i dont like being graded for my combat performance, nor the branching story lines, nor the storytelling

"Less is more" is a mantra that I wish this developer had in mind.

Purely from a gameplay standpoint it isn't bad, the combat is a simpler version of the Batman combat, pretty much a one button combat system. It does it's job and can even be fun at times from how well it flows.
You have a magic system which just buffs/heals you and a run of the mill skill tree.

The biggest highlight is the humor which is actually pretty funny, it's a lot of pop culture references to games, events and celebrities.
At times it's borderline modernized Gex dialogue.

My biggest issue is the structure of the story. You have this book that the main character is reading that shows him the future and many different outcomes of his actions and you learn truth's at dead ends that you can then use to figure out a perfect solution with this knowledge to forge the perfect path where you survive the events of the game.

Now the issue is that even with the truth's known; nothing actually changes apart from eventually unlocking the true ending when all are found.
So say you know for a fact that every decision with a specific character is a bad idea cause they are a bad person the MC will constantly mention their knowledge of this fact but ignore it for the sake of letting that story unfold as if you didn't know this fact.
Which makes it kinda pointless to even have this meta narrative of learning knowledge you shouldn't have to influence the story, I wish the game was way shorter and focused more on that meta narrative even if it would be even more linear.

Also I have to mention the fact that you can not skip cutscenes and have to replay so much of the game and rewatch the same cutscenes over and over again to 100%, it's a pain.

So overall despite being a little bit negative about it.
It is a pretty good Steam Deck game if you want a simple little adventure game in short bursts but I do not recommend getting 100%.
A very similar game that is pretty much the same concept but perfected is Beacon Pines which I would highly recommend checking out.

10/10, this game reminded me why i love video games
It's not that i'd stopped loving them, but i'd forgotten why. And i'd lost a lot of that love, gotten jaded. But this? It's simple, and beautiful, and powerful. It was a short journey, but one that made me laugh and cry and feel like a badass, and challenged me to be one, and reminded me i had room to grow. It definitely helped to bring that love back. It's an amazing story, and one i would recommend heartily to anyone who needs a reminder of the simple joy life has to offer. It's visually stunning too, with music that makes me feel ready to take on the world, and a story that holds up to the challenges the presentation adds very well, despite the number of moving parts, by keeping clarity of purpose in every element. Every piece of this game fits together perfectly to form a work of art that let me forget life's struggles for a minute and come back just a little bit more prepared for them later, and kept me so engaged that i couldn't bring myself to set the controller down until i'd finished it. It is absolutely worth playing