I would like to begin by expressing the emotions I felt while playing through a sequence of old-fashioned emoticons:
:)
:O
:D
:O
D:
:O
:D
:)
In particular, the visual polish of this game just blew me out of the water, considering the short time frame it was made in.
The music was terrific.
Some of the translations were noticeably...well, translated from another language (French?). But this is a minor quibble. The writing was great overall.
In terms of the premise it is probably my favourite of the games I've played so far in this jam. It makes me think of Christopher Nolan's 'Inception' or Satoshi Kon's 'Paprika', but it's still its own original take on that type of story. It would be interesting to see where it would go if it were bigger.
The gameplay loop also reminded me of a game called 'Heaven's Vault', where you alternate between sailing on a sort of surreal water current and exploring the worlds it connects to.
I liked the social and political commentary. Not *too* on the nose, but very clearly referring to certain major issues in our own time (and perhaps most of human history).