10 Games We Played on Long Car Rides and in Standby Lines at Disney

I think your appreciation of this game will be based on how easily you can fit yourself into the shoes of the two main characters, the starring couple. There's not much detail given as to who they are, and to some extent you're expected to insert yourself into their positions, playing both one and the other. The characters are vague, to facilitate this, but I wish they were less so since I wanted to know more about them.

We can presume the "you" is Chinese, since they bring up certain topics like the 2010 Expo, which took place in Shanghai. But we don't know much else about these two people and how they came to be in Florida. Not even what college they go to. I very badly wanted to know about how they met, what their families are like, why they decided to go into game development instead of another life path, and what happened to them later on.

It's possible that the vagueness is because the author wishes to safeguard their privacy, since the game is autobiographical, but I'd rather read something that diverges heavily from the truth, while still drawing on the author's own experiences, than something that sticks close to it while remaining light on detail.

Something that affected my personal reception of this game is that I've never experienced a relationship like this and don't want to. The memories that came to mind, for me, had uncomfortable and discomfiting associations. This made it hard for me to participate in the game's vision, to imagine myself as either protagonist. I kept wanting something darker. The hidden resentments stewing beneath the facade. The game addresses this in the ending, to some degree: (Spoiler - click to show)can you believe that something like this really happened, or is it a lie too good to be true? Is a perfect relationship nothing more than a game, a story we tell ourselves, a fantasy inevitably sundered by reality?

I liked this, but felt like there wasn't enough of it. We only get so quick a glimpse beneath the facade, and ultimately the story is a light and pleasantly cozy one about a romantic relationship. Reader mileage may vary.