Quality Dreams, Reasonably Priced

Short and sweet. I am intrigued about how some of these characters manage to have 4-6 endings, though. Even the most linear-seeming conversation apparently had 4 unique endings... food for a second read-through, I guess. I will say that I find the idea of an oppressive, transhumanist cyberpunk world totally immersed in our modern pronoun culture rather myopic. It's only a bit of minor cringe in the procession of gameplay, but I feel like a cyborg whose 50% metal body is powered by 100% nutrient slop would navigate gender differently than I do. Also, bunny surgery costs as much as a full-body musculoskeletal rework? Or More? I couldn't get that out of my head the whole time. Anyway, if those are the types of things I'm obsessing over, it should be clear that this one is worth your time. 10/10 work at making me feel like a slimy pharmaceutical rep pushing opioids, would feel very uncomfortable again.

In Quality Dreams, Reasonably Priced, you play as a consultant working on commission at a body modification shop. Your goal, as stated by your boss, is to decide if the clients are fit for the mods they ask for, and if so, upsell them on additional purchases. Your character’s goal is to save up enough money to afford treatment for your sick rabbit. It’s also decidedly queer! The very first customer is seeking gender affirming mods, and the queerness inherent in changing your body for your own gratification is embedded within the premise. This visual novel is treading a tightrope. It paints an unscrupulous behavior in a sleek veneer and asks you to go through with it. But it doesn’t force your hand, it works because it gives you discrete choices about going through with the procedure and what to add on. It works because you see the clients again, and they have to live with the choices you made, whether it was right for them or not. I have one big gripe with this game, though. There is a canonical optimal path for each client, where they’re so happy with you that they become your friend. I think that’s a little too mushy and relieves the weight from the decisions you’re making.

I really liked Quality Dreams, Reasonably Priced. Once I picked it up, I had a hard time putting it down. It's well paced, and the world feels surprisingly realistic for where we could be heading in the future. The cast is small but diverse, which gave me enough time to actually care about each character and their story. The dialogue is fantastic too, and the characters felt like people I wanted to learn more about rather than just paths toward different endings. Your choices can lead to different outcomes for each character [i]and[/i] for yourself, which is probably my favorite part. I kept replaying just to see how differently everyone's lives could turn out based on what I did. Some games advertise replayability because technically you can play them again. This one actually made me want to.

I cried a bit at the end lowkey, I think its a beautiful game with precious art, I cant make myself to get the other endings anyway.... Too sad for me

Beautiful art design and story telling! This game of refreshing.

Short and sweet. I really wish there are some planned content updates. Would be great to continue playing, maybe get more clients. Would work great as a cozy game, I fee