I wasn't sure what to expect from this game, and it still wasn't quite what I was expecting. Tears were wept, but the story did not go where I thought it would? Disappointed.

I spent the majority of the game RELISHING the gorgeous design. The art style is just so so so so nice to look at. The writing came off heartfelt and vulnerable and it made the characters so likeable. They mentioned in the credits that real people lent their stories to the making of this game and I thought that was a really nice touch.

BUT..... An underlying current to the game is that there's a... "thing" that's happening, and a lot of the game seems to build up to the reveal of it. It starts in the demo. But when I got to the end, I was so surprised that that was the conclusion. The credits started rolling and all I could think was wait... that's it? There wasn't much closure at all and post-game I just felt sort of unsatisfied. :( (But then again I'm generally not a fan of open-ish endings anyway.)

In the end, I can see themes of friendship, grief, healing, the fragility of life and corporate greed in the medical world. But the trailer and the demo imply mystery/thriller vibes, a lot like Night in the Woods. I have a feeling that was intentional, maybe because they knew who their audience was going to be. But it didn't live up to that at all.

If you've enjoyed other point-and-click, narrative, Night in the Woods-STYLE games, don't mind tw:illn3s/de@th, and you aren't scared off by a few (sometimes game-stopping) bugs in a game, this game is for you!

Lovely graphics, beautiful soundtrack, wholesome, witty writing with the occasional tear-jerker scene. No mystery or thriller vibes, though. I got about 20 hours of play time out of it, including impromptu soundtrack-induced naps.

I liked it! For me, it just felt something was missing both in the main plot and the conclusion of it.

If you love Over the Garden wall, play this!!!!!! The coziest game!!

The art style for the game feels like....a hug??? A big, warm hug. This game gave me ALL the warm and fuzzies. The art is so lovely, everything from the the story to the music felt so whimsical and really really charming. The writing reminded me of Night in The Woods!! I just really loved it!!!!!

If you like games like Luigi's Mansion, Pikmin or Cozy Grove, or TV shows like Over the Garden Wall and Gravity Falls, this is a must play!!

The only reason I wouldn't give it 5 stars is because it didn't last longer! I was so sad when I finished it. I'll definitely be thinking about this game for a while!

Cried at the end throws up peace sign <3

Nice art/really awkward English translation.

Visually, I enjoyed it! The multiverse concept is so fun, like, in general. The game mechanics were entertaining and the puzzles were challenging enough to need to think for a second, but not so hard that you get stuck for ages. But that's about it.

The ending felt....unfinished?? There was no real resolution, which could be a deliberate creative decision, but for me it was a huge miss. It was very unfulfilling and made the whole game not feel worthwhile as the story was the whole reason I played it to begin with.

The English translation was at best awkward, at worst super distracting and pretty annoying. The amount of grammatical errors just took me right out of the story and made it hard to feel invested. I don't get why great games don't get native/qualified speakers to translate, it makes such a huge difference. :(

It hurts to give this game a negative review but.....like.... I mean.........

I couldn't even make it half an hour into this before the clunky controls, glitchy environment, sore lack of lore, loud neon pastels and horrible grammar ruined the fantasy before it even began. I'm so disappointed.

I don't understand setting out to produce media like this but not having the self-awareness to know you should probably......hire an editor?? The game doesn't read like it was taken very seriously as a project. The vibes are...unprofesh and I'm so confused about how this was picked up and published?? No one's expecting triple A production value from a two-person indie dev team but polished grammar is the absolute bare minimum in any form of media?

The concept is everything. The ultimate cozy game. But that's all this felt like?? A rough outline of an idea.

I'm honestly crushed because this game has been hyped amongst Cozy Gamers™ for ages but.....I honestly can't see why. I'm genuinely SO thrown. Maybe another year or two of development and this could've been good. :(

Okay so........ For a game marketed as "a experience, a heartwarming story, and a love letter to all of you who think you're a burden for other people", it sure wasn't any of those things.

Calling it "a experience" really sets the tone because the grammar in the English version of this was so distracting that the ~fantasy~ was shattered before the "game" even started. There was a mistake literally every other sentence. I don't know what the original language for this was, but with there being several language options I'd assume the language selected would be grammatically correct. But it wasn't. Like I'm actually flabbergasted that this game was released the way it is. Wouldn't grammatically correct text in a game be considered the absolute bare minimum? Like, art is subjective. Language isn't. Idk what the fact that this is bugging me says about me since no one else seems bothered by this but lmao anYWays,,,,,

"Features:
- A short heartwarming story that will stay in your heart and memory
- A personal journey of learning how to love yourself
- A tale filled with love and comedy
- Colorful art to accompany your journey in the train not bound for the living
- An easy to pick-up gameplay"

The only thing it lives up to is easy to pick up gameplay.

The art is giving... Not a lot. There were less than a handful of NPC designs that were copied and pasted over and over, which... Seeing 3 of the exact same characters on the screen while also trying to imply they're all somehow different people is just sort of off-putting? Every character has a face mask on and I get that this was released in 2020 but??? I can't really see a good reason to make that choice? It doesn't add to the game in any way? Especially as the game ages. The colours on the spirit train were pretty monochrome but nice and I liked the spirit design.

But overall it felt.....just super low effort? Like it had been rushed, or like they decided to release an incomplete or unfinished version of the game. Like this was just a really rough draft.

Not once did they touch on "learning how to love yourself", or anything that felt "personal" at all, and I'm not sure what they mean by "filled with love and comedy" because...????? Idk I'm so lost?? I'm so confused at how they justified the description of this game.

So, the story. I feel like there wasn't really a story?

(SPOILER, see @@@@ line for end spoiler)

A depressed girl accidentally/unknowingly/unwillingly/coincidentally(?) ends up on a train that transports spirits to the afterlife, because she "touched death" by having suicidal thoughts and/or intentions. She walks around talking to spirits while she waits to be taken back home, because she's alive and doesn't belong there, obvs.

But all every NPC had to say was a couple of lines. And their words were completely empty. Nothing to make you actually care about their "story", which tracks since none of them really even had a story at all. A couple of hints at how they might have died, but mostly plain statements about how they "don't mind" that they died or that they hope their loved ones aren't too sad. All they have to say to Vivi, the main character, are things like "live well, girl" or "be kind" or "don't be too hard on yourself" or whatever, as if that's supposed to... Give her her zest for life back?

All Vivi talked about (and only a couple of times) was considering death because she felt like "a burden to her family" without any context or backstory. At no point does the audience learn why she feels that way. At some point she even mentions that no one has ever even actually told her that. And at no point did she state she felt differently. Not even at the end. It was just kind of like "oh death is pretty serious, I guess I should be grateful to be alive since many people aren't" and... She's cured? That's what the game seems to be implying? Which, for the topic of mental health issues, just seems really insensitive. "I'm depressed" "just be happy" "thanks you're right" like???

(END SPOILER)

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

And that's the whole game. Under 45 minutes of empty dialogue and painful grammar, as well as a dismissive and shallow approach to mental health and depression.

Even for the amount I spent buying this on sale, which was $3.49, I wouldn't say it's worth it. At all. If I had paid even close to full price, I would've been SO bummed.

I'm so disappointed because, even while accounting for the fact that this was probably going to be one of those play-in-under-an-hour-semi-visual-novel type of games, the concept of this sounded so up my ally.

But it just fell short in every way. This game should've been refined and double, triple, quadruple checked before the developer even considered releasing it.

So when I noticed this game was written by the same person who did Coffee Talk it definitely made me wary. I'm really, really, really hoping that Coffee Talk is different. It's been on my list for ages and I'm excited to play it but I'm not sure what to expect now.

That's just one person's opinion, I've seen positive reviews as well but for me this just......wasn't it. :( <3

you can pet the dog 10/10

The art for this is so charming and the music and ambient sounds only add to it!! I'd consider this more of a visual short story than a game and I finished it in less than an hour. When it comes to the plot I'm not sure there really is one. It seems like just a peek into the lives of two 30-something friends and roommates in Russia. A little glitchy here and there and the translation was a little clumsy at times, but overall it was nice.

Cute lil story to pass an hour with, snuggly blanket and cup of tea recommended!!

Thought I was gonna live out my Joanna Gaines dreams. But nay nay.

Played this on the Switch and after about 4 hours there was... Just nothing left to do? It became so repetitive and the catalog is so limited I spent a good while searching around like hello?? This can't be all?

Alas. It was all.

I think the PC version has more going on but?? For me this was a miss.

Anyway besties if you need me I'll be watching HGTV <3

This game is STUNNING. Had such a lovely time playing this with my player 2!!

The only reason I didn't go for the full 5 stars is because the story line (or lack thereof) was pretty confusing. The whole time we were trying to piece together the story, but in the end... There really wasn't one? Which was a little bit of a shame since it did kind of take away from the whole experience in the end since the ending felt a little incomplete.

But the journey was so fun. The little yarny characters are so cute. I loved the way you had to interact with one another to make it through each level.

10/10 great date night game 🧶

Story? Equal parts heartbreaking and heartwarming. Graphics? Gorgeous glowy goodness. My heartstrings? Tugged at. Hotel? Trivago.

Did I cry? Absolutely I did. Who do you think I am. That opening scene ALONE?? COME ON.

I loved this game so much. The story got me. Like, you can't do that. I'm too soft for that. Hello?

As aggravating as those escape scenes (ha....ha.. pain) were, it was so worth it in the end. And I loved how they set up the story for the next game too!!

I can't wait to play this again at some point!! 🤍

When I say I loved this game, I mean I LOVED. THIS. GAME.

Mayhaps I'm....just a sucker for dialog-heavy-choices-matter-point-and-click-narrative games, but once the mechanics of the game were explained and all the main characters were introduced, I was fully invested.

The art style???? Chef's kiss. The music?? Chef's kiss. The story??? Chef's kiss. Again, the art style!!

The writing for this is so great. I find it hard to stay engaged when stories are so predictable that you can guess the ending when you're barely halfway through, but this? Twists galore. I love how all the different paths help you piece together the ~truth~ bit by bit.

I laughed. I cried. I cried some more.

I finished this game in one sitting.

I need a nap.