Quality Dreams, Reasonably Priced

what a sweet game! i had so much fun playing!!! delighted by how much i came to care for the characters. i would die for the bunny!

In Quality Dreams, Reasonably Priced, you play as a consultant working on commission at a body modification shop. Your goal, as stated by your boss, is to decide if the clients are fit for the mods they ask for, and if so, upsell them on additional purchases. Your character’s goal is to save up enough money to afford treatment for your sick rabbit. It’s also decidedly queer! The very first customer is seeking gender affirming mods, and the queerness inherent in changing your body for your own gratification is embedded within the premise. This visual novel is treading a tightrope. It paints an unscrupulous behavior in a sleek veneer and asks you to go through with it. But it doesn’t force your hand, it works because it gives you discrete choices about going through with the procedure and what to add on. It works because you see the clients again, and they have to live with the choices you made, whether it was right for them or not. I have one big gripe with this game, though. There is a canonical optimal path for each client, where they’re so happy with you that they become your friend. I think that’s a little too mushy and relieves the weight from the decisions you’re making.

A fun story game, with some light budget balancing to reach your end goal. Each of the five characters you advise on body modification are good case studies on the ethics of changing oneself, on what we should be changing ourselves to and what reasons we should have for changing. Also has some interesting commentary on agency, and the position of power your character has as a medical representative, for good or ill. Game has a pretty art style too, it's cool that you can literally see the difference on the characters you interact with.

This game was great! Better than I expected actually. The characters were interesting and the art was beautifully done. I ended up considering about a lot of the choices more than I thought I would, since the game was really responsive to my decisions. Overall, it's a fun way to spend a few hours.

Acho que vou escrever a primeira análise em português desse jogo. Vamos lá. Eu amei muito o jogo, especialmente a UI e os desenhos, achei toda a parte de texto e de imagens do jogo muito bonita e imersiva. Gostei muito dos personagens e de poder conhecer cada vez mais deles. Acho que meu único ponto "ruim" é que senti, sendo esse o primeiro final que eu joguei (ainda), que poderia ser mais longo, ou poderia ter tido mais algumas interações com clientes que foram bem-sucedidos, especialmente fora da clínica. Também gostaria de saber e conhecer mais sobre os amigos do protagonista. Fora isso, com o que já tem como base, é incrível. Gostei muito das nuances de cada escolha e do fato de que a mudança mínima do tom pode mudar as consequências.

Short and sweet. I am intrigued about how some of these characters manage to have 4-6 endings, though. Even the most linear-seeming conversation apparently had 4 unique endings... food for a second read-through, I guess. I will say that I find the idea of an oppressive, transhumanist cyberpunk world totally immersed in our modern pronoun culture rather myopic. It's only a bit of minor cringe in the procession of gameplay, but I feel like a cyborg whose 50% metal body is powered by 100% nutrient slop would navigate gender differently than I do. Also, bunny surgery costs as much as a full-body musculoskeletal rework? Or More? I couldn't get that out of my head the whole time. Anyway, if those are the types of things I'm obsessing over, it should be clear that this one is worth your time. 10/10 work at making me feel like a slimy pharmaceutical rep pushing opioids, would feel very uncomfortable again.

This game was incredibly pleasant to play with a lively cast of characters whose backstories I was genuinely interested in. While the gameplay is simple. All in all totally recommend! I especially appreciated the effects of your choices being shown, it adds a sort of grounding to the games universe. :)

I am quite impressed with this game. I loved Citizen Sleeper 1 and 2 narrative games, this is reminding me of that some, but quite different too. It is enjoyable if you like story/narrative games. Quite enjoyable story, no combat, laid back.

this game is amazing. honestly has to be one of my all time favorites

I cried a bit at the end lowkey, I think its a beautiful game with precious art, I cant make myself to get the other endings anyway.... Too sad for me