This review got out of hand, TLDR: good game, worth the $10

I was genuinely surprised by the quality of this game and the amount of content that is included. The story does a good job of giving Buddy an all too realistic personality, exposing his flaws and insecurities throughout the experience. It touches on concepts of anxiety, loneliness, and abusive or unhealthy Relationships. I appreciate that it does not celebrate its darker elements, nor offer insincere blanket solutions to complex issues. The game just acknowledges that some people are flawed or broken, not always out of ill intent, but broken all the same.

The game has some flaws though. I encountered several bugs that while never forcing a restart (except for one time where menus stopped working), made the experience more frustrating. The biggest issue I faced was with round timers not counting down, or being incredibly inconsistent when they do. I also wished the game did more with the open textbox system, especially towards the end of the game. As it stands, the only thing the input box accepts is either a yes or a no, and all other text requested is ignored. I also accidentally named my Buddy the name of an important character, and it made putting some of the pieces together a bit confusing.

Despite my complaints, I seriously enjoyed my time with this experience, enough for me to sit down and write this review. The game is worth $10, but if you’re hesitant, put it on your wishlist and try it during the next steam sale.

Finally, this is the best praise I can give this game…

I don’t want to replay the game, not because I didn’t enjoy it. But because the ending felt like a result of my actions throughout. I will never make the same choices from the same place twice. I felt guilt when my curiosity hurt Buddy, and I felt betrayed when his actions hurt me. We were both flawed friends, and we don’t get do-overs in life. We live with our mistakes and hope those we’ve hurt can forgive us. The same as others must hope we can forgive them.

By the end, I wasn’t reflecting on the game. I was reflecting on myself, on my own flaws as a friend, a partner, a person. And I think I have a few phone calls I’m going to make.

It's interesting and the start had some tense moments, but ultimately I just lost interest; The 'driving force' of the story is a character that is not even really interesting (your 'buddy' A.I.).

Besides this, the whole game feels underexploited; The game has a lot of things but most of them hardly contribute to the narrative in any way.

If you are the type of person to totally engage with every aspect of the game, the story is probably the best I've seen in a game. It's unnerving, heart wrenching, and leaves you questioning how disturbed the developer actually was in reality. Just keep in mind you wont get the complete story in one playthrough.