[SPOILERS WARNING]
I have been a fan since before Ep. 5. Really great revision for Ep. 1-4. The toning down of sex early in the game really puts my mind at ease about the future of the story. Ep. 5 and 6, though, lack the kind of tight, energetic main narrative that 1-4 had.
Compare Scarlett's scene in 5, first the photos giving away their relationship which the MC doesn't even know yet and then the come-on, with Luna's scene in 3 where so little yet so much is convey by just Luna's facial expressions and "I left the oven on at home." I am not dissing Ep. 5. It has one of the funniest and sexiest and longest scene in the game so far. Just the main story didn't get much attention.
Cutting to 6 and I feel like I am told a lot and nothing at the same time. Riley gives a deep dive on her history but I somehow feel like it's all either known or expected or not that important, maybe because some of her story was already given away earlier outside of MC's presence. You spend a good while talking to Lizzie, one of the coolest girls since Ep. 1 but again, despite some obvious hints, the MC doesn't ask the most important questions. And again, I am not dissing Ep. 6. It has likely the best date scene I have seen in any game. I am just hungry for some tight main narrative that I am not getting.
The sex scenes may also be getting too long. Skylar's date, for example. It's completely realistic to go at it again in her bedroom, but is it really necessary to have two full blown sex scenes back to back? Ripples is special because it isn't really a porn. I don't know if this is a compliment for everyone, but this game isn't great masturbation material. It's more of a character-driven visual novel with explicit sex, kind of like Game of Thrones in terms of where sex fits into the game. Once you have too much sex, it becomes emotionally draining. The whole time with Alyssa in Ep. 5, I was being nice to a nice girl (I don't want to be a jackass) and crossing my fingers while mutter, "Please don't have sex. Please don't have sex."
There are some really high quality material in Ep. 5 and 6, but I feel like they've decoupled a bit from the overarching story and the game risks becoming disjointed, like a theme park without a theme.