Unavailed

I played Unavailed in one sitting. Partially because the message was interesting and I could see my past self in some of those situations and feelings, but partially also because I knew that if I stopped playing, I would never pick it up again. The nice pixel graphics and overly cute protagonist hide the fact that the game has only this one message and is quite shallow with everything else. The bubble minigame is annoying and tedious, so I disabled it around 1/3 into the game (which thankfully is an option). The idea of mixing an idle clicker mechanic with resource and time management mechanics is an odd one -- and I am not sure it works very well. I guess without the bubbles it becomes even more apparent that the strategic aspect of levelling up three stats while managing energy, hunger and time is also quite repetitive and shallow. Every six days or so the game checks your progress against a threshold, something which I noticed 22 days in when one of my three stats was 1 point short of the threshold. Though it was a game over, I thankfully was allowed to repeat the previous day or I would have stopped playing immediately forever. This is not a game that you play multiple times. I guess I am being quite harsh here. Maybe too harsh, because the principal message is constructive and positive. I am not a psychologist, so I am not sure if this message would reach those in need of help, but I believe that many gamers (like myself) would see aspects of themselves represented in some of the darker or sadder moments. For this I respect that the developers have crafted what I would consider a positive contribution to gaming overall. If it manages to help someone pull themselves out of whatever hole they are in, mentally, then I consider this all worth it. That is also why I have decided to recommend it, even though gameplay-wise it is at most a mixed bag for me.