Played the update last night, and I really did enjoy it.
Spoiler free review:
It did really well developing the major players in a meaningful way, even those that did not appear on screen much. From what I’ve read others thought if fell a bit flat, however I think this update will serve as an important launch point for several more plot progressive updates in the future.
Spoiler review:
Sebastian:
With this update Sebastian has easily become my new favorite of the main three, witch is really something considering he was firmly on the bottom before. Of course learning about his backstory helps, learning about his slavery and abuse did help to add some depth to a previously aloof character, like I’ve finally discovered the core of the character behind all these branches of strange choices and quirks. His interaction with Penny and the first conversation with Cynthia were stand out moments, showing off his more calculating side. I also enjoyed his conversation with Heather near the end, the two really work better off each other better now that Heather’s circumstances have changed a bit. Speaking of…
Heather:
I think this update is the best thing her Character could have gotten. Before I found it hard to get invested into her, considering that it felt like she was stuck in basically purgatory, only really reacting to whatever the chaos god Sebastian had planned for her. Now it just feels like she’s under house arrest by a crazy powerful wizard. May not sound like much of a change, but I really enjoyed how much agency she gained with this change of circumstance. She’s scheming, playing and maneuvering around Sebastian and Lily to learn more, and taking note of certain details to take advantage of. Ironically I feel like she’s more proactive now, even though she’s basically lounging the entire update. I know Altair had problems with her being a hypocrite concerning her differing opinions of her brother and Lily, but I don’t really mind since she’s obviously still got a ways to go in character development, and I’ve kind of accepted that most of the main cast are horrible people anyway. I also enjoyed the format of her sections, doing activities in-between her gain was a nice way to pace the section.
Also I really enjoyed the lazy river it was really cute and funny.
Lily:
Lily now occupies the role of my least favored of the main three, Lily was just annoying this update. This update did well to remind me of Lily’s less desirable side. Her visit with Heather was really annoying, insisting on prodding Heather with her continued imprisonment of her brother and overall being really irritating. It’s basically a god of rape telling a murder that she can’t judge. She’s a bigger hypocrite than Heather, and has most likely caused more suffering than both siblings combined. I still like Lily as a character, and it’s all in character, but I really prefer her when she’s hanging with her little group rather than actually being an apostle. TLDR: When Lily’s good she’s really playful, but when she’s bitchy she’s really bad.
Other characters:
Penny:
Given a lot of depth in her conversation with Sebastian and really interested in what she meant by calling herself the half sister of Gretel. Although the conversation has also convinced me that she’ll be of no major importance in the main drive of the story. (Just how she’d want it!)
Gretel:
The sandwich scene was unnecessary, but cute. 6/7 would sandwich again.
The servant:
A really interesting look at the thralls the main apostles utilize, and I’m glad too see that their morally grey origins were debated upon.
Cynthia:
The presumed BBE of the story I found myself really enjoying her. Her chaotic dialog with Sebastian was really entertaining in the first conversation, but the same brand of dialog really hit different after Sebastian’s backstory and her reveal. She’s definitely going to be released at some point down the line.
Nit picks:
The dream novel:
The dream novel was neat, but it dragged a little and some sections were broken or jank, witch came off as genuine and not really as a parody like the section was meaning to be. I did little back tracking and ended up on the other side of a wall wen entering an area while back tracking. I mostly shared Heather’s annoyance during this section.
Skippable sections:
I was confused by the whole “dark subject matter” thing in the posting since I was confused by what was the dark subject matter and what were the optional sex scenes. I skipped Lily and the bother’s scene since it had some rape vibes to it, and then I thought Lily’s favor novel was another since it was basically slobby death feederism, but then I realized that the second scene was was actually Sebastian’s encounter with Cynthia. I’m not against having slob stuff or anything, I just found it to be confusing when told about the two dark skippable sections before hand.
Ya, so overall, a pretty nice update that’s setting up for the future with some cool reveals.
Albeit, with more thought my main thought with Heather (who I think L and Heather had the opposite issues to me, where L is a very established character while Heather is one stuck in basically limbo) is that she is so blatantly a hypocrite and no one else in the story has called her out on it to the point of her actually having to confront it, Sebastian (on the blue path) makes sense not to do it since at best he loves her at worst he has better shit to do and she is just an experiment, L however not taking that road is what really irked me, since L is extremely childish and spiteful and has no reason to hold back verbally on Heather, even without the voice, all it would take would be a “Would you care if it wasn’t your brother, yes or no” since Heather was in prison, she probably didn’t jump to defend others getting raped horribly. And for whatever reason, whether good or bad, she didn’t. For me, it rang in a Mary Suish type of way of “This character is above criticism cause _____”(Not accusing Heather of being such, just rang the same way) and I really want Heather to really feel like a complex and enjoyable if flawed/unlikable character (I loved Cynthia this update ffs, I can enjoy some horrible people so long as there is some flavor/complexity to them)