This is another game that I thought looked really cute and I thought would be fun and heartwarming and sad. Hate to say it, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Without getting too much into spoilers, this game has a concept that relies upon making you invested in the characters and their dialogue. Even if only the first time around. The gameplay is very typical RPG stuff, except even more unimportant and uninteresting than the average. The "game" elements of this game aren't fun and don't matter. The story is what matters. So the writing is even more important than usual to get you invested. Except the writing doesn't manage that. It doesn't even come close. I was actively trying to get into it and it was still a challenge to force myself to keep playing. The dialogue was even more boring, expository, and trope-filled than the average light novel. It is painfully dull and filled with UwU energy. So much stuttering. So many abused ellipses. I got a bit more than two hours in, and for the life of me, I can't remember a single character's name or a single bit of dialogue. I just remember the main characters as their stereotypical, paper-thin archetypes. I'm not just unattached to these characters; I actively dislike them. Even knowing that the game changes significantly later on, there is nothing that could possibly happen that would make them suddenly tolerable. I get what they were trying with this. I was even looking forward to it. But the writing and characters completely smother any enjoyment the average person could possibly get from playing the game. It's still rated very highly on steam. So obviously this game is liked by most of the audience it attracts. I'd only recommend it if you're already interested and enjoy the writing in light novels or YA books (no judgment here). If you're not in that group and you're on the fence? Steer clear.
This game has near universal praise. There's a reason for that. The art style, the voice acting, the writing: it all drips with obvious care and quality. It's not going to be for everyone. But if you're on the fence, just go for it. Even if you end up being one of the people that doesn't like it, it's such a novel experience you'll at least be able to enjoy ranting about why you hate it.
I was looking forward to this and hoping for a good time. But it's just.. so boring. This is not a videogame. This is a story being told to you, that you occasionally get to play. Every conversation and cutscene takes forever. And I have no attachment to any of the characters. They're just 2D stereotypes and caricatures that would feel right at home in a kid's anime or light novel. I'm just waiting for each inane conversation and nonsensical cutscene to end. It's unbearable even after trying to put everything at max speed. This would be forgivable if the actual gameplay were entertaining. But the combat is dead simple and unsatisfying, there's so much backtracking, and it feels like a chore to complete. All this just to get back to another unforgivably long cutscene as your "reward" makes me dread both the gameplay as well as its inevitable end when more story comes around. I made it to chapter two before I gave up. Even the idea of reopening the game to try to keep going fills me with so much dread I can't power through.
