I played Qualia, and I wanted to share my thoughts.
First, the game has undeniable qualities. The graphics are beautiful, the visual and sound atmosphere is polished, you can tell there was real work behind it. The developer put time into it, that shows, and honestly, for a free game, that's already a huge effort that deserves respect.
Now, on the storytelling, I had more trouble. I feel like there's a lot of text and dialogue, but quantity doesn't mean quality. Having lots of dialogue boxes doesn't mean it's deep. Most of the time, I felt like it was trying to create a connection with the characters, but after a while, having too much of it just gets tiring.
Also, in the game, everything you click gives you an interaction. That's nice in itself, but at some point, it's too much, and it slows down the pace for no real reason. I spent a lot of time clicking to read things that, in the end, didn't add much to the story.
In terms of reflection, I found it quite shallow. Themes like suffering, loneliness, illness, or existence are touched upon, but often in a superficial way. These are thoughts we've all already had in our lives, things you see everywhere on the Internet or in everyday life. I wish it had been more developed, more personal, more in-depth, but I felt like it stayed on the surface. So reading tons of dialogue boxes to ultimately get little substance to reflect on, that frustrated me a bit.
And for the pacing, I stopped at the school scene. I thought it was the end, but it wasn't, and that discouraged me. Going through more doors, more dialogue, when I felt like I'd already seen it all... I gave up.
Again, the game isn't bad. It has a nice atmosphere, it's free, and the work put into it is commendable. But narratively, I found it too empty for what it promised. If you like contemplative games where atmosphere matters most, it might work for you. For me, it didn't click.