idont wanna be mean to dev because its very understandable to not make a perfect piece of fiction and youre not really obligated to for a silly little game but idrk where else to spill my thoughts so i gotta just throw it all out in the sea of this comment section if thas chill. spoilers ofc
i think my #1 feelings on this game is just feeling very mixed about its thematic concurrency... or lack thereof..? it kinda feels like it wants you to believe it has something to say but i cant glean anything. its kind of all over the place with all of the ideas it throws at the wall. its trying really hard to make you feel guilt for causing harm to harvey but lacks agency for the player even in situations where choices couldve been implemented (i.e. stopping entirely when he begs, moving back to a previous tool, accepting the bribe). mkaes it very difficult to actually feel any remorse for your actions. it doesnt explore the idea of the player also not having any choice in a linear piece of fiction either like some meta games do, which couldve excused that kind of plothole.
harvey as a character also just kinda... confuses me? i just dont think his characterization is very airtight. at one point he sort of implies that this is some sort of power he shares with the worth of generating wealth from physical contact and even moreso when unsolicited and violent, but at other points he just acts like the money is just a stash under his stall he can pull out at any time. why are you distributing your riches like this? making strangers poke and tickle you? what are you, some kind of pervert?
his degree of agency feels inconsistent and not properly established. never able to so much as run away from you, but is able to grab you and later challenge you in court, etc (being able to grab and attack you in the first place as a legitimate threat completely nullifies the whole idea that youre just 'playing the game' and not a part of this world who has the reap the consequences). not to mention its difficult to feel immersed in the concept of 'i am fictional but my pain is real oh god help me' here because his reactions are so downplayed and unrealistic. like what do you mean he isnt already begging for his life by the point that i smash him in the head with a hammer 5 times? how is he not dead from the 20th stab wound after extensive prior torture?
its kind of funny how the narrative wouldve also benefitteed from the game nerfing its click-grind in this respect, because on a gameplay level its definitely also an issue as the game being so difficult to play without an autoclicker is very problematic when it has replay value in its multiple endings. any given playthrough lasting more than 5-10 minutes is an unfortunate disability on the behalf of the game (besides the good ending which i understand lasting longer, but its definitely ridiculous for it to take longer than 20 minutes to achieve it considering theres nothing of substance to it besides 1 hour of nonstop clicking which is certainly one way to develop carpal tunnel.). these questions are worthwhile in a game where its constantly beckoning you to treat your actions with weight. i promise im not cinemasinsmaxxing here its just that these plotholes and inconsistencies really add up in a narrative driven game like this. i do wish the game was more fleshed out and understood what it wanted to say and the world harvey inhibits more lucidly.
ultimately though a lot of these issues can only really be resolved by basically 'keeping the story in your brain oven for longer' so i dont blame them for being present if the game was just made in like a month or so.