Hello, and welcome to my long-ass live commentary where I tell you my reactions as I play. This is my gift to you.
So first off this art is Fantastic holy fuck. Also I am immediately intrigued by the stamina meter for examination portions. I sure hope that won't be used later in a high stakes situation to add tension!
This is such a healthy and normal mother-son relationship. It's TOO healthy. I know there's something fucked up in this game, and it's not here, so where is it...
Really appreciating the different art I get looking in the bathroom mirror. Multiple outfits! (Also I'm endlessly enamored with the protagonist, so more excuses to look at him are ofc 👍)
When they finished the movie, and there was a tender quiet between them, I was sure they were gonna kiss...then they didn't. Then my protagonist mentioned weekly movie nights but Not Alone Together. My BFF man is being weird about it, and I was already imagining gay tension so now I'm afraid he's gonna go yandere on me. My mom's not fucked up so it's gotta be you, buddy
OH NO, I'M THE BFF'S POV NOW. I swear to god if I search this dude's house and start finding hints about all the ways he's fucked up—...why does this dude have a double bed? 🧐 who you snuggling in with you homeboy?
Oh shit oh fuck I wasn't prepared for the laundry sorting minigame, wait wait wait I SWEAR I know what a shirt is I SWEAR (whyyyy am I doing so poorly wwww;;;; I'm glad the game didn't make fun of me)
ohhh this dude in the mirror doing his morning routine...so fucking cute...ghghgggghhhh cuteness aggression I need to squeeze him in my fist until he explodes. (Unrelated, I got unexplainable joy from the ability to make a sandwich)
The way you did the different lighting in the morning, afternoon, and evening versions of these environments is so beautiful...like, this living room after playing videogames is Gorgeous. Goddamn.
I've been noticing this ever since I started playing, but you're a phenomenal writer. The way you use little mundane details to create endearing character moments and establish familiarity and familial/platonic intimacy is really effective every time.
Austin seems so fucking nice. SO fucking nice. But I gave him a big cool knife (red flag) and he had narration of lures and mimicry being thematically ominous on his TV and then he crushed this fucking parasitized snail...dude you're scaring me. Dude please. I want to trust you bro I really do but you're making it SO fucking hard bro.
...ok but the bear kinda cute tho. Big old eyes. Cuddly sillohoutte.
.........oh shit wait I bet I'm about to have Game Mechanics now
Austin dude I'm so fucking sorry for doubting you. I feel so bad right now. You're not a yandere you're just being mauled by a bear. Man.
I am choosing Go Back For Austin. I am repeatedly choosing to fight this fucking bear. When I wake up, I am choosing to look for my boy. Buddy I'm coming for you. (Buddy I feel so bad for calling you a yandere. Hopefully you were taking over by an alien while I was passed out and only NOW will you be a yandere—)
Bruh I am NOT making that shift tomorrow
.....okay so at this point i GOTTA keep doubling down on looking for my boy Austin. Who definitely at this point is either dead or not in the woods anymore (probably taken over by an alien). But I didn't kiss him during our movie date and he made that really thoughtful list of car parts for me so at this point I REALLY can't end this game without trying to get my kiss. I gotta. I gotta.
MY FUCKING BOY??? JUST OUT OF REACH??? MY FUCKING BOY???????????????????
...or not. Anyway, the SMART thing would be to check Austin's house, or call him, but I'm back with my tunnel vision. I'm sure my mother's medication withdrawals will totally be worth the great value Exhuasted McGee brings to this search party.
Oh god. The dishes. I haven't even done those fucking dishes. Bruh I am not Taking Care Of It.
I spent so long on Barrel Puzzle. I reloaded so many times trying to see if I could solve Barrel Puzzle. I had one barrel in the water and was trying to get the other out of the fences to no avail, and giving the goat flowers got me nowhere. I thought I'd die in Barrel Puzzle. And then it turns out if I just stopped reloading I'd find my man.
oh no...My Mother's Disappointment. (This woman is maybe the best fictional mother in videogames.)
Um. But. I don't want to sleep on the couch. There's a perfectly feasible half of my boy's double bed waiting for me. Doesn't my man want the constant reassurance that Austin is there, still breathing, any time he needs the reminder? Cmonnnnn game let me be gay.
I feel like my man has deeeeefinitely been body-snatched by an alien.
...oh you can push AND pull items.....!!!!!! (no wonder I was struggling with the barrels...)
My bff is definitely an alien drinking blood out of my hand. Normalstyle. And not helping me at all when i collapse on the floor. This is fine, he's still my bro.
nooooo his steak is overcooked. My alien bestie needs BLOOD not this cooked shit. goddddd. And I spent so much of my nonexistant money on it, too—Austin's disappointment hurts. More than the wound he licked up.
[sees the scratches on Austin's neck] ah. We're doing my favorite part of Higurashi, huh?
...the way he says he doesn't know how he got the scratches. I'm reminded of Riley's musings about the slug—wondering how much consciousness the slug still had, whether he could only watch its body move, or whether it was more persuaded, or whether it wasn't there at all. I think Austin is still there sometimes. And he's trying to kill his slug. Oh shittt.
As someone who would see your devlogs on Tumblr, I must say again that the art assets you made for the meat look so good. (I totally thought they'd show up in a less mundane way than a meat shop wwww)
Every time I see this damn emergency axe in the apartment i am filled with fucking dread. I Know You Will Be Important Later, You Motherfucker
Wow. He's going full freak on me now, easting raw hearts and very confidentally telling me it's no big deal. This rules. Move outta the way Summer Hikaru Died, this is my new favorite bodysnatch codependency story.
I DON'T KNOW. I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN EAT IT. THE OPTIONS FOR BOTH ARE IN ALL CAPS AND VERY URGENT. BUT UH. NORMALLY I'D LEAN INTO THE PRE-EXISTING CANON THAT ESTABLISHES RILEY CAVES TO PEER PRESSURE BUT UH. THEFT WAS ONE THING. THIS?? COULD MAKE ME SICK??? I DUNNO DAWG
noooo don't let your parasitized boyfriend go up on the roof, he's going to ATTRACT BIRDS like the SNAIL
Okay roof scene was fine. Cute. and then I get my lovely little emotional abuse scene, solidifying the the absolutely toxic fucking yaoi I have fallen into. Riley looks so miserable. Pathetic meow meow. I need to draw him.
I'm going through these woods thinking "I'm fine, I befriended the ram with flowers and pet the cow so many times. Animals love me. I'm soooo safe."
First thought getting this deer into my car: "I am sullying my father's last momento with blood." Second thought is "oh shit I'm gonna have to heft this heavy ass carcass up 5 flights of stairs." Immediate next thought is "Ohh shit discrete apartment ghost might see me. That'll be awkward. But he knows better than to squeal. PLus I helped him move heavy furniture, maybe he'll help me move a bleeding corpse in return."
OR NOT. OR MAYBE NONE OF THAT COULD HAPPEn. I GUESS. (I felt so smart, like I was figuring shit out)
buddy buddy wait come back you can lick the blood off my clothes, Austin———
NOT THE FUCKING CAT
oh my fucking god. The way Riley questions whether he deserves to eat. And then my only choice for "what to do with my day" being search for cat search for cat search for cat. The VIBES. Impeccable. Eating this up (much like my bro will be eating cat)
I didn't find the cat. My alien boyfriend is gonna be mad. I'm so tempted to reload my last save. I don't even know if it's possible to get the cat.
...so speaking of cats, you know that thing pet-haters tell cat owners? "It'll eat you when you die"? And you know how some people will jokingly attribute it to boyfriends? Well uh. I'm sleeping on the couch of a very hungry man who wants something warm and fresh. And I don't know if I'll be waking up. He's already slurped me once
I love this fucked up murder coverup flashback and how it recontextualizes Austin's behavior at the junk heap, and Austin's foreboding comments of "I've seen you do worse"...the payoff was SO worth it. This rules.
oh damn he didn't eat me. But he's asking for a human. Am I gonna knock on the Discrete Apartment Ghost's door and take him, after failing to take his cat? That'd be neat. He said I could knock, I have due cause.
...OR WE COULD DO THIS. COOL COOL COOL COOL COOL.
The fucking start screen change??? I'd already been admiring the dynamic save/load screens, but ALSO a dynamic start screen??? This game fucks severely. that was awesome. And this comment is Really Long so I'll leave it here and comment again later once I finish the other endings.