Wednesdays

Wednesdays doesn't try to wow you with flashy gameplay or plot twists. It's a quiet, honest and emotional experience of facing the past and learning to heal. It's the kind of game you play when you want something more personal - something that says something and makes you feel something. If you like narrative games, or crave a story that goes beyond surface drama, Wednesdays is definitely worth playing. It won't appeal to everyone - especially if you need fast-paced action or super-complex gameplay - but if you're open to something slower and more meaningful, it's a little gem that deserves your attention. You won't soon forget it.

Wednesdays is an earnest attempt to move the medium forward when it comes to exploring sensitive and taboo life experiences. Where it reflects on some of the lesser spoken about aspects of abuse, it succeeds. While it has a positive and optimistic view of healing from said abuse, it can occasionally veer into overly hopeful, which may be uncomfortable for some. Unafraid to tackle difficult subject matter, Wednesdays demonstrates how video games can be a vessel for important messages.

Wednesday is an excellent visual novel, as well as a phenomenal script that speaks with great care and awareness of a very heavy topic such as sexual abuse of minors. It is certainly a work that hurts, especially because it is really well written, but it is also a story of hope that awaits those who manage to open their eyes to face their traumas. Net of the various trigger warnings that the game warns of (and also allows you to skip some scenes that, although not graphic, come close to showing the abuse or the more physical consequences of these) I think it is a work that should be discovered by as many people as possible.