What a trip.
Playing it I had many thoughts on what I love about it, but also on what I would like to see made differently. I have strong feelings about the game’s pacing, the overuse (IMO) of various emotions and tension-adding systems, or the rather static, continuous vibe spanning over the final third of the game.

And, like many folks, I’m not a fan of the fact that the game’s rules regarding the story branching are very vague. I’d appreciate it if I was told outright that there are side quests in the game, and that it’s worth pursuing them. (I tried finding them on the whim in Chapter 1, found none, and in result assumed that there’s no such feature.)

But at the same time, the fact I actually had such strong feelings and the need to seek and analyze the themes, emotions, story structure, and game systems is a great compliment. I was enchanted by the dialogues, the voice acting, the visuals, the atmosphere, or the very unusual lore-heavy metaphors the characters use as they describe mundane events from their own cultural framework.

Also, while the game features almost exclusively children, it never gets Weird, in The Regular visual-novely style, if you catch my drift. A huge relief.
Damn, such an ambitious game. And I think every person would agree that it’s a flawed one - but we wouldn’t agree why exactly. Because it’s a work of art, and it’s challenging.

I didn’t love my time playing it, but I’ll love my memories of it.