I still haven't emotionally recovered

I cried. 10/10

I've never really played visual novels before in my life (excluding the one exception of DD:LC when that was popular). I don't have a point of reference to other VNs, nor did I ever have a particular interest in them up until I tried this game on a whim.

If you only take away one thing from this review, let it be this: it is a CRIME that this game is free. I would happily pay whatever price it theoretically could've had, knowing how much of a genuinely life-changing experience it would end up being.

I am not a person prone to binge games, not really. But I totally did with this one. The incredible and beautifully diverse character customisation, along with the ability to actually play YOURSELF with how many choices you can make that are actually meaningful to the development of your characters and your relationships, are only one of the many things that really made this game shine for me. The adorable art, charming and relaxing music, and idyllic setting tugged at my heartstrings for a childhood that I didn't really have.

And last, but far from least, the writing.

When I say that I genuinely had a shock realizing that no, these characters are not real and no, I wasn't ACTUALLY living this story out in my actual life, I mean it wholeheartedly. The characters are so painfully human, so charming and lovable in all of their different ways, that it's hard not to fall in love with them. Especially Cove, arguably the star of the show alongside yourself. I well and truly fell in love with him; his fears and insecurities, his quirks, and his incredible growth throughout the story. He somehow managed to capture my heart the literal moment he appeared on screen, and I don't think I'll be the same person I was before playing this game. Cove was not only a charming, adorable and wonderful character to interact with and fall for - he was also a mirror, one that allowed me to see myself in ways that I hadn't previously allowed. The whole story served as a mirror, really. A gentle mirror that let me experience joy, grief and longing such as I'd rarely felt so intensely.

Coming out of finishing the game with the added on wedding DLC (which I highly recommend) leaves me incredibly bittersweet. It gave me so much joy that my face hurts from smiling, and yet I think I'll be mourning the fact that it's over for the next little while. I already have the temptation to start another play-through and go through the journey all over again, just to see how differently my character and Cove can come to love each other.

For someone like me, a sometimes very emotionally repressed person, this game was like therapy. My heart and soul sing with joy, and the wounds of my past feel soothed as if wrapped in a gentle touch. Our Life: Beginnings & Always has convinced me that maybe, just maybe... it's worth trying to love, again. It's worth letting people in, making new friends, finding new people to share joy with. That despite the fact that good times inevitably must end, and life may not always be happy...

... there will always be new beginnings.