This is a great experience! I enjoyed the clear effort put into the narrative and fleshing out a lot of the ideas presented through dialogue and environmental storytelling. There was some branching dialog with item choice, but it was hard to say if this made much impact. The concept of the 'offering' and the role of the Forest Lord in the superstitions of the townsfolk reflected the theme and explored it in an interesting way. I think my only suggestion would be that the ending was a little reliant on exposition and it also unfortunately ended with the 'blank screen' issue as mentioned by others.
The early Gameboy colorscheme and aesthetics work well! Although there isn't music, the visuals are a treat and the eerie sprite of the prior victim and the just generally spooky closeups are genuinely pretty scary. It's clear this took a lot of work and it paid off well - I hope you finish this game because it was a pleasure to play! As others have said, I'd love to learn more about the lore!
Thanks for submitting A TIME FOR GIVING to the SCREAM SOLSTICE jam!
- SCREAM CATALOGUE