I have no idea how to start reviews, bless. wait, no--
This game is very smartly written, and I was very surprised by that. The localization team did an amazing job, and Ame feels very much like a real person, someone you'd know online, for better or for worse. Because of this, it can emotionally affect you pretty strongly. Whether this enhances your experience or makes it too much to bear depends on the person, and I feel like that should be taken into account.
Needy Streamer's writing as well as its execution - god, the execution and visual/audio effects blew me away at times - were very cool - I was very impressed by how the game implemented its visual and UI elements, and the sound design made it feel aptly melancholy, hopeless, or even scary at times. It treats the game window as a playground, twisting and breaking it constantly. The soundtrack during normal gameplay feels fittingly frantic; hysterically cheery, and distortion/effects does wonders for the atmosphere without making it feel excessive to the point of cheesiness.
I was worried going into it that I wouldn't be able to enjoy it - that its portrayal of a "menhera girl" would be offensive and/or disconnected enough that it would leave a bad taste in my mouth, regardless of how good the other elements were. And I have to say, I was... pleasantly surprised. I agree with other reviews here - Ame's writing (as well as the random denizens of the internet) is at times painfully real, especially if you've experienced this kind of behavior from someone firsthand (hi!), and she's never demonized or sanitized for her mental illness, coping methods, or the ways she exhibits it. I feel like this is largely because there's no actual response to it. You're simply observing Ame, and never comment on her ill behaviors. The only other feedback is from her fans/haters online - and they don't see the half of it. It's just presented to you, with no framing or remark on how you're meant to view it.
Despite all this, though... actually playing through the game can be... tedious at best, a trudge at worst.
The game encourages you to replay it, having 22 different endings, many of which are impossible to achieve in the same playthrough as others, and a tracker for which ones you've gotten - but actually going back through and getting them is... just not fun, for the most part. Some of them are cool and intriguing, but most of them are just not worth sitting through mind-numbingly clicking through things you've seen 5 times already for an hour.
The gameplay loop is simultaneously long and unique and achingly repetitive, made worse by the fact you're stalled further by having to arbitrarily click a random button to reply to Ame's DMs in-between every single action. The game includes a skip button for the stream cutscene and minigame, but this doesn't help this feeling much in the long-run. The requirements for each ending are specific, and require an incredible amount of trial and error to get right with how each stat interacts with each other and the sheer amount of possible "game over"s. It gets to a point where it's just headache-inducing instead of fun trying to figure out and then execute the "perfect" formula. Because the game intrigued me, I wanted to see every ending, but having done so, I can't say it felt worth it. This may be more fun to others, but it was enough of a damper on my experience I feel it's worth mentioning and explaining.
Getting the secret ending myself made it feel so much more impactful, so I'm glad I got that and the 1M subs endings, but depending on the person you may have a better time going through your own playthrough at your own pace, and when you feel like you're satisfied, just watching a video of the rest of the endings.
All in all, though... It's a very solid experience, if you can stomach it. I'm not generally affected by these things, so I feel like I'm not a good judge here - I was only really struck in a less-than-good way by a few scenes around suicide. It's definitely not for everyone, and I can see how there are people who won't understand it at a more intimate level and come away with it with thoughts that make me not want to come near them with a 10 foot pole, so make of that what you will. But I'd say it's worth it if you know your own limits and especially if you're familiar, in some way or another, with the elements at play in the narrative - I really feel like it's just not the same game if you haven't been in the shoes of at least one person here.
Also, more specific/less obvious trigger warnings, if anyone's curious, these do contain SPOILERS if you care:
------
Suicide (both in Ame constantly talking about/threatening it, and that in multiple endings she goes through with it. No graphic imagery, but still very disturbing scenes)
drug abuse that varies in intensity based on player input
self harm (both Ame talking about it and a forced scene at 80+ stress where she makes you cut her wrists in a simplistic pixel block, non-graphic but still disturbing)
child abuse (a possible conversation can occur where Ame mentions her parents almost forced her into sex work)
Online bullying (The INTERNET OVERDOSE ending is just brutal in too many ways to list, honestly. There's also a fair bit of targeted misogyny directed at Ame.)
Paranoia (Ame has delusions of people and secret societies watching her and surveilling her at all times, and intense paranoia over being doxxed and stalked/found at home)
Toxic relationships (Ame... is not good to you. Depending on your choices, you can be equally bad or downright abusive to her. Ame frequently talks about how she'd kill herself if you don't love her, etc.)
There's definitely more, but these are some things I wish were made more clear I can think of off the top of my head.
This game is very smartly written, and I was very surprised by that. The localization team did an amazing job, and Ame feels very much like a real person, someone you'd know online, for better or for worse. Because of this, it can emotionally affect you pretty strongly. Whether this enhances your experience or makes it too much to bear depends on the person, and I feel like that should be taken into account.
Needy Streamer's writing as well as its execution - god, the execution and visual/audio effects blew me away at times - were very cool - I was very impressed by how the game implemented its visual and UI elements, and the sound design made it feel aptly melancholy, hopeless, or even scary at times. It treats the game window as a playground, twisting and breaking it constantly. The soundtrack during normal gameplay feels fittingly frantic; hysterically cheery, and distortion/effects does wonders for the atmosphere without making it feel excessive to the point of cheesiness.
I was worried going into it that I wouldn't be able to enjoy it - that its portrayal of a "menhera girl" would be offensive and/or disconnected enough that it would leave a bad taste in my mouth, regardless of how good the other elements were. And I have to say, I was... pleasantly surprised. I agree with other reviews here - Ame's writing (as well as the random denizens of the internet) is at times painfully real, especially if you've experienced this kind of behavior from someone firsthand (hi!), and she's never demonized or sanitized for her mental illness, coping methods, or the ways she exhibits it. I feel like this is largely because there's no actual response to it. You're simply observing Ame, and never comment on her ill behaviors. The only other feedback is from her fans/haters online - and they don't see the half of it. It's just presented to you, with no framing or remark on how you're meant to view it.
Despite all this, though... actually playing through the game can be... tedious at best, a trudge at worst.
The game encourages you to replay it, having 22 different endings, many of which are impossible to achieve in the same playthrough as others, and a tracker for which ones you've gotten - but actually going back through and getting them is... just not fun, for the most part. Some of them are cool and intriguing, but most of them are just not worth sitting through mind-numbingly clicking through things you've seen 5 times already for an hour.
The gameplay loop is simultaneously long and unique and achingly repetitive, made worse by the fact you're stalled further by having to arbitrarily click a random button to reply to Ame's DMs in-between every single action. The game includes a skip button for the stream cutscene and minigame, but this doesn't help this feeling much in the long-run. The requirements for each ending are specific, and require an incredible amount of trial and error to get right with how each stat interacts with each other and the sheer amount of possible "game over"s. It gets to a point where it's just headache-inducing instead of fun trying to figure out and then execute the "perfect" formula. Because the game intrigued me, I wanted to see every ending, but having done so, I can't say it felt worth it. This may be more fun to others, but it was enough of a damper on my experience I feel it's worth mentioning and explaining.
Getting the secret ending myself made it feel so much more impactful, so I'm glad I got that and the 1M subs endings, but depending on the person you may have a better time going through your own playthrough at your own pace, and when you feel like you're satisfied, just watching a video of the rest of the endings.
All in all, though... It's a very solid experience, if you can stomach it. I'm not generally affected by these things, so I feel like I'm not a good judge here - I was only really struck in a less-than-good way by a few scenes around suicide. It's definitely not for everyone, and I can see how there are people who won't understand it at a more intimate level and come away with it with thoughts that make me not want to come near them with a 10 foot pole, so make of that what you will. But I'd say it's worth it if you know your own limits and especially if you're familiar, in some way or another, with the elements at play in the narrative - I really feel like it's just not the same game if you haven't been in the shoes of at least one person here.
Also, more specific/less obvious trigger warnings, if anyone's curious, these do contain SPOILERS if you care:
------
Suicide (both in Ame constantly talking about/threatening it, and that in multiple endings she goes through with it. No graphic imagery, but still very disturbing scenes)
drug abuse that varies in intensity based on player input
self harm (both Ame talking about it and a forced scene at 80+ stress where she makes you cut her wrists in a simplistic pixel block, non-graphic but still disturbing)
child abuse (a possible conversation can occur where Ame mentions her parents almost forced her into sex work)
Online bullying (The INTERNET OVERDOSE ending is just brutal in too many ways to list, honestly. There's also a fair bit of targeted misogyny directed at Ame.)
Paranoia (Ame has delusions of people and secret societies watching her and surveilling her at all times, and intense paranoia over being doxxed and stalked/found at home)
Toxic relationships (Ame... is not good to you. Depending on your choices, you can be equally bad or downright abusive to her. Ame frequently talks about how she'd kill herself if you don't love her, etc.)
There's definitely more, but these are some things I wish were made more clear I can think of off the top of my head.