A good and relatable plot, never easy moving far away from home. The music selections were fantastic, and I loved how the sprites were manipulated to have such varied expressions. Two really nice CG's, as well! 

I didn't pick up much on the theme, but ironically not picking up on the theme feels like a theme for the MayWolfs this year. 

All in all, a cute, thoughtful, and well-put-together entry for this years jam.

It centerleft me wanting more.

A good story with relatable themes.

The music fits well and the backgrounds give a provide a nice window into the setting. And I did not expect the custom CGs! Those were a pleasant surprise.

The writing is pretty good. There are some tender moments where I really felt for the characters in the scene. That said, I think that the emotional beats just barely missed the mark.

I actually started to become a little frustrated because the world was there, and the tension between the characters was building beautifully, and then there would be a weird phrase or a tonal shift that would take me out of the moment.

All of that said, this turned out to be fun read. I'll definitely look out for more work from you all in the future.

This one was pretty good. The presentation is pretty standard but the plot really saves it. The biggest problem is the English and the prose. It really weakens the emotional impact of some scenes, not to mention makes some of the narration awkward to read. The plot really is the star of the show and it’s worth a read for that alone.

Spoilers:

Theme: Felt like expanding of worldview.

Story: This story felt like a story fixated on whatever wasn't present, if that makes sense. Whenever Mirko was w/o Boris, Mirko thought about Boris or Marcello. When with Marcello, he thinks about Boris and home.  While in the story it called it 'nostalgia', I'd say it's something similar, a sort of pining for what one doesn't have, which was an interesting conceit that could have done with more attention.

We had a lot of exposition about what was being felt throughout--I think we could have managed with a little more subtlety at times. Ranges to the levels. Think about Marcello, but don't go in depth about the thoughts. Let us fill in the gaps.

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Story asides: Groaned at the echo and smoke room references. Did like the football name chant though.

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Presentation: Frankly, in spite of the music gaps, when we did have music it felt very appropriate. And I loved the micro-expressions. That really sold it for me. You had to keep looking for the tiniest of changes. Like I was really excited to see the faces change so much with each word (although the thought of doing this on a longer piece sounds like major pain).

Creativity: A curious tale of immigration and love and loss. I found it strange to ersatz the names, but perhaps that's a reflection that this is a world very similar but different to ours, even if it was hit with a pandemic.

Overall thoughts: This did feel like it could be a tweaking of a personal tale, which is a testament to the potential it had in how "real" it was. With some more polish in the prose, I think this could shine.

Spoilers:

Theme: Felt like expanding of worldview.

Story: This story felt like a story fixated on whatever wasn't present, if that makes sense. Whenever Mirko was w/o Boris, Mirko thought about Boris or Marcello. When with Marcello, he thinks about Boris and home.  While in the story it called it 'nostalgia', I'd say it's something similar, a sort of pining for what one doesn't have, which was an interesting conceit that could have done with more attention.

We had a lot of exposition about what was being felt throughout--I think we could have managed with a little more subtlety at times. Ranges to the levels. Think about Marcello, but don't go in depth about the thoughts. Let us fill in the gaps.

--

Story asides: Groaned at the echo and smoke room references. Did like the football name chant though.

--

Presentation: Frankly, in spite of the music gaps, when we did have music it felt very appropriate. And I loved the micro-expressions. That really sold it for me. You had to keep looking for the tiniest of changes. Like I was really excited to see the faces change so much with each word (although the thought of doing this on a longer piece sounds like major pain).

Creativity: A curious tale of immigration and love and loss. I found it strange to ersatz the names, but perhaps that's a reflection that this is a world very similar but different to ours, even if it was hit with a pandemic.

Overall thoughts: This did feel like it could be a tweaking of a personal tale, which is a testament to the potential it had in how "real" it was. With some more polish in the prose, I think this could shine.

The story is pretty strong and a very good idea for a short, yet sweet visual novel! 

Sometimes, the tone can change from being serious to being very informal and joking in a matter of seconds, and I think that hurts the pacing and mood a bit. The seemingly-random curse words thrown in to sentences threw me off a bit, and some probably-lost-in-translation idioms made the tone of the story a little iffy as well. The Hispanic/Spanish influences were nice to see though, as a latino myself! And the CG's were beautiful, props to the artist!

Overall, I think it's a pretty cute story! I wish it could've taken itself more seriously at times, and maybe an editor or proofreader could've elevated this to being very great! As it stands though, it's still a good read and you should be proud of yourself! ❤

I feel the music hit all the centerright notes, but the story centerleft me wanting just a bit more.  

All joking aside, I'm glad the relationship didn't immediately pick back up and go from zero to 100 in four days' time.  I felt, however, like we spent more time trying to saying goodbye to our old friend than getting to meet our love interest.  

I still enjoyed the writing, though, and feel the concept came through quite well. 

I also want to comment on the wonderful cutscene art.  I am in awe of those who can look at the game sprites and create such great artwork with other peoples' characters.  I can barely keep my style consistent with my own!

Great job, especially since this wasn't your only project!  I look forward to seeing more in the future!

My apologies to the New World Symphony team, but the first "centerright" was possibly the funniest thing in the game, if not the jam in general. Though I was aware of the find-replace mishap, it slipped out of my mind after I got into the story and caught me off guard so hard I laughed until there were tears in my eyes. Sincerely, thank you all for this beautiful moment that perfectly embodies the spirit of game jams.

As for the actual content of the thing: the roughness of the prose (in terms of typos, grammar issues, etc) aside, I thought the writing was very good at sprinkling in little details and finding novel ways to phrase things. The characters, their relationships, and the dialog felt impressively textured and specific, and there was some genuine tension and drama to the final moments! All in all, though a careful editorial touch could make the VN a lot smoother to read, it has a voice, and that's always the most important thing. (That's enough caps lock, though.)

My biggest gripe is probably how the story is structured. It kind of unevenly slides from the first big scene to the second, not really feeling like an effective, fast-paced montage but not giving things enough time to breathe, either.

What else... the music, although pretty subdued, is nice, and I like how bold the CGs were with their use of color. How the jam theme is used feels so literal and on-the-nose it kind of loops back into being good? Pretty solid entry overall, and definitely has its charms beyond the already-iconic centerright/centerleft issue.

Emigration vn (as awesome as Mirko's locks)