So. Butterfly Soup. What a fantastic game. I’ll start with the characters since they’re what it’s all about and ramble from there. When you first meet each of the characters they appear as the normal likable high school teen types. You have the shy one, the tough one, the goofball and the strict one. Each enjoyable right away but as the story progresses the characters really end up being more like real people than the normal cardboard cutout high school stereotypes. Each have very realistic struggles that people battle with every day. Be it abuse, depression or social anxiety each character seems to really feel human in their struggles. By the end no one has truly solved their problems they’ve just made them a little less prominent in their life. Getting to play as each character also helps humanize them as you’re able get inside the mindset of each one and by the end seeing these characters legitimately happy together really puts a smile on your face. I could probably go on forever about how much I love the characters but we need to talk about other stuff. The art. The art is so perfect for a game like this. Not too cutesy but not too many hard edges that make the characters seem too serious. The designs are also great because not everyone looks like the perfect person. Each design is very natural but bold and memorable. The backgrounds also while not as focused on are really nice and pleasing to the eyes. The music by Miltata and Ketsa also sets the more chill atmosphere of the game extremely well and I have the songs on repeat. The humor is also a small but amazing addition. It had me actually laughing out loud which is rare for any game. And finally the writing and message of this beautiful story. Brianna Lei’s writing is absolutely amazing and like I mentioned when talking about the characters you really do feel for them and their troubles. The romance is also handled extremely well and doesn’t just say “HEY LOOK ITS LGBT LIKE US BECAUSE ITS GOT LGBT REP” There’s actual substance to the characters romantic feelings (with a hint of that nerdy LGBT community). And the message of actually taking time to develop yourself and not just being the person everyone else tells you to be. It has the be yourself message but in this game it really does work and isn’t some cliche. Butterfly Soup is a very inspiring game that made me feel all the emotions in the book but in the end I truly felt happy. Seeing the characters all together goofing off and them talking about how your life is yours really hit me hard. This game was something I truly loved and it along with it’s characters will always have a place in my heart for making me realize I’m my own person and no one can take that from me.