I enjoyed the story and the message, sadly I didn’t believed in your characters, especially the protagonist.. I did at first, but at one point(after meeting the kids near the grocery store), he made a 180 on how he acted, talked and in what he seemed to believe. To have that level of emotional intelligence from that little old man, and that openness and willingness to advise everyone…. I mean, it made sense when he awkwardly tried to explain to the kids how it wasn’t all that simple, but from there, each talk sounded more like people explaining emotions/life situation to each other (regarldess of who was talking) instead of living it, reacting to it. They were all apologizing to each other, all being understanding of each other, all willing to talk about their lives, regrets and worries in length, all ready to change their worldview after one quick talk… in short, they all seemed to be the same person under their language quirks..
I would’ve loved to stay all way through with that awkward closed off grumpy grandpa, like, still going around town, but listening with the same bad attitute, while still taking notes and learning, for at the end saying to the little girl “I may start to understand… don’t stay alone kid”, that would’ve feel so much more real to me..
I’ve read other reviews and I’m happy that what I saw as a flaw didn’t prevent people to be moved by the story you wanted to tell. That’s wonderful that your writing was able to touch your readers heart! Before you lost me, I cried a bit too. You crafted the perfect mood with the art direction (visual and sound wise), and to make us move so slowly really helped to make us feel old, and to feel the same way than the protagonist toward the Idea to do errands accross town, that’s really good narration through game design!
Overall, big gg to the team for what you managed to create in such a short amount of time!