Esther's

~~ Updated Review from the 2022 IFComp bc I played the game again ~~

Harrold and Jaime, a cute mice couple have a weekly tradition: going to Esther's on Saturdays to have brunch, ordering avocado toast and mimosa. However, Jaime is tired of Esther messing their order every time, only serving cheese for the two mice. Today's about to change.

Through a series of choices, forming a puzzle to circumvent the communication issues between the mice and Esther. The girl not speaking squeak, the mice have to find other ways to get what they ordered.

While this might sound like a hassle, there is no way to fail the game, since the choices railroad you into getting that mimosa and that avocado toast (and the pudding for dessert!). As an adult playing this, it might not feel as entertaining to get pushed down a path, but the target audience seems to be for young children.
This is also made extra obvious with the large BACK option on the left corner of the page, that one can undo actions at will.
With that in mind, the game is a delight! It is simple enough, with a distinctive tone, an illusion of agency for the player, wonderful illustrations one could find in Potter's or Dahl's books, and a tight little bow wrapping the story at the end.

Further than the gorgeous illustration, the formatting of the game is very reminiscing of children's literature, with the type-print font and the page-like formatting, the characters' names coloured according to their design, the little avocado indicating a potential action. It is a well-thought out and executed short game.

There is an extra at the end of the game, with snippets of behind-the-scenes, with the constructions of the paths to the different illustration drafts. It truly is the cherry on top of a well constructed and delicious cake.

The only downside of this game is its shortness. 5 min gives just a taste of how lovely the characters are, but leave you wanting more. You know those two mice would get into more shenanigans, and you really want to read more of it when the game ends...

This is worthy of a Sequel, at least, or a collection of mini adventures (if the authors ever decide to do so...)