Made an account literally just so I could comment on here lmao
Okay, so basically, THIS WAS SO GOOD HOLY CRAP??? The writing, the characters, EVERYTHING is so good I was actually so sad when i got to the end of the preview. This is one of those games where after you play it, you can't play anything else because everything will pale in comparison.
And then the art? The characters are gorgeous (Qiu is so cute omg), but the scenery just blew me away. I had to pause at moments and go "wow someone actually drew this" because they were so detailed and nice to look at.
Normally I prefer more darker, graphic visual novels but this was amazing. The cutesy atmosphere paired with the childlike point of view made my heart so happy (it also hurt a bit but we don't talk about that), and the world felt decently fleshed out. I really felt like I was just a little kid who just moved to an unfamiliar neighborhood, and that my choices would actually shape my life and relationships from then on.
I also can't tell if i'm just going crazy or in the preview for step 2 the world seemed a lot less bright, like we lost our childlike wonder or whatever? If so, then that's a really cool detail. Also the shift in personalities for both Tamarack and Qiu was really intriguing, I can't wait to see more of how that came to be and how it gets expanded on.
Overall, this game was a joy and pleasantly heartwarming, which I kinda needed right now. I'm looking forward to playing more as you continue to develop and release more portions of the game! Have a great rest of your day or night! :)