Amarantus is a lovingly-crafted work of art, from its detailed lore and writing to the wonderful art and animations. It uses the typical VN format in a clever way, and it does so much more: I wouldn't say there are "bad" and "good" and "neutral" decisions, just different choices that affect the story very naturally, and each one feels significant enough that replaying multiple times still had me at the edge of my seat.

The amount of variations positively surprised me, from the prolonged consequences of the "personality" of Arik, to the little comments referencing previous dialogue... The replayability is extraordinary! The mechanic to hide some details and make the player go through the story (at least) twice, but with added knowledge the second time around, was so rewarding... And going back and replaying "so to dark" again afterwards was even more surprising, there were hints that I hadn't caught on at first and they had me screeching in delight! It really feels like every dialogue line has significant meaning.
The same attention has been dedicated to the world itself--the differences in pronunciations and languages were consistently one of my favorite aspects. The endless cycle of war felt oppressing since the prologue and its weight grows and grows until the final scenes. The history's compelling, and letting it be told by the (sometimes flawed) perspective of the singular characters made it extra "real".
Speaking of characters, each and every playthrough I did (I unlocked about 60% of the dialogue at the end of playtesting so there's much more I've yet to discover!) revealed something more about them, how they behave in different situations, what stays consistent or what actions influence them in a particular way or another. The relationships between each other and Ari change ever-so-subtly depending on choices and yet it never feels like the player has too much influence over them. I greatly enjoyed how Ari connected with them in friendship, love and antagonism. And yes, the marketing doesn't lie: it can get really messy! But also sweet, or maybe bittersweet: like everything else in the VN, relationships have a very satisfying range of variety.
I also loved the technical stuff: animating characters' sprites so they move on the screen combined the silent-movie-frame-style background is such a strong visual choice, as were the different graphics for the textbox UI (I thought I was going insane when I first noticed it was different but it depends on personality/previous choices!). The art inserts were also really beautiful, I spent a lot of time in the gallery just scrolling through them all <3

There were so many "little moments" and themes that I've gotten so attached to, but I won't go in detail because I really believe playing without spoilers is the best way to enjoy Amarantus. In the most general and vague way I can word it: misshapen memories and legacies and the melancholic way they linger in people and places, flawed individuals who failed despite the good intentions and genuine effort, and the drive to keep going on.

Even though I was already hooked from the demo, the full extent of the complete game really impressed me: I'd definitely say this is one of the most well-made visual novels I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing.