yeah yeah this is an amazing game and all, but it never answers the question: are the trees hairy, or is the massacre hairy?
seriously though, this was great!
knew it was getting five stars in the presentation department with that intro alone. the pixel art is so richly textured but very readable, and it gives the whole experience an awesome vibe. the flashbacks changing perspective and having that clashing retro aesthetic was SUCH a nice touch. the character sprites and art are really good too, and even little details like the death animations (which were a real treat btw lol) having alternate versions for lesser-dressed lucy shows just how much care was put into the visuals! also the big boba. that was nice.
the sound design was also excellent! the little pieces of music are super moody and expertly composed, and the chase track actually really friggin shocked me the first time haha. it was super disturbing and it's gonna be stuck in my head for a while! :D (i'll admit it was a bit too loud for my taste, but it definitely helped with the shock factor so i won't complain).
the story wasn't too complex but it was nice and simple, with a few twists and things left up for interpretation that made it feel very satisfying. i got endings 1, 5, 7 and the cave one (can't remember the number rn) and... tbh i have no idea how to get the others haha. but it was really cool how you get a lot of choices on how to continue, and i never really knew which ones would lead to a different ending. i dig it!
if i had to mention any complaints... there's one part were you get a lot of options on how to escape bigfoot, and idk it felt a bit tiring to go through each one to see if they lead to different paths in the story so i just used the bear trap and moved on. but that's just my completionist brain talking, there's nothing objectively wrong with that part or anything lmao.
all in all, this was a fantastic game with a lot of effort put into it! but let's be honest, you could've made the entire game just one scene and it would get five stars across the board from me on all categories. and i think you know what scene i'm talking about... (hint: cake)