And Then You Come to a House Not Unlike the Previous One

I really appreciate the fact that the blurb for this game doesn't give anything away in terms of how it evolves. It starts out as two friends playing some 80s computer games, which initially seem to be silly and short. There are a number of surprises waiting as you progress, drawing the player in ever further, while upping the stakes in terms of challenge as well as emotional involvement. I personally found the game to be pretty moving, making me generally concerned for one character in particular. I believe the ending I found reflected my choices fairly, but I am anxious to play again to see where else it could go. It had a clever mechanic that seemed pretty unique, and it only got a little too melodramatic once or twice. In terms of the IfComp 2021 competition, I consider this game to be (Spoiler - click to show)the frontrunner.