Emily Is Away Too

i know that a "point" of the game is made by the author

but i can't stop thinking that this game missed the point of the first one and that the game maker just made this one to fanservice the people that didn't get the first
game point and felt offended because emily didn't want their stinky ass.

anyways, this game is a fine pastime outside of that

Emily is Away Too is a short visual novel, comprise of 5 short acts, in which you talk your way with two potential friends/love interests. The writing is very much early 00's talk, with all the annoying misspelling included, so that can get annoying if you arent in that mood. You need to hammer the keyboard to spell out the dialogue choice you just made, which feels like work really, but i guess by now its this series trademark.

The game adds a few neat tricks to the formula, namely by delivering these cute youtube mock up links and saving stuff on your desk top. These are neat touches that really make the world and chat feel more immersive, and all the mock up album and movie covers really hit that nostalgia bone.

This is the sort of game that can be highly appealing to someone or not, depending if you lived through the games setting, meaning early 00's culture and instant messaging. For those people, this can be a heavy nostalgic punch, particularly if you lived a similar situation that the game portrays. Likewise if you dont, it will be hard to relate, and you will probably find the teenage drama too much to bother with.
For me in particular i have, and i really related to the frailty of relationships forged through instant messaging. Superficial friendships only due to common interests, that would break over little things. The struggle to actually break through the text and meet people in person, with all that anxiety associated, which the game explores well enough (at least for someone who has already experienced that). Because of this layer of separation highschool definitly wasnt a happy time for me, and playing the game made me relive that a bit. Its a bittersweet experience because of that, no matter the good and bad endings of the game.

The story itself is a bit too basic, and teenage drama is just passable. But as a nostalgia trip the series remains a worthwhile play.

I don't remember anything from it but it introduced me to All My Friends by LCD Soundsystem so it gets a 7.