I apologize for the length of this comment ahead of time.
This is the first time I've commented on a game, but I felt like I had to. This touched me very, very deeply, and hit closer to home than I expected any game to. I didn't know what to expect, going into this game, so when the first bad ending hit, I was completely unprepared.
It almost felt like you have to get a bad ending first. You need that dream, that experience to push you to really fight to get your character to stay and spend time with May. It took me another bad ending before I realized I could approach her and ask if she was doing okay. I tried to ignore the goth gf at first, but didn't realize we'd still leave and go get dinner with friends.
Having been in the position of the playable character, as well as May's.. It hit me hard. It's a little embarrassing to admit, but when I first read about the dream, "No, don't go, don't go alone" - I cried. I don't know why, but I cried. I cried because I've felt that fear for someone else, I've felt that fear for myself. "Don't go alone, stay here, I'll be here", and "Please, I don't want to go, but it feels like I have to. Please don't leave me with myself".
The way the characters talk about depression felt so real and raw. Everyone experiences depression differently, but I empathized so hard with May. It was almost a healing experience, choosing different bubbles to talk about with her and reading the conversations they had about it. It was such a healthy interaction - and the options of "why are you sad" vs "wait" really stuck out to me, when you catch May in the bathroom. It felt like helping May required the right mix of proaction and reaction. You can't keep pushing forward to get her to speak, but sometimes, you need to take the first steps - sometimes few, sometimes many - to save a life.
I'll stop rambling now - I just wanted to say, thank you. This was beautiful in every way. The meat of the game was unexpected and impactful, it was done well, the atmosphere and art fit wonderfully. It felt real and impactful - It's definitely made me think. I appreciated the use of trigger warnings, as well. Personally, this game handled the topic in a way that was blunt enough to really hit me, but didn't trigger me.
Will definitely be playing Angela He's other games.
Take care everyone. You do matter.