This was technologically impressive first and foremost. I canât imagine what goes into making a maze-like puzzle or the sliding pieces that form a picture. I got Apathesis flashbacks from last yearsâ jam with this entry, even though itâs mechanically different. Thankfully, you have the option for the puzzles to be solved automatically with the tradeoff of losing some of the context of the story in order to progress.
The maze reminded me a bit of the one in FFVIII when acquiring the Brothersâ GF, if I recall correctly (itâs been nearly 25 years since I watched my college roommate play it, so my memoryâs a bit fuzzy). While I do find the mechanic interesting, Iâm not good at navigating these types of games myself, and while the option to skip is quite welcome, the penalty of missing out on chunks of the story is a bit steep in a game that is, first and foremost, intended to be a visual novel.
That doesnât mean there should be no penalty, though… having an alternate âperfectâ ending I think would be a good compromise. Still, I enjoy your creativity and ambitiousness in both this and your NovemBEAR entry, and look forward to seeing what comes next from you!