So much fun! I loved match games as a kid, so I’m reveling in nostalgia with this one. The card illustrations are fantastic, and Emberlynn did a great job with the catchy audio.
I also really enjoyed your post discussing the process of creating the game. It’s rad to get a peek behind the scenes and learn more about implementation, so thanks for sharing!
This game came highly recommended, and, after playing it in its entirety, I understand why: the cutscenes are adorable and beautifully animated (the sleeping sprites!), the minigame mechanics are tons of fun, and the dialogue is spot-on. Each character has such a distinct voice, and their conversations feel fluid and natural—more like real conversations than scripted dialogue.
Most of all, the game shines in its characterization. I loved getting to know more about each of the four characters, how far they’ve come, and how their experiences inform the way they interact with one another. Some of the backstories were painfully relatable (I teared up more than once playing it); others reminded me of people I love. I found myself deferring the ending to spend a bit more time with the characters. All in all, this is such a beautiful and heartwarming adventure with the kinds of queer representation I would have loved seeing as a child. Thank you for making it!
This anthology is such a phenomenal addition to the Game Boy library in that it, pushing the boundaries of what the platform can do and what kinds of software it can be for. I’m obsessed with the Game Boy Camera, so seeing it used here for kinetic storytelling on the Game Boy itself is incredible. It feels like this game is fulfilling a twenty-year old promise for what the hardware can do. I deeply admire all the work that went into capturing those photos and making them fit within the Game Boy’s technical constraints. You really made the hardware shine.
The stories themselves are chilling, made all the more horrifying by how relatable they are. I don’t want to spoil them for anyone reading this comment, but the fact that the third one is arguably the most terrifying despite not having the “obvious” trappings of the horror genre attests to your skill as a storyteller.
I played through the anthology with my girlfriend, since she’s a big fan of horror, and she really enjoyed them as well. Her initial response was, “These feel just like my nightmares,” which I think means you did an excellent job! She also added that she found it fascinating to see a game like this on the Game Boy where the horror is psychological and narrative-based rather than relying on high-fidelity gory imagery. All in all, this is an incredible anthology!
Came for the bee yuri, stayed for the engaging mashup of game mechanics.
I’ve always had a soft spot for resource management games, but this was so much more than that. The shmup and arcade shooter mechanics were wonderfully integrated. I am endlessly grateful for the clear, concise, and optional explanations of the various game mechanics within the game itself. Combined with the option of playing on different difficulty levels, the tutorials make the game refreshingly accessible! Narratively, there was something so heartwarming about building this (quite literally) found family of bees over the course of the game. I was thrilled to find that the bees you rescue and beefriend while foraging show up in the hive with the player character.
Finally, I adore the inclusion of the art book! It’s so cool to get insight into the development through process sketches. I miss videogame ephemera so much these days, so the art book is such a nice touch on top of the nostalgic Game Boy aesthetic.
Thank you so much for all the work you do bringing queer games to the Game Boy! <3
Date with Falco is one of the most heartwarming games I’ve ever played by far. The dialogue is spot on, seamlessly combining softness and snark, bringing tears to my eyes one moment and leaving me smirking at my screen the next. The art is lovely, and the soundtrack is (unsurprisingly) absolutely gorgeous—I feel like I can listen to it all day.
You’ve managed to pack so much emotion in such a small game, and it comes through regardless of how familiar the player is with the ship (or Star Fox in general). The game is poignant and emotionally resonant without being too maudlin, which is a fine line to walk yet you do so with aplomb. Thank you for creating such an adorable queer game for the Game Boy. I’ll definitely be returning to it again and again.
