hard enough to laugh at yourself and a really moving set of short stories

I literally boohooed at the end [redacted] recognizes [redacted] as [redacted]

so cutee

For the record, I have not read the webcomic before playing.

The game has a sort of light-and-easygoing vibe to it that makes the game very easy to jump into and relax with. Revelations of people's identities and magical powers are treated as minor surprises and rarely dwelled on, and while a part of me wishes more weight had been given to certain scenes, the pacing and themes are consistent enough that it's easy to read this as intentional. 

The artwork is pleasing and the characters are all easy to fall in love with, platonically or otherwise. I especially appreciate the asexual representation in the platonic ending, (even if I reached it on accident during my first playthrough by not being aggressive enough with picking a route right away). I know a lot of other aces and aros enjoy dating sims, and it was nice to get a little wink of acknowledgement. Really made me smile.

There's a surprising amount of replayability, as well, even where you wouldn't necessarily expect it. In the very first dialogue choice, your decision to nervously fidget in response to Emily will cause the lunch chat with Molly afterwards to fall into an awkward silence. But if you admit to accidentally setting a fire, you'll be more forward in your conversation with Molly and have a completely different conversation, because you're bold and honest. This isn't exactly revolutionary in VNs or dating sims, but it's something I don't usually expect to see in games at this price point, nor in ones with such a fluffy tone. It's a lot of work to put those little touches in, but it does so much to make the game memorable.

Overall, while I can't imagine anyone might think of this as their  favorite magical girl property or their favorite queer/sapphic-coded dating sim, I think it's a welcome addition to any media collection in either of those categories. I'd recommend it to anyone I knew who liked the premise, and I genuinely hope to see more from the creator, be it the webcomic, another episode, or a new property entirely.

Absolutely lovely and cozy all around TT

A really polished game with some really novel ideas and solid presentation. I was inspired by DISASTER/PEACE a great deal while designing my first Forged In The Dark title, and would not have gotten as far without the help of this game.