The over-the-top, insane, steamy, sensational fantasy of this game is not romancing the hot vampire sword guy or the uber famous k-pop idol, it's living in a sane world where people are generally nice and treat each other with basic kindness and respect regardless of your sexuality or gender. Combine that with having a mother that loves you unconditionally and an entire village that cares about your emotional well-being and I was hooked.

Partially kidding, but I truly did not want the game to end and was kind of sad to wave goodbye to Verona Beach. Even if the romances aren't that deep and the tropes were... well tropes... the game made me feel "normal" and happy in a world that always wants me to feel lesser for being my authentic self. This game is so committed to this that you can even change your pronoun selection during your playthrough without it being a world ending event. I started the game with one set of pronouns and ended with another and the game never comments on it being a big deal, everyone immediately understands and no questions are asked and it doesn't limit your dating pool. There's even two non-binary romance options with Sawyer and Rowan. Sure some of the enby stereotypes are a bit over the top and dated but I think it fits with the universe and overall vibe the game was going for.

Outside of dating and romance, the game itself is actually surprisingly fun. It manages to find that "just right" Goldilocks spot of not too challenging but not so easy that it's a total cake walk. There can be a grind to it if you want that and that's how I played because I wanted to 100% it, but you don't have to do it that way if you don't want to. Overall a super fun, cute, lighthearted experience that lightly touches on some important themes like fears of intimacy and change.