Three Days to Chicago

Feels so real. Obviously these are not actual people... but somehow they feel like Real People Concentrate™. Good stuff.

Great story of how unpredictable life can be and how life can change with one single different decision. Made me wonder how life would have been different if I took a different path somewhere. Really enjoyed it.

[i]Three Days to Chicago[/i] is a beautiful little visual novel about a chance connection between two gay men on a train. It relates so many themes around the queer experience; sex and sexuality, loneliness, relationships and the nature of connection in our modern world. I felt a deep nostalgia and a pang of longing at the bittersweetness of the ending; something so rare in our attention economy. It reminded me of what it's like to fall in love. While there's nothing new here as far as visual novels go, sometimes a straightforward game and a story that moves you is all it takes to make the experience. I will be thinking about this game for a while.

Three Days to Chicago was different than other visual novels I've played that mostly lean into more anime/manga style artwork. I really like the aesthetic of the modified photography and color scheme and the realism with a touch of surrealism it portrayed. Speaking of realism, the story is heartfelt and the dialogue feels authentic. While it's mostly sweet and romantic, I roared with laughter over the line saying "let's not be like the gays in Looking." It feels like the creator really put his heart into the story, and some of it might even be from his life experiences. This was an excellent game to get cozy with my Steam Deck too because of it's chill atmosphere, music, and vibes between characters. The game ran flawlessly "out of the box" with no need to change settings, so Linux users should be able to get this worry-free. It isn't a long ride, but it really engaged me and got my mind away from the world, so it felt almost as if the protagonist's journey was my own in a way. I'm curious what happens after they return to SF... Sequel, maybe?

Extremely cute, cozy, and comforting.

First up: My play time isn't just few minutes as it might appear. As, how fittingly, I played the game last December when I took the train to visit my parents. The train ride didn't took Three Days but I had a 3hrs+ part where I could use my Steam Deck and played the game. From start to the last station. And as others have mentioned: It's a warm, comforting little gem that hit many boxes for me. I could relate to many of the scenes that happened there. To some degree I've been on the same boat.. well train.. as the main character here. And -GOSH- I somehow wished that I had the guts in real life to act the same as I did in the game on some - mostly work related - decisions. And that's what I want from a visual novel. Something that's still on your mind even weeks after playing it.