The August Before

A really beautiful game!! As someone whos been in a similar place lately this game really resonated with me. I would LOVE to have more, because once I got to Ivys part I was a bit confused. What did end up happening in the end between the three? Did August and Ivy move in together? What exactly happened for them all to fall out? Either way I would recommend this to anyone who liked games like unpacking and the vibes of Life is Strange 1!!

Runs ok on steam deck but the controls are quite uncomfortable, not something I could deal with. It's a slideshow with proton on another desktop Linux system that is somewhere between the minimum and recommended specs. It's a shame, I really am interested in the game and want to play it. Wish I could recommend it but it just isn't playable for me. I'll update this review if anything changes.

In TAB, you get 3 rooms to sort out items in, throw in the trash, solve some puzzles and collect some things. You slowly learn about the story through the pictures and messages left behind. The music you find can be played whilst going through the rooms. The game is good about relaxing the soul and being all cozy. The actions might sound mundane, but doing them is more engaging than initially expected because there are many items scattered between other items. And you have to remember where each item belongs. Almost all the items and puzzles are personal which adds a nice touch. The puzzles add variety and they definitely enhance the game. The graphics are generally fine, the style is okay and the controls with the mouse are usually what you would expect. The game's biggest issues are the technicalities with some of the actions and design decisions. Certain sections (such as assembling a globe) are clunky and clumsy. The controls and what you're allowed to do should have been more intuitive. The transition between the rooms is also odd. It makes sense to continue from one room to the next but there will be times where you have to go back to the previous room and it's confusing what is expected from you and why you are back. Also, more attention could have been given to the ending. It just ends abruptly. TAB is a good game, it achieves what it has set out to do and that is offering a cozy experience without taking too much of your time. It doesn't bring more to the table or does things better, it's just good enough. The price of around 12 euros is pushing it. But getting it on sale or through a bundle is more than fine. It took me less than 3 hours to complete the game and get all the achievements. The achievements are basically clean the rooms 100%, find all the collectibles and solve all the puzzles.

A beautiful and bittersweet little story about friendship, heartbreak and learning how to move on. The soundtrack, small hints and nostalgic aesthetic really made this game memorable, and my only complaint would be that (as other reviewers have mentioned) it's a little buggy. I highly recommend saving often, especially after major puzzles, because some things don't work until you've reloaded your save. For instance, the jewelry box in August's room wouldn't open, and I couldn't get the final drawing from Beth's desk until I restarted each level. Also, if you place all of Beth's vinyls on the shelf before trying to listen to them individually, there's one or two you can no longer click on, so you have to play them as soon as they're found to avoid this. There are a few times as well where if you drop an item in just the right way, it falls underneath a drawer or desk and is no longer visible for pickup unless you hover over the spot exactly. Although things like this are normally enough for a negative review from me, I enjoyed and related to the story enough that I didn't mind replaying. I'd still give this a 8/10 since it's clearly a labor of love, just hope the developers will eventually fix the minor bugs and avoid these in future games.

Moving on isn't about erasing your history, it's about honoring where you've been while choosing to make space for where you're going next. It's a really good game that has a feeling that is at once heavy and very light. LOVED IT.

4/10 很早前的DEMO玩的还行 就是莫名有点难受 但还是愿望单+关注了 正式版流程变长了、感觉更难受了 能批量拿同类但有时候又不行、而且拿手上的东西非常挡视野 收纳的地方都亮起来了，放过去依旧掉地上，非常卡位 走路也卡脚 提示时有时无 字体和背景基本一个色调、看的要瞎掉了 越解越压了属于是

игра классная и вайбовая, но не могу пройти в комнату айви(( после возвращения из комнаты бев в комнату август, картинка с комнатой айви остаётся порванной, и пройти дальше просто нереально