I think Flotsam largely succeeds as a mood piece. The prose is evocative, and the striking juxtaposition of different digital aesthetics creates a nicely uneasy atmosphere, although a lot more could be done with it. There's some really good sound design in the game, too, which really makes a difference with the presentation being so sparse-but-functional. Its biggest advantage is the moody setting, though – the parallels between a building physically in decay and a YouTube channel in crisis as haunted places are both delicious and suitably Gothic.

I was initially slightly unsure about the tone. The premise is so bleak it borders on farcical, but I think a couple of instances of strategic deadpan humor and what the game ends up doing with its protagonist won me over. I would also say that the VN sort of falls into an awkward middle space between plotty and fragmentary, with a lot of things happening but some beats having more of a clarity of purpose to them than others.

Still, Flotsam doesn't overstay its welcome and manages to feel like a cohesive whole. Would love to see more of this kind of tight, focused shortform work.