Big Steps is made with skill on all fronts. Quality prose, expressive but not overstated sprites and CGs and enjoyable pacing. There's one aspect that holds this story back: its emotional core. Not that this project lacks one, but rather it comes off under-cooked. There's care to present the worldbuilding that sadly ends up taking time away from developing these characters and relationships for the payoffs the story offers. Some developments are sudden enough to be bewildering. Still, it's a certified good time, especially if you can catch the Kaiju media references.

meet cute a bit sussy but overall well done and balanced

This project's greatest achievement is making a complex story that's structurally sound within the realms of a Game Jam. Going into its 20k word count, one might expect meandering scenes and confusing plot points, but the story itself is really lean and easy to follow. The writing does suffer somewhat for bouts of strange phrasing, wonky prose and unnatural dialogue, but pivotal moments tend to be unencumbered by those. There are also moments where the presentation is harmed by ill suited music, odd blocking and unclear transitions. Overall, I'm in awe of the execution of its main "gimmick" and that makes me willing to overlook some of its flaws. You Are Not Callum is a certified good time.

Blast Damage Days was not made for me, but I enjoyed it well enough. 

This project is yet another one with a good emotional core that suffers with its execution. Its most noticeable issue in that regard comes in the form of it coming off as the "poor adaptation" into an interactive medium. Speech tags make an appearance and they look very awkward in textboxes; not to mention, the info contained in many of them is made redundant by the fact this game has voice acting. Something similar happens with visual descriptions of characters readers can already see thanks to the sprites. And finally, long blocks of text that would perhaps come off inconspicuous in regular story, just looking awkward and bulky here, an effect strengthened by the use of NVL.

Other minor issues plague this VN. The writing includes some repetition that makes the prose a little tiring. How the project uses NVL and ADV formats makes for a disorienting experience. And an overuse of namedrops that serve to take the reader away from the story.

Now, there's another matter here that curbed my enjoyment of BDD. This project was clearly made by and for a specific parcel of the internet, for someone who isn't there, the experience really soured. This VN uses an abundance of "terminally online" lingo that probably sounds normal to the aforementioned in-group, but made me cringe and uncomfortable. As for those aforementioned namedrops, again, they probably make for this in-group, they alienated me more than anything. I tried not let these reactions colour too much of my review, however, it is a pretty big part of BDD's identity and must be mentioned.

Even so, this project has a lot to enjoy. The emotional core and the journey the characters go through are grounded, relatable and feel natural. The VAs, especially Kritine's and Ada's, did and excellent job on matching these characters' vibes and everyone aced their deliveries.

Blast Damage Days gave me more to think about then I thought it would. I stand by my opinions while assuring you this project is worth your time. But, do I think it would be better if it "cast a larger net?" I cannot say. I speak of my experience and when it comes to this project, I had a good time.

Hervé is a cute story that balances well its melancholic elements with its subtler romance. When it comes to conveying character relationships, this project does really well at showing rather than telling. Characters are grounded, if a little too edgeless, and dialogue flows well. Hervé suffers with a couple of minor ESL-isms (where expressions and phrasing from the writer's mother tongue manifest awkwardly in English), but nothing that renders the experience unintelligible. While the age difference between the characters plays a major role in their relationship, it is not very well established (neither visually or in writing) and can surprise the player once it starts to play its part in the story. Most of this VN's issues are easily overlooked, however. If you're looking for something easier to consume but not saccharine, Hervé will satisfy you plenty for its short duration.

Politics is inextricable from EDHIPAC's core and it brings much of its failings.

While not necessarily "confused," there's a noticeable unevenness to how the situation is presented and how compromises may be achieved. Characters are presented both as being too deep into their ideologies and easily influenced by very minor retorts. The "Prog" is particularly shown to have to bend over backwards for nearly every point the "Con" makes often and with little of the opposite happening. This muddles the intended message "learning and changing with each other" and instead leaning more in the favour of Con's opinions.

The character interactions also suffer here. For too much of the story, the dialogue devolves into political debate, that doesn't really get at the core of either ideology, only to end with "let's not talk about this," defanging its commentary. The whole experience comes off as shallow in the ways of understanding these ideas and how interpersonal compromise may be achieved. This culminates in the developing relationship between the characters feeling unearned, especially given how Prog was so resistant at the start.

As for technical aspects, this project is perfectly competent. Blocking, transitions, audiovisual effects and even the writing itself display a level of control and knowledge of the medium.

EDHIPAC is mostly alright, but goes more than it can chew. With the "can't we all just get along" vibes coming off as out of touch and the developing relationship feeling cheap, this project fumbles the delivery of a possibly interesting premise.