Info about WILL: A Wonderful World / WILL：美好世界:

Official game description:
Contact Dev
===========
Sina Weibo & 微信(WeChat)公众号: @王妙一工作室  
Twitter: @wmy\_studio
Facebook: @wmystudio  
Email: wangmiaoyi.studio@gmail.com
About the Game
==============
_Use your heart and wisdom to help those in need._  
_There was an urban legend…_  
_Write your troubles down on a note. Hold it in your hand at midnight and pray. “God, please help me…” Then god will hear your plea. And change your fate. It was only a legend though. It wasn’t even popular for very long…_  
A young girl wakes up, groggy in an unknown room. A talking dog appears before her and she becomes startled by the revelation he tells her: They are gods and it is their duty to change the fate of any humans that ask for their help. Letters appear in the mail and with pen in hand she begins her job.  
People who believe in this legend live all over the world, in every shape and form. They write and pray to the gods, seeking help for their troubles:  
A quiet nerd stuck in a hopeless, one-sided crush.  
An impoverished artist who’s lost all hope and contemplates suicide.  
A rookie police officer who burns with justice and hopes for his first big case.  
A young woman desperately chasing her dream against all odds.  
Evan a stray cat who would be simply satisfied with some dried fish to eat.  
They say that a god is good and makes choices for the greater good. However, are these really the best choices for mortals?  
With the power to change the fate of humankind, dive deep into the story and learn about those that seek out your help but remember, changing someone’s fate will have an effect on others whether they are interconnected or not. As you read through each story, perhaps the young girl’s memory will also return but what will she learn about herself and her mission?  
**Gameplay**  
_Receive letters from people seeking help. Investigate their situations and alter their fate._  
The stories of the characters are gradually revealed to you in the letters they wrote. From these letters, you will learn about their lives, and help solve their problems. You might not become friends, but they will be forever grateful for all you have done.  
_Use your powers to change the events that happen and watch as the story takes on a new course!_  
_But exercise caution as altering the fate of one person may change the course of another._  
**_“Everything happens for a reason”_**  
Be sure to put on your detective hat before making decisions. The fates of the characters could be completely changed with your acute observation and wise deduction. Life is full of surprises. Sometimes, thinking outside the box could uncover beautiful hidden gems. Be bold, be brave, and create the best memories together with our heroes!  
**Features**  
*   Read stories and use deduction to determine how to alter the fate of the people in these stories.  
*   Each decision opens up the story and may even impact the stories of others.  
*   Progress through the game and also learn more about the two gods, the mysterious girl and her companion.

Release date: Jun 6, 2017

Categories: Visual Novel, Interactive Fiction, Multiple Endings, Choice-based Narrative, Narrative Adventure, Puzzle Solving, Branching Narrative

Feature scans:
- Wiki: score 50; verdict: Tier 3: The Student - 教学/系统数据依赖; summary: 玩家普遍反映游戏存在明显的'外挂依赖'问题：关键线索（如密码提示）设计隐蔽，部分成就（如辞典词条）缺乏内在指引，整体上不看攻略容易卡关。这反映了游戏在教学和反馈设计上的不足，迫使玩家频繁查阅外部资料。

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $4.00 - $9.00
  - Reasoning: The most positive review explicitly states that 60 RMB (roughly $8.6 USD) is a fair full price. However, several reviews complain about the game never going on sale or having minimal discounts, indicating that many players expect a lower price (around half or less) before purchasing. The tension between 'worth it at full price' and 'waiting for a discount that never comes' suggests a fair base-game price range between approximately 30 RMB ($4.3) and 60 RMB ($8.6). Converting to USD and using round numbers for the community perception, the range is set from $4 to $9.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 20.0h
  - Story completion: 11.0h
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: Game completion is derived from a player reporting 20 hours to unlock all content. Story/campaign completion is supported by multiple reviews: 8 hours for true ending (highest ranks, not full completion), 11 hours to 'clear' the game, and 12 hours for the HE ending. The most typical story completion is around 11 hours based on the direct statement. No evidence was found for typical session length or endgame playtime; both are set to null.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The game hooks players initially with its narrative and puzzle mechanics, but repetitive gameplay and difficulty in controlling outcomes cause fun to decline; a mid-late game tension shift offers a brief spike but does not fully reverse the trend.
  - Stance: Fun then drops
  - Anchor: The point where story tension increases after progression
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: repetitive gameplay and clicking; difficulty in reaching desired endings; trial-and-error backtracking between letters; uneven pacing due to multiple protagonists and timelines; annoying voice acting for some characters
  - Unlock drivers: story tension introduced after progression; compact dialogue and narrative hooks; creative language tricks and surprises in mid-late game
  - Conditions: patient gamers who tolerate repetition for story; enjoyment of narrative-focused puzzle solving; solo play experience; willingness to invest hours before payoff
- Player Archetypes:
  - Narrative Butterfly Effect Explorer (buy)
    - Motivation: To experience complex, branching stories where choices have meaningful consequences on multiple characters' fates.
    - Playstyle: Reads extensively, explores all endings, enjoys deciphering how different choices interconnect. Tends to replay to unlock all story branches.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: Text adventure lover; Visual novel enthusiast; Butterfly effect story fan; 428 series fan
    - Reference games: 428: Shibuya Scramble; Danganronpa; Steins;Gate
  - Content Sensitivity Gatekeeper (no buy)
    - Motivation: To be aware of and avoid triggering content; or to critique the ethical handling of sensitive themes.
    - Playstyle: Prefers content warnings; evaluates game based on its handling of dark themes; may play for catharsis but often feels uncomfortable.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: no buy
    - Labels: Content-sensitive player; Trigger-aware; Ethical gamer
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Puzzle Logic Critic (no buy)
    - Motivation: To solve clever, logical puzzles that feel rewarding and consistent with the game's world and story.
    - Playstyle: Focuses on puzzle mechanics; seeks fair clues and logical deduction; often compares to other puzzle games.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: no buy
    - Labels: Puzzle game enthusiast; Logic puzzle purist; Hardcore puzzle solver
    - Reference games: N/A


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Engaging and Emotional Story (weight 0.65): The game features a rich, interconnected narrative across multiple characters and cities, with mature themes, plot twists, and emotional depth. Players praise the butterfly effect, multiple endings, and the way stories intertwine, creating a memorable and thought-provoking experience.
- High Overall Quality and Developer Passion (weight 0.47): Players appreciate the game's high production value, lack of bugs, fair pricing, and the clear dedication of the small development team. It is considered a standout Chinese indie game and a hidden gem.
- Innovative Text-Reordering Gameplay (weight 0.44): The core mechanic of rearranging text fragments or event sequences to change characters' fates is widely praised as creative, unique, and engaging. Players highlight the novelty and how it integrates naturally with the narrative, offering deep interactivity and logical puzzles.
- Excellent Music and Sound Design (weight 0.29): The soundtrack is highly regarded for its variety, quality, and ability to enhance emotional moments. Sound effects and voice acting also contribute to the immersive atmosphere.
- Beautiful Art and Visual Design (weight 0.25): The art style is praised as clean, anime-inspired, and beautiful with well-designed CGs, character portraits, and UI. Dynamic elements like changing character profiles and background details add to the immersion.
- Exceptional Writing and Dialogue (weight 0.22): The writing is praised for its cleverness, humor, and natural dialogue. There are many references, meta elements, and creative use of language, especially in Chinese. The tutorial is also memorable.
- Well-Developed Characters (weight 0.2): Characters are described as distinct, charming, and well-written with deep lore and emotional resonance. The interconnected character relationships and personal stories contribute significantly to the overall experience.
- Thought-Provoking Emotional Impact (weight 0.19): The game evokes strong emotions through its heartbreaking and hopeful stories. Themes of imperfection, sacrifice, and the meaning of a wonderful world resonate deeply, leading to lasting memories.
- Innovative Game System and UI (weight 0.17): The game features a clean, simple UI with dynamic character profiles, plot locks, and hidden details. The system design supports the narrative without being intrusive, and the bonus content adds value.
- Excellent Voice Acting and Localization (weight 0.11): The game supports multiple languages with high-quality voice acting, including famous Chinese voice actors. Localization into Russian and English is praised for accuracy and immersion.

Common complaints:
- Story is poorly written and unsatisfying (weight 0.97): The narrative is criticized for being clichéd, rushed, fragmented, and overly dark. Many reviewers note the lack of meaningful character development, abrupt endings, and depressive tone, with the story often feeling disjointed or forced.
- Game lacks QoL features and has bugs (weight 0.39): Missing essential features like text skip, fast-forward, auto-save, and dialogue history frustrate players. Bugs including progression blockers, achievement issues, and unskippable scenes further harm the experience, making replay and completion tedious.
- Puzzle logic relies on trial and error (weight 0.37): Puzzles are often unintuitive, requiring brute force, trial and error, or obscure knowledge. Players express frustration with keyword arrangement, code puzzles, and the lack of logical clues, making progression feel like guesswork.
- Contains disturbing and inappropriate content (weight 0.23): The game includes depictions of child sexual abuse, rape, animal violence, and excessive cruelty, which many players find unnecessary and disturbing. Such content lacks trigger warnings and feels forced, overshadowing any narrative intent.
- Teacher-student romance is problematic (weight 0.2): Players strongly criticize the teacher-student romantic storyline, describing it as forced, disgusting, and morally questionable. Many consider it the biggest flaw of the game, as it takes up significant content without connecting to the main plot.
- Studio dissolved, no sequel expected (weight 0.05): The development studio has disbanded, leaving the game with unresolved issues and no possibility of updates or sequels. This disappoints fans who hoped for improvements or continuations.

Gameplay feedback:
- Text and event rearrangement puzzles (weight 0.37): The core mechanic is rearranging and swapping sentence fragments, paragraphs, or events within and between letters to change story outcomes. This puzzle element creates a butterfly effect where small changes lead to large consequences.
- Multiple endings with ranking system (weight 0.27): The game features many branching endings graded from S (best) to Z (worst), including true and bad endings. Players must achieve specific ranks like S to unlock new letters and progress the story, often requiring multiple playthroughs.
- Intertwined multi-character stories (weight 0.22): The narrative follows multiple protagonists in different locations (Beijing, Korea, Hong Kong) whose fates are interconnected. Changing one character's story affects others, and all storylines converge eventually, requiring players to manage multiple perspectives.
- Progression locked behind conditions (weight 0.16): Advancing the story requires unlocking specific endings and completing optimal outcomes. Late game often demands sacrificing previously achieved S-rank endings to open new paths, and a new game plus option is available after the true ending.
- Diverse logic puzzles and minigames (weight 0.11): Beyond text rearrangement, the game includes puzzles like Morse code, blackjack, patrol routes, phone codes, and fighting game combos. These logic-based challenges add variety to the gameplay and require careful thinking.
- Visual novel format with interactive fiction (weight 0.09): The game is a text-based visual novel with interactive puzzles, similar to 428: Shibuya Scramble. It includes character dossiers, dynamic ID cards, and a streamer-friendly game source window, emphasizing narrative over action.
- Player as god manipulating fate (weight 0.06): The player assumes the role of a god (Myth) who reads humans' letters and rearranges text to alter their destinies. This god-like perspective frames the gameplay as answering prayers and managing the butterfly effect of choices.

Performance notes:
- PC performance issues (weight 0.02): Players report difficulty running the game on PC, suggesting optimization problems or high system requirements.
- Switch runs smoothly (weight 0.02): On Nintendo Switch, the game runs perfectly according to multiple users, indicating good optimization for that platform.

Recommendations:
- Strongly recommended purchase (weight 0.26): The majority of players highly recommend buying the game, citing it as worth full price, a great value, and a rare high-quality indie title. Many express that it is a must-play, especially considering its reasonable price and Chinese origin.
- Recommended for specific audiences (weight 0.21): The game is frequently recommended to fans of specific genres, such as visual novels, interactive fiction, detective/mystery stories, and text-based puzzle games. Players also suggest it for those who enjoyed titles like 428, Undertale, or Papers, Please, and for people seeking dark narrative experiences.
- Content warnings and sensitivity (weight 0.04): Several reviews highlight the need for content warnings due to graphic violence and dark themes. The game is recommended only for players with strong nerves, and explicitly not recommended for sensitive players who may be disturbed by such content.

Other player notes:
- High purchase loyalty (weight 0.02): One player reported buying three copies of the game, indicating strong support or gifting behavior.
- Love-hate engagement (weight 0.02): A player admits to cursing at the game yet persisting, suggesting frustrating but addictive gameplay or narrative.
- Speculative pandemic relevance (weight 0.02): A player speculates the game's story might be real or revealing about the pandemic, implying deep thematic impact.

Emotions:
- Disappointment (weight 0.1): Players felt disappointed because the story failed to live up to expectations, especially when compared to the highly praised game 428. They cited poor execution, logical inconsistencies, a rushed ending, and the campus route ruining the experience. Many felt the promising premise and innovative gameplay concept were wasted on mediocre writing and unsatisfying conclusions.
- Frustration (weight 0.09): Frustration arose from illogical puzzle designs that required trial-and-error or walkthroughs, unclear causality, and game-breaking bugs like black screens or timer issues. The game's promise of multiple choices felt hollow as it forced a single correct path, and the lack of sufficient hints made progress tedious. Technical issues such as save file loss and forced reinstallation compounded the frustration.
- Admiration (weight 0.04): Players admired the game for its innovative gameplay mechanic, tightly woven story, and exceptional art, music, and character design. They appreciated the developer's dedication despite limited budget and team size, and praised the creative use of language nuances in puzzles. The immersive coordination between music and text, along with well-crafted character arcs, earned strong admiration.
- Disgust (weight 0.03): Disgust was triggered by the inclusion of teacher-student romance and the handling of child sexual abuse, which was portrayed as the best ending. Players found the content personally offensive and criticized the narrative for endorsing harmful relationships. The depiction of these themes was described as physically uncomfortable and morally reprehensible.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.03): Satisfaction came from the overall great gameplay and presentation, especially the emotionally effective true ending and final rewriting sequence. Players enjoyed the art style, voice acting, and music quality, and found the puzzles interesting. Replaying the game after many years and finally experiencing it fully also contributed to their satisfaction.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.02): Nostalgia was evoked by the game being a childhood memory, with players having first played it in middle school and revisited it years later in university. Some had played it multiple times across different life stages and expressed a desire to forget the plot to experience it anew. The game's long shelf life and personal connections, like finding old notebooks related to its themes, deepened the nostalgic feeling.
- Annoyance (weight 0.02): Players were annoyed by achievement bugs that prevented completion and forced idle waiting for hours. Repetitive bad endings, greasy voice acting, and the inability to review previous dialogue added frustration. The inclusion of forced and unrealistic homosexual scenes, as well as some vulgar content and excessive violence for young characters, also irritated players.
- Shock (weight 0.02): Shock stemmed from the game's unexpected inclusion of teacher-student romance as the best ending and the forced acceptance of child abuse for the highest rank. The brutal depiction of real-life problems and an unexpected coming-out plot between characters also surprised players. Additionally, the music quality far exceeded expectations, drawing comparisons to Undertale.
- Sadness (weight 0.02): Sadness resulted from the tragic fates of many characters, even in their S endings, and the inability to achieve a perfect reunion for sibling characters. Favorite characters did not receive happy endings, and the game explored dark real-life issues like child abuse. The heartbreak of Carlos and Alicia's storyline and the dissolution of the studio added to the melancholy.
- 遗憾 (weight 0.02): 玩家感到遗憾是因为工作室解散后无法再推出新作，创意与能力不匹配导致大量未配图的文字描写显得单薄。次要人物刻画突兀且不够丰满，整体上未能充分利用游戏的潜力。
- 失望 (weight 0.02): 玩家失望的原因是剧情难以欣赏，中期开始变成纯粹的排列组合，每条故事线单薄且为黑暗而黑暗。总线剧情烂尾，结局没有集中人物剧情，整体质量未能达到预期。
- Amazement (weight 0.02): Players were amazed by the stunning opening, plot twists that kept surprising them, and the innovative mechanics of rearranging paragraphs leading to unexpected outcomes. The game's description of VIRS disease closely matching the real COVID-19 pandemic was particularly striking. The way stories intertwined and the clever use of causality drew strong admiration.
- Excitement (weight 0.02): Excitement was generated by the novel game mechanic and engaging plot with no dull moments. Players first heard about the game from a streamer and initially considered it the best Chinese visual novel ever, rating it 100/10. The sense of finally having a well-made Chinese game worth paying for fueled their enthusiasm.
- Immersion (weight 0.02): Immersion was achieved through the combination of music, sound effects, and text that created a unique and captivating atmosphere. The player felt deeply absorbed in the story and characters due to the coordinated audio-visual experience. The music and role stories particularly enhanced the sense of presence.
- Anger (weight 0.02): Anger was directed at the inclusion of child sexual abuse content without proper warning and the teacher-student romance that the game seemed to endorse. Players criticized the author's biased treatment of storylines and forced tragedy. Hidden bindings between events that required brute-force discovery were seen as intentionally bad design, further fueling anger.
- 沮丧 (weight 0.02): 玩家感到沮丧是因为游戏在PC上运行困难，出现bug导致任务无法推进。逻辑关系模糊使得很多谜题需要暴力破解，明显的崩溃问题严重影响了游戏体验。
- 困惑 (weight 0.01): 玩家感到困惑是因为谜题设置过于晦涩，即使参考攻略也无法理解解法。角色最后的结局不明不白，后期选项的逻辑难以把握，导致玩家对游戏机制和走向感到迷茫。
- Appreciation (weight 0.01): Players appreciated the novel and brilliant gameplay and story, particularly the innovative design of changing text order that provided unique participation. The theme of beauty in an imperfect world and the meaningful setting where S-rank does not mean happiness resonated deeply. The clever interweaving of narratives earned strong appreciation.
- Boredom (weight 0.01): Boredom set in because the same letter's different endings had too little textual variation, making exploration feel repetitive. The story failed to engage and became tedious and uninteresting over time, leading to a lack of motivation to continue.
- 喜欢 (weight 0.01): 玩家喜欢游戏的解谜成分、充满青春感的文本风格以及各种小巧思和剧情串联。这种青春气息和创意让游戏体验变得愉快且令人回味。}