Can't believe it took me so long to get round to this game, why was it hiding so far down my list?? This is a crazy achievement for 7 days, everyone involved is so talented I'm actually in awe.
The pixel art is well drawn and I especially love how it was implemented with the lighting/shadow effect on the ground elements as you walk. Really appreciate that extra care taken with the details. The character art/dialogue portraits are beautifully drawn and coloured, so much personality in every one and the cast is huge! Talking of characters, the dialogue was also well done and fitting to each personality and the game as a whole felt very cohesive in how it was presenting its narrative.
The music was gorgeous and very complementary with the overall tone and setting, however I was a little sad that it seemed to cut in and out in a way that didn't seem entirely deliberate? I'm not sure if it was intentional to have it come in and out, but the cuts were abrupt enough that to me it felt like it was supposed to loop, but stopped. I would've liked to hear more of the music because I was enjoying it a lot.
The other side of the audio - the SFX - was excellent, the occasional ambient noises were so perfect and occasionally creepy, really well executed and added to the atmosphere.
Okay, I will take a break from the glazing now to bring up the minor negative parts - firstly the UI elements (buttons on the book, settings menu) being default felt very out of place for how visually cohesive everything else was. Secondly, there were some typos in the dialogue... I wish I had more criticisms than that so this comment is less disgustingly lovey but I've got nothing. Oh the music thing! Yes we'll add that to my list of negatives, none of which are dissuading me from giving 5 stars in everything...
Gameplay, for me was very satisfying. Mind bending at times, but it felt fair. I liked that each level you kind of knew you were going the wrong way because you didn't have the new rule yet, but you had to follow the instructions "undecoded" to unlock the new rule to then follow the same instructions decoded to reach the goal. It felt narratively impactful to have to go through that.
Congratulations to the team, this is such a fantastic entry!