For whatever reason I couldn't get the Mac build of this game to save, which accidentally ended up adding to the immersion.
Random technical problems aside (thank you RPGMaker, very cool), I love the concept of taking the mechanics of a generic, D&D-adjacent fantasy RPG game and using them to tell a time-loop story that digs into the cyclical nature of depression. The character writing and tiny worldbuilding tidbits are the real stars of this game, and do the heavy lifting in getting the player invested in trying to find a way out of the loops. There's a sense of a whole backstory that we're not clued in on as players, which adds to the storytelling about the main character forgetting details, hyper focusing on finding a way out. We become extremely familiar with the "correct" route through the castle, but the only extra details we get are the ones we choose to listen to. The genuine gut wrench I felt after getting the "true" ending speaks to the power of the tiny details in this game.
All of this makes me really excited for the full version coming out later this year, although I'm not sure how it will work in a full game format. However, if everything is as well-considered as it is here, then I have nothing to worry about.
Random technical problems aside (thank you RPGMaker, very cool), I love the concept of taking the mechanics of a generic, D&D-adjacent fantasy RPG game and using them to tell a time-loop story that digs into the cyclical nature of depression. The character writing and tiny worldbuilding tidbits are the real stars of this game, and do the heavy lifting in getting the player invested in trying to find a way out of the loops. There's a sense of a whole backstory that we're not clued in on as players, which adds to the storytelling about the main character forgetting details, hyper focusing on finding a way out. We become extremely familiar with the "correct" route through the castle, but the only extra details we get are the ones we choose to listen to. The genuine gut wrench I felt after getting the "true" ending speaks to the power of the tiny details in this game.
All of this makes me really excited for the full version coming out later this year, although I'm not sure how it will work in a full game format. However, if everything is as well-considered as it is here, then I have nothing to worry about.