Kaworu is Griffith levels of gay
Also this Rei had no personality whatsoever, so that's a bad point.
which can only lead me to believe that the VN is actually a psychologically scarring pornfest.
I wouldn't say it's a psychologically scarring pornfest, although both things on their own are true. However, almost (barring one from what I remember) none of the psychological stuff is even related to sex and it's more about other stuff which is relatively interesting to read about. Most of the sex scenes where just Yuuji doing the heroine of that route. I found the backstories for each heroine to be the most interesting part of each route. Especially with their parents, because I freakin' love family relationships and drama in works. This is something I think Yumiko's route had done very well.
The first Grisaia game took me about as long as FSN to read. The common route was way too long, and the heroine routes themselves didn't focus on what I'd like to see myself. The translation itself was super good and one of the main reasons I wanted to read the thing, but what ended up being my other favorite aspect was the main character himself, Yuuji. I find it ridiculous how many harem VNs I've played where the only character I have a huge fondness for is the male lead. Especially in the Makina route, which was my favorite because it
focused on Yuuji. My second favorite bit would be Angelic Howl in Amane's route, because while I don't really care for any of the heroines, the huge NVL section in her backstory reads so well I had trouble stopping.
Route opinions:
Makina > Amane > Yumiko > Sachi > Michiru
Heroine opinions:
Yumiko = Sachi > Amane > Michiru = Makina
I'm still pretty hyped to read the two sequels...at some point.