Something Left

this was an amazingly atmospheric, engaging, creative and beautiful treat (then again, what daybloom project game isn't?).

(SPOILERS)

i love the mystery surrounding the plot, and how we only get bits and pieces of everything as the game goes on. it makes every little detail important and the open-ended gaps in the story really interesting to think about. right from the start, the game's atmosphere and writing in the dream sequence was really compelling, and then nishiki's letter had me hooked. the way this game toys with your mind and makes you try to peace together every aspect of the plot while only giving you small clues, making you feel as disoriented as natsuki likely is... ughhh it's so good!! everything about how the plot is presented sucks you in and doesn't let go.

i have no idea how you guys do it but with every daybloom project game the art gets like, 10x better each time. the pink and purple gentle colors that envelop every part of each map, the extremely detailed and pleasant pixelart (i cannot get over the backgrounds or the city landscape, GOD it's so pretty and there's so much detail howww), natsuki's sprite and bobbing with her movement, the vhs filter and the way it contorts around the corners of the screen, the shaking text, the cobwebs at yuuka's cafe, the GORGEOUS and super expressive portraits of natsuki... and then, the overwhelming red that appears with the shadowy version of natsuki, the smiling darkened sprites of the nightmares and the expressionless ones in the city, the glitched effects with the warped memories, the scribble-like look of the last image of the nightmare... i could write a paragraph on every single one of these aspects, seriously how do you even make a game look this pretty?? not only is everything beautiful, but it all fits perfectly and nothing seems out of place whatsoever. my jaw was on the floor at some points, kudos to everyone who worked on the art for this game :D and the music!! my god, it's kind of perfect. the funky tone at the driving sessions that feels like something you'd listen on a radio, the calming music that plays whenever you're just exploring around, the super creepy sounds at the warped sections... the instrument choice on all the tracks is goddamn flawless, and makes each sequence feel really distinct, while also giving the whole game a unique identity. both the art and the music are such masterclasses in presentation, i can't get enough of them!

despite this being very much exploration/plot focused, i really appreciated the touches of gameplay that were present. the Z prompt to know what to interact with is genius on a 2D environment like this, i really thanked having it haha. the driving sessions were fun, and avoiding spikes by having them appear when you're going faster is such a clever concept, and it also ties in really well with the pshychological themes of the story (tho i'll admit i didn't even know there were spikes until the 3rd sequence cuz in the first two i went slow to just vibe lol-). and small details like being able to change your clothes, or the health system and how you can get healed (or damaged) with food, or the fact that there's a whole map just for the inside of natsuki's car, goes to show how much effort was put into making the experience as polished as possible, and i applaud that.

i've mentioned the storybriefly  but it really did captivate me. even if whoever plays this game hasn't experienced something similar to these events, it's hard not to relate, or at least empathize, with natsuki's struggles. right from the start it's easy to tell she's got some baggage to take care of, and with every bit of info we get, we get to see more of how troubled she is; the memories/nightmares of her dad were kind of a gut punch, and the shadow encounter or the other weird things natsuki sees make it clear that she isn't too well mentally, and it's... well, upsetting. and without knowing exactly why she left nishiki, it only adds to the notion that she has a lot to take care of about herself, which is something that's definitely easy to relate to. and even if you don't know every single detail about her, you do want to see her reuniting with her boyfriend and make things right... even if you can see coming that it probably won't be as easy as it seems, as the final sequence terrifyingly shows. and natsuki's mom is the final piece of the puzzle, being the counterpart to her father, wanting her to have a good childhood, and helping her even when she can't be physically be there with her daughter anymore (something that probably made natsuki's feelings of loneliness even worse, which (hopefully) was somewhat alleviated by finding yuuka)... the final moment where natsuki wonders what she has left, and her mom appears behind her was honestly really powerful. this was just... incredibly compelling, and super well executed.

though leaving things up to imagination definitely aided the mystery-like feel of the story, i think the ending was a bit too open ended (not something i really mind in jam games though, datelines can be tough haha), and i wish it could've been expanded on a little more. also, it's possible that this is already in the game, but i couldn't figure out how to run and i think it would've been something good to have, especially when you're exploring and backtracking.

overall this was fantastic!! an extremely compelling tale that had my full attention all the way through, and treated its subject matter respectfully. it's quickly become one of my favorites from daybloom project, and it made me extremely excited to find what else is coming!! :D (and i won't have to wait long cuz i played this SO late that you guys already made another game lol-)

This was so good

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Fantastic! So cozy and fun to explore. 

Very good game , i did have fun.

Very good game

The colors alone won me  over but also the music and story 

amazing story 

I was loving the vibe to this!