this one is odd because it's so close to being really good. the setting, myth, and characters are really interesting but the gameplay gimmick of "see the branches of your decisions" ultimately feels more like the developers are showing you the behind-the-scenes code instead of letting you choose your future, especially because you often get locked into a choice at the end of every chapter anyway because "you need x amount of crystals to unlock this ending, which you could've only gotten in like a random scene you didn't pick half an hour ago." it starts to feel less like "choose your fate" and more like "craft your fate with the game's currency mechanic, except the game decides what you make because you said you liked birdhouses two hours ago."

the writing is... fine. i like the character writing and most of the voice actors do excellently. eventually though i got a little tired of people all speaking like they were trying to get a good grade in therapy.

finally, not sure if this is just the switch port, but load times are rough. you go from one ten-second scene, zoom out to the tree of future choices and pick the next scene (often only one you can...) just to be transported to another scene that lasts maybe three lines, zoom out again, and every one of those changes somehow requires a five-second loading screen.