i threw up and cried again

such a devastatingly beautiful ending for one of the most tragic stories ive come upon
and the way the story is weaved and how it shows the player all these puzzle pieces to put together through the years of this family's lives is so amazing

the environment, the art design, the little bits and bobs and letters and belongings of the family, it does such a good job putting you in their home, in this era, in this country
i love the many little files as well, the screenplay excerpts and the ones about cigu guanyin and the snake

not to mention the absolutely amazing live action parts with the commercials and the singing contest, along with all of the cutscenes through mei shin's eyes and the part where mentor heuh guides you through the underworld

every section is just fucking amazing. everyone knows and loves the beautiful storybook section but it is so so good. a small moment of respite from the grimy dimly lit claustrophobic home, with all of its bright watercolors and cute and happy resolutions

i do think some jumpscares and especially the chase sequence are a bit much, but theyre easily overlooked

the soundtrack and vocal songs are incredible, and lady of the pier is an excellent song between mei shin and li fang and showing their differences and the crushing pressure on mei shin from what her family expects of her

devotion by no party for cao dong is especially fantastic to me
i never fail to cry while it plays out with the scene of mei shin running, it could be seen as a little out of place but i think it wraps it up perfectly and gorgeously
the lyrics are so fitting and i think reading them gets me the most

i cant emphasize how much this story just hits me. it hurts so fucking much, its so real. mei shin's anxiety is portrayed so well, along with her family completely misunderstanding it. and the way the father falls deep into religion, into this occult worship, emptying his pockets and doing prayers and rituals and unintentionally killing his own daughter at the behest of a false mentor because he wants her to be better, he knows she can achieve stardom
the mother, who helps as much as she can and goes back to work, promising to take her family somewhere better but it was just a little too late
both just making it worse on mei shin

it is just utterly and completely devastating, and being able to figure those things out for yourself as you play through is so special.

this game is so excellent and i will always be sad at the fact that a small, almost insignificantly placed political easter egg made people unable to play this special game for quite some time. but its getting out there more and more thanks to red candle making it available on their own site, and im glad to have experienced it