i'm extremely late to this but... jesus christ.
this is one of the most emotionally moving games i've played in a good while. everything about this; the dialogue, the characters, the story, just felt so... real. unflinchingly so. it felt like i was looking at real people going through real emotional struggles. the presentation and writing were so incredibly immersive that i couldn't keep my eyes off the screen until the end. i think this game is a real achievement in storytelling, one that i'd urge absolutely anyone to play.
(SPOILERS)
before delving into the plot and characters, the visuals were really great!! i loved the character designs; everyone being a gray silhouette with the only detail being their facial features was a really cool style choice. it made me focus on their expressions first and foremost, which really aided how the storytelling is focused on the characters' emotions. the lack of detail also works in favour of the narrative really well, making you unsure of whether everyone is truly like this or if their appearance is being viewed through a particular lens, further amplified by the realistic objects and textures in the dream sequences (also the "is this person like this or is my perception of them warped?" feeling is REALLY clever for the story, as that's... well, obviously what the main character is feeling). speaking of the facial expressions, they're absolutely amazing in how they shift subtly from one line to the next, how they force you to examine what the character is really feeling and why they're saying what they're saying, how the same face can have extremely different meanings depending on the context... all of these details really help to emphasize the focus on emotions, like i said. and the tilesets were great as well! their level of detail works surprisingly well with the minimalistic characters, and the color palettes were super pleasing to the eye; i really loved how every location has one defining color (like false fruit, iirc) that helps establish its vibe super well. and of course, the dream sequences; the use of photorrealistic objects, textures that move and shift, the colours onscreen getting redder or darker... i wish i could focus on every little detail about them, because they're extremely unique and prove immensely that this game's visuals truly have a voice. amazing stuff.
and the music!! the tracks that played were absolutely perfect for every scene they were in, whether it was calming or absolutely terrifying. and the contrast they have with the large portions of the game that are completely quiet works wonders. the part where you wander around the house after the last dream was one of the HEAVIEST silences i've felt in a game in years haha. the music that plays during the horrifying nightmare scenes?? absolutely insane. my eyes were glued to the screen the entire time. the use of sounds and music is fantastic all around.
the characters & dialogue... GOD i loved both so much. i really like how avery was characterized; they can butt heads somewhat with amias cuz of typical growing pains of being roommates (at least i think they're roommates? that's my headcanon lol), but in every interaction it's clear they care a lot for him, and often try to nudge him into processing his emotions and taking the next step (but i also appreciate that their role is not 100% only helping amias; sometimes they just want him to show them stuff from his childhood and that's really valid haha). amias' mom was also great, i love how kind and gentle she is, while feeling like she's hiding... something every time she speaks. not something horrible necessarily, just something (which tbf is the whole vibe of the game). and amias... god he was so compelling. his more rugged and sarcastic demeanor is a nice contrast with the other two main characters (aside from him also being really funny when he needs to be). it never got annoying, and i like how it's not just "his dad died and that's the reason he's mean" (obviously i assume that had a part to play, but here his attitude is portrayed as just how he is, not a problem he needs to overcome, and i think that's neat). his conflict is shown in a really interesting way; how he both wants to get the answers he's looking for but also chooses to stop going further at many points, how he seems to soften up at certain points but is still feeling extremely lost inside, how he doesn't even know what he's looking for in the first place... i found him to be an immensely compelling protagonist, and finding out parts of his childhood bit by bit was extremely interesting. all the characters support the story incredibly well!! and the dialogue between them felt super natural, with details like small misunderstandings or conversations going a bit longer than you'd expect, really helping with immersion. like i said, everything about the characters and dialogue felt unflinchingly real.
(from this point on i get more subjective than usual so sorry if i get stuff wrong-)
and the story... fuck, what else is there to say? it's told in an impeccable way from start to finish. following amias as he tries to find out who his father was, why is he dreaming about him now, what is he even looking for in regards to him... every mention of his childhood is riddled with anecdotes about his father, or the places he went to, or the things they did together... but as the game goes on, it's made clear that every story amias remembers is not just a simple tale of something childish he did once, or how he'd do stuff with his dad before he died... every story is something that shaped him, for better or worse. it's something he can mention in passing, but in reality it's deeply linked to his very being. just like his dad's death; an event that happened really long ago, that everyone has moved on from, that he feels he should have moved on from, something that by now should be nothing more than a sentence to say when he's asked about it... but it might also be something that has been hiding aspects of itself, aspects that haven't been answered for and that have been hidden away for so long, for different reasons as time went on. this is best conveyed with the final dream sequence (my favorite part of the game) and the nightmares in general, as we can see how amias felt about the uglier parts of his childhood... it could just be the nightmares amplifying those negative aspects, or maybe it could be the very real result of emotions that have been bottled up for years and haven't been addressed properly. his performance at school, his father's expectations, his relationship with tulip, and the moment it got cut short (the most impactful and heartbreaking scene in the entire game), his father's health getting worse... all these things, compressed in the small span of his childhood that meant he couldn't really get to know his father as a person, suddenly bubble up at a random point in his life. and he needs to take care of it, because he needs to know who his father was.
i think it was a really bold choice to leave amias' conversation with his mom completely off screen, and the final lines by avery are thematically rich and a pretty perfect way to end. though, i'll admit that the very last scene felt a bit shorter than it deserved to be, like the game was supposed to go on for a bit more but it didn't. also, while the art & overall style are great, the single-colored character designs do feel a bit out of place in the cutscene images (like the diner or the photo next to the tv), like they're missing some detail. and this is a nitpick but amias' movement animation felt a bit rigid and odd with how wide the spreads his arms and legs. still, these are hardly dealbreakers when put up against the game's qualities.
i think i used every positive adverb in the english language to describe this game haha, but i really do think this is a must play for anyone. a showing of narrative skill propped up to an absurd level. it had me gripped all the way, and i can't wait to see what you make next!! :D