This game is beguiling and well-done, but I'm not sure i necessarily "get it." Not that that's a requirement for me, but I do feel like this is a little too abstract to be particularly satisfying. I was waiting for a revelatory moment that never came, and I played it twice to make sure I didn't miss anything. I now feel like I need some sort of author's statement to understand the game. I shouldn't come out of a wholly abstract and visual game yearning for words to clarify its meaning.

Don't get me wrong, I think I understand what's being implied - the iconography is pretty clearly based in child abuse by a drunk authority figure, and the arc is about Woman/Girl trying to confront the abuse Boy suffered and make amends for... something? Her complicity, maybe? But then why does Boy have to sign the piece of paper? Is it Boy who feels guilty for the abuse Woman/Girl suffered, or was the idea that he feels he signed a deal with the devil because he never told anybody? Maybe he feels complicit in his own abuse, which is fairly common among abuse victims? I dunno. I think this is one of those games that's just clear enough to demand a more cathartic resolution, and just vague enough to make me feel like an idiot for expecting more closure, you know what I mean?

I also think some of the pieces don't really add up all that well. I didn't grasp the cat's role in the proceedings, for example, and I'm not sure what the symbols besides the black circle are meant to represent, if anything. I also think the character designs aren't quite expressive enough. They work, but I'm pretty sure I would be clearer on what happened if they were slightly more expressive.

There is a lot to like here, and I see a ton of potential in Taut Nerve as a developer. The bichromatic art is striking, and the atmosphere was appropriately oppressive. I definitely felt as if I'd been taken on an emotional journey when I was finished playing the game. I just don't think it quite comes together. I'm looking forward to Taut Nerve's next game, though.