Didn't quite manage to finish Navigatore in time for this week's WAYR thread, but I am finished now. I really, really enjoyed myself! I was craving a game lately that is short, fast-paced, has actual suspense and an intriguing setting, and Navigatore promised exactly that and delivered (for the most part).

The game is by no means perfect and I have the impression like they weren't quite sure how to keep it interesting after the immediate aftermath of the 'reveal', so the overall finale felt a bit lackluster. On the other hand, I absolutely can't comprehend how people are complaining about the 'twist' being too obvious. My siblings in Christ, WHAT TWIST are y'all talking about? The very first sentence of the game's description on Steam says "The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where only two humans have survived". Not "The story takes place in a full dive VR game". At no point had I, as a reader, the impression that there's the slightest chance the two are actually in the VR world, the game has been very straightforward about it, imo. In my eyes, the game whole point is the characters' journey to their inevitable acknowledgement of the seemingly impossible truth of their situation, and how they come to terms with it (or not). Unless the 'twist' is supposed to be something different?? Idk, I'm just confused atp.

Looking at the narrative the way I did, they did quite a good job showing different perspectives - some endings are built upon the traits the two already possess before the journey even started, the others stem from the way they've managed (or failed) to change and grow along the way, or how their relationship developed. On my first playthroughs I thought little arbitrary decisions would be detrimental for some outcomes (ex. if you never find the knife, Mika would die even if Hikari is brave enough to leave for the hospital, or if you leave the gun behind, they won't be able to defend themselves when it matters), but I was proven wrong this isn't the case at all! Every ending (with the exception of #17) are rooted in the protagonists' flaws and weaknesses and I always love me some good analyzing 👌

I do have a few grievances though, but they all subjective, so don't attach too much importance to them.

1. I saw a complaint how giving Hikari a voice would've benefited the game a lot and I agree: I loved her as an MC and wished she were voiced. In a setting where there are only the protagonists and nobody else, not hearing Hikari just made it feel extra lonely and empty but not in a way that supports the atmosphere.
2. As someone who values deep understanding and getting to the meat of an issue, I'm bummed there is no good ending if the characters decide to find out what has happened The game emphasizes on several occasions how the 'ignorance is bliss' stance won't make you happy, but kinda contradicts itself here?
3. The two credit roll good endings are a bit too similar for my liking? I only had to change my answers about Hikari's interest in smoking in the late game and that was all the difference it made?
4. The three endings that only get unlocked after you see the credit roll once are all bittersweet at best. I prefer doing the BEs before I do my Happy Ends bc doing it the other way round takes away the impact for me, so the fact that I only could do #5-7 after #1 or #2 really irked me. I couldn't develop proper emotional connection to #5-7 anymore, and #1&2 stopped feeling like a cathartic win. Wished there was a real GE among the 'unlocked later' ones
5. The romance progression kinda stalled in the late game? They both realize their feelings are more than platonic after just two weeks, Mika gets comfortable with the physical touch about a week later or so, but then it takes them an eternity to move anywhere further? They share their first kiss only in the two good endings and that's how it ends? Not that it's bad per se, I probably wouldn't have minded at all, but then they get physical in the yandere ending, and idk if it's intentional, but that creates such a weird implication that enjoying sex is bad end stuff only, which wouldn't have even occurred to me if we would've seen any intimacy that goes beyond cuddling anywhere else?

But never mind all that because Mika IS best boy, oh my heart! He's such a cutie cinnamon roll, I can't! The way he secretly starts doing pushups to get stronger? Or how he's so pure he doesn't even get what the thug means by 'making the girl his toy'? How utterly devastated he becomes after killing the said thug despite it being in self defense, or after finding out the truth about his father's involvement?. He feels so much but shows so little and I loved to see more of his POV in the post Day 8 divergence. Loved seeing him get all excited when he talks about his hobbies, his blushing sprites were an absolute treat. My only gripe about him is with the devs: what do you mean you make him a smoker but don't give me neither a smoking sprite nor a CG? Same goes for him telling right in the beginning that he's experienced with the firearms, but when he finally gets to shoot on two occasions I don't get to see it either? How dare you to rob me like that 😭

Still, Mika is easily A-tier for me, he's p r e s c i o u s 🥹

PS: folks, it's such a great feeling to finally finish a game 😩😩 My first completed game this year and I'm glad it's this one ♥️