What an incredible game. The writing's a little slow in parts, but there's a warmth and purpose to almost everything - Tamarak and I throwing snacks down to the boys on the bridge felt like the kind of little moment *I* remember from my own childhood.
It's easy for this sort of game to fall into shallow nostalgia pandering, but instead the game feels like a gentle prodding for the player to reflect on their own life.
Not to get too personal, but I recently had a major medical event, and this game has sincerely helped me make peace with it, reflect on my relationships with the people around me.
I also very much enjoyed how the option to come out after step 1 was handled. I was expecting just a 'yay, youre girl now,' but instead the characters had varying reactions to it - largely positive ones, but still - cracked jokes, and you were allowed to choose who to tell and why, which affected how they referred to you. It felt positive but still natural, which I appreciated.
You can see the seams of the choices a little on replay, but that's to be expected with a game this large. Excited to see it fully completed!