Stay?

I wouldn't have started this if I knew it was a time loop game but I'm very glad I did. I usually like dialogue-heavy and story-heavy games, so this was right up my alley and blew away my expectations. The pacing never drags you down. Every life is beautiful and strange and you can learn more in it. It strikes a perfect balance between each life being long enough to explore rich interactions with new characters, and short enough that you're not too frustrated if you made a misstep. It has warmth and heart, more than almost any game I've played. I reached many endings I was happy with, even before the endings where you can save everyone--in fact, I still haven't reached an ending where I can save everyone after two hours, but I know I'll come back to this game to do so.

Every one of the characters had rich, lovely backgrounds, and you learned more about each of them in every life that you spent. You couldn't learn everything in one lifetime, and that was exhilarating. The puzzles are information- and decision-based, and because answers could be hiding anywhere, you really feel encouraged to do whatever your character would do instead of deliberately taking "productive" routes, and it was rewarding for your character's worldview and narration to change with each subsequent life

Also, the tone of this game was lovely. It always gets me when the writer rewards understanding and kindness, and writes the world with hope. I swear this game has real magic in it. Go play.

In terms of the main four, they are all charming but Myka was my favorite by a wide margin. There is a certain ending with her I will not spoil that was absolutely exhilirating. Beautiful game. Try everything. Enjoy the world.