I didn't even intend to play through this in one sitting, but then I just kinda ended up doing exactly that! Smile For Me is a really charming game with some really funny dialogue and really clever quest design. It's essentially one big of those trading quests that get in bigger games from time to time, but it's really polished - and the developers made some really clever design decisions. It's also just a joy to experience in its tonality and vibes - I had a really fun time with this game! It's nothing especially groundbreaking or intricate, but it does what it sets out to do so so well!

Another one of my questionable "hey, it's on sale for $5" eShop buys from about a year ago. I'm not a big fan of point-and-click games to begin with, and virtually everything about this one got on my nerves. The clunky inventory system. The font. The character speech noises. The time limit that forces each day to end. The way everything the antagonist says is in all caps and full of typos like a Tumblr post. Most of all, the visuals.

In this game, your character cannot speak, and you must nod to say yes or shake your head to say no using the left stick when talking to characters. Alba: A Wildlife Adventure has a similar mechanic, and I thought it was very cute in that game. Alba gives you as much time as you need to nod or shake, it is in the third person, and it doesn't happen very often. In this game, characters get annoyed if you don't answer fast enough (and the game sometimes doesn't register your input), it's in the first person, and it happens constantly.

Needing to do this all the time alone is dizzying, but it combines with all the other visual nonsense in the game (chromatic aberration, tiny FOV, random stuff popping up on the screen, your vision turning dark and wobbly towards the end of the day) to make a nauseating experience. The whole thing reminds me of waking up in the middle of the night with a bad fever and trying to walk to the bathroom.

The art style on this one is great, You can tell that the artists leaned into their strength with illustration and design. It's similar to old puzzle/walking sims, but there are a few mechanics with items that I was surprised to see and fun to play! Some solutions i had to look into, but its not overly complex or hard to figure out 90% of the time. I wouldn't say it was completely my vibe, but it was fun all that same. Finished it in an evening and will probably play again at some point just to get all the achievements : - )