In Stars and Time

This game is one of those games where after you play it... you just. Lay in bed. Thinking about your life ten times over. Staring at the ceiling, staying up all night, thinking. Remembering. Processing everything you just saw. A game that completely changes your perspective on life. A game that gives you a comfort that hurts. I love it. In Stars and Time has always been on my radar as an interesting game to me. I played it blind, no spoilers. I suggest anyone else also do that, too. It was like playing Omori for the first time again. Playing Oneshot for the first time again. Now it's playing In Stars and Time for the first time again. I'm gonna go slip on a dangerous banana peel now

This is an incredibly underrated game that is almost impossible to put down once you start it. There's nothing I would change about it at all. What stands out the most to me are the characters; they're very believable and their dialogue feels like how real-life people talk. Side characters are also interesting to talk to and are memorable and worth engaging with. The character art is great as well, with many different nuanced and detailed art works, portraits and expressions for the main character (Siffrin) and their friends. What was impressive to me was how the game has a very mature and realistic portrayal of mental health struggles. Siffrin's reactions to the time loops are very relatable, as was much of his internal dialogue throughout the game. I really felt bad for them as the story progressed. The game doesn't shy away from dark topics, and approaches them in a way that doesn't downplay their impact. The time loops themselves are handled perfectly. They don't get (that) tedious due to the various ways you can skip dialogue, areas, or get around certain repetitive tasks. You can always ask a character for help too if you're stuck, and fights get faster and optionally avoidable too the more loops you go through. The combat in general is fun and engaging. I was never bored and enjoyed it until the very end. I had so much fun with In Stars And Time and cannot recommend it enough. Absolutely worth playing AND replaying for all the secrets you can find everywhere.

A very good RPG Maker game with an interesting story and well written characters. The story is very well written, with a great start and late game. The mid game, specially Acts 3 and 4, drags a bit too much due all the repetition and backtracking you need to do. While there is a way to skip the backtracking a bit, it also requires you to spend time on battles, so either way you are wasting time on something. Well fleshed out characters, its nice learning about them with each interaction. Who they are, what they dream of. Its nice to see them happy, even if they are "actors on a play". The gameplay is very simple, with a literal "rock, paper, scissors" mechanic for battles. Its rather repetitive and eventually you just start to run away from battles so you can get to the thing you are supposed to do. The story evolution is great to watch unfold. The way Siffrin's mental health slowly declines from a funny jokester to a completely insane psycho, reflected by his portrait and skills, is amazing to watch. If there is one problem I had with the story, is a major plot point on Act 4, related to one particular place. They talk about it, it seems like it will be relevant to the overall plot and... its dropped after a while. Yes, it is very relevant to the plot and motivations of the main enemy, there is a BIG moment when they try to figure it out... and then they just go "welp that's not it, moving on" and the whole thing is dropped. There are some other mysteries that only mentioned here and there, but never get a proper explanation. The major mystery plot point gets explained at the end and its... pretty lame. I feared that would be the case, and as the conclusion got near, I was asking "Oh god please don't be this predictable, please please please." ...It was. There are a bunch of little details and side quests you can do through the game, and while most of them require a lot of repetition, they give you a lot of neat moments and characterization of the world and characters. And sometimes rewards, although you really won't use most of them. Overall, great RPG game. Could be a bit shorter, but the characters and story make up for it.