Played this last night and it left me absolutely awe struck, to the point that I had no idea on how to rate it or what even were my thoughts on it besides "wow". Came back to give it another go today and I've got a much clearer idea on how everything fits together, which is why I'm leaving this comment a day later after much musing.
To preface any gameplay critique, I think this is an excellent game that has a clear goal in communicating something important, and absolutely bats it out of the park. The presentation is immaculate; gorgeous visuals, great music and a brilliant attention to detail with the effect design; the subject matter is terribly dark but also treated respectfully and with the gravity it deserves; and it's a very unique take on the theme & limitation of the jam.
As for the gameplay itself, besides the balance being a bit out of wack, my main issue is that depending on how you approach it it takes way too long to get through for the amount of decisions it has. For my first playthrough, I made a few choices that were wrong in non-obvious ways while I was still learning the ropes, and ended up with decently high stress, low energy, and very low warmth very early on, and spent ages trying to figure out the optimal actions each week in order to avoid maxing out stress/letting warmth or energy hit zero. By the time I made it to winter it'd been like 20 minutes of gameplay, I was getting tired, and seeing Week 14/52 without much substantial change week-per-week was extremely demoralizing. It wasn't so bad on my next playthroughs the following day (I managed to get to Week 52 in just over 15 minutes), but it didn't leave the best first impression in that regard. It's a tough problem that I think would be very hard to diagnose in the first place, and I don't know how you could fix it without handholding the player or adding a bunch more unique events - the former would neuter the impact of the game and the latter is obviously not feasible given the scope of the jam. Best I can think of is a little timer that's not too harsh, maybe 20 seconds per week or so, but enough to prevent decision paralysis and establish the intended pace of the game a little better.
Other nitpicks that were noticeable in the gameplay front include:
- The dialogue for weeks passing is a bit samey, with nothing to stop the player and have them actually read some of the unique ones like seasons transitioning. Making those a bit more obvious might've helped contribute to a sense of progression, as I know I accidentally skipped one of them.
- Maybe I'm too old for this, but the character's inner monologue being in netspeak felt like it detracted from the whole thing. I mean, yeah, they seem like the kind of person who's terminally online , but still.
- The text for the summertime "go outside" event is barely legible due to the colour choice and lack of contrast. I had to squint to parse the numbers.
With all that out of the way, wow. Just wow. What an experience It was so subtle the first time around, I didn't notice the minigame getting harder, the colours getting dimmer, and the border creeping in. It wasn't until I was at 90/10 that I realized that something was definitely wrong. Like I alluded to earlier, the game had me feeling tired, demoralized, and I just wanted it to be over already. I started making careless decisions, my stress hit 100 and I was given a choice. I wanted to finish the game, and it let me. Time Cut Short.
I have thankfully never been in a situation like the main character of this game, but I've been close to people who have, and spent several years when I was quite a bit younger teetering on the edge between progress & connection, and isolation & stagnation. So being put in these shoes, feeling the desperation and impossibility of it all, and then coming to terms with the choice I'd made because of it. It stuck with me all day, and it will probably stick with me for a long time.
I tried again the next day. Making it to spring and seeing the flowers was such a nice feeling. "Walkin' The White" felt like a trap option, but now I could just go outside and smell the flowers. Finally, a choice without drawbacks. The minigame was so much easier, the flames were huge and so tranquil. Even when I drank too much Monster and they were zipping around from the stress, it was easy! Winter had been soul-crushing and the warmth of spring felt so freeing, that reverse difficulty spike is such an elegant way to convey narrative emotion through mechanics. I made it to the good ending this time - I was expecting something a little more upbeat besides just making it out, but compared to the bad endings (I did play through again and got the zero warmth one as well, no idea what the last one is) it's definitely a victory!
This is not a fun game, or even a very enjoyable game, but it is a good game. An excellent game, even. Sometimes we forget that games are an art form just as much as they are entertainment, and art that resonates with us is just as important as art that makes us smile. This seems like it comes from a deeply personal place, and it looks like it resonated with people here, as it resonated with me.
Well done Lily. Never stop making art.
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