izigame.me

I love mystery games and walking sims, and I loved this game! It's kind of in the middle of the two. Not quite as open as a walking sim (you have one location per chapter of the game) but not as boring either since you have your mom to interact with and you're solo in most walking sims. Not quite like mystery/detective games where you'd interview others (besides your mom) and make deductions. You just find more evidence and the mystery pieces together.

Normally I'm a bit turned off by this art style and just prefer a more realistic look, though the art is still beautiful and I don't mean to knock the quality - it's just personal preference - but the voice acting is top notch and brings the two characters to life. I love that you get to make decisions as to how you approach your mom about certain topics. I haven't yet played a second time to know how much of a difference those choices make, if any, but I feel it's worth replaying to find out because of the aforementioned great acting.

The setting is nostalgic if you grew up in the early 2000s, and I can tell the developers leaned into that where they could. It's also a very poignant story about a teenager learning to see her parents, and grandparents, as whole and flawed people instead of heroes on a pedestal as we tend to perceive them as children. We see a mother wrestling with new information of her own and trying to decide how honest to be with her daughter, who is at an age where she can tell the truth is being obfuscated, but not yet one where she can understand why adults might choose to do that. Playing as the daughter definitely took me back to what it felt like to be a teenager.

My only note to the game would be that at 5 hours to finish the story and most achievements (I missed two on the first run), the price might be a little steep. If this game is totally up your street as it was mine, it's worth it, but if you're unsure, I'd wait for a sale. It's worth pointing out that the voice actors are pretty big names, which of course costs money, and 20 bucks for a whole evening of entertainment is still cheaper than a night out.