Players Like...

❤ Freely Navigate the Timeline

Players have complete freedom to experience the story however they choose, whether that's following the timeline chronologically, focusing on individual character storylines, or working backwards from the final outcomes. The ability to freely jump around the week-long timeline and change past decisions at will is a core mechanic that allows players to see how even minor alterations can have dramatic effects on the unfolding of events.

❤ Meaningful Choices and Consequences

The decisions players make have real, tangible consequences that reverberate throughout the narrative. Changing a character's choice not only affects the immediate outcome, but can also unlock new events, reveal deeper storylines, and alter the future lives of the characters in profound ways. For example, players can choose to keep a character's affair a secret, or expose it, leading to drastically different futures for that relationship.

❤ The House Tells Its Own Story

While the gameplay centers on watching scenes and making binary choices, the environment itself acts as an active storytelling device. As the timeline is altered, the state of the house visibly changes to reflect these changes - a broken window gets repaired, new items appear, the overall disrepair ebbs and flows. These environmental shifts not only demonstrate the interconnected nature of the characters' lives, but also serve as subtle narrative hints for observant players.

❤ Piecing Together the Mystery

The game encourages players to take an investigative approach, observing outcomes and then working backwards to determine their causes. The intuitive timeline interface acts as a crucial tool, allowing players to navigate the complex, branching narratives and unlock all possible events. The sense of being a "forensic detective," uncovering the full story through systematic exploration, is highly engaging for many players.

❤ Investing in Character Arcs

Beyond simply saving the characters from the fire, players can also find ways to resolve the characters' personal issues and struggles. These deeper, more nuanced choices have meaningful impacts, affecting not just the immediate outcome, but the characters' long-term futures as well. The ability to truly invest in the characters and see their full narrative arcs unfold is a key source of enjoyment for many players.