This was an amazing experience. Before anything else, can I just say how
polished it was; how the title screen (which was freaking gorgeous) goes directly into the game without any sort of "play" button, the visual effects that changed depending on what you did with the story, and the perfect music and sound design. The entire thing is really well put-together.
I also appreciated the gender choice for the other person.
Even though the relationship was not a healthy one either way, it was a little touch that is thoughtful and also probably makes the message more meaningful to some.
I played through it six times.
I got the ending where I "won" the first time. I think it was cool that you have that option there, to get out early, but I also liked how short and anticlimactic it was. It made the other endings stand out all the more, and gave that ending the feeling of having just barely missed something.
The second time, I went for the other extreme of giving in every time. The gradual change in the visual effects was well done. They were distracting and grabbed my attention, but not overly so to the point where I couldn't focus on the story anymore. That ending had a sense of despair to it, but I also like that it wasn't definitive; the main character might still be able to attain something like the last ending I played.
Which was by far my favorite, by the way. It really did a great job portraying the idea of recovery. Not something quick and clean (yeah I stopped so now it's just fine again), but something that takes time and support to get through. The friend that moves in seems like a really kind person just based on her dialogue. I also like how she was in color while the rest of the game was on a monochromatic scale. It was also cool how it was possible to reach that ending through a couple different combinations of choices - the first time I got it, I gave in initially but became resistant immediately after. The second time, I flip-flopped back and forth between giving in and resistance, until the time I got the choice of calling or not calling and chose "not calling."
It actually took me some time to find the last ending because I liked the friend so much - it didn't even occur to me, even though the option was right on the screen - to NOT tell her what was happening. I guess that's a testament to what a calming presence she had after the rest of the game, and what a relief it was to know that she was someone who could be relied on. Even though the ending where you don't tell her what happened is arguably a "bad" ending, I like that this one was a little bit open-ended as well. There would still be chances for the main character to open up to her and have somebody to lean on.
Overall, I think this was a really fantastic portrayal of addiction and I think that as many people as possible need to experience this. Have you looked into having it translated into other languages? That would expand its reach a little bit; I know there are a fair amount of people on this forum who speak Russian, Tagalog, Spanish, and French, not to mention the rest of the Internet.