If I got anything out of my foray into hardboiled point-and-click detective shlock, it’s that too many writers don’t know what humans sound like. Terrified of whiffing on a joke or dragging progression to a halt, the meta stumbled towards driving the story forward, whatever the cost. The cost, of course, are ensemble casts rife with milquetoast nothing. No one has a moment to breathe or to bond.

NOTR has… a lot wrong with it, but credit where credit’s due, it genuinely reads like a fairytale. Characters are given time to ramble nonsense, and when it’s colorful nonsense, it’s very cozy, even when the audio editing screws it up a good chunk of the time. If NOTR was 8 hours of literally just Mr. Churchmouse, this would be a positive review!

Unfortunately, Matthias Kempke seems much better suited to short fables than lore-laden adventures. Those awkward forays into short-lived dimensions only drag us away from the perfectly charming world we already built in Mousewood. When our rabbit gets pulled back in for that final lore dump… you kinda realize you’ve barely seen him at all.

Quite fun, and abstract. Cute characters and a winding story led game play. Can get a little frustrating at times, but there are plenty of helpful guides if you get stuck.