izigame.me

Man, what a perfect game. And yes, I support LBGTQ+. But I am a cis-white male, and this game was immensely relatable. I feel this should be the gold standard for writing queer/diverse cast. This felt like TRUE representation, I simultaniously was exposed to a beautiful American-Indian cultured household, AND was able to relate to the characters in almost EVERY way. I, too, was a twenty something drop out, I, too, failed all my early relationships in emotionally scarring ways, and had to face several of them when I got therapy! These felt like REAL people with REAL problems. It was beautiful. I got emotional and cried at the end. The reason this should be the standard for representation is that is shows we aren't that different from one another, white, black, trans, gay, indian, martian, whatever. We all live, and fail, and love. Thanks devs. Best gaming experience I have had in some time. Thanks Annapurna for funding another classic.
This game deserves a lot more recognition than it is getting. It is exactly what so many people who i have talked to about the Persona series want, more mature themes and relationships, a setting out of high school, more deep and dynamic relationships, more nuances in the main character rather than just a perfect protag that everybody loves. I mean, everyone loves Jala, but she is a hot mess, but thats what makes it interesting. I have been in love with so many toxic people in my life and have also been toxic as fuck for years of my early twenties, just like Jala and hurt people i cared about.
I know a lot of people say this game is like Persona meets Tony Hawk, but it also reminds me a lot of Night in the Woods. A coming home story about finding and facing yourself. It has a great female protaganist, and both are kinda lovable idiots. You have a great family cast, and great cast of exes, excellent voice acting.
AND SO MUCH love went into this game. I know a lot of people say that about every indie game, but so few indie games have the thoughtfulness that this games writing has. The little discussions your family has as you do the cooking mini game, to the all the dialogue Jala can have for each enemy; FOR EACH MOVE for each enemy. Usually when I play an JRPG, within the first fucking hour, I have already heard the NPC's repeat their fucking taglines over and over again, but Jala has so many quips and lines and quotes and puns for each taunt that i think i have only ever heard like one repeated once. Theres even a different line of Dialog from your dad every time you lose a fight depending on who you lost the fight too. it just feels so well crafted, so thoughtful, that it really stands above indie and into the realm of AA games.
I have played A LOT of indie games, its been my sole focus choice of games for about 8 years. And there are tons I love, but there also tons that have weak writing. One I played 8 years ago that I thought had really good writing at the time but upon returning too (VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartending) actually is soooo flat in its writing and nuances, it really reflected just how flavorful and different each character is from one another in this game.
It has great pacing, each event flowing well into the next with no grinding, great music, great combat akin to Paper Mario where each move requires an interactive quick time event, incredibly stylish moves and the way you get around the game is by skateboarding Tony Hawk style.
Just to give a small taste of the level of love the devs poured into this game. There's a part in the game where you can unlock the dog in the freeskate area, and the devs designed EVERY SINGE move to look completely different and just as equally stylish and bombastic when you are using the dog. This is such a small touch a lot of people might just completely miss but they did it cuz fuck it why not.
best indie game I've played since Potionomics, might even top it to be honest.