A Story Beside

An extremely moving story about how a life lived has value and how choices matter, even when they don't.

So beautiful and hauntingly bittersweet. The art and the music were stunning. Everything just screams nostalgia and longing but also warmth and everything I just can't describe. I just know this game will stay with me for a long time.

The story in this game has the potential to change one's life. If nothing else if it doesn't get you in the feels you should probably check your pulse. I am astounded at how good the writing was for this game. I hard cried at the end of it. It was heart-wrenching but also a beautiful experience that made me appreciate life more. I wish some of the game design choices with the UI and controls were a little different, but it's a small complaint considering how rewarding the experience of the story was for me. Highly Recommend!

My extraordinary, ordinary life. What a tender, charming, heart-achingly beautiful little game. A story that is truly a diamond in the rough.

Bawling my eyes out. What an incredible beautiful story and game.

A beautiful and story rich game.

This game could actually give you depression. There is hard work obvious here, but the story left me with a feeling of bleakness so effectively that it's like a weighted blanket on my shoulders.

Beautiful story and very moving

i love story games with consequences!!!

Short, beautiful, and memorable. I bounced off originally, because the game has a slow start and relies heavily on choice prompts that, initially, offer very little context. But as your familiarity with the town and characters grow, these stitch back together into decisions that feel meaningful and cozy, as you see how your decisions pay off over years and lifetimes. Most decisions do not have a right answer or simply affect set dressing. However, some do and have achievements hanging off of them, which... well. I honestly recommend not going for achievements on a first go, because the different ways the story can shape up are lovely. In fact, failure is rewarded, and offers some of the most charming and memorable dialog the game has to offer. I otherwise loved this story. It's warm, cozy, and manages to fit so much familiarity and nostalgia into a cleverly bound, small package. And while there's certainly polish that could have be had (dialog scenes cannot be skipped, forced RPG walk makes some of the pacing a bit slow), overall I really enjoyed my time in Pyreside.