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This game is very special. It's really short, and you can achieve 100% completion in less than an hour. However, those 45ish minutes I spent on my first run really stuck with me as a lovely experience.

It's an incredibly self-aware game that uses the tools provided by the engine as an actual game mechanic instead of just being some quality of life function (and don't get me wrong--it's wonderful that those features have become mainstream.) But it doesn't just play with its mechanics, but also with the players themselves. Due to its time travel themes, there is always some detail, some minor spark, that reflects how the protagonist's experience changes every time you play, even if you're choosing the same dialogue options to ultimately reach an outcome you're already familiar with. It makes it worth it to pay attention all the time, even when you think you've already seen that route and you're tempted to skip forward. Despite the short length, the amount of love put into it is astonishing. Especially because most of those aren't lines 99% of the players would ever notice, or even come across, since the game is constantly giving you new dialogue options and a vast majority of people wouldn't try saying the same thing twice. And yet, experimenting and going out of your way to try new things does pay off.

It's a story that knows what it needs to do, it does so incredibly well, and doesn't overstay its welcome nor bloat itself up with unnecessary content that ultimately adds nothing. It respects your time, and knows that if it can be masterfully told in an hour, it shouldn't take 5 hours of your life away from you. And yet, for how short it is, it can be understood in many different ways due to its nuance and themes, as well as your personal views on them. The way I felt the game when I first played it has nothing to do with what it felt like the 3rd or 4th time I played through it, and it hit in a completely new way when I played it with friends as well. Honestly, it helped me reconcile with certain things that happened to me in the past and see them in a new, more positive light.

And I will say that, as much as I enjoy the extras (the developer commentary is particularly awesome), the thing I appreciate most from this version is the full compatibility with controllers. You can even select which button prompts you'd like to see, which is honestly delightful and something all modern PC games should do. I have been playing many Ren'py games lately and most of them either aren't compatible at all or make you do things like navigate menus and advance dialogue by pressing the right trigger, like some crazy maniac. Thank you for being better, Nami.

Also, it's in like 20+ languages. What kind of narrative indie game is translated to 20+ languages?! That's crazy. That alone is worth supporting.

In short: it good. Play game. (And buy it too in order to support Nami)

Thanks for the summary.