Sunset High

I must admit, this isn't my typical type of game. I stumbled upon their booth at PAX this year and was drawn in by the game's art style. Sunset High strikes a balance between RPG and digital novel. That said, what you're really paying for here is a sense of nostalgia and story. As a product of the '90s, I recognized the same tropes I encountered in high school: the jock, the nerd, the punk. With all these elements, it's easy to be transported back into the halls of one's most formative years—with all its embarrassing moments, eye-roll-inducing classmates, and those poor poor underpaid teachers. For $13 and the chance to support an indie team, you’ll get your money’s worth.

The story has enough content to keep the player engaged for many hours. Most of the fun going through this game comes from finding out how to get to the next part of the story, but the real excitement comes from the tangible sense of nostalgia that Sunset high provides any child of the 90s. High School drama, the art style, even the story bring me right back to days long gone.

I got my review key for Sunset High the same week that I finally bought Blue Prince, and let me start my review by saying that Sunset High held its own for three or four days against the puzzling masterpiece. I don’t know if I can offer higher praise than that, even if this comprehensively listed Sunset High’s many positive qualities. Sunset High by Turnip Games is the love child of Disco Elysium, Brick, and Groundhog Day, a poetic pixelated time loop mystery. You play as a social introvert whose crush vanishes overnight, leaving you to navigate high school politics, quantum physics classwork, and the onset of mysterious time powers in order to find out their whereabouts. It’s a daunting task. The game unfolds uniquely, constrained to a handful of scenes while the sordid story of whodunit, how, and why unfolds in well-written and labyrinthine conversation menus recursively explored in the time loop. The colorful cast of characters have charming pixel art portraits that vary as events effect moods and attitudes amongst the characters. A rewind/fast forward mechanic can render much of the challenge of the game a simple matter of patience to meticulous planners, but more casual gam…

What starts as a straightforward mystery about a missing person at Sunset High gradually becomes something much more personal and emotionally resonant. The high school setting perfectly captures that specific anxiety of being a teenager where every choice feels monumentally important. The devs clearly understand how it feels to navigate friendships, romantic tension, and social dynamics when you're still figuring out who you are. The dialogue rings true, full of those awkward pauses and half-said things that define teenage communication. The mystery itself is compelling, but what kept me playing was how the story explores the relationships between characters. There's a authenticity to how these students interact—the way they support each other, hurt each other, and struggle to communicate what they really mean. It reminded me of my own high school experience in ways that were sometimes uncomfortable but always genuine. The time-manipulation element adds interesting layers to the storytelling, though I won't spoil how. Let's just say it enhances the themes rather than feeling like a gimmick. The simple 2D art style serves the story well, keeping focus on the characters and the…

Loved this game! Every time I played through I uncovered a little more of the mystery. Art music and writing are all phenomenal.

You're a high school student. You're not exactly thrilled about that fact. To make matters worse, your crush has gone missing. And you’re definitely not thrilled about that either. So, naturally, you’re stuck reliving the same day over and over again until you solve the mystery—armed with the ability to rewind and fast-forward time, altering your choices and reshaping reality itself. That’s the basic premise of Sunset High, an indie 2D game blending elements of mystery, point-and-click adventure, and visual novel storytelling. If this sounds like Butterfly Effect—just without Ashton Kutcher’s unfortunate facial expressions—you’re not wrong. (Speaking of which: Mila, if you ever feel lonely and crave the company of a Slavic gamer, hit me up.) Anyway—back to the game. I’m sure the story is solid. With more time, I’d probably dive deeper into it. But during the 30 minutes I had to explore for this video, I was left with mixed impressions. First off, the keyboard-only navigation in the game’s semi-3D world is... odd. Not unplayable, but the lack of trusty ol' mouse support makes the clunky UI and choice-heavy menus feel unnecessarily awkward. Second, the music and general sound d…