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I really liked this game overall. It's both creepy and interesting, and I love the use of "press Shift to run" as a kind of meta-scare. Plus, as a cyclothymia sufferer, the differences in the weather and the character's moods from day to day were something I could relate to strongly.

With that being said, though, I really didn't enjoy the general way the game associates mental illness and murderousness. There is a massive stigma against mental illness sufferers in real life because of works that lean on these tropes, and to make matters worse, the game falls into the trap of associating specific symptoms (unstable moods, smiling at inappropriate times) with being prone to murderous violence. It's not so much of an issue with the actual horror portraits, but when it's just the main character smiling over something she shouldn't, I get strong "generic murder mental illness" vibes.

I don't think the plot is irredeemable, to be clear. But it would have been better if it leaned less on ableist shorthand and more on the fact that this girl has clearly been poisoning herself with the well water and her symptoms are probably stemming from that.

ETA: I also really appreciate you putting up a Linux build! A lot of devs overlook that and it's something that's always nice to have.

!---Spoilers Ahead---!





 

Thank you for taking the time to write detailed feedback, I’m glad you liked the game and that the weather changes resonated with you! And haha, the run bit is one of my favorite parts to watch in lets plays because it really gets people to panic!

I definitely see what you’re saying about mental illness and murder tropes, and that was not my intention. While the story’s open to a lot of interpretations and all players’ visions for it are valid, the intended canon is that the Husk (monster in the window/basement/final day) used supernatural influence to drive her insane and murder her family. The guilt makes her even worse (also the in-game reason she won't go upstairs), in a vicious spiral.

Hope that helps, and thanks again for reaching out with your concerns! Also, very welcome on the Linux build-thankfully the RPG maker engine made it easy to output.