A game that triumphed in my heart where 'Depression Quest' did not. As an autobiography evoking the widely-shared experiences of balancing high school and university stresses, with the additional layers of an eating disorder, overbearing parental guardianship, and exploration of religion - 'Consume Me' succeeds.
As far as a treatise on eating disorders specifically, it begins to lose steam regarding this topic in the later chapters. I do not view this as a flaw as it is, firstly, in line with the creator's experience, and secondly, is emblematic of how a many ED sufferers find their ED fades over time, always in the background of their life and daily routines, but less of a driving force than it once was. One small tweak I might have liked would be if the character's 'energy' meter was in greater threat over time, mimicking the long-term health detriments and impact on energy that eating disorders have when sustained over many years (especially if first developed during puberty).
'Consume Me' recognises its similarity to 'Florence', and in gameplay I do see this resemblance (also to Warioware). Each mini-game was tactile barring the dog-walking mini-game which never seemed to feel 'good' to play. The music, it must be said, does get a bit grating over time, although I really was pleasantly surprised by that one song with lyrics.
The balancing of the game seemed perfect to me. I had only one fail state during the last chapter, and this was solely my error. The gameplay encourages an over-reliance on unhealthy practices in order to achieve the protagonist's life goals, which is exactly the point it is trying to communicate.
Its length, also, is perfect. The final chapter was where I was beginning to find more stress than enjoyment over engaging with the mechanics, and the credits sequence was a charming and lovely end to the narrative.
This game is now in my top shelf of autobiographical games. I hope to see more some day.