beautiful and heart-wrenching. from compelling story to lovable characters to well-implemented mechanics, this game really is a little gem that i hope many more people get to experience. one of my favorite games in a long time. the love and care put into it by the devs is loud and clear.

took me a year and a replay to fully appreciate this game and its sequel. it didn't quite click for me on an initial playthrough, but upon re-examination it's quickly become one of my favorite games from the past 10 years. while the general scope of the story is nothing particularly new, the presentation, trappings, and strong character writing speak for themselves (a very notable shoutout to the phenomenal voice work of the cast as well - particularly the wonderful ashly burch), and along with smooth gameplay create one of the most compelling games i've played in recent memory.