I don't think you can replicate the emotional honesty and sincerity presented in a lot of independent video games, they feel too personal that no one but the person who created it, can create that same experience. GOODBYE WORLD is one of those games.

Though I feel like if I just left it at that, you're going to take this as "Buy this game now." So instead I'll say this, it's a two hour visual novel separated by puzzle mini games across 13 scenes, decide if you want to buy it or not.

I personally enjoyed it a lot, and believe the way this game was presented only enhanced my experience, but it's hard to speak further as, it is one of those games, you best go into blind.

I umm loved that to be honest and reallly reallllyyyy needed something like this right now, it's kinda opened my eyes to my own issues with how i view my creative pursuits, i think it gave a pretty realistic take on how going from pursuing something out of passion and love to then doing it just to make whatever would appeal to the widest audience can really tear down creative partnerships and tear down you as a person, because you're probably aware you're not doing it out of fun anymore but you've spent so long pursuing it, how can you just give up now, even if you hate every second of it.

It's kinda opened my eyes to how i've been following old creative passions from my childhood recently with the constant thought running through my mind of "wellll,,,, i like this but i sure as hell know others wont." then that thought just gets overwhelming, trying to uphold yourself to extremely unrealistic standards instead of just doing it out of fun, love and passion.
umm yeah thats enough rambling im tired this probably doesnt make much sense

ALSO
end credits is "Walking in My Sleep" by Noa Mal abbba... think ive found a new favourite artist adjkfkadf

Now here's a game I really wanted to love. Even bought it on release late last year, but like a lot of games just didn't play it then for whatever reason. It's just been sitting there in my Switch library, waiting to be played for a few months. Now that I finally have played it... man, what a disappointment.

GOODBYE WORLD, for those who don't know, is a very story focused game with a few platforming segments (which are supposed to be the game the protagonists are developing throughout the story) thrown in between the cutscenes, and it is not a game without any merits. The picture I'm using here is for some reason extremely compressed, but when actually playing, the pixel art with the soft filter over it is very pleasing to the eye, and the animations do give the few characters involved in the story some distinct quirks. If you've ever had any interest in creating anything, or honestly just an interest in the arts in general, the overall plot about how long one can chase after their dreams before giving up, and what really drives one to want to create something do hit home at times, as does some of the dialogue which can hit uncomfortably close to home.

What's so frustrating is that these good parts are really good, but the writing as a whole really lets the game down. The fact that it's just under an hour and a half shouldn't be an issue since it's basically just telling a story with almost no actual gameplay and ~90 minutes for that, but it wastes so much of that time for some bizarre reason doing flashbacks to things I've just seen in the game and really don't need to be reminded of, and while some of the dialogue absolutely does hit, but it felt like the writer had basically one idea about anxiety and being an indie game developer, but couldn't really find a way to make a whole game out of it so a lot of the scenes feel like repeats of ones I've watched, just with a few words replaced but with the same meaning behind it all. It's not terrible, but feels like the topic could have been explored a bit more.

What is terrible, though, is the game's ending. I truly do not know what went through the writer's (and I think this game was developed by one person, so also the developer) head when thinking it up. First of all, it ends on a terrible fake-out ending that would be way too drastic to work at all within this story, but then it pivots after the credits where it's revealed to be a joke, and I just... I get so tired, because I no longer know what's sincere in this story and what isn't. Like, there's no noticeable distinction between the ending and the rest of the game, so is it all not meant to be taken seriously? Is it just a parody of what the developer perceives as "deep" indie games of recent years that tackle similar issues around mental health and the human condition? I honestly don't know, but as it is in this very cryptic nature in which it is presented, it leaves a very bad aftertaste and really lowers my appreciation of what was otherwise a game with good intentions, but that maybe could have felt more like it wasn't a first draft. Too bad, but it is what it is.

The little 8-bit puzzle game was pretty fun though, and surprisingly difficult. Probably could have played a separate game that's just those stages.