For full clarity I do animation for LIFELIKE but I was brought on to do so during Track 2's development.
LIFELIKE is a game that's focused on telling a story and building a world and in my opinion it does so incredibly well, there are small details everywhere that both help the fictional world of Ohio feel lived in as well as enhance the story and the player's understanding of it as a whole.
LIFELIKE uses a turn based battle system with a timed hits mechanic for when you do get into a tussle, the combat is simultaneously really well thought out and simple. The strategies in combat you can pull later on are just fun to see executed. My only issues with the game sadly also are part of the combat system; in LIFELIKE when you use magic you can choose between AM and FM to take advantage of an enemy's weakness- however, unless I missed something there isn't much in the way of a signifier of what an enemy is weak to without trial and error which can sometimes be a let down given how you often have to be strategic with the resources LIFELIKE gives you for a fight. Another issue I found is that some of the minigames don't give you enough of a pause before they begin for you to figure out what to do but similar to my only other issue this is mitigated with experience.
I do recommend LIFELIKE if you've looked at any of the screenshots or video of the game and thought "huh, this looks neat"/"this game might be for me" because chances are yeah- you'll enjoy it. The game has an incredibly unique and crisp aesthetic, the story is a wild ride, combat is great once you have everything down pat, and with more tracks on the way I could see myself spending a lot of time in Ohio in the near future. A statement I'm pretty sure has never been said before.
