Alright, I've read the comments. I've played the demo, and my opinion comes from the perspective of a creator of artistic works (I write books and such..)
People are making a mountain out of a molehill. I understand the outrage of being misled, but honestly, with the amount of work that goes into writing (Both writing code and writing the words you read) and the amount of work that goes into art (remember, someone had to draw every picture you see) - This game, while simple, is worth the paltry dollar amount the creator asks for. On any other website, those photos would be sold individually (or MAYBE in batches of 5) for one dollar a piece. Let alone the actual time the creator took to write the dialogue.
Some people just want to be angry about something. Take their criticisms with a grain of salt. They certainly provided enough.
Doctor Adelfos
Recent community posts
One year ago, I was in a very bad place mentally. This by no means excuses my actions, and I won't be deleting or editing what I said because it stands as a testament to where I was and it gives context to both the reply from the creators, and this reply now.
If I could clarify my original opinion of the game in a more constructive way, I would have to say that I was disappointed that it was called a game, not a narrative.
Having some time and distance from that original reaction (and reading the response from the creators) I would like to say that it accomplishes what it set out to be very well. After all, what is video game design, but another way to tell a story? What I can say to my past self is, "If you're disappointed in the lack of agency during the story having an impact on the result of the game, play a different game." If I were trying to be more malicious, I would probably say "You must really hate movies and books huh?" But let's cut me some slack here.
PixelDough's response is not only thoughtful and respectful. It also shows a lot of respect for their work and the product itself. If you want a REAL review of this game, take their reply as FAR more accurate of a review than my original comment.
(THE REVIEW/COMMENT BELOW COMES FROM SOMEONE WHO WAS IN A BAD MENTAL SPACE DURING THE TIME OF WRITING AND IS NOT AN ACCURATE REPRESENTATION OF THE GAME, USER, OR DEVELOPERS! PLEASE READ THE REPLIES INSTEAD)
Don't even waste your time downloading this "game". Watch literally any YouTuber play it. The experience will not differ from theirs. This is a terrible "game".
Your answers do not make any difference to what actually happens in the game. You're literally just clicking and moving the mouse to continue reading. It pretends to be a horror game with its ONE terrible jumpscare, then forces you down the narrative as it was before. This isn't a game. This isn't even an interactive story. It's a badly written "thought experiment" at best. It takes what Doki Doki Literature Club, and many others like it, did... but so much worse.
EDIT: I've seen pixel art comics that are more interactive than this.
After looking in to the developer's home page, it makes this game even more disappointing. Their other games are really great, and seem to have a lot of effort and love poured into them. It's just a shame that this misses a lot of that. (Yes, I know this was for a game jam. Yes I know how hard game jams are. A lot of game jam games are on here and have at least some variability based on how you play.)