CharredAshes
2020
more of a narrative experience than a game - though there IS some measure of gameplay in that you get a better ending if you give people the right orders - but enjoyable!
2021
The gameplay loop is repetitive - which isn't necessarily a bad thing for me, I love doing the same thing over and over again, but here it felt fairly unintuitive and boring. Also, the story felt really rushed, but the writing was so awkward and forced that I wasn't exactly looking for more of it.
2021
I'm like 100% sure this game will get too repetitive to replay anymore once I've seen all the friendship routes, but the gameplay is also weirdly addictive? I enjoyed the nostalgic aesthetic and the diverse cast. The writing was also surprisingly good! A lot of these types of life sim visual novels tend to be really amateurish or even cringey in their writing and especially their dialogue, but I thought this was actually pretty well handled. It even managed to veer between a light, playful tone and serious, mature content with a deft enough hand. Though, to be honest, I went into this game blind and was kind of surprised just how serious the content is at points.
My only major criticism is that you have to play in a fairly specific way if you want to manage stress/parental approval. You really have to focus on earning money so you can buy stress relieving food, which you need to keep your stress low enough that you can do the bonkers amount of studying necessary to be fully prepared for your exams. I don't think the exams should have been easier, necessarily, but it would have been interesting if there were alternative good endings for less academics-focused characters. Also, the interactions with the parents were by far the most shallow part of the game. It's weird that I can have more dialogue with a random dude I met at the park than my dad. That said, I do think it's a cute detail that your character from the previous playthrough and their spouse are the next generation's parents.
My only major criticism is that you have to play in a fairly specific way if you want to manage stress/parental approval. You really have to focus on earning money so you can buy stress relieving food, which you need to keep your stress low enough that you can do the bonkers amount of studying necessary to be fully prepared for your exams. I don't think the exams should have been easier, necessarily, but it would have been interesting if there were alternative good endings for less academics-focused characters. Also, the interactions with the parents were by far the most shallow part of the game. It's weird that I can have more dialogue with a random dude I met at the park than my dad. That said, I do think it's a cute detail that your character from the previous playthrough and their spouse are the next generation's parents.