Compelling game! I've finished it once with the first two characters. Never really played a deckbuilding game before (outside of Yugioh lol), so it took a while to get a grasp on mechanics (especially with how much there is to read) but I really enjoyed learning by doing. I had one Rook run where my cards were so well-synced that I negotiated my way through the whole game without friction.

Really dug the art style, music and the vibe of the game in general. It's got that clean 80s cartoon look that I enjoy.

The Switch port is pretty good, you feel the limitations of bringing what would be a straightforward mouse-driven game to a console, but I got used to it pretty quickly. The UI is really tiny though, especially handheld.

This game surprised me. I thought I knew what I was getting into with this game: something fun and light, with a lot of cringy pop culture references, leading up to you kissing your romance option of choice. And for most of it, it sure was. But it had a lot of heart to it that I really appreciated.

One of the moments that stuck out to me was when you get sucked into Polybius and you're confronted with your inner and outer demons. Typical, sure, but for someone in their late 20s, unemployed and trying to find their way in the world right now, being tempted with the possibility of just staying in your safe bubble of games and never being hurt but also never growing, that's a black mirror moment that made me put down the Switch for a bit. Another thing that stuck with me was all the stuff about a family curse following you and keeping you from fully settling into being happy; Playing/being a person of color, that resonated with me.

It's also really well done as a game. I haven't played a ton of visual novels, but I've played enough to have an idea of what I don't like. I really appreciate how this game handles its ensemble and the number of opportunities you get to hang out with each person and get to know them, all the while leaving stuff open for future playthroughs. I started another character as soon as I finished my first game, and I found at least one character who I didn't see at all prior. A lot of the dialogue changed flavor as I made different choices too. It really gives the game world a lived-in feel.

I intended to romance Naomi, she was my type from the start. But then I fell in love with QueenBee after getting to know her, so I set that aside for my second playthrough. Well, whoops, I ended up getting really intrigued by Ashley after some conversations I didn't see the first time around. I don't think I've ever done that with romance options, usually who I liked is who the PC likes. But I so bought into the story that I wanted to be true to the characters as I helped shaped.

I felt the affection the creators had for their characters. I appreciated how there wasn't an outright asshole in the main cast, and everyone had an appeal to them. I never regretted a decision to do something with anyone, and that's always a plus with character-driven games. In the end, what I loved about this game is that it was just a nice world to be in, and I took some positive things to think of, coming out of it

Scattered Thoughts (some slight spoilers):

There's a lot of BioWare in this game's DNA as well, I feel. The conversations at the end felt like the last conversation you have prior to the endgame of a Mass Effect (characters from the start of the story hook up, even) or Dragon Age. Just having a final boss fight in general was an interesting twist. Like I said, I'm not too familiar with the tropes at large to say if that's rare or not, but I was certainly surprised.
I really enjoyed the game's art style. Sure, it's very Dream Daddy-esque, but the characters are very expressive and distinct.
The audio, was not good. The volume mixing was all over the place, the voice acting was terribly directed, and the soundtrack sounded like stock 80s music.
While I loved the feel-good nature of the game, I do wish it didn't give such easy solutions. QueenBee being allowed to start a local branch of the eSports team, getting into which was a lucky break in and of itself, strained credibility for me. Same with Percy finding a solution to his condition.
* I'm really looking forward to playing the second game at some point. I'm curious to see what more they can do with this game's formula. I'm intrigued that there are supposed to be customization options, I'm a little skeptical about the new characters being more larger-than-life but I'm willing to give it a shot, and I like the music I've heard from it, it feels a bit more distinct.

Thanks for reading!