Imaginary Friend Institution

I genuinely love the way this game has built on the devs' previous work. Compared to earlier entries, IFI feels incredible open and expansive while still presenting a strong story about these children and their experiences. While the game did have some issues on launch, it seems like a vast majority of those have been fully ironed out. Also new npcs, dialogue, and music are being added with each patch to help the world feel more full and fleshed out. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what they do with the next chapter(s) that they have planned. All in all, if you're looking for a game with great character design, a solid story, and a foundation for the story to continue (as well as a very positive community); this is definitely worth your time.

A personally much anticipated threequel to the Imaginary Friends series, Imaginary Friend Institution is a beautifully unique game you won't find anywhere else. In a world that's simultaneously colorful and bleak, gloomy and hopeful, the story reveals to you its background while setting up mystery and intrigue to keep players going. The artistic evolution and gameplay evolution from its predecessor, Imaginary Friend Asylum, displays beautiful improvement with distinct and expressive designs and more interactive gameplay options (plus a cute charm!) that doesn't feel out of place. The new aspects to gameplay (and a lovely 3rd person perspective) deliver the story in a way I feel does better than it's predecessor, and the voice acting is just a cherry on top! Touches to the game that speak to me personally are the expanded wardrobe (I love playing dress up!), everyone's distinct styles, and of course, the new designs of the Imaginary Friends themselves! While I've run into some issues of the game running a bit slow at times (which could just be my computer), and the game sometimes ending up too dark for me to see well (especially near the end of the game), it did nothing to take away from lovely experience I had playing this game. I can't wait for Chapter 2!

I was super excited to play this game and, after a very busy past few weeks, I was finally able to sit down and relax long enough to do so! And I was NOT disappointed!! The game is absolutely gorgeous and the characters are so well designed, old and new! I really loved meeting the new characters, too! They were so great! Of course, I was most excited to see my faves, once more: Polo, Niccolo, Annabelle and Pooky! I just adore their IFI designs and voices! The only issue I had was the movement being annoyingly sluggish (no doubt due to my laptop, as it's not quite a gaming one, so that's no fault of the dev or game). I'm guessing IFI is more high in quality and such than IFA and my laptop just had trouble running it smoothly. I'll have to see if a future update might be able to fix that. Still, I didn't let that stop me from playing and enjoying the latest installment to my favorite indie game series! Despite that little hiccup, the gameplay was still fun! I love that you get control of more than one character, at times, and hope there's more of that come Chapter 2! I was thoroughly engrossed in the story, which is why I say darn you for that cliffhanger! I REALLY want to know what the deal is why that happened! I'm so eager to know! The writing was also so good; the dialogue made me laugh quite a few times and it's so awesome seeing and hearing some familiar faces and names, again! There were also a few times I came close to crying! I truly felt the pain and emotions and could even relate to some bits of the story! The voicework was also wonderful; everyone did an excellent job! Overall, I am completely invested in where this game is going to go and cannot WAIT until Chapter 2 comes out! I'm DEFINITELY wishlisting it!! Grant, Anna and everyone involved with the IF series, keep up the amazing work! You always have my support and love! I'm such a big fan of this series!!

Spoiler-free review A lovely opening chapter for the newest installment. Institution is, without a doubt, the most ambitious game in the Imaginary Friend series. Bringing voice acting, a third-person camera, and an open map. While lacking the visual polish of the previous installments in the series, its more detailed art style offers visual candy for those who pay close attention to the character designs. The previous game's trend of accurate depictions of the dark history of mental health treatment continues to shine through this time via the lens of a religious owned institution. This opening chapter, while a bit slow, leaves several breadcrumbs to give you reason to come back for what's next. Overall, the visuals just need to be ironed out. I particularly miss the ambiance the previous game's environments brought through their use of lighting and shadows. I would kill for this game to have a Silent Hill reminiscent fog to surround the institution.

This game gets 10/10 for me. The voice acting is so beautifully done, salient and poignant when needed, you feel immersed in the characters and really feel polarized by some (I strongly disliked one as my archetype as a person was more aligned with another, and that, to me, is the test of a well built character, when they are fleshed out in a way that makes for controversy). The story is so beautiful, it is just beginning to unfold, but you can feel the bittersweet pain of the protagonist throughout as she finds strength in her friends. The "bad guys" are all ranging from nonsensically bad, the "I just work here" archetypes to truly bone-chillingly villainous and that also adds to the experience. I know there were some bugs in early release, but truly, if you have the opportunity to play it now and enjoy the game, you should. NOT TO MENTION: I LOVE THE SEWING MINI GAME. OMG. Like, I may be the only one, but I coulda bopped and vibed on that for the whole game. I need to find the rest of those patterns. Truly, this game is a treasure. <3

Played the Whole Series and I love it cant wait for the following Chapter.

Amazing game with a lot of emotional moments! I played Imaginary Friend Asylum and couldn't wait for this one to come out. The VA's were really brought the game to a different level. It's clear they worked hard on this chapter, I can't wait for the next one to come out. Worth the wait!