Blueberry

I was raised by a single mom (along w/ my sister) and did not have a completely healthy relationship w/ her. She passed away when I was just 25, almost 17 years ago. We DID have a good relationship for a couple years before she passed. But in the past 5-10 years or so, her absence has been felt for the worse and a lot of childhood trauma has resurfaced. I've been to therapy in recent years for this and it's helped a lot. Parenting isn't easy. Single parenting isn't easy. And being a kid sometimes isn't easy. This game really hit the nail on the head with a lot of thoughts and feelings I've had and learned from therapy. Our CNS is so greatly influenced by our childhood, and negative subconscious thoughts and feelings can be difficult to overcome, since they are engrained in our CNS. But all we can do is try. And forgive, both, our parents and ourselves. Anyway, the game is cool. The music is great too.

This is an absolutely wonderful experience of a game. It is an honest and heartfelt journey through the life of the main character as you take her through the challenges and heartbreaks of the past and present. When tragedy happens, it feels grounded in reality rather than being something created for the specific purpose of advancing the game or eliciting a specific reaction from the player. The art style is simple, but beautiful. The music creates an ambiance that serves the scene well. The color palette of the game shifts from cool and dark to warm and brighter based on how your character is feeling. It's a really nice touch. I really enjoyed this game, and I think it's just the thing if you're looking for a game with feeling, but don't have a lot of free time. I finished one playthrough of the game in just under three hours, but you'll likely want to give it another playthrough to see what other outcomes you can get. Definitely recommend.

I'm mixed feeling about this one. On the one hand, it's a poignant story, touching on some dark and meaningful topics. It proudly declares no AI slop was used, which I do appreciate and the art is charming. I felt like the platforming was clunky and inconsistent, as well as annoying interludes between the actual story bit. It could use a chapter select or something to be able to make different choices without having to play the whole game again, lengthy and fiddly platforming sections included.