Super enjoyed the game so far as it is, the dialogue and dynamic between Neal and Jack is superb. I found myself not wanting to pick the mean options after the first one or two choices because I liked both so much and wanted to see the best case scenario sort of conversation (though there being choices adds a little replayability to the demo, I wanna go back and try being MEAN even though I feel like it'll be a little painful to read through especially with how relatable it was). I really wonder if the choices stack up towards the end or not, like if there are consequences... even if they don't (to be honest a lot of people put too much weight on choices in games having tangible "consequences"), I really appreciate them!!! I thought there was a great deal of empathy in the writing while also having a great deal of restraint, as in the control of information and pacing in which it is doled out was quite natural. That's surprisingly rare. I'm incredibly curious to see how that continues in the next patch. The setting is plenty nostalgic despite me not being from the US, so I got swept by the sentimentality the characters were feeling a lot despite it truly being a half hour demo. Feels like I've only scratched the surface. Instantly hungry for more of this game.
The spritework and animation is very delightful to witness as well, there's a great deal of individuality present in the body language between the two characters. The style of the backgrounds was quite pleasing and the icon set with the expressions were great at expressing (lol) the subtle emotions presented during the various conversations. Crazy about the visual flourishes in the game in general. The music created an appropriate atmosphere, I'd love to hear more in the upcoming patches.
You made note of it in the description but I'll still mention it, the game locked a few times. First two times it was right when I got control so that was unfortunate. If anyone gets stuck and has to reload their save, if you hold Z it'll skip the dialogue at a reasonable speed (not all RPGmaker games control like that, some don't respond to a button being held at all, so I had to try it). I'm not sure what causes it, but I'd caution against erratic movement since that's what I noticed. Saving takes like two seconds so it's not really an issue to just save after each thing I examined.
Looking forward to future updates for reals.