Given the touchy subject matter I find it hard to review this game without having proper experience. But it is worth the try. There is room in this for a dialogue to ensue, at length, about mental illness and the role social networks play in how the youth comes up. This is pertinent, it affects us all to varying degrees. We all have our own problems, and the fair share of us can probably relate to having friends or loved ones who’ve gone through so much. Contact information and resources for the suicide prevention lifeline are provided, in the event anyone plans to play this and happens to need it or know someone who does.

As for the game, I’m on the fence about it. On one hand, it is novel, and the fact that there is no entry fee is admirable. It has a strong sense of direction, at least in its artistic intent. The pair in Akira Yamaoka and Masahiro Ito returned and they worked it hard here. The cherry blossom motif that pervades the game is stark and lends to the rest of it, thematically and aesthetically. In the end credits sequence we get to hear “My Heroine,” which is an excellent bookend to the game.

On the other hand, there are parts of this game that actively bring it down. It doesn't try to be subtle about anything it brings up and honestly, it is poorly written at times. I don't know if this is a lost in translation sort of thing, but maybe that wouldn't make much of a difference. Summing it up, this game is worth playing. It may not resonate, it may even make you uncomfortable, but it is an earnest game, it was made with the best intentions in mind and there is enough here that someone out there can take something positive away from it.