Really enjoyed pV! Awesome job to you and the team, for the second time! 🎉
So different from mV in many ways, yet so much to love (and despise you for T_T) this time around~:
- Major kudos on the UI, the UI design, the various accessibility features (img descr, audio titles, self-voicing NOT buried in the Controls section, font size+color+line spacing <3), the pop-out quick menu, the CRT lines and screen curving effect, even the menu and initial splash screen login prompt all resembling a computer terminal — it presents brilliantly, while also tying in thematically to the game itself as a STOP employee, and with the computer being used to access the interviews, the most important (interactive) parts of the experience.
My only beef here, and it's quite minor: I wish there were a custom keybind for toggling Auto-Forward, considering RenPy doesn't provide one by default. Leaving the QM open got in the way in certain scenes, so it was a bit annoying opening it to turn on Auto, only to turn it off to enjoy a CG or re-read some lines, then re-open the QM to enable Auto again, etc.
- Love the sprite work, and especially how expressive and emotive Pavel is (espec when you twist the knife later on away from happy expressions :') ).
- The cinematography, animation, use of the 3D camera are phenomenal and really made the experience feel immersive, especially combined with...
- The voice acting, which was really high-quality and well-balanced. The "sound bites" were used tastefully, and with the most impactful lines being voiced, those scenes stood out even more (tugging further at my heartstrings </3).
- Ditto regarding the use and sound balancing of the SFX and music tracks, all of which had great ambience and atmosphere. The music was almost too relaxed and easy-going (intentional choices, I assume >:3 ), which further added to my sense of dissonance and discomfort leading up to the story's climax (especially having played mV, so I knew more or less *what* was coming, just not *how*).
- The point n' click desk sections were a nice touch, along with the phone texting UI and SFX. Great use of alternating between ADV and NVL modes. Also, props on leveraging RenPy's speech bubbles system, considering that's a relatively new feature in 8.x IIRC.
- Regarding the story, I really enjoyed (being hurt by) it! <3 I definitely felt the connection between Deidre and Pavel grow over time, their bond solidifying as she gained his trust, and he her devotion and conviction. It was also excellently painful seeing Pavel, a square peg being jammed by YTDI into their round hole without any thought for flexibility or individuality, not fitting in by mere virtue of being himself — a scenario and challenge I can relate to — with Angie being the embodiment of this rigid adherence to rules and "results" above all else. So those aspects resonated with me, especially seeing Pavel being processed (punished) despite not doing anything severe enough to merit it, and how the cruelty and inhumanity of this becomes the fuel which incites Deidre into action. It logically flows and hits in the feels, which is great!
I do wish y'all had another maybe 2 weeks to spend on the project, because as much as I enjoyed the story, I would have wanted to see more "intermediate" visits with Deidre and Pavel between his first processing and his Nth, e.g. with just the prosthetic legs, then with the legs + brain chip, then those + the arm(s?) and eye, to further build that sense of horror, unease, and dread re: YTDI's lack of moral boundaries (rather than jumping from "Look ma, no legs!" straight to "All the cybernetics1!".
Similarly, I would have liked for Deidre and Angie's final confrontation to have been a bit more fleshed out, although I'm having a harder time pinpointing exactly how or in what way, or what feels lacking or rushed here IMO.
30 days is NOT a lot of time, so I completely understand and appreciate picking and choosing your battles on what to focus on wrt the writing.
The beginning, the climax, and the ending were fantastic, and absolutely delivered though! "Blue..." Who's chopping onions nearby?! T.T
Also, the little throwbacks to mV like the grape-scented stickers and the apartment photo... <3
Again, phenomenal job this time around! (and on finding a much more accessible form of pain and suffering: emotional trauma, instead of puzzles lol)