John: A moving, deeply political tragedy about identity and culpability. A story about living in a system that rewards you for doing exactly the wrong thing. It's not dour of course -- like other Analgesic games it's cute and funny and romantic and sweet. Which makes it all the more admirable that it doesn't flinch when it needs to get dark. Melos and Marina's most incisive and biting story, and for that it's my favorite of the bunch.

eatthepen: A game about processing the end of the world through learning to trust and respect those for whom your lack of trust and respect helped cause the crisis. I needed this, and I probably still need it, and probably a lot of people like me still need it. One of the best warnings about capitalism and the cultural norms it forces on us.

LastZimOnEarth: Even the Ocean takes place in a fictional world yet the way it deals with the effects of climate change and how marginalized people unintentionally end up being pawns in corrupt power structures is sadly very relevant in our present as our own world is currently being ravaged by said human-made pollution caused by said power structures. And yet while Even the Ocean deals with the tragedy of its own events, it still manages to instill a sense of hope that no matter how bad out circumstances are, that doesn't mean we can't try to live out the best possible lives we can in this dying world.

Atamine634: I'm a narratively focused gamer so 2D platformers have never been my thing so finding a platformer with inspired worldbuilding and emotional hooks felt special, but was even more special was the weight of the story it was trying to tell. The clever light and dark mechanic that allows you to adjust your vertical and horizontal jumping capacities mix great with the puzzle platforming, but what makes Even The Ocean truly prescient is that it wants to leave a bold warning to humanity that our world desperately needs to hear.