for all its messy sci-fi tangles and caustic irony and sprawling mythologizing this felt raw and tender in a way that kind of really hurt. doubles down on the eminently alien as a ruse to make its naked human ugliness more potent when the time comes, presenting a scenario where the essence of all stress, tension, and threat is mundanely, terribly, crushingly adolescent at heart

a wealth of increased design hospitality baits a hostility that draws from acrid power dynamics, self-destructive altruism, loss of autonomy, strained health, and the uniquely miserable feeling of being a fucked up teenager. that its concluding act leads with its most insincere, grating posturing only to directly pivot into end times earnestness makes for one of the most convincing tonal portrayals of angst and isolation I can think of

instant teencore classic (deeply affectionate)

starting ep3 tomorrow but wanna jot some thoughts on the duology as is. like both quite a bit, maybe ep 1 just as equally as this. in particular ep2 is more forthright in its suffering but cloaks what would be naked cries for help really cleverly. like the titular charlotte the text seems at both ends exorcising some necessary catharsis and questioning whether said catharsis is even helping anything, much less being therapeutic--characters abound with taunts and riddles for the audience investing in charlotte's suffering in hopes for some kind of didactic bow to justify the pain, yet same characters take interest in charlotte's suffering for their very own didactic lessons and utility. tries at all three to both ridicule altruism as an ethical doctrine, pathologize it as a psychological motivation, and dismiss it as a political utopianism---yet, also, offers only calming reassurance that your choice was understandable when you go to grave lengths just to relieve someone's else pain. both more of a 'RPGMaker' game in drawing up social interactions as random battles but also not a RPGmaker game in how ambivalent it is about you engaging with this system at all (could be misremembering but im p sure ep 1 at least had health values but in here they were just ??). conflicted conflicted but far from confused, i think the text is confident in its ambiguity, a read bolstered by the very ending coda being yet another dilemma that pricks at the audience's investment in the narrative. like drake said,,,,, its a combination. uniquely invested in the risk of vulnerability in relationships as shown by the drama and that same risk of vulnerability as a creator to audience as shown in the metanarrative, ane's cooking imo

I liked this game a lot more than EP1. Story has a little different style - it’s a lot more structured, less random, with a relatively clear theme this time around. Just like with the first episode, I like the vibes very much, and a more structured narrative is a welcomed change. However, I still find writing mostly weak - while having a more structured story is good, its themes are kinda banal. I liked to listen to this story, but I didn’t find the execution of its themes particularly striking.

Also this game has a battle system in school named “SOCIALIZATION”, where you need to defeat mentally stricken students with attempts at communication. Or blackmailing. This is brilliant.

this game is truly an achievement. ep 2 expands everywhere where ep 1 left me asking, and boy what a world that unfolded from that humble demo. a cerebral force at times, and an achingly gorgeous coming of age story at others, this completely otherworldly yet so human parable of relationships, of identity, of happiness, of godhood was simply put a piece of art. there's just not enough i can say about this story, with the characters and their relationships being all so just captivating. all the little details, the fiercely intricate world built here that just screams character from every tile to every background. its a work of art. and without a doubt i will be thinking about it for a long time to come <3