Wow. What a story this was. I'm not sure I enjoyed my experience, honestly. It felt too real, too uncomfortable, too self-cringe-inducing, too depressingly relatable. While I can't say I had fun reading this, I can confidently say I felt this story on a deeply personal level.
it must take an incredibly skilled writer to get a reader to self-reflect to this extent. I couldn't help wondering as I was reading whether I, like Mari, have ever been stuck in the same sort of negative, nihilistic, and ultimately self-destructive patterns of thought and behavior. I'm pretty sure that, at certain points in my life, I would be dwelling on ideas and engaging in harmful habits like hers.
At the same time, I also felt good about myself when reading some parts of the story. Mari doesn't have a very effective filter, for better or for worse, so her bitterness slipped out in front of others so many times. I would then tell myself: well, at least I'm not that terrible to those around me! One example was when Mari thinks about commenting on someone's social media. That might be one of my favorite scenes because it felt so authentic. It was interesting being stuck in what possibly is similar to the mindset of many internet trolls. I'm sure a lot of them are deeply unhappy individuals who want to lash out in the only platform where they can do so invisibly and without consequence so that they can feel better about themselves, however briefly.
Goldie served as a flawless foil to Mari's character. Amidst Mari's spiral deeper and deeper into pessimism and hopelessness, Goldie acted as the perfect counterpoint for the reader's benefit -- she showed that a better path does exist, if only one dared to reach out and grab it. While nothing in life is easy, one will never get anywhere if they gave up and stopped trying to change for the better.
Overall, this is a story I won't soon forget! I am very grateful to the team for developing and releasing this thought-provoking and emotionally resonant visual novel. You're all amazing!
(Note: Copy-pasting this comment from the Spooktober VN Jam 2023 page.)