I made an account on this website just so I could say what a joy this has been to play, and I absolutely loved Therapy with Albert Krueger as well. Congratulations to the developer for the career success!! I don't expect this game will be updated for a long time to come, but I will include my thoughts on the game here, and hopefully it can inspire you someday :)
(some spoilers)
What sets this game apart is its style, which includes not only the visuals and exciting soundtrack, but also the fluid writing which kept me hooked on this game from the first few minutes. Many story-driven games feel slow-paced because they focus too much on details that aren't relevant, or over-explain the connections that the player is supposed to make. This game is distinctly different because it expects you to engage with the story *yourself*, which is exactly the point of making a visual novel rather than just a regular novel.
There's a very clever part during Draco's introduction, where it is clearly laid out that you will die if you don't answer his questions correctly, but the answers are facts which have not been explicitly stated. Are there real consequences for failure? No, you can just load your save from literal seconds ago. However, it made me feel like I really had autonomy, which is so special for a game. After that scene, I found myself pouring over every little detail and theorizing about my findings. By comparison, when I get confused in other visual novel games, I usually just flick through the dialogue and wait for the game to explain itself to me.
Technically, this game does show you the answers right away (both by flashing 'correct' and showing you the relevant information it provided), but it STILL made me feel like I absolutely needed to figure things out myself, which is exactly how the main character feels.
This is really just a small example of what I loved about the game, which is how it made me feel like a part of the world, and I felt like all of the information being given to me was critically important. There are still some drawbacks - there really aren't a lot of choices, a lot of time is spent in flashbacks, and many of the areas you explore in-game look pretty similar. I also felt powerless sometimes when the main character was acting in a way I didn't want, and even though this was most likely intentional on the dev's part, it still did take me out of the experience a bit.
The example with Draco's questions is just a microcosm of what I loved about the game, which is that I felt like I was not just reading the story, but actively involved. The game didn't feel like it was holding my hand, the puzzles were difficult but very intuitive, and I completely forgot the rest of the world existed because I was so intent on analyzing every scrap of text to figure out the mysteries. It reminds me of Your Turn To Die (another visual novel game in progress) because it uses unconventional methods to get the player emotionally invested, and it felt so fresh.
I also can't leave my thoughts on this game without mentioning the most obvious strength, which is the characterization. They are SO good, the writing is so fun, and you can't help but like all the characters even though you're still figuring out whether or not you can trust them.
Good luck, dev <3