This was a roller coaster, where I'd experience highs of genuine awe realising just how far I could affect my own character's, and the world's, fate, then lows of utter disappointment at how meaningless so many interactions with the core cast of the game actually are, and how little they truly matter. The art, by Bkomei, is spectacular, and the overall execution of this extremely promising idea is positive, but a core aspect of the game feels unfinished. Still, a game that so effectively blends visual novel elements with a life simulation game and deck building aspects is one of a kind.

It's all about expectations, and my expectations of a serious piece on the politics and culture of such an under-represented group of people was incorrect. Don't misunderstand, Dujanah is more than poignant in exploring that exact topic - and layering existentialism beyond it - with genuinely memorable stretches of philosophical dialogue and symbolically dense abstract sequences. However, from the in-universe mandatory flash games, to the funny but meaningless songs and movies, Dujanah is filled with tone betraying content. In fact, it is so prevalent that it becomes clear that the expectation of any specific kind of experience was - not unfounded, as the itch.io descriptions clearly bait it - but incorrect. The clashing content simply IS Dujanah, and asking for it to be what I expected is simply wanting it to be something it's not.