Admittedly, I am really not one for visuals novels as a whole. Rather, I tend to be far more critical of any writing-focused media, which leads me to come across as hyper negative and critical about the works I am providing feedback on.

With that in mind, I hope this comes as a breath of fresh air because, much to my own surprise, I have been thoroughly enjoying this game.

The writing is fairly competent and many of its odd little quirks generally don't stay too long passed their welcome. There are a couple of cringe-inducing moments, but they are either intentional or feel in line with the characters and setting involved. There is honestly not too much I could weigh in on here because I have the feeling the creators already have an adequate enough understanding of pacing given how little filler is present in the dialogue.

Regarding the quirkiness though. Normally I find that I have issues with games that take a certain level of quirkiness to an extreme degree, but in this game I found myself almost never having an issue with it. As mentioned before it feels in line with the characters (of which the main ones all have something to offer) and setting. However, moreso than that, it helps to invoke this sort of "vulnerable" feeling that plays into more than just the main character. As if the creators themselves are really putting themselves out there on a limb with this title as a passion project and, if that is the case, then I just want to say that I really appreciate/enjoy that.

Even the overall tone of music evokes this sort of serene, but bare emotion that almost feels as though it is inviting you in despite its own uncertainty. This is one of the few instances where I have felt very compelled to want to support a person's/group's work that I have gone back after the fact to purchase the soundtrack and intend on buying the game again for a few friends to have them experience.

Finally, I wasn't certain how I felt about the art style based on the steam page. In game, though, it quickly became another aspect that I enjoy because of how reminiscent it feels of older graphic novels. I am not certain if it was the intention of the creators to choose this specific art style or time for their game's setting, but it ended up blending really well since I recall many older comics and graphic novels around the late 80's to mid 90's having a similar to style.

All in all, absolutely a recommendation from me. This has been an increasingly pleasant surprise. I haven't once felt an ounce of frustration. The main characters bounce off each other in a way that feels organic and helps to maintain a good dynamic. The overall feel of the game is very relaxing and bare, which is a refreshing change of pace from other visual novels.

The game has invited me in and managed to have me feel engaged/immersed, which is not an easy feat nowadays. Nothing but positive feelings so far. This is a rare gem.

Edit: Have purchased the game's bundle for 7 other friends currently. Will continue to update as a way of showing my support. I appreciate that this game has made me feel very warm.

Edit 2: Damn...almost broke my heart :( But I approve. Very well written. I hope I can draw inspiration from this game to overcome my own sense of having changed and be able to pursue my former writing passion or accept and find a new passion. Thank you Pat, Lindsay and Titus for this wonderful little gem.

Edit 3: I have decided to add a couple of criticisms to the review in case the creators ever see it. I want to say, first and foremost, that none of these criticism detracted from the overall experience for me. I simply wanted to note a few cons and afterthoughts that I have:

- The music will occasionally overlap in a couple of scenes rather than transition properly. In at least one scene it remained stuck that way (one of the Robert Raptorson scenes) and it really jumbled my brain since I have an auditory quirk with those sorts of things.

- There were a couple of grammatical/mechanical errors. Completely forgivable though.

- Largest criticism is simply that I want more haha ~

This is definitely a game that I recommend the developers to come back to at some point in the future. The game left me yearning for more content and scenes with the single person you would choose to hook up with.

Now, for the sake of maintaining the game's solid pace, I would recommend the creators that if they were to add in any additional scenes to do so in a second campaign OR add them in as optional filler chapters that the player can skip. This way the integrity of the game's pacing is kept while the option to explore more content and scenes is provided to the player.

Second recommendation would be to consider adding voice work to the game in the future. However, should the creators do so, I heavily advise making it an option that can be toggled off so that players can continue to have the original experience of the game.

I'll potentially come back to this review again to add any further ideas. But for now, that is all. Stay awesome, Rocket Adrift. I am definitely not the target audience of this work and I was pretty moved. Couple that with wanting more and that's when you know you have a great game.

Edit: Final point of criticism after having played everyone's route: Day's route is very underwhelming by comparison to Robert and Taylor's paths. Not to say that Day or her route is bad by any means, but rather that she just feels very tame/safe compared to the other two. Roberty and Taylor's respective paths are gut wrenching. Their characters and archetypes are incredibly interesting, well fleshed out and they have a lot going on, easiest example being Taylor's pre-existing ties to Stella. Day though...? Very uninteresting... There is simply not enough going on with her. Not enough fleshed out about her. Her most interesting quality is her relationship with Ingrid and that causes her to feel unsteady on her own. Perhaps if she were a part of a different game, she would be completely as I don't think anything about her is necessarily written poorly. I just believe that in this game she is very underwhelming when compared to Robert or Taylor, who are vastly more interesting love routes. She works really well as a side character, but is an underwhelming love route.