Ratings and Reviews by LoquySSS46

Very enjoyable! The way it tells the different family members' stories and how it lays out the structure of the family tree are really interesting! It really managed to make the characters actually feel human and bring you vivid and relatable images easily found in the real world! I have to admit that some of the writing was perhaps a touch too nebulous for it to really flow like it could of and I was left perplexed about what the situation actually was at a few instances, but nothing too severe, honestly.

The setting was well implemented and lively. Characters made sense and felt natural; I especially liked the fact that characters sometimes randomly tell you pointless information just to make conversation and make you feel like you are actually well acquainted with your colleagues where they are just able to talk to you like that. What was also really interesting was that they included a whole (though small) separate area to give hints when you type "HELP". I will have to emit a small caveat for this game, though: I found that the final puzzle (which was extremely big and very elaborate) was a bit too ambitious in its scale... Maybe I didn't take the time to slow things down, reflect, and write everything and all the clues down, but I do feel like it was too finicky to be considered a fair puzzle (I had to consult the walkthrough too often to my liking, it was frustrating). That said, it was a very rewarding one and I very much enjoyed the hints and foreshadowing proffered by the game!!

As you mourn the loss of a family member, you are left to collect a number of their art collection, as per their will. Left with this difficult and emotional choice, you will relive the spent with them, sharing their passion for painting, and figuring out what it means to you. What they meant to you.

The game touches on and explores, through the lens of art, very real and personally relevant subjects for me such as grief, specifically through the loss of a loved one, one's personal struggle with choosing a career in art or not, the meaning of memory (and the meaning of art in life), and much more. I also greatly appreciated the unique gameplay which was central in the concluding portion (when you paint the last canvas) when "combining" all seven paintings.

All that being said, I was still left frustrated by the fact that the memories conjured by each painting you selected were NOT tied to a specific painting... I felt that this undermined the significance of the paintings themselves. The memories still somewhat lined up with the paintings' descriptions, for the most part, but I really would have preferred if it had given a specific memory/meaning to each artwork. Regardless, I would recommend it!

Very esoteric (and sometimes flat out weird), but cleverly designed! I liked the way it played around with colours and pronouns to take on an enigmatic and slightly puzzling taint (pun intended). Its weirdness, in a way, reflected the strangeness surrounding humans' search for meaning and identity (in other words, this was absurd art well done), especially by sticking labels on everyone and everything. The world was small and the puzzles were somewhat straightforward but, interestingly enough, I wasn't left wanting more from them, nor from the (few) characters, map, etc. I tried comparing how this IF made me feel to one of similar calibre, *Focal Shift*, and concluded that this one feels like it ends on a significantly more satisfactory and final note.

This was rather pleasant and I suppose plucked on my heart strings, since camping is one my family's traditions of which I am particularly fond and nostalgic. As for the game itself, I find this was simplicity done the right way! The way the prologue (whilst waiting to leave work) is set up pays off really nicely into the simple yet curious choices you are asked to make regarding what things you will pack and what activities you will do. 🙂 The descriptions were short yet thoughtful, and it's just made me ache for nature once again, as I find myself getting lost in all this constant, droning technology!!