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I love this so much! It reminds me of games like The Beginner's Guide made by Davey Wreden, the person behind The Stanley Parable. I also agree, I think a lot more games need to focus on the story, to reach out to the person playing and make them make decisions, difficult decisions, to question the soul and character of the person playing and to help them explore themselves a little.

I can think of a few games that do this, and it's always beautiful in their own little way. I think of games like Oxenfree, or even Paper's Please, where you're going through an underlying story and you're not quite sure if what YOU'RE doing is even correct, the right thing or even morally okay. When you're supposed to send away pleading mothers at the border gates, do you risk punishment/fines to save an invisible character, someone you've never met before, a stranger that you're kind of disconnected from... Do you make the decision to try to save their life? It gets more and more complicated, your decisions unravel in front of your eyes and you feel like you eventually end up learning something about yourself.

It's kind of something I loved about Telltale games as well, even if I wish there was more interaction/story-changing from the players! The story is always so captivating and engaging and you don't know if you're doing the correct thing, I remember tearing up + almost crying from The Wolf Among Us, a game set in a pretty messed up world and... You don't even realise what's going on around you, you make some really bad decisions, it really stings the moral core of the player and kind of makes me feel like I'm learning more about myself and who I am, how I'd react.

Also THANK YOU so much for having checkpoints, I kept spinning around and leaping off everything like a bouncy marshmallow, I would've been a little frustrated otherwise. 😋

I love the aesthetic to death too, the hazy lighting, the gentle narration and the slow changing setting as the story unfolds. Oh my gosh, when the train was pulling up and there was a small opening of music, I loved the use of music there, that made me feel invited to hop off and explore more! If I could give any extra feedback, I'd say that a stronger link between the story and visual setting could be really cool. Maybe during the arguments and being upset, the world turns to molten magma around you as the player/character has to hold on for their life, surrounded by the personification of rage. And then... After... A slow cooling off, a slow walk, almost some regret from things that may have been said. I really love this idea and all I want to do now is tag along and immerse myself in more beautiful story-heavy games. 😊