The art is beautiful, and I absolutely adore the backgrounds and how interactive the game feels. The texting and point-and-click sections were some of the things I enjoyed the most. BB is so so so soooo adorable! I just want to squish his cheeks. He's criminally cute! I appreciate how realistic the characters are, even though they are all quite unpleasant to be around. I like how you write them especially the casual racism. People really do behave like that and go back to acting as if nothing happened.
That said, my main issue is with the MC. Unless I’m missing something and she has a semi-set personality, I really ended up loathing her even when I didn’t want to. I didn’t particularly enjoy how she was written, especially because there seems to be very little player agency over her actions. She gave me off the vibe of being a typical damsel in distress. It really frustrated me how much she sucked at defending herself when it comes to Lane being a prick.
I don’t mind Lane’s sexist jokes or the fact that some dude is being creepy. People can be gross, and I actually appreciate that kind of thing being included because it adds realism to the story. My issue isn’t really with his behaviour, but with how the MC responds to it. I just didn’t like that she seemingly doesn’t do much to retaliate or push back. If this is a deliberate narrative choice, I would at least have appreciated an option where she doesn’t laugh or smile and simply chooses not to respond or shuts him out completely and leaves. If her reactions were meant to come from discomfort, I would completely understand that, but lines such as “I can’t help but laugh at his words” or the implication that his behaviour makes her think he “isn’t so bad” immediately after confronting Lane for his misogynistic behaviour made it feel like that wasn’t the intention. It's just really odd to me how much she entertains his behaviour instead of shutting him down.
I did read the TWs, and as I said, the behaviour itself isn’t what bothered me. It’s the MC’s reactions to it, combined with how little control we have over those reactions. Of course, it’s entirely possible that this is simply how the MC is supposed to be, and that’s completely okay! I just would have preferred some kind of warning that she has a more predefined personality, because this was a surprisingly triggering read for me. Alternatively, I think I would have enjoyed it more if the MC had her own sprite, a predetermined name, and was written in third person. That way, it would feel more like I was making decisions for a character who happens to be a bit of a pushover, rather than feeling like I was being made into one. When you let me name a character and write in first person it is a bit hard to disassociate yourself from the story.
I also think a choice regarding whether the MC is thinking about BB after her first shift would be nice. At the moment, that line of thought felt a little forced on me as a player. I understand the reasoning behind it; perhaps she hasn’t had a positive interaction with someone in a long time and therefore latches onto the one she did have. But I personally value player agency a lot in games like this, so I didn’t particularly enjoy that part. My character isn’t crushing—exaggeration—on some dude she literally just met. 😭
I want to end by saying that this is just my personal opinion and a few suggestions. I absolutely don’t mean this as hate toward the game. I can clearly see that it’s a labour of love, and there’s so much thought and care put into it. I’m genuinely looking forward to future updates! My only major complaint is the lack of player agency when it comes to the MC’s personality and reactions. Even just a little more flavour text or a few additional choices would go a long way for me.
That said, making games is difficult in itself, and there is already so much branching here, so I completely understand if this isn’t something that can realistically be incorporated into the game. I just wanted to share my perspective as a player. Much love <3
Also, I’m actually surprised to learn that the game will be free, haha. I genuinely think you deserve to be paid for this. And I’m really sorry if any of this came across as discouraging, because that absolutely isn’t my intention. I really do appreciate the work that has gone into the game, and I’m excited to see where you take it!