Perfect Tides

the game rips. i finished it while reading Ben Lerner's Transcription and both works have deeply honest portrayals of their protagonists and give as much time to joy and the sublime as they do to pettiness, anxiety, and a need to be acknowledged. the locales are beautiful, the cast is really funny, there are some really good gags.

Very uncomfortable controls. I constantly end up bumping into items, which is annoying, since I can't always tell how far the object is from me. You need to use one button for several different actions, and you can't bind them to different actions. I also ended up accidentally softlocking myself in the bushes near the ice scream scones shop. There's no way to get out of the softlock, so I had to restart the game, since I didn't have any saves before that. While the game has nice aesthetics, I find the controls very off-putting. It makes me want to interact with objects as little as I can, which is not ideal for a game where interaction is part of the experience.

as a prequel to the sequel (which is often how media is ordered), this story was nearly as good as 'Perfect Tides: Station to Station' seeing mara's relationship with her family, herself and other people in her life has helped clear some things up about the second game!! one thing i will admit was *slightly* frustrating was that this almost felt like somewhat of a puzzle game at times, with instances where you would be given literally zero hint to what you should be doing, but then again, i shouldnt expect a game to baby me through the whole experience LOL i would actually recommend trying '...Station to Station' before this game, mostly because there are VERY clear quality differences between the two games, namely the sequel is longer and much more polished, but both stories work well together and personally this is one of my favourite 'series' now

just finished this game up! what a ride. i love how true to life the interactions in this game are. the characters feel like real people i used to know another lifetime ago. you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll yell at your computer screen and even audibly say "what the ♥♥♥♥" multiple times. simply stunning visuals paired with fun bits of fluid animation where it counts. if you enjoy twisted yet true tales of teenage angst and coming of age stories, this is the game for you.

It took me a little while to sink into its story, but Perfect Tides is a gam worth experiencing, if only for its narrative. The audio is barebones, the gameplay at times archaic and tough to get through, but I'll be damned if the rest isn't so heartfelt that it justifies everything else. It's written with such ablomb and mastery of nuances. It made me feel for Mara the whole way through, and angsty, somewhat annoying teenager than never felt irritating. She ffels so alive and complete that I couldn't help rooting for her, even if teenage years are hell. Strongly recommend, and can't wait to play the next one !

Good :)

A poignant coming-of-age tale set at the turn of the century with a great cast of characters and lots of heart. A few of the puzzles are a little fiddly (i'm looking at you, photo developing lab) and it can be a little tricky to know where to go next but those nit-picks are more than made up for by the expressive art and angst of Mara.