extremely interesting take on point and click, KIND OF in a Classics of Adventure Gaming way (though you can sure get stuck a couple times like those games, n you arent told that you drag items onscreen onto things to use them on those things) but also in the elementary school computer lab-core cd-rom edutainment way imo. that comes from the general whimsical tone and charmingly specific kind of choppy and loosey-goosey cartoon animation it has, sure, but there is even a scene near the endgame feels like its utilizing a "can you tell me which goes in what order? lets find out!" puzzle for young children towards a much more subversive purpose. dont know how to talk more about it without saying too much, other than that this is a story about the dangers of identifying too closely with fandom and the object of fandom, and the game communicates this in very novel, considered ways. i think the whimsy is put on a little too much at some points to really hit emotionally, but this game is still really endearing to me as coming from a place of being too trusting when i was young and navigating online spaces, without it obviously being about that.

as heavy as im making it sound the game is pretty cute too. love the weird (somewhat cynical but not overbearingly so) city-slicker personalities maggie talks to through the walls/floor/ceiling, and the diegetic, jonathan richman-esque tunes coming from the AM radio. anatola howard please come back to video games