit rushed as well. Definitely felt more strongly about the Myrtle scenes from the previous update.
But holy shit, the art continues to amaze. Everything from the broad strokes to the subtleties are nailed immaculately. I agree that if you pull back and look at the scope of the game, it's going to take a good chunk of the devs' lives to complete. But honestly, at this point, every update is a gift, and a benchmark for the rest of the games around here.