As someone who came across this Coc2 because the Steam algorithm realized I like adult content through my various readings of YA interactive novels, Hunipop, and Roadwarden; it threw me a bone, and it's been pretty juicy. The combat is aight, but the world-building drew me in, the erotica is varied, and the lack of multiple different artists that don't communicate gave it a concise artstyle that these types of titles usually lack (everything usually just has the generic Moe-look). Now, with all of that said, I realized Coc1 was a thing, and the forum is pretty help full and ambitious. I have my hang-ups on Coc2 but after checking out the OG I can say that the Devs should be proud of themselves for the major leaps in presentation, UI, and gameplay they've made; at the same time, there are many aspects that CoC smashes Coc2 imo.
So starting with easy stuff; Theme, roleplay, and player agency are more valued in Coc. There are lots of decisions that are made throughout the adventure that genuinely had me thinking about the ramifications and whether it was morally in line with the character and their motivations. Another thing I appreciate is the character-writing consistency of the PC, they don't feel like their personality changes based on who they are fu$king but on how corrupt/lustful they are or the perks they have essentially allowing the player to sculpt their experience through gameplay, and engagement instead of having to look for porn tags or cliches to know how the PC will act.
I also appreciate the consistency of theming and tone that Coc maintains; there are moments early in the game where the PC is genuinely disturbed by Mareth and the various woes that happen. That they are getting used to the degeneracy to where once you'd read how the character is disgusted with themselves for indulging in the rape culture of Mareth to it being business as usual even in a pure playthrough, violence actually being talked about in dialogue and lore but also allowing the PC to use it and experience said violence gives it that extra edge legitimizing its narrative use of violence because it isn't just window dressing; Combat is unfair and simple yet scaled to specific levels as to be challenging but not overbearing. It feeds into the post-apocalyptic atmosphere. TFs are really important if unbalanced and they add value to the content by acting as keys, being unique, and adding moves or benefits use rather than numbers to count in combat.
Something that goes underappreciated is how side characters don't just bend over for the player in Coc, they boundaries the PC can push, they'll have beef with each other, they'll take issue with the player's degeneracy or lack thereof, they got their own priorities; they feel like ppl rather than plain old NPCs. The Persona series of games champion these traits and for good reason, it makes characters feel human and easier to bond to.
Coc2 knocks the quality of the story out of bounds with the scale of it all. It's night and day with how quests, characters, and combat are well-designed and still ongoing; they were always a strength of Coc so it's no surprise that they've still got the touch and still top it; interconnectivity is an issue because a lot of characters fall by the wayside and a lot of quests never get referenced. Coc1 didn't have a lot going for it so it leaned into its mechanics and atmosphere, with a lot of attention to the finer details that achieve immersion in a way you'd only see in established series and AA games.
So starting with easy stuff; Theme, roleplay, and player agency are more valued in Coc. There are lots of decisions that are made throughout the adventure that genuinely had me thinking about the ramifications and whether it was morally in line with the character and their motivations. Another thing I appreciate is the character-writing consistency of the PC, they don't feel like their personality changes based on who they are fu$king but on how corrupt/lustful they are or the perks they have essentially allowing the player to sculpt their experience through gameplay, and engagement instead of having to look for porn tags or cliches to know how the PC will act.
I also appreciate the consistency of theming and tone that Coc maintains; there are moments early in the game where the PC is genuinely disturbed by Mareth and the various woes that happen. That they are getting used to the degeneracy to where once you'd read how the character is disgusted with themselves for indulging in the rape culture of Mareth to it being business as usual even in a pure playthrough, violence actually being talked about in dialogue and lore but also allowing the PC to use it and experience said violence gives it that extra edge legitimizing its narrative use of violence because it isn't just window dressing; Combat is unfair and simple yet scaled to specific levels as to be challenging but not overbearing. It feeds into the post-apocalyptic atmosphere. TFs are really important if unbalanced and they add value to the content by acting as keys, being unique, and adding moves or benefits use rather than numbers to count in combat.
Something that goes underappreciated is how side characters don't just bend over for the player in Coc, they boundaries the PC can push, they'll have beef with each other, they'll take issue with the player's degeneracy or lack thereof, they got their own priorities; they feel like ppl rather than plain old NPCs. The Persona series of games champion these traits and for good reason, it makes characters feel human and easier to bond to.
Coc2 knocks the quality of the story out of bounds with the scale of it all. It's night and day with how quests, characters, and combat are well-designed and still ongoing; they were always a strength of Coc so it's no surprise that they've still got the touch and still top it; interconnectivity is an issue because a lot of characters fall by the wayside and a lot of quests never get referenced. Coc1 didn't have a lot going for it so it leaned into its mechanics and atmosphere, with a lot of attention to the finer details that achieve immersion in a way you'd only see in established series and AA games.
