A fantastic little indie game, but like something like Doki Doki Literature Club or Undertale, the game really wants you to play blind. So most of this will be in spoilers. Just know that this game absolutely is worth the asking price. If you're at all interested in what the game looks like it offers on the surface or from just positive word of mouth, ABSOLUTELY do not sleep on this one. There's a free demo if you must, but 10 bucks is a damn steal for this and I cannot recommend it enough.

Pros:

+ A uniquely told story that just LOVES to play with meta perceptions. It also really takes a rather fascinating look at the concept of friendship that I don't think I've seen a game focus so hard on. Not just how it can start or how it can go, but how easy it can fray or fall apart, how it can be corrupted by the ideal of "being someone's hero", or how easy it can be to blind yourself to someone else's feelings. This was a concept I find games don't really explore all too well until this one. Personally, I feel this alone makes the game worth its asking price.

+ A varied cast of characters that while not all fleshed out, can still manage to be engaging, especially if you get attached to a few of them.

+ Rather than being outright horror, it plays at a middle ground of black humor and horror that keeps the dark moments haunting (even if not fully scary) and its comedic moments hilarious.

+ The "Buddy" is a fascinating character that really provokes thought if you ask me. Their desperation and clingy nature turned into something much darker and sinister by their own fears and desire to make you happy so they can be happy is honestly rather electrifying.

+ The world feels familiar rather quickly, letting you really get into the game at times when the meta stick is lightened up a tad.

+ The fact that the game can end in different ways depending on your actions, including those you might make playing again really means this game has plenty to look forward to with repeat playthroughs, not to mention the variety of ways you can play keeping it spiced up as well. This isn't even mentioning all the secret stuff you can find to get even more plot.

+ The soundtrack is pretty nice too. Not the greatest in the world but charming nonetheless.


Neutral:

+/- The actual mechanics of the gameplay are a bit barebones. They do just enough to make it interesting, but I feel the gameplay doesn't focus on any one thing enough to recommend for the gameplay itself. The way the game interrupts the gameplay and the player is more interesting than the gameplay itself.

+/- The "Buddy"'s constant presence is both a blessing and a curse on this game. While this makes them very interesting and REALLY drives the point home about how obsessed they are and you getting to witness their descent into madness, they can have moments where it tries your patience just so the game can make its message clear. Its not exactly a BAD thing, it wouldn't be as clear and great if it wasn't there, but maybe dialing it back a bit and letting the player have some more time to explore and enjoy themselves wouldn't have gone amiss.


Cons:

- The game tries to make jokes about aspects of the game itself and it doesn't always land if you ask me. It feels like sometimes its dressing up a shortcoming of the game as a joke. Yes there is an "ingame reason" for these, but I feel like trying to make it a gag doesn't really address the issue, if you see what I'm getting at. "Are lever puzzles fun?" "No." "Well do them anyways"

- As nitpicky as this might sound, I feel going with a DOS look for a large chunk of the game kinda wore on me a bit with how manual it is at times, made the main menu a tad clunky for my liking, that's for sure. Not to say that the look doesn't work, but perhaps quality of life improvements to automate a few things wouldn't be so bad. A text speed option would be nice too.



9/10

Do not sleep on this one, its worth the asking price and the fact there's a demo to get a taste of what the game has in store for you is just the icing on the cake. Give it a look. Please.