More sauciness, I say! I love playing a quick-witted, spirited young lady who loves horses, scandal, and doesn’t care a whit about what society says. I see the other two routes are basically being Elinor Dashwood or playing it very straight as a blushing, virginal maiden. But, quite honestly, I prefer the saucy lass.
I pursued Mr Worthington (DADDY) and I cannot complain; all the tension had me metaphorically biting my nails. I imagine the full game will allow different interactions and dialogue options that don’t make the romance seem so one-sided; at times I wanted to slap the MC and yell “you fool! he is hot and yes we want him!” because she seemed so put off by his very presence.
However, I am a bit uncomfortable by certain implications found in the MC and Mr Worthington romance. How young is she? And, more importantly, how old was she when she enjoyed those riding trips with him? I can tell he was inspired by Col Brandon and Mr Knightley (fave), as he is a combination of the most questionable aspects of both romances.
I mean, girls sometimes presented in society as young as twelve, you know? The art makes her look as someone between fifteen and twenty, so that I can’t tell what age she’s supposed to be in-story. I wouldn’t mind if she’s twenty and he’s in his early thirties (which is what he seems/looks like), but if she’s younger than that and on top of that took riding lessons with him when she was a little girl. That’s… weird. Off-putting kind of weird. It doesn’t reflect well on his character, that’s all. And I know it wouldn’t raise eyebrows during the Regency, but we know better now, and there are better ways to preserve historical accuracy (which I like in this particular game, by the way) than playing as some bloke’s child bride.
Anyway, I can definitely see myself doing a second playthrough for the dastardly Capitan Sinclair; I never even thought to pursue him, but he won me over completely. Actually, I think that if this were an actual regency novel, I would prefer the official ending to be MC/Sinclair, though I still prefer Mr Worthington myself.
I suppose I’d also go through the Lindfield romance route if only to see what the full story is, though I don’t find him particularly interesting and, to be quite honest, I dislike him.
I’m bisexual and I’d love a GxG romance route with either Emily or Jane, to be honest, though I understand why the developer would choose not to go with it.
Let’s talk about the supporting cast! Lady Harlow is delightful and I wouldn’t mind seeing more of her or any other like-minded character (maybe we'll get to see the scandalous London season?). The MC’s parents are also fun characters, each alive with their own personality and agenda. I wonder if we will ever see James…
By the way, I am not so opposed to the cousin. I mean—in Rome, do as the Romans do… and, at the time, being with a first cousin wasn’t so bad. It could be a joke ending to end with the dull cousin, wear the trousers in the relationship, and end as a Bad Bitch.
Wishing the best to the developers! It is a great demo.