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Go in blind for maximum effect! (stop reading and play, then come back)

I really really enjoyed my 15 minutes with this game, and I have no doubt that if I were someone with the temperament to take it all the way to the end, it would be as satisfying as I experienced the rest of the game to be. Don't expect it to be like almost anything you've ever played; it's not for everyone, but if it's for you, you'll find out nice and fast.

Rest of the assessment is spoilers:

[SPOILERS: It's a bit akin to a puzzle, meets visual novel, but the fun comes from finding out what everything does. It's really strong at conveying a particular perspective via game design, something I really deeply respect - it's an incredibly underrated skill. Like I always say, give me that Ludonarrative Resonance!

Now as far as *what* perspective I took away from it... it's probably very much a Rorschach test in that everyone will take away something different; certainly, what was *said* was that this was simply a tribute to for *me* at least, the perspective being communicated was that even incremental, miniscule progress is progress!

In this, I found the game reassuring to the contrary of that little defeatist voice inside of me that has seemed convinced wrongly since before I can remember that "small progress is no progress at all."

*If* I'm close in my assessment of the impressive "trick" of the game, Effie LSC actually insinuated this perspective *as* narrative; then crafted the gameplay to directly communicate it; and developed an overall challenging UI to support the perspective being communicated - one in support of overcoming the fear of small, cumulative actions. If that's the case, that's fuckin' *killer* design!! I mean that shit! Even if it might not have been intentional, it was very effective in my case. That was *my* experience with the game.

The simple gameplay mechanic of presenting the player with a seemingly hopeless, repetitive circumstance designed to scrub away belief in a better tomorrow, but then marrying the action involved in that to a progress counter which provides only just enough information to insinuate that if I just keep at this for long enough, I will eventually reach my goal… I found that combination hope-inducing! I think that's kickass game design, and I will shout that shit from the rooftops. Well done, Effie LSC! I'm very much looking forward to your next game.]

Love this game! Played with my friends the other night. Big ups for the design!

Well said!

Such a tremendously effective, and affecting, piece of art. Thank you for sharing this with us! (If you're a reader on the fence about jumping in I recommend it: spend the couple minutes, it's well worth it.)

I loved the part about 'fleeing the sultry summer heat / and my prying gaze.' It was so poignant to me, that you brought in the theme of observation and how it affects the subject, and using that as a concept to underline the interconnectedness. There's that 'ludo-narrative resonance' I love so very much to see! To observe an observer in the midst of observing: bringing the reader literally into the seat where they themselves, as a being, can resonate on a meta-textual level and feel, themselves, interconnected with the story. In that way, I felt inspired to regard my own interconnectedness with the world around me, as a person engaging with the art: such a thing is the definition of effective art. Masterful!

My favorite part, however, was in dusk/autumn. In my playthrough, it was the final part, so it felt meaningful to me personally as a reader/player to read: 'life remade itself, sculpting its own form like clay.' On a subjective level, it reminded me of my own individual growth journey, and that I had a right to feel included amidst the threads of the great tapestry of nature.

(I also just realized it's mirrored in your season-choice of autumn, alluding to change, both corporately and individually, in nature and the beings that are, for better or worse, part of it, shaping and creating and changing it by the very nature of *being* it, as in that sense it interacts with itself. In that lens, speaking as a very neurodivergent person, any sort of difference from the norm really is shucked of stigma, isn't it? Seems silly to feel ashamed of the natural deviations of an always-changing, interconnected nature, or pressure to alter our 'clay' to match the imaginations of beings that are not us. These are some of the thoughts I'm taking away from the experience of engaging with Mandala.)

Again, well done, and I look forward to your next release!