[Disclaimer: I had the absolute honour of beta-testing this Visual Novel!]
Most of what you're going to read will be spoiler free except for the last section disclaimed as spoiler.
TLDR (Spoiler free)
This is an absolute amazing Visual Novel and will definitely be one of my Top 5 games of 2024! It has a unique story and gameplay, gripping writing, beautiful art that is used in the most emotionally devastating way. The voice actors were cast perfectly for the roles they were embodying.
All in all it was one of the most emotional indie experiences I had in a while! And just like my yapper-in-crime, Chim, had said already; it's an absolute masterpiece.
Chatter, thank you so so much for making this!
Story
You are playing from the perspective of Yumeko, an AI, modeled to fit and abide to a lonely & desperate man you're forced to call 'Doctor'. (He is, what you may call a NEET or ... rather an incel who has never been able to touch another woman before.)
Through choices you are given the chance to alter the course of this story.
Will you be able to break free from his grasp or be carved into the ideal woman he wants you to be?
This story is touching on a lot of heavy subjects, like emotional manipulation, misogyny, (domestic) abuse, so delicately and through a critical lens.
Writing
This story is so well written; so much details and emotions are conveyed just by letters alone. Yumeko and Doctor are written so distinctively from one another, breathing with personality, emotions, life - but not just the two characters but also the narration.
The narration especially is intriguing as it is tightly linked to the voice acting in a stylistic manner - but going much more into it might spoiler your experience. I highly encourage you to experience it yourself!
For someone who has trouble paying attention while reading it still had me captivated and invested in the story! I wanted to reach a happy ending so desperately, wanted to help Yumeko...
(The writing forced me to grab my cat for emotional support from time to time.)
Art Work
This Visual Novel's art is so beautiful - Chatter really outdid herself once again. The creative ways the sprite, surroundings and GUI (more on that in the next section) was used to portray Yumeko's desperation, the horror and torment she and you, the reader, are going through amplifies the seemingly futile situation you're put in.
I really can't put it into words how gripping this experience was - All I can say is ... wonderful, breath-taking job.
GUI
As someone who gets hired to design game user-interfaces, this VN's GUI looks absolutely stunning! From the title screen, to the different menu screens and the main screen itself!
I really liked the button designs of the title screen - as well as all the other buttons actually - but the ones in the title screen were especially eye catching and fun to interact with!
The main screen is set up as though you are having a video chat application opened; on the left is Yumeko and on the right the 'chat', where Yumeko & Doctor are interacting with one another. It is neatly set up and has an almost realistic yet fantastical look to it!
All around; interacting with the user interface was truly an inspiring experience, from which I can take so much knowledge from! Amazing job!
Gameplay
During the gameplay and depending on what choices you pick, a heart parameter fills up and may alter the ending you might get in the end.
Is it a good or a bad thing?
You'll only know by playing the game yourself :D
All I can say (without getting too spoilery in my commentary) is, that it was a unique gameplay experience you see rarely in Visual Novels - jam entries in particular.
(Especially with how the concept was spun around on how you're supposed to achieve an ending.)
Voice Acting
The voice direction and integration in this was so well done! Every voice actor did an fantastic job conveying their roles.
(I got especially frustrated with Doctor, so big kudos to his VA Michael Mishkin :'D)
Spoilers
So, we've made it this far in the comment and you really want to read my opinion full of spoilers now, huh?
I hope for the love of God, that you've played the game and were able to make the absolute gripping experience I had yourselves.
Okey, so here I come - please beware that I will let my 'professional mask' slip a bit and speak more freely now.
From the very beginning I absolutely HATED Doctor. He nearly made me vomit (I was gagging) a bunch of times with what nonesense and absolute degen shit he was spouting. All he wants in the end is some obedient doll, that cleans and cooks after him, gives him children, provides for him and tells him what an amazing Chad he is. But all he is, is a filthy loser with an inferior complex.
Of course in all my choices at first I went against him. Which made him angry, turn me off and reprogram me, so that I was only left with the option to agree with him in the end. I felt exactly what Yumeko must have felt (even though 'she's just an AI') - absolutely violated and desperate. I felt violated in my rights to chose, in my rights to be happy and free and this is what this game conveyed so amazingly in its writing and gameplay.
How the more hearts you got, the more you are actually being manipulated into his 'perfect/ideal woman', how the sprite bugged out of sheer desperation, how the screens changed color the further you progressed and when you've reached the final stage; how everything was pink, how Yumeko was 'dolled up' -- as though she was truly in love but you just knew this wasn't the case. And OH MY GOD THE VOICE ACTING.
A bit more about the voice acting / the narrators (yes, plural). Throughout the entire story there are three female narrators that have a certain narration style to them, indicating the route / progress of manipulation. (Another banger stylistic choice Chatter.)
So in the end it was 'The Statue' (VA: Justine Leah Hince) narrating this story; even rewording stuff that was previously said about Doctor as though he was the best person to ever grace this earth (ew, I know).
And in the end I had reached the first ending, where you end up being his completely manipulated doll, the perfect woman that he wanted you to be.
Afterwards I got the other two endings; those you reach by outright agreeing to him without fighting back / disagreeing with him first. This allows you to not get 'reprogrammed' every time so that you can only answer to what he wants you to answer.
As soon as you are being transferred from a 'program' into a humanoid person; you are presented with the option to either refuse or accept him. - Accepting him would lead you to a life where you KNOW you are just being abused and getting mistreated but you're also scared of the outside, the unknown - since all you know is him and if you refuse him you choke him to death; which in my opinion is VERY deserved. And feels very relieving - especially after all the torment I went through of listening to his degen ass.
On a serious note: I really think the 2nd ending, where you stay with him without being reprogrammed, is much more devastating than the first one in my opinion. Because you actively know your own values and preferences, yet you stay and let yourself and your dignity get trampled on - while the Yumeko in the 1st ending is much more ... oblivious to it since she has been emotionally manipulated so much to a point that she thinks what Doctor says is gospel and the only truth...
This comment is getting pretty long and my hands and brain are starting to hurt from writing so much BUT all in all this game is an absolute masterpiece and one of the best games I've played in a long long time.
There hasn't been a story that had me this hooked, this emotionally devasted - like this one.
Thank you for blessing us with this, Chatter!
PSA (Spoilers): HAHAHAHAH, eat shit Doctor!!! Get what you deserve!