Players Like...

❤ Facial Expression Mechanic

The core gameplay revolves around manually adjusting the protagonist William's facial features, such as eyebrows, mouth, and eyes, to display specific emotions like happiness, sadness, fear, anger, and surprise. This mechanic requires players to carefully consider and shape William's responses during conversations and interactions, as the game's neural network analyzes the expressed emotion and progresses the story accordingly.

❤ Nonlinear Narrative and Multiple Endings

The nonlinear narrative features over 15 unique endings that players can uncover through experimentation and repeat playthroughs. Certain story paths, locations, and items may only become accessible by making different facial expression choices or revisiting previous events with new information. This encourages players to explore the game's depth, piece together its various layers, and uncover the full mystery at their own pace.

❤ Exploration and Puzzle-Solving

Complementing the facial expression mechanic are traditional point-and-click adventure game elements. Players must explore the game's ditherpunk-inspired environments, interact with objects, and solve puzzles to progress the story. Reviewers have noted that these exploration and puzzle-solving elements strike a balance, providing a cohesive and engaging experience that enhances the player's sense of immersion.

❤ Atmosphere and Immersion

The game's strong atmospheric and visual qualities, including a distinctive ditherpunk style, haunting soundtrack, and surreal, Lynchian-inspired narrative, have also been widely praised. This distinctive tone, combined with the ability to directly control the protagonist's emotional responses, further heightens the player's involvement in the unfolding mystery.