I played this almost a month ago and I'm just now getting around to writing a review for it because I wasn't even sure how to write about this in a way that would do it justice. It's been a while since I've played a game that feels so warm and comfy and intimate regardless of how things end.
The presentation is definitely unique - at first I wasn't sure how to feel about the exclusive use of NVL mode taking up half the screen, but as it went on I started to get more used to it. Ultimately I think it worked really well, and made it feel more like a book than a VN in some ways, which I know sounds a little silly. It's hard to describe, but for example I looked through the game's backgrounds after I finished and was surprised with how relatively few there were - it felt like there were way more than only 3 for the shopping center part, for example, just due to how well it was all described.
That said, I absolutely loved both the backgrounds and the character art. The girl's sprites are very expressive (the flustered one is extremely cute in particular) and having them be mirrored for each girl worked well on multiple levels. I still can't get over how much I love the background photos too - what kind of camera did you use for them? Again I really loved the nighttime / shopping center ones in particular, but they're all great, from use of color to composition. The use of the NIN tracks fit the game super well, and similarly I have to imagine that the art for Ghosts I - IV might have been an inspiration for the film grain covered photos used here.
The whole drunken interactions scene was especially cute, with all of its silly misunderstandings. The majority of the game just felt so cute and cozy and -
I don't want to spoil anything from the ending sequence, but I will say that it is deeply impressive how you managed to make that sort of warmth continue on through an otherwise incredibly uncomfortable series of events. Semi-related, I know you only used songs from Ghosts in particular, but Right Where It Belongs has become a sort of unofficial credits song to this for me, it just felt way too fitting not to listen to it after finishing this. Both that song and this game give me the same sort of feeling I guess? - it's hard to put it other than bleak and depressing but still ultimately hopeful in spite of that?
I think I've rambled enough at this point but what I'm trying to say is I really really enjoyed this, thank you for sharing and I hope you make more games in the future!