[h1] SHORT REVIEW [/h1]
[b] Time Estimate for a Single Route: [/b] 2 - 4 hours
[b] Time Estimate for All Routes: [/b] 14 - 16 hours
[b] Love Interests: [/b] Bounces off each other well, all unique in personality and have loveable traits. Feels like a genuine friend group rather than just individuals. Intriguing and charming in their own ways, platonic or romantic.
[b] MC’s Personality: [/b] Nice development. For the most part, I was fine with how MC was acting. Not so stereotypical damsel in distress. Generally bearable, though there were moments where I did get a little irritated with MC’s personality.
[b] Game Mechanics: [/b] Easy to understand, I found it fun to be able to access a phone and various forms of social media to see updates on the various love interests. Especially how unique Tyler’s route is, I think it’s executed well.
[b] Overall: [/b] Worth the price, fun story. I enjoyed it a lot (though I think my hours speak for me..)
[h1] LONG REVIEW (ELABORATION + SPOILERS) [/h1]
[h3] TIME ESTIMATE [/h3]
For all four routes, eight endings, all texts and CGs, I still think it’ll generally take 14 to 16 hours. I only spent a lot of time on the game because I was eagerly looking for new dialogue with multiple different types of runs, as well as lowkey studying the relationship points and just other general aspects of the game.
[h3] LOVE INTERESTS [/h3]
I apologise to Tyler enjoyers or those interested in him. While I did do both his endings, I really didn’t like him so I ended up skipping through his story. I will give a brief summary of him based on bits and pieces I’ve picked up on him.
[b] 1. Tyler Grant [/b]
Childhood friend to lover troupe! I tend to dislike this troupe so you can already see why I’m not that fond of him. Throughout the story, he’s pretty protective of MC and loves to tease them and their friends, this is evident even when not in his route. He seems to be a hard worker and generally kind. As he is not student in the same school as MC is in, players interact with him mostly through video calls and texts. While I think that is unique, it may not be ideal to some players. That’s all I have to say about him.
[b] 2. Jamie Donnelly [/b]
He’s in the same year as MC and is best friends with another love interest (LI), Geoffrey. His banter with Geoffrey is entertaining, I enjoy their dynamic a lot. He’s a sweetheart and hardworking towards his goals. Focused on his studies and likes to take care of others, however, that can also be his setback. Depending on the player, he can come off as rather nagging and overbearing.
Chapter 11: Savoury Summer was quite confusing to me in terms of Jamie’s personality. [spoiler] I do understand that he’s a more lowkey type of guy but his minor conflict with Geoffrey about him and MC’s relationship was.. a little out of place for me. I think it was more due to suddenly finding out that Jamie has had friendship problems in the past. [/spoiler] Unless, of course, I was just an idiot and glazed over that dialogue if it was mentioned earlier. In that case, ignore this entire paragraph.
[b] 3. Geoffrey Levy [/b]
Same year as MC and best friends with Jamie. I found him entertaining, his humour is very aligned with mine and I often find myself snickering at his dialogue the most. A sweetie and quite laid back. Maybe too laid back at times, it can come across as annoying if that’s not your type of person. His story is quite relatable honestly if you’re a student. I think the development with his personality was quite decently done, keeping his playful personality at the end, just with set goals for himself.
However.. I will say that his attitude in Chapter 10: Chef’s Kiss & Chapter 11: Savoury Summer threw me off. I do see the vision with how Geoffrey was being presented in terms of development, but the overall story did leave quite an odd taste in my mouth. [spoiler] I wish the dynamic with Dakota and Charlie was better elaborated, I felt that it ended very abruptly and there was no real solution to it other than “oops Geoffrey was just too in love with MC!” [/spoiler]
[b] 4. Leo Walter [/b]
He’s an upperclassman, a year above MC. Well put together and quite isolated (by choice). He’s a no nonsense type of person, though open minded enough to understand when to be more lenient/forgiving/kind in certain situations. He goes on a bit of tangents when it comes to food science, which I find endearing (haha guess which LI I chose first..). To be honest, I really like him and he is my type so I don’t really find a flaw in him so.. ahaha..
[i]vv (I asked my friend who watched me play Sifting Thyme for her opinion on Leo and this was her response) vv[/i]
To put it bluntly, he may come off as plain and not as interesting compared to the other LI due to his more mature type of personality. While he doesn’t have an out-sticking “problem” in his personality, it may also be what makes players less likely to choose him due to him coming off as boring. It’s also notable that since he is a senior, choosing a different route would make his appearances in future chapters dependent on which LI you choose.
[h3] OVERALL STORY [/h3]
The story contains 14 Chapters (0 to 13) and an epilogue. From [b] Chapter 0 to 7, [/b] I think the pacing throughout the school year is pretty well done, events for each chapter were interesting and showcased each LI well. It builds enough of a relationship with everyone and gives players a better understanding which LI they want to choose.
[b] Chapter 8: Winter Traditions [/b] did throw me off a little. From a seemingly platonic relationship with all characters, the sudden want for MC’s attention and more romantic actions did come as a surprise to me. Especially in my first run where Geoffrey and I weren’t really on the best terms, him maxing his flirtation was quite a shock haha. Sweet chapter though. I have a similar opinion on [b] Chapter 9: Study Date, [/b] though I’m more lenient with it due to the fact that you choose a route in that specific chapter, so the surge of romance on the LI is to be expected.
I have mixed feelings about the pacing of [b] Chapter 10: Chef’s Kiss. [/b] While I enjoyed the overall content in the chapter, some details and traits of the characters just seemed to pop out of nowhere. I am aware that a story needs drama, so conflict between the LI and MC was expected but I still think the catalyst for some of the conflict was just dropped out of nowhere. I just think it would be better executed if the conflict points were introduced earlier in the story (even if a minor mention) then focused on in this specific chapter. How the conflict closed off could have also been better done, I feel. Most of them kinda just solved it with a kiss.
Other than that, I don’t have any “complaints” about the other chapters.
[h3] OTHERS/PREFERENCES [/h3]
[b] 1. [/b] I wished there was a relationship/affection point metre or indicator in the game, one that lets you see how you stand with each individual character, even if it was just a bar of some sort. I do know that the character beside your saves and on top of the chapters screen does indicate who you have higher points with, I would have just preferred to be able to keep track of my overall points with each character.
[b] 2. [/b] The skip button was a little inconvenient if you’re trying to quickly do a different route than you originally took. While it is stated in game that skipping would skip ALL texts, I wished it didn’t skip unseen text cause you can miss extra dialogue due to this.
[b] 3. [/b] I think it would be better if you’re able to save at a pinpoint part in a chapter so you don’t have to redo stacks of chapters if you’re simply just trying to get another ending or if you’re just dialogue hunting. I didn’t mind it much, but it definitely would be more convenient overall.
[h1] COMMENTS [/h1]
Overall, I really enjoyed the entire game! Beautiful art and soundtrack! Thank you for the hard work!! <3
