The idea was interesting, the execution is boring. I didn't really care about who lived or died, and my impact was only visible via a few tweet-like messages on my phone at the start of each day. Your boss, Fate, is very bland and I didn't like how he spoke. You can't pet the cat. The interface isn't great. I made the mistake of spinning the fidget spinner, then had to wait for it to naturally stop over the course of a minute. Your desk gets cluttered up with a bunch of papers that you have to click to make larger and smaller and will overlap each other in annoying ways.
I had a lot of fun finding every secret and the story was surprisingly deep despite it's cute exterior.
The puzzles got really tedious (hated the vents and the note code puzzles got more and more ridiculous as the game went on), but I enjoyed the story, the atmosphere, and the characters. I was rooting for them. The ending was a punch in the gut, but not necessarily in a bad way. Hopefully there are multiple endings, maybe even one that is not so bleak for our main character. I also enjoyed the sci-fi/cyberpunk elements. I thought the future they envisioned was somewhat realistic and interesting. I didn't expect to like this after playing the demo, but I'm happy to say they worked out (most) of the kinks for the final game. It's worth a playthorough.
I like the story, but the gameplay is painful. It might be that the tutorial wasn't good enough, or the lack of hints, but I really struggled to put the right lines of dialogue together to get the last few clues needed to solve the case completely. Also not a fan of being unable to save dogs being murdered in front of me, nor being able to feed or pet my own dog when it was whining for attention. Not cool. Also, this needs quality of life improvements. Don't make me sit through and repeat excruciatingly slow dialogue every time I come back to a call after messing up and looking for more clues. Don't punish me for playing the game!
TL;DR: Overall I found the game interesting a worth playing, but also pretty frustrating with too many loose ends by the time the credits roll. One specific moment shocked me in a bad way and I took off a star. I do plan to play the sequel, which I have heard is better. DETAILS: The best parts were the interactions, the art, the likable and interesting characters, and the nostalgic point-and-click feel. Some of the puzzles were pretty cool - I liked the stuff that had to do with a computer and the police station. It was fun to hear Kathy and Eileen converse about stuff in their room. My biggest concern (that dropped a star for me) was the huge tone shift in the middle and end with a really horrific plot point that could be *extremely* triggering for someone who has trauma regarding abortion or miscarriage. Something like that should *not* come as a surprise 3/4s of the way through the game. The way they handled it was also offensive to me. It felt like there was a pro-life agenda, and was just handled in a crass manner. On the lighter side, I found the back and forth between locations and the unskippable loading and motorcycle scenes in between really started to drag on the experience. You see an item when you first go to a location, can't pick it up, and when it becomes relevant later, you're forced to retrace your steps to go grab it. Sometimes the item you went back and forth for only gets used once (looking at you metal detector). I had to look up a walkthrough twice to solve puzzles that just made no sense to me. The solutions made me roll my eyes (if you've played the game, I was shocked by the clinic solution and rather cross with the third step of the safe puzzle which I thought was talking about life spans). Lastly I didn't really feel like the ending resolved everything. When the credits rolled I thought "that's it?" There are so many questions I still have. Feels like a cliffhanger meant to entice you to play the sequel.
I really love this game :) I don't play dating sims much (I've only ever finished Hatoful Boyfriend, a parody about pigeons lol) but I really enjoyed this one and was hooked immediately. It helps that the base game is free and complete even with no paid extras! --- Pros: * STORY - This game is a simulation of growing up and (optionally) falling in love with your best friend, Cove Holden. You can realize your feelings as early as childhood or stay platonic forever. No matter what you pick, the story is sweet and the friend/love interest is fun to hang out with. You can play as many or as few "moments" in each step as you want to. There are other characters too, like your family, Cove's family, and various friends and side characters. I despised at least one upon meeting them, but by the end I was fond of them all to one degree or another. * CUSTOMIZATION - Four steps/chapters with customization options at the beginning of each. The game tailors each step based on your previous step choices, but you can change them as you like before starting the next step. There are customization options for the looks and personality of both yourself and Cove. * LGBTQ+ REPRESENTATION - This game has great representation. You get to choose and change your first name and pronouns at the beginning of each step (many voiced names to choose from with the free DLC!). As you get older you will also have options to describe your physical body, how you dress (including chest binders, bras, etc), and your sexuality or lack thereof. Again, the game is very good about giving you the option to change your character as they grow, providing a lot of flexibility to choose when, how, and if your character transitions, discovers new parts of themselves, makes new revelations, etc. * ART - The set pieces are really detailed and vibrant. I was glad to see plenty of variety. Sometimes the art style wasn't consistent between the CG graphics and the rest of the game, but it isn't much to adjust to and the style is still nice, just different. --- Cons: * MUSIC - DON'T GET ME WRONG, the music is great, but I wish there was either more variety, or less of a harsh end to the track when it starts to loop again. You listen to the same 4 or 5 tracks for the entire game, and it gets old. * REPETITIVE DIALOGUE - There are certain quirks the writers have that you will notice. Repeatedly fidgeting with hem strands as a way to show anxiety, constant references to anklets (if you know you know), and other phrases and such that seem to be go-tos. It was a bit distracting when your mind wanted to keep track of how many times you had seen a certain word used in the story. * CUSTOMIZATION DOESN'T ALWAYS MATTER - you can choose a lot of different customization options for your character, but it feels like most of them are just for your own headcanon. I didn't see many of them get used. There was one scene where I saw the hint of my character's lower chin, but that was it as far as their face went. The time you spend on a hairstyle will likely be reduced to short/medium/long and one of the colors you picked being mentioned every so often. You can select to have scars, freckles, tattoos, accessories, and other customizations that, at least for me, didn't come up at all. And I played every "moment" in the base game. --- In Summary: Worth a play to see what you think, especially since the base game is free :) I plan to purchase the DLC because I enjoyed it enough to want to see more.
I actually want to play the full version of this one! My issues with the first one were mostly about the lack of interactivity. This one still has that to some extent (you mostly make drinks and draw art sometimes), but it has some advantages over the first one's demo: 1. You speak! I don't get to pick what I say, but it is less annoying that the previous game where the NPCs would react as if I was speaking, but I only had context clues as to what I said. 2. There is an additional mechanic having to do with items. You're like a courier of sorts, putting items in your drawer and giving them to the right customer. 3. I like the new "Stories" feature. The art is really cute and it brings the characters to life more than just listening to them talk to each other. Hopefully "liking" the posts will have some mechanical benefit. 4. The drinks I had to make weren't already in my recipe book this time. That made a big difference. I had to do a modicum of thinking to make sure I made a drink they would like. 5. Characters were more interesting. I only met Jorji, Lucas, and Riona(?), but they were far more interesting that Freya and the odd couple from the first game's demo. Better character design and more interesting animations. There are still some flaws I hope will be improved once I play the full game - repetitive music, slow pace, lack of interactivity or decision-making elements, etc. But being invested in the characters (including my own) this time around has made this second episode 100% more interesting to me.
I felt like I was clicking three buttons, making terrible latte art, and the rest of the time was just reading text. I couldn't even participate in the conversation. Hopefully there is more to the full game. Right now it doesn't really feel like a game, unfortunately.
The Good: Story - Fantastic. I liked reading all of the info and learning about the main character's life. Music - I actually really enjoyed the soundtrack. Might have to go buy it now... Art - Adorable, colorful, and added life to the main character. Representation - The game is very informative on LGBTQ+ topics and challenges. I like that they included that for people who may not be aware (or for whom a "normal phone" game is easier to explain to their parents and friends). I do have some gripes though. See below for those, but either way I still recommend this game. If you can get it for a decent price it is worth playing through. The Gripes: UI/UX - I liked the look and feel, but switching back and forth between screens and trying to remember dates and such that needed to be used elsewhere was annoying. If you left a screen it wouldn't stay where you put it. You couldn't do split screen or otherwise see multiple apps at once to make things easier. Puzzles - Some were fairly simple and fine. I never really enjoyed them though. They were a chore to make sure you read everything on the phone hunting for the info you needed. It was a minor thrill when you finally figured it out at least. I found myself having to come back to things to remember where I had read something that was now important. There was lots of data that didn't add to the story too, nor was it interesting to read. Don't spend too much time stuck on any one puzzle, look up a guide! I was able to solve all but one on my own and I agonized for an hour retreading old ground before I gave up. I was annoyed once I saw the solution. The other puzzles, while requiring thought and sometimes not being that intuitive, were at least straightforward and had plenty of clues to guide you. The last one though...I won't spoil it, but the elements involved and the one clue they gave along with some info that hadn't yet been used led me to think math was required. It was not -_-
