A Taste of the Past by Sondering Studio

First, a word from the publisher: “What do you do when you lose someone you love? A Taste of the Past is an emotional sidescroller about reconnecting with your Chinese culture while navigating a train to the afterlife. Featuring a wholesome story, cooking minigames, and hope.“

What Worked For Me:

The game offered an honest, heartfelt exploration of grief and loss. I won’t dive too deeply into the story since it’s already a short game, but you may leave this one feeling some feelings.
I enjoyed the game’s art style. I found it both visually pleasing and different enough from other anime / manga-inspired visual novels I’ve played in the past.
The game includes a few different dialogue options, thus offering a sprinkle of replayability in an otherwise short game. To that end, I was able to finish the game in about thirty minutes. My guess is that I could “complete” the game (ie see all of the dialogue options) in an hour or less.
The game is free on Steam. As an aside, I think it’s entirely fair that the price to softens most, if not all potential criticisms I might have of the game.
The cooking mini-games are a nice bonus given the game’s cost to purchase (and thus, likely, its budget). They’re not earth-shattering, but they work in the context of the story and they offer a few small reprieves from the heavier side of the game.

What Didn’t:

My only real complaint is that one train car included passengers with an unclear relationship to the protagonist. They were also never explicitly introduced in the dialogue, either, so I just didn’t connect with them on the same level as the other characters in the work.
(nit-pick) The game includes a very cute dog … which you can’t pet. My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.
(nit-pick) I was surprised when the game suddenly had voice acting. I’m glad some was included, but it was a bit strange to have it dropped halfway in. Also, it might just be me, but the voices seemed to be from people around the same age (if not the same person).
(nit-pick) The game only sort of has controller support. You can move your character and access the menu but not much else. With that being said, the game isn’t explicitly advertised as having controller support, so I can’t complain.

Conclusion:

If you’re looking for a short visual novel experience that’ll make you want to call your family and hug your loved ones, this one is definitely worth a look. It’s not a perfect experience, but it’s also free so it’s hard to complain. I’d definitely recommend having some tissues handy, though, since you may end up shedding a few tears before the experience is done.

Check it out here.