There used to be a total of 3 games that made me cry, make that 4.

Goodbye Volcano High, ignoring it's technical flaws and moments of pandering, is amazing. I want to be clear, my opinion on this game comes from a non-binary writer who struggled a lot with the same issues shown in this game so I might be a little biased. However, to me, this game perfectly encapsulated the weird phase of high school to an absolute perfect pitch from my experience, from the cringey-ness (and yes we were all like that) to the little moments. Everything from the highs, the lows, the drama, the significance felt in high school's finality, it all works perfectly in this game.

While I may have issues with a decent portion of the technical side of the game, the story and characters here are no less than amazing. The story is relatable to a LGBTQAI+ positive youth group (like generation Z and Alpha), but also has a mastery of character dialogue that, while sometimes delivered oddly, works to make every character feel real and significant. I mean, when the biggest crime a game has by the end is "being to short", you've got something special on your hands. Of course a game like this will only work for certain people both in terms of genre and story, but I think for those people, like myself and many I know, this is a masterclass. A majority of the technical issues are those that hardly effect gameplay, whether that's some visual novel staples missing (like a skip button or backtrack button) or some shoddily-made rhythm sections that do not sync up well with devices with any sort of ms (had to switch to a steam deck to actually land some of the notes). These technical flaws though are a footnote in the overall experience to me at least, as soon as you learn to ignore them, you can really enjoy the experience.

While only being ranked a 4 for, primarily, technical reasons, this is a game I did not expect I would give nearly as much praise as I do, easily one of the best games I've played this year, hands down.