Holy shit, okay so originally I was gonna hold this in till I had actually completed the whole game but I've caved and wanna talk so bad right now. Just finished Victoria's route (only one I've done so far), but oh my god. My expectations, especially for this route, were sky high and not only did the dev meet them but also vastly surpass them. I cried multiple times during this route and the dynamic between the two feels so much more real now, with the emphasizing of the "childhood best friends" part in dialogue that honestly wasn't there before, you really feel it more than it just being said like in the old game. Also quick gush about the last Vic CG because OH MY GOD it looks like a painting. Frame that shit in a gallery and no one bats an eye. Fucking gorgeous oh my lord
Light Vic Route spoilers:
Seeing these characters again means so much to me, more than I can put into words, even if they're different than I expected. The game keeps it's charm the original had but is just plan old, well, better.
I just have a tiny nitpick that should not be taken very seriously. in my opinion Victoria is just that *little bit* too sympathetic for the first portion of the route, like the "pre party" part. We don't get a lot of reason to actually agree with Jaylene on that fact that Victoria shouldn't be trusted aside from essentially one line where she accidentally suggests Jaylene wasn't "One of them" (insanely good line btw it made me audibly gasp, like damn Victoria wtf).
I think it could've been nice to have just one more scene pre party where Victoria comes off like that again, to encourage the player into the "mixed feelings" Jaylene has. As It's kind of hard to agree with Jaylene, even if I imagine that is the point with Jaylene's current characterization, (which if it is just like ignore this entire comment lmfao)
Also I don't mean this too come off in a "you should change it / add something" way, I definitely don't mean that like at all 😭 This is purely my nitpicky opinion on something really small that doesn't matter in the long run that I wanna talk about because no one I know gives a damn (or dam) about this game and I'll go coocoo if I don't have an outlet 😂
I still adore both these characters and their story/dynamic and as someone who's gone through friendships really similar to this (not the uh, making out and fingering part. the high school drama, guilt and breakup stuff) I relate to both versions of the story heavily, especially Jaylene, as her internal conflicts are almost identical to what I've felt myself in the past
I will always treasure these characters no matter the form they come in, even though honestly? I prefer these new ones <3 Another year of not shutting the fuck up about these characters, here I come
