I think what stings about this the most is that it could easily be turned into something I adore. Anime isn't much my thing besides a select few series such as The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (which does everything this game does but actually has a point), and video games as a whole often squander their potential to be truly astounding creations to interact with. Merging these two under the guise of postmodern deconstruction is tricky but not impossible. I think this is achieved in the most routine way possible but is severely lacking in thought and purpose. It's not often that interacting with something and NOT interacting with something yields the exact same results. I don't much mind the gameplay being little more than a visual novel and I even love the idea of interacting with the game in multiple ways to achieve the "good ending", but the actual message at the end ruins my ability to suspend disbelief any further. Salvato states that he enjoys games that do something different and challenge the status quo, even if they are imperfect. While not inherently mean-spirited, I find this approach to creating anything to be entirely misguided.

This game is undeniably different. Minimizing the window and viewing the folder I downloaded of the game's contents and seeing how it changes throughout was very interesting. The constant fourth-wall breaking, character asides, and cleverly subversive use of repetition through dialogue and save states is also novel. These aspects end up being incredibly hollow by the end of the game. Nothing was done in service of characters, emotions, or themes beyond itself. This video game acknowledges it is a video game. Then what? It becomes a surface level examination of itself, serving itself and only itself. Some of the stuff with Sayori and Monika towards the end made me think that there was some form of empathy and depth provided to further connect with these characters, but they end up being little more than strands of code which is EXACTLY what the game wants to be. Madoka Magica posting painted over everything The Witness stands for. I think that this has the makings of actual art, but since people are just now starting to realize that games can and SHOULD be artistically realized, this should serve as an influence for people to create much more meaningful and thoughtful works in a similar vein as this.

You have reminded me that I cannot interact with the game in any meaningful way. The game is different from just about everything I've ever played. You have successfully made suicide, loud and dark digital distortion, and self harm upsetting. Congratulations. Now what?