izigame.me

First, the positive: The art and animation are top-notch. Gorgeous use of color throughout. Character designs are dynamic, expressive, and memorable. The backgrounds are beautiful and just subtly animated enough to feel alive. The voice acting is really well-done. Even ambient sounds and sound effects are well selected. The user interface is really well-designed, with smooth animations and pleasant graphic design.
Now, the reason I wouldn't recommend this game: The weakness of the writing. The opening act suffers from a lot of telling without showing; the exposition is clumsy and heavy-handed in general until the story finds its feet. Transitions between scenes can be jarring and abrupt. This is partially due to the Augural mechanic of the game where you choose the flow of the scene, which requires you to shift between the Augural view and the dialogue. This could have been better mitigated if the player didn't need to shift back to the Augural when there is only one possible node/choice to visit next; I as the player shouldn't need to be taken out of the scene just to double-click a circle. These abrupt transitions aren't exclusively due to Augural choices, though. In several spots, a transition mid-node or between chapters is jarring or disorienting. Places where the writer(s) chose to abridge the dialogue with a text description of what's being said lessens the impact of several sequences. Small writing flaws/inconsistencies are peppered in just enough that it's irritating. Characters reference details casually that contradict previously established facts or that they should not know (from routes you did not choose). Several emotional choices are railroaded in favor of making less interesting and less consequential choices elsewhere. The final chapter is especially guilty of telling instead of showing. The premise is interesting and unique, but this execution takes all of the air out of it.