This game actually made me angry due to how irresponsible the writing became over the course of my playthrough.

Mental health is something that is not talked about enough in modern day societies, so to just take that and boil it down to something so binary really makes you wonder why the developers, Zachtronics who are known for making only puzzle/programming games, wanted to tackle this subject when the end result is all over the place.

Game wants to tackle the proliferation of artificial intelligence and the mental health crisis that is plaguing the world, but the writing is painfully sophomoric. The message the game tries to get across is often times wishy-washy, lacking any clear stance.

Don't get me wrong, there's potential in a story about the harm artificial intelligence can cause if something like therapy is replaced with what is basically a glorified chatGPT (which is really relevant in 2024). The game lets you know the ramifications that could arise were there no ethics in technology, but it also wants to let you know just how cool and awesome it is that you get to exploit private user data? The mixed-messaging does not let up even at the end of the game. It's also telling that multiple characters in the game don't seem to have a clear stance regarding the many dilemmas that the game brings up. One might be forgiven for thinking that these characters are all the same people with the same viewpoint, that of the author.

Deeply problematic characters are often given the benefit of the doubt on a disturbing level. There's one character who is straight up a sex creep, and your character is encouraged to keep hanging with this person? um, hello??? We're really doing this in a game about mental health issues?

I appreciate the conversations the game tries to facilitate. Overall though, the writing is an exercise in frustration that repeats itself far too many. The biggest problem, however, is that the game thinks it's smarter than it actually is.

4/10

This game actually made me angry due to how irresponsible the writing became over the course of my playthrough. Mental health is something that is not talked about enough in modern day societies, so to just take that and boil it down to something so binary really makes you wonder why the developers, Zachtronics who are known for making only puzzle/programming games, wanted to tackle this subject when the end result is all over the place. Game wants to tackle the proliferation of artificial intelligence and the mental health crisis that is plaguing the world, but the writing is painfully sophomoric. The message the game tries to get across is often times wishy-washy, lacking any clear stance. Don't get me wrong, there's potential in a story about the harm artificial intelligence can cause if something like therapy is replaced with what is basically a glorified chatGPT (which is really relevant in 2024). The game lets you know the ramifications that could arise were there no ethics in technology, but it also wants to let you know just how cool and awesome it is that you get to exploit private user data? The mixed-messaging does not let up even at the end of the game. It's also telling that multiple characters in the game don't seem to have a clear stance regarding the many dilemmas that the game brings up. One might be forgiven for thinking that these characters are all the same people with the same viewpoint, that of the author. Deeply problematic characters are often given the benefit of the doubt on a disturbing level. There's one character who is straight up a sex creep, and your character is encouraged to keep hanging with this person? um, hello??? We're really doing this in a game about mental health issues? I appreciate the conversations the game tries to facilitate. Overall though, the writing is an exercise in frustration that repeats itself far too many. The biggest problem, however, is that the game thinks it's smarter than it actually is. 4/10