I cannot begin to describe how much this game means to me so far. The characters, their dynamics, the artwork, the music, the STORY...I'm not even finished with the game yet, and I am absolutely hooked on it. The battle mechanics are simple to learn and easy to remember for down the line, and there's no pressure to grind like in most well-known RPGs that I've played in the past. I don't dread every time I run into an encounter, and even if you run into one on accident, the game doesn't punish you or make you take a 50/50 chance for escaping and moving on. Every menu is manageable and easy to navigate, and even THOSE are fun to look back on every so often to spot little changes to descriptions of characters and items.

Mechanics and gameplay aside, I am in love with all of the different characters, their personal stories, their relationships with the player character Siffrin, and how they can change with one little difference in your loops. All of the artwork used for cutscenes and battle transitions/special moves are fantastic, even the ones that made me want to fall over sobbing! Some of these scenes are made to pull at heartstrings, and I am personally not one to fall for sob stories or cry at sad movies what have you, but this game...BOY this game, it hurts! It hurts in the best way possible, and it makes me want to keep going, keep trying so that a happy ending can be reached! It's very easy to get attached to the characters, even if their entire journey up to this point has passed already...everyone is important in their own ways, and I would die (over and over and over and over and--) for all of them.

None of the puzzles are frustrating, and you have easy access to refreshers on your progress if you come back to the game after awhile and don't remember what you were doing before. The layout of the world is fun and full of little details and easter eggs and PUNS! So many puns! I have been through so many loops and yet I still want to check every little thing! There are just enough changes that it never gets boring, and I'm so excited to see what could possibly come next! The story constantly has me on the edge of my seat, and every new thing I learn only makes it harder to put the game down. Not to mention how casual the mention of LGBTQ+ topics are talked about and how important these identities are to the characters and their stories. It's both heartwarming and VERY important, and it makes me hope that bigger named games/dev teams will take inspiration from it instead of just trying to get brownie points...

Long story short...I have never wrote a review for a game in my entire life until now - that's how much this game means to me. I have been waiting for In Stars And Time since playing its predecessor Start Again: A Prologue, and I can say hands-down that the wait was absolutely worth it. Congrats to Adrienne and the rest of the ISAT team for making one of the greatest (and one of my top favorite) games I have ever played!

I cannot begin to describe how much this game means to me so far. The characters, their dynamics, the artwork, the music, the STORY...I'm not even finished with the game yet, and I am absolutely hooked on it. The battle mechanics are simple to learn and easy to remember for down the line, and there's no pressure to grind like in most well-known RPGs that I've played in the past. I don't dread every time I run into an encounter, and even if you run into one on accident, the game doesn't punish you or make you take a 50/50 chance for escaping and moving on. Every menu is manageable and easy to navigate, and even THOSE are fun to look back on every so often to spot little changes to descriptions of characters and items. Mechanics and gameplay aside, I am in love with all of the different characters, their personal stories, their relationships with the player character Siffrin, and how they can change with one little difference in your loops. All of the artwork used for cutscenes and battle transitions/special moves are fantastic, even the ones that made me want to fall over sobbing! Some of these scenes are made to pull at heartstrings, and I am personally not one to fall for sob stories or cry at sad movies what have you, but this game...BOY this game, it hurts! It hurts in the best way possible, and it makes me want to keep going, keep trying so that a happy ending can be reached! It's very easy to get attached to the characters, even if their entire journey up to this point has passed already...everyone is important in their own ways, and I would die (over and over and over and over and--) for all of them. None of the puzzles are frustrating, and you have easy access to refreshers on your progress if you come back to the game after awhile and don't remember what you were doing before. The layout of the world is fun and full of little details and easter eggs and PUNS! So many puns! I have been through so many loops and yet I still want to check every little thing! There are just enough changes that it never gets boring, and I'm so excited to see what could possibly come next! The story constantly has me on the edge of my seat, and every new thing I learn only makes it harder to put the game down. Not to mention how casual the mention of LGBTQ+ topics are talked about and how important these identities are to the characters and their stories. It's both heartwarming and VERY important, and it makes me hope that bigger named games/dev teams will take inspiration from it instead of just trying to get brownie points... Long story short...I have never wrote a review for a game in my entire life until now - that's how much this game means to me. I have been waiting for In Stars And Time since playing its predecessor Start Again: A Prologue, and I can say hands-down that the wait was absolutely worth it. Congrats to Adrienne and the rest of the ISAT team for making one of the greatest (and one of my top favorite) games I have ever played!