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I'm glad to hear that! I was worried if Nova came off too human at times haha. Thank you for playing!

Memories are strangely persistent, aren't they? :') Thank you for playing!

Oh, this is deliciously toxic and thought-provoking! I love the visuals of this game and the fixing minigames.

[SPOILERS]

When it comes to robot x human toxic relationships, we would usually default to thinking that the human would have the upper hand in this power imbalance. I liked that you initially flipped the roles here with Ahrra being the one to push herself onto Yejin... only to flip it back by calling into question how much autonomy Yejin actually has in this situation compared to Ahrra. I found myself thinking of what sort of environment Ahrra had been in to make her act like this, and the revelation of her disturbing relationship with Fortuna answered that. It made me wonder: how much of this, both with Yejin and with Fortuna, did Ahrra really want (as she claimed)? Could she even have any wants of her own?

Well done!

Played the 1.1 Demo. The setting is really intriguing - I love the mix of allusions to Greco-Roman mythology combined with Italian mafia. You did a great job in sketching out Fio and Apollo's relationship within the short runtime of the demo, making me invested in seeing the full picture. The backgrounds, UI, and color scheme really do a great job in selling the vibes of the setting, and the character designs strike a perfect balance between cute and cool (what can I say? I love women in suits). Looking forward to the full release!

Despite having no familiarity with Gaelic mythology, there is something incredibly nostalgic about this game. The soundtrack, the choice of colors, and the traditional artwork / sprites all lend to this sort of dreamlike, surreal atmosphere... which puts us directly in the shoes of Amelia, who probably spends the whole duration of the game not quite believing in this reality yet allows herself to be swept along the wave. The way that the narrative jumps around the chronological timeline also adds to this effect, yet the storyline manages to remain coherent.

I think you really nailed the fundamental appeal of mermaid fairytales: the thought that there exists a world out there far removed from our mundane world of paperwork, corporate, and people; and that maybe - just maybe - it's within reach, as easily as stepping into the water. And I love that this escapist fantasy applies not only to Amelia (whom you would expect from the premise of the game alone), but also to Mairi (once you learn her backstory).

Mairi is such a captivating character: refined, untouchable, cute, vulnerable, predatory, manipulative, and tragic all at the same time. I like the parallels between her and Amelia, and the way they connect over their feelings of... being a "fish out of the water" (sorry). 

Lovely work!

P.S. Chibi Mairi is adorable

I love the use of the bounding boxes for Iris's sprite instead of... a normal sprite. From the get-go, it hammers in the artificial nature of the implanted memories, which leads to the disconnection Lily fundamentally feels towards Iris. 

[SPOILER]

I thought it was an interesting twist that Iris ended up enjoying Lily's defiance of her, in a way - maybe she liked the feeling of possessing someone that had the ability to leave her more than out of any lingering affections towards Lilian?

I was immediately drawn to the tagline "manufactured people can only give manufactured consent" - one would naturally expect it from the robot, but it also applies to the human of the story: a person "manufactured" by her powerlessness in the working society. I have to admit that it was a bit physically uncomfortable for me to play the game (because of the bright colors and the sound design), but I get that it's the intent and the prose is superb!

The atmosphere of this game is impeccable: from the "main menu", the purely monochrome images, the simplistic yet expressive sprites, and the way that the prose interleaves thoughts and commentaries in between descriptions. Very good use of the medium - even the aspect ratio of the game contributes to the "claustrophobic" feeling that ties so well into Dr. Hernandez's circumstances (both in being stalked and being stuck in a stagnant town, relationship, and job).

We need more older woman toxic yuri. Well done!

Thank you so much for the thoughtful analysis! It makes us happy to see that someone put as much thought into playing the game as we did in creating it, and you've honestly put down a lot of the things we wished to convey in a much more eloquent manner than I myself could have haha

I like media with robot protagonists - or maybe even more broadly for me, inhuman ones - for the same reasons too! Ironically, I think such works give an interesting insight into the human condition by stripping away human biases and making us learn them anew, if that makes sense?

Although you mentioned that labeling it as a "cautionary tale about the dangers of humanizing AI" felt "reductive", I love your interpretation and I think that it also highlights the complement: the tragedy of "machinizing" (is that even a real word?) a human. I think Amaya is as much a reflection of Nova as Nova is of her - someone whose purpose in life is to make her company, her superiors, her audience, and him "happy".

Once again, thanks for taking the time to play the game and letting us know your impressions!

Really, really glad to see an android x creator story that taps into the theme of autonomy as a manufactured being/someone's "offspring"! Vi's conflict between wanting to individuality for herself vs. her ingrained instinct of piety and idolization towards her "Mother" is so heartbreaking and relatable. And the way that Lydia wishes to strip her of all of her autonomy to project her own desires on her while also baiting Vi with kindness, praise, and smiles is horrifying... yet, unfortunately, people like her really do exist (even if not to the same extent, like parents who try to control the trajectory of their children's lives). I really like the way you took a sci-fi concept to use as a reflection of cycles of abuse that could happen in real life. Narrative aside, I also gotta say the character designs are so adorable!

Like many others, I was blown away by the style of this game and the game page, too!  Despite the comic art style, the story feels very grounded and the characters feel very real.  

[SPOILER]

I love the whole "the grass is greener on the other side" that the two have going on: Zoey being frustrated by how she's stuck in place compared to Cherry whom she perceives as successful, and Cherry who is too busy moving too fast that she envies Zoey for being able to take a breather and appreciate the more "fun" things in life. When you don't have a window (heh) to peer into others' lives, it's easy to imagine that they're living a better life than you.

I'm such a big fan of the way the narrative is presented! Such a brilliant concept that is brilliantly executed, I was really invested in where the story was going and frustrated (in a good way) by the unreliability of the narrator. Also, the use of dolls as sprites seems like such a simple decision but it adds so much to the story, emphasizing how artificial the whole charade is.

A story about magical girl(s) that explores the messy aspects of identity construction and escapism/idolization? Count me in!! The portrayal of the main characters made me so uncomfortable (in a good way), it's as if they never fully grew up from the events that shaped their adolescence, now coupled with the very destructive tendencies adults are capable of. Stories like Puella Magi Madoka Magica show us how potentially messed up it is to put young, vulnerable girls on the frontline of fighting dangerous world-ending threats, but I like that this story shows the repercussions of it later into their lives and the impact of their existence on other young, vulnerable girls. The beautiful art really elevates the story by its cutesy and old anime vibes. It's kinda nostalgic, which fits the themes all the more.

P.S. I accidentally clicked into the History log during the teddy bear scene. 10/10 would recommend doing that.

This hits so hard! The depiction of Ingrid's all-consuming shame, guilt, and disgust towards herself is so harrowing (and relatable). I love how, instead of simply portraying Ingrid as a victim of circumstance, you depicted the way that repression can manifest as something violent and terrible to one's surroundings. The art and music work really well in telling this story, and I gotta admit that some of the imagery made my skin crawl (as it should!)

This was an absolutely crazy ride from start to finish! The prose is superb. I loved some of the ways you used the text itself to convey things (e.g. the use of capitalization and lack thereof to illustrate a shift in the dynamics at one point of the story) - so fitting for the protagonist as a creative writing teacher. The illustrations are also really beautiful. Amazing job!

Amazing work! The art is absolutely stunning and really nails the atmosphere of the story and the themes that it tries to convey. I love the unique world-building for such a short story, and the use of the gameplay mechanics (VN-style choices) to make the players directly engage with the topic of consent... and the illusion of choice.

Wow, there are so many things to unpack from this game (that I can't get into here for fear of spoiling it). The execution - art, dialogue, pacing, everything - is so unique and so good. All these aspects really come together to hammer in the suffocating existence of the protagonist, who can't escape being defined (both by herself and the world around her) by the persona of "Leslie Lee".

Brilliant work!