An absolute gem of a game that's one of the coziest games I've ever played. There's so much charm in the most basic of ways. How the world and character feel so grounded is a part of the charm.
The dialogue with the main character (I'll call him Balue Patterson) is endearing, but true to form. Balue is clearly just a dude, in his crummy apartment, unmotivated to do much. For a lot of people, that hits pretty close to home. He seems a little cold, but after doing some basic chores and making the place cleaner, he opens up a bit more about his feelings, not unlike some people I know IRL. This vibe is only accentuated by the music. Its all super chill, kinda like music my mom used to play while we cleaned up the house when I was younger. Its uplifting in the best way, something to keep you moving, or just sit down and listen to the score. A great showcase of "Peppsen" musical talents, hitting you with the feel good jams.
Gameplay, realistically, takes a slight backseat from the style of the game. There's no score, no timer, just you, your cup of tea, and a dirty apartment. Cleaning up is as easy as taking a sip and using your energy to pick up and explore. Its fun for sure, keeping up a work flow, and its just nice to see Balue become happier with himself. There might be room to expand upon the gameplay aspect!
I wouldn't mind doing some of the chores myself with the mouse or something. Say I have to organize the dresser, give me like 3 places to drag and drop different clothing. Or maybe I can hold the watering can to water the plants? Just a thought, but plenty of games work with the one button action approach. I think something that would be fun for the final game is giving us like a "recipe book" for all the different teas you get, kinda like a fun way to play around and collect as many ingredients as possible. Maybe a new feature could be making pitchers of tea, and storing them in the fridge for later. You then have to heat them up to drink, but it would be a great way to further the player feeling like they are living in this home. All suggestions, nothing wrong with keeping it simple, as making the player feel like they can "lose" wouldn't be good for the vibe...it would be a hard balance for sure.
The game is very heartwarming, almost making you root for Balue as a majority of us have been in a similar slump before. This game show a ton of heart and effort all wrapped up with a great presentation and good feeling vibes with some basic cozy gameplay. Hope to see this game only further and improve, cuz what we got now is beautiful. If you got 20 or so minutes to spare, this game is definitely worth your time. I was already having a good day, but this just puts me in a better mode :)