I just went through Episode 2 for the first time and logged on to this sub to see several scathing reviews. I understand some of the gripes, and I'll get into mine as we go along, but while I don't think it's a brilliant installment, it's definitely fun (despite being flawed).

My main game arc coming in was an Aubrey-focused one. She was exceptionally-written in the earlier installments, and I loved the bit with her family in Episode 1 (telling her sister to go away was quite fun). This episode, though...not so much. MC goes with her to a shoot, with a guy who's clearly a sleazebag running things, calls out the sleazebag for being a sleazebag, and it's MC's fault? Come on.

On the contrary, Nora gets her time to shine here (even if I do agree with a prior poster that she sort of gets forced upon the MC in a way that isn't really organic). Much has been said about the pool party, and there are some holes in how that was carried out (too much "balance everything," not enough "enjoy yourself" for my liking). However, if you go down Nora's path, the lewd scene in the pool house is one of the best in the entire game to this point. Also, the MC somehow simultaneously dating Nora while sleeping with Ms. Rose is a really fun conflict that I'm excited to see them deal with later on.

Other positives: The Chicks' presidential saga comes to a satisfying end (I was Lindsay's secret helper/FWB, and she has a fun lewd scene in a computer lab, too). I liked the "what's going on between the college and the frats?" storyline, and I'll almost certainly be going back to the start of Episode 2 to try to figure out alternate ways to find more information.

Finally, it's not anything super substantial, but I like that the female characters are starting to gravitate towards majors and discovering what they want to do (Amber as a detective, Lauren with fashion design, Riley as a journalist, Penelope as a game developer, Aubrey as a model, etc.). At some point, MC is going to have to pick one himself, and that may wind up with serious repercussions, since doing so means more time with certain girls and less time with others.

My issues come with the other mini-storylines in the game. For starters, Episode 1 ended on the cliff-hanger, "what's in the newspaper?" As it turns out, that's a total nothing-burger that contributed nothing to the game. I didn't hate the "Lauren's lingerie line" storyline, but some of the decisions seemed to set MC up for failure, even though everything turned out OK for me in the end of Episode 2. I also got Lauren asking about a potential relationship, which was strange. I understand the story is that she's opening up and becoming more adventurous, and that's fine, but she'd almost certainly know all about MC's exploits by now, so it just seems out-of-character.

The big thing: "Penelope as a game developer" was a miss. I get the idea behind it, and it wasn't a bad one. However, it sure seemed like the game devs put that in there as a way to deal with some of the stress behind making the actual game itself, and the "game within a game" play is really disorienting. We do get the fun lewd scene with Lindsay in the computer lab, so it's not a total disaster, but it just didn't add anything substantial to my experience.

Many characters are also underrepresented. Jenny, the source of the best lewd scene in Episode 1, is nowhere (and that sticks out like a sore thumb because of Penelope's huge role). Emily has, of course, vanished off the face of the Earth for now, and so has MC's surrogate mother. Josh is nowhere, and Imre is almost totally focused on getting back at Chris for punching him. I don't mind characters getting phased in and out as needed, but there just isn't as much overall development as I'd hoped for.

Episode 1 was a 7-7.5 out of 10 for me. This one comes in at 6.5 or so. I don't agree with some of the "this is terrible, what's happened to the franchise?" comments, but there are definitely things the devs can learn from moving forward. I hope they do, because when CK is done right, it's a blast.