Sob... this was so cute, Chim ahhhHHHHH. I played Adriel's route first, then took a break for din, then came back and played Sandra's route, and I loved them both so much??? And my heart just feels so light and fluffy now. As though it just had a nice relaxing day all cozy in some pillows and drinking some tea... or eating a "love apple" (<-- WTF DAKJSDLFASDFA) 😝
I DIGRESS THOUGH. This was absolute sweetness from start to end. Even the whole color palette of the game feels soft and airy, from the pink hue of everything, to the way you did the BGs with the almost dream-like way you filtered the images + the almost storybook quality of the way they look cut out. The UI is so cute too SOB how the save files look like miniature polaroids??? You're slaying me here. And ofc the music, as well! Every single peace felt like it just wanted to calm my soul, whether it was a more jaunty tune that made me smile or a melancholy peaceful tune that just calmed my nerves and made me feel at ease (like the main menu music that I'm listening to now as I write this lkdajfsd). And ofc the artwork????? Your style already has such a soft airy quality to it, which made it mesh so well with the fluffy vibe you already had going for this. All three of the main characters are just adorable and sweet and I love the balance of how they all look in each of the different scenes. I especially loved their couple of different outfits we got to see lkadjfa Especially Sandra's salsa outfit for some reason it looked so cute on her HELP
AND THEN OF COURSE THE STORY. Because that is the big meat of this sweet game. And not just one story but TWO!! Because Adriel's and Sandra's routes are both so different, so it really is like two games in one!
Adriel comes on a lot stronger than Sandra. You weren't lying when you said he was chaotic LOL He really is!! Seeing him say some of the silliest things and have the most random ideas for trying to cheer Doug up made me laugh so much. And I love how you can see Doug start out rather shy and reserved but over the course of the game start giving it back to Adriel just as much. It was really interesting also seeing the focus shift from making Doug feel better to then Doug himself helping Adriel get over his feelings of insecurity and not wanting to be a nuisance, which was something I could relate to a lot, even if it doesn't manifest itself in breaking things the way it did in Adriel's case. Seeing them both open up by the end and find someone they could rely on to help each other through their own issues was so sweet 😭💕 They also just played off of each other so well, their dynamics were always just a delight to read, with Adriel being so silly compared to Doug's much more down-to-earth approach.
Then with Sandra, even though Sandra is also more extroverted than Doug, similar to Adriel, the way she shows it and the dynamic she has with Doug is so different. I enjoyed the different scenes we got to see with her, like the karaoke and dancing. Somehow with these two I got an even stronger platonic vibe than with Doug and Adriel. Which, to be honest, almost made me even softer, because it reminded me of how tough it is in general to find good new friends as an adult and how sweet it is when you do find someone you mesh with so well and can go out and do silly things with or even just crash at home and watch a Barbie movie. It was incredibly sweet...😭 Also I loved that Sandra could also be ace too??? So then it felt even more special like these two aces that found each other and could help each other through things ahhhHHHHHHHHHH THEY'RE TOO WONDERFUL I'LL CRY 💕
THAT REMINDS ME I HAVEN'T EVEN TALKED ABOUT THE ACE IN THE ROOM YET LKADJFADFA It was both bittersweet and sad for me seeing the reason why Doug's wife had cheated on him... My heart broke for him so much, especially as having experienced someone leaving me for similar reasons (even if it hadn't gotten nearly to the point of marriage yet lkjdadfa but still). So that just made it even more heartwarming to me in both of the routes that Adriel and Sandra could be such a comfort to Doug, whether it was in showing that you can have love without sex as I went with in Adriel's route, or finding another ace to share your life with, as I went with in Sandra's route. It really left such a big smile on my face by the end and made my heart swell up lakdjfasd 💕
Overall this was just such a sweet and wonderful game that lets you connect to a "boring" but wonderful and sweet ace guy in two different ways (ok actually more than that because each route has at least 2+ options but so far I've only played 1 for each lkdjfad). It will definitely leave you with a smile and feeling full of love and peace afterwards 😊 (and perhaps wanting to also meet someone as sweet and nice as Doug yourself WEEP). ALSO ALL OF THIS MADE IN JUST A MONTH SERIOUSLY??? TWO ENTIRELY DIFFERENT MCS WITH ENTIRELY DIFFERENT ROUTES???? HELLO???? CHIM, YOU AMAZE ME CONSTANTLY LMAO 🤣 Just a stupendous amount of creativity, skill, and love put into this and it shows so much!! 😭💕