This game feels realistic - which, at times, is both good and bad. Good because it's immersive and so you get a sense of authenticity.
But then it goes too far... hundreds of renders just to communicate mundane things, like a tour of the gym, or a job interview. In its current state it belongs in a "slice of life" genre, if there was one. Some people like that type of content: staring melancholically at the moon, going to the store and buying new clothes, doing the dishes, etc. But for my dopamine-addled brain, it's not enough to maintain my interest after several thousand renders.
I do appreciate that the renders themselves were somewhat varied in angles and actions, because I've noticed that in a lot of other games, the only thing that changes is the character's expression, or one part of their body.
The renders themselves are very beautiful. I like the use of the animated whisps of dusts overlaying the scene, which surprisingly, makes everything feel a lot more alive, even during the static renders. There's a few rough renders here and there that pulled me out of immersion for a moment, but generally it's consistent.
It's clear the game has a lot of passion put into it. The UI is pretty and smooth, which makes it feel like it's a AAA-style game, and less of a typical clunky Ren'py interface.
As I said to the developer, you can tell there's a lot of thought--primarily world-building--put into the story. But there's just not much variation from what I've seen before.
Like a lot of developers here, I don't think the dev knows how to tell a proper story. We get occasional references to a deeper drama, but I don't trust that the dev actually has a plan for how that story. EDIT: The developer has shown me a massive mindmap, which shows me that he does indeed have a plan for the story. Personally, I think it's still a problem that I don't feel like there's a plan, but on the basis of me thinking there's no plan, I admit I stand corrected.
As far as the events go, almost everything was predictable, from leaving the orphanage to the maid getting fired. The story needs to get some real creativity injected into it.
Well, at least Norah and Emily are hot. Emily is cute all around, but my god Norah, shave that bush, this isn't the 80's.