Average play time: 1-2 hours
Well, call me spiders Georg.
I'm writing this review immediately after finishing the game for the first time, and I have clocked over 23K words throughout the better part of a week. As you can tell, I enjoyed this game.
My favourite part probably has to be the four reactions you can take when you meet people: it is a very intuitive system and progresses the game forward in a very natural way. I feel similarly about the motivation/notoriety/favour mechanic. Overall, a very robust system.
The different planets and people's characteristics offer not only a possibility of replayability but also a nice background to optionally add if you want to develop your character's environment and backstory further. I would have loved to have more information about the system's backstory -- the previous wars, fought and won, or the standing of different planets in the intergalactic conflict -- but perhaps less is more, and it should be left for the player to fill in the blanks.
The exploration/destination cycle makes use of those locations and gives you backdrops in which to drop your nomad, though in the more narrative style of play I enjoyed it could sometimes conflict which what seemed like the course of the story: I had to use a great number of fade-ins and time-skips, though I do not believe it detracted from my enjoyment. This disconnection was exacerbated in the use of showdowns (especial location/moods for important characters), but framing it as a movie in my head made it easier to understand how to fit them in the story. Also, I got the same description event four times in my run, but that might've just been my luck.
Anyway, these important characters have special interactions and descriptions that befit their position. I loved those! And the epilogue gives you a branch to which to continue your character's story, both narrative and mechanically, which is appreciated and actually makes me want to give good ol' Kiria another run.
Thanks for the game!