On a replay what really stood out to me is the steady process of humanization for Nikko, and the development of the self that happens. Gin is (nearly) introduced with the line “Doesn’t feel like I’m looking at a person. You really might’ve pushed it too far this time” while him and Lev go back and forth on Lev’s newest purchase, immediately introducing this theme of external appraisal that exists fully segmented out from Nikko’s own thoughts, or those of the player. What follows is the sort of behavior you’d expect of any newborn, but in the case of her mechanical body also serves as evidence to dehumanize her. At the end of the story, one of the central pieces of evidence for Lev’s argument for Nikko’s humanity turns out to be a half-truth—the human brain Nikko supposedly has is really just three grams of lab-grown tissue to regulate her endocrine system. But we have seen her grow and change, seen her thoughts and reactions, and at this point likely have our own sense of Nikko’s humanity, even if the key piece in getting us on board with that possibility is now substantially altered. But does it change our understanding of Nikko’s future possibilities, and our hopes for her? If so, how?
This was such an interesting execution of a classic robot premise that was really well combined with the tension + release of the other narrative threads. Like I said I think the first time I still adore the sprites + bgs, and you all did a killer job picking the music, it fit so well I first thought it was made for the vn. Thanks again for making + sharing!!