In Stars And Time

One of if not the best RPG game out there (and my personal favorite) This is a game best experienced completely blind, but as the trailer and steam description show, this is a game based around time loops. There is SOME backtracking, but it's not nearly as much as you'd think, and there are several quality of life features that keep it to a minimum. There is a lot of dialogue, probably about half of your time will be spent reading so if you can't stand games with lots of dialogue you might want to think twice, but the story that this game tells is unmatched. The gameplay is good, too, with a simple but fun combat system that flows very well once you get used to it, which shouldn't take long. There are puzzles, too, mainly about acquiring information and piecing it together by interacting with various things throughout the game. This can however lead to a lot of aimlessly searching for anything different or any new information that you can acquire based on what you previously know, and you may need to even look up what to do next, but this is only a small portion of the game. I would strongly recommend this game if for the story alone, but it's also fun to play and has very good music too!

The story, dialogues, lore, and art are phenomenal. What holds this game back is a bare bones combat system and some mind-boggling design decisions. Many a time the game needs you to interact with a specific object or talk to a specific person in order to progress, sometimes offering vague hints, resulting in endless looping through the game until you find the thing. Doesn't matter if you've interacted with it in the past. While it ties into the themes of the story, it doesn't make it any less tedious.

I can't remember the last time I've sobbed this hard, so genuinely. I'm so glad to have experienced this game. I will never forget this.

A game I seriously doubt I can recommend to many people, due to its intentionally frustrating design and repetitive nature, requiring patience to play through. It also plays out like a traditional turn-based RPG, its focus is much more on the story, which will all repel some from trying it out. But god has the writing impacted me on a personal level, the incredible main cast and the way it conveys its plot SO well using the aforementioned methods. I am not yet even done with the title and I love it so much, if it sticks the landing it'll become one of my favourite indie RPG's ever made.

I wouldnt recommend this to everyone, as its RPGMaker basis means there is going to be a lot of repetition, which was a big slog to get through in the middle and latter parts of the game, even if annoyance at the slog is in some ways thematically appropriate to the MC's current situation. If you can push past the somewhat tedious fetch quests and mob encounters though, you will find a gem that will play with your heartstrings, both in good ways, and in ways so bad you just want to give the MC a hug. This game has genuinely made me feel so emotional its not even funny. Interesting and appealing characters, with relationships that are just so good. An emotional rollercoaster, thats worth going into blind. Aside from that, the artstyle is on point, and the music as well. This is just overall a really good well made game, that I would defo put on my top games played this year. If I have to listen to the Dormont OST again im actually gonna jump tho iykyk

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥......... inCREDIBLY effective storytelling through gameplay. the most successful iteration of the timeloop story, which incredibly successfully uses tropes of the medium to evoke sympathetic emotions in the viewer. holee ♥♥♥♥ did that work on me. a mirror that is wayy too crystal. never have i felt such a creeping, suffocating, inescapable dread in a tale, that feeling as you watch a space irreparably lose its safety, become an existential hell. a thinker for sure, there can be now doubt. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.......

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