Ohhhhhh... this was such a beautiful short story! Despite the option to have it end hopelessly(?) or hopefully(?), I'm left afterwards with this feeling that's like... a combination of warmth but also this lingering sadness. Perhaps because the two different endings are playing with my head a bit kldjfasdkfa Overall though, it just has this kind of... haunting... deep-rooted feeling to it that sticks to your soul afterwards, from not only the subject matter itself, but also the beautiful and ethereal way the VN is styled.
Opening it up was like immediately opening up a living storybook in a way. I really enjoyed the dual use of both NVL and ADV. The NVL at the opening really invoked the storybook feel, and then the transition to NVL when talking to Ambrose switch over to a more intimate feel while still retaining that poignant feel of the start. It was a really cool design idea and I thought it was executed really well. Particularly in how you used similar colors and text styles to connect the two formats.
Everything from the BG to the art style to the soft fuzzy feel to the haunting music really contributed so well to making the scene feel so dreamy!!! Which makes sense considering River what River is doing and how magical the act itself of bringing their husband back is. The music in particular really gave it an otherworldly vibe, along with the floating particles. Just all in all really excellent game design, everything just came together so well to create this ethereal snapshot between River and Ambrose.
The story was both heartbreaking but hopeful. I enjoyed how you let bits and pieces of what happened come out over the course of the conversation so the player can start to piece it all together. And through River's choices you can tilt the narrative towards acceptance or... pressure(?) in a way. In my first playthrough I got an(?) ending where Ambrose does come back (I'm not sure if there's multiple where he comes back or if there's only one where he does and in the rest he doesn't). And it was only by River not pressuring him. By not laying out their grief and guilt, that he'll be willing to. Though even then, despite it being a "good" outcome, it still leaves a sort of poignant tragedy to their relationship, giving that River is so much older than Ambrose now, meaning that they won't be able to grow old together. Which made me kind of sad to think about. Like sure, they get to live together again for a while, but then River will die first, leaving Ambrose to mourn for them and be forced to keep living longer without them. I suppose it's a bit similar to how River lived without Ambrose for 48 years... It just opens up so many questions and thoughts about "the right thing to do" and that there really is never any "right thing to do" because all decisions, good and bad, lead to consequences. I thought it was a really interesting way to look at a trope in a unique light, since bringing a loved one back to life is certainly not a new idea. But often if it does broach the idea of one person dying before the other it's because of immortality, like with vampires or something, rather than this where it's just that there's this age gap now, which feels a bit more rooted in a sense of reality (if bringing people back to life can even be considered reality LOL). Anyway, I just thought it was a fresh look at the idea and it left me with a lot of swirling questions and thoughts.
Then of course there's the option where Ambrose won't come back to life. If River pressures him. Makes it feel like it's his duty to come back and support them because they need him. And it's in these choices that you can see that River really has never lived for themself at all. That though they might have been the only one to survive in their family, a good part of them still died back then. And Ambrose coming back could never do anything to solve that. It's a bit more straightforward than the ending where Ambrose comes back, as it doesn't come with all those swirling conflicting thoughts. .....hmm I take that back, because it still does have some conflict -- being sad that Ambrose doesn't come back and grieving for River while at the same time being somewhat glad because River needs to learn to live for themself and only themself. YEAH OK. Though it perhaps didn't leave my thoughts as awhirl as with the other ending lakdjflask More just kind of a dull aching sadness for both of them...
SOB.
I haven't even gotten to the gender bits. I enjoyed how it was just something... there... that Ambrose just immediately accepted it. And though it's only brought up a bit in the parts about River's name, you can feel there's quite a lot else there swirling beneath the surface. And it makes you wonder how many of the choices that were made, the parts of the tragedy, and how much of River's life dedicated to bringing back Ambrose, was also in some way affected by River's own journey to discover and know themself better.
At any rate... I realize I'm now just rambling in vague paragraphs about my questions and thoughts about the game LOL So I'll wrap it up. But overall I just really enjoyed this! Not only a story that could leave my mind with so many thoughts and questions, but also something that could touch my heart in different ways, both sad but also hopeful. And just the whole package in general! With the beautiful art and soft, dreamy vibes. It all came together so well to tell this poignant little story and I really enjoyed it! I always know I'm going to come out of one of your games with my brain on fire with thoughts and my heart Affected lkajdfa and this was definitely no different! Just wonderful! 💕