Opinion/Review: [no talk about endings!]
[Spoiler, duh]
Dean was my first Route and it kept my investesd quite alot. After his day 6 i wrote down every sus word that i was reading. So the password mechanic also forces the reader to read carefully. That's quite unique.
I totally like movies with timeloop style mechanics and Password did a great job in writing to keep me engaged with my favorite Characters.
The emotional highlights are the Appearance of David and when the other cast finally opens up about their past including dave resulting in the wonderful group-hug at day 15. Dave death on day 24 path A was a similiar succesful moment. This only works bi cared about the characters. They are clear cut with their strenght and weaknesses and got a very relatable personality (although overdramatic sometimes).
From Emotion to OPINIONS: I am not a writer or creater, just a gamer.
So i go straight to OPINIONS and potential ideas for improvement. Mostly Character and also the "timeloop". I also highlight example i still don't fully understand.
Dave and Dean:
I put them together as Deans solutions of a character are partially related to Dave.
Dave is very likeable. He is afraid and sometimes helpless, but unlike the Hero of Adastra (or even Echo)he isn't a totally helpless/useless bi***.
However he is sometimes inconsistent. Sometimes he is rather too dense and too passiv, other times he is clever. On the early bad endings Dave left his friends with Tyson and later endangerd Benson (if Sal isn't present); loosing a bunch of sympathy by/from the reader.
While on Path A/B he takes matters in his own hands more often. It's explained in the story through his dream and talk on the sunrise, still seems a little bit aprupt.
The second problem with Dave: Dean or someone else: "how are you Dave?" Dave: "I am fine." It repeats itself too often for my taste. And Deans Character suffers the most of it.
Dean is established as the "nsfw-playful" + care-bear of the group. The players gets more information about Dean by not playing Deans-Route. The moments of Dave's "I am fine" excuses can be used as oppertunity for Dean to get more and more brave to push Dave a little bit more (exspecially after day 15).
Maybe Dean can try to make Dave comfortable with small story of his family life or wisdom he inherited from his grandparents or family-workplace - among other things.
Or the other way around: When Dean comes up with an lude joke or takling point, Dave may start to tease him back and go into smalltalk, nostalgia or striaghtout tells them what he likes about him or others - whatever fits Deans and Daves Character.
Having more part of Dialog for Dean may also help to improve his other Role: being one of the main-Suspects behind the incidents at the mansion. Nyz Cait: " I still don't trust this bear!" A role Dean shares with Hoss.
Dean mostly sus for overly caering about Dave that it almost seem weird while the player barely get to know Dean or his motives. Rather late Dave is finally asking Dean what he likes about him in the first place. But i cannot recall what Dave likes about Dean except his honey+earth scent and his biceps (Tyson Route).
Maybe an idea in the far future: The option to push Dean into the friend-zone on his own Route because Dave cares more about Tyson or Roswell, while also an option on the Hoss, Roswell + Sal Route to reject any of them and pursue/ go back to the Dave + Dean Romance instead and slightly changing the end of the path.
In general both Dave and the other Character would profit if Dave reveals more often what he like about them. It's important to know for the reader why he was dating Dean in the first place also also why he is willing to brak up with Dean.
Hoss: There is hardly any negativ i can recall about this character.
His ark went pretty smoothly. Maybe too smoothly as his Route felt like a vacation compared to the overall drama within the group. So enough room to improve his "Suspect" Role. He already got that role mostly because of his personallity and traits, being able to lie and detect lies without effort and natuarel charisma + the ECm incident.
Still the Hoss Romance felt the most forced (including the Dean Relationship) for me. Hoss and Sal are the people Dave barely know anything about. So both may profit from an Option for Dave to put them into the friendzone (and go for Dean or Tyson relationship). Dave was just curious about them and want to spend some time before the great breakup.
Sal: One of the best Route. Clear Personallty + troublesome past.
I played his Route the last because; a) I am not into scale at all b) His first impression being rather slow/sloth character c) his second imprission as of violent brute. Punshing Dean on his nose for no good reason. Luckly his Route was a pleasent surprise.
Roswell: My least favorite Route. I like Roswell as the nerd of the party making him a good sidekick. But as Relationship i barely spend time on his Route. It was also the only Route that i stopped reading and switched to another Character. He is slightly confused in his relatioship with Dave, like Tyson; but his talk about Death (heavy topic) followed by his gluttoney/sweettooth rubbed me the wrong way.
While Tysons past and therefore his behaviour is a drama in itself, talking with Roswell barely lead to anything. Without playing the entire Novel atleast once, i could not appreciate the Roswell Dialog at all. After his illness is reaveled it finally makes sense but it's too heavy of a topic and Dave insisting to get back to this topic over and over again isn't helping, nor Dave or Roswell as Character.
Maybe the Roswell + Dave combo should simply spent more time with the group and less Dialog between just the two. Maybe make the magic show happen.
Olando: the second Route it played. I was mostly intrested in his vision of the vault and his family. His Route was fine, but Orlando reluctance in the investigation among other thing was sometimes tireying. Dialog sometimes repeat itself. His secrecy is also kinda a pain. Just like Dean he needs a little bit more dialog.
In contrast his fear of the supernatural has been amusing. I liked his Relationship with Dave; it's innocent and was most naturel and believable romance that could end up in a breakup between Dean and Dave.
Tyson: I could write several pages about him so i rather keep it short, because i got mixed feeling about his Character and Route. His Interactions with Dave are the most "edgy", sometimes forcing the reader/player to re-asses his opinion about Tyson and Dave.
His Character is potentially the most fleshed out: It's clear right early what made him the way he is. Being left behind or abused by his parents, resulting into copy this behaviour being a bully and absuer himself. Poor guy. A good Route with a great Character.
That's it for now. For the Endings, i write on patreon or discord.