I absolutely adore this game! I had a feeling I would with all of the representation and with how much I enjoyed the demo, but I was still blown away. Art-wise, writing-wise, characters and dynamics, all of it! Noel's route was everything I hoped it would be and more. As an nb ace who's physically affectionate with a bleeding heart, major sweet tooth, many nerdy interests (including card games though not to Noel's extent), soft spot for people who are a bit tsun and/or emo (plus a love of Paramore), aaaaand a bonus goofy/teasing sense of humor similar to a certain lovable DJ whose screen-time I loved every second of...it's an understatement to say I was catered to extremely well, haha. I panicked a few times when I thought I made a wrong choice or that the journey was ending too soon, but it turns out I made almost all the right choices somehow? Thanks to back when I played the demo, I knew going in that I would miss the extra point with Noel for not keeping the keys and getting that scene with him, yet I knew there was no world I wouldn't give the keys up to help Mitts. But even without the keys scene I still managed to make enough other right choices to get his romantic end first try while playing blind, and the journey didn't end too soon at all, it wrapped up the story and Noel's character beautifully. I loved every moment of getting to know him better, seeing not only the romance develop but also the natural, genuine, banter-filled friendship between the dream trio of MC, Noel, and DJ, and of course digging into the details and complexity of Limbo, both as it stands and as it comes to be shaped by the three of them. It's the kind of route that I already see myself revisiting lots of times, and what I felt experiencing the voice acting and art in the final two CGs especially will stick with me forever <3
I'm sure I could say a lot more, but I'll save that for when I've had more time to digest the rest of the game and finish the remaining routes I intend to do, but for now with how much I was affected, I really wanted to gush about Noel's route for a bit. I know that I'm certainly not alone in loving him, but for obvious reasons he's become such a special character to me. I will say that if I had to give feedback for something, I would've loved the chance to tell him I'm ace too when he tells us that, and then have a line or two in the other scene where MC doesn't just explain the other side to him but relates to his side as well. It's not needed, because the MC's lines do read neutral enough that they could either be ace too or not, but being able to freely and explicitly be ace in a game is something that is so rare to do, even less so with a character that shares your sexuality and you're romancing. But I know you have your plate full, and again I've already been more than well catered to, this is just more wishful thinking than anything! Still super grateful for all the representation you've so thoughtfully and wonderfully incorporated!