By coincidence, I finished this just last night, and had more of a mixed reaction.

Because I was very (overly) assiduous at finding every clip to see if there was one more thing I could find to clarify the mystery. I got about 98% there (without the admin cheat) and exhausted my enjoyment as I slowly developed the gnawing sense that there is no 'canonical' solution. I had spent an extra hour or two chasing a needle in a haystack that was in fact never in the haystack. Or more accurately, I found several needles of slightly different shapes, never sure which was the one I was the one I was supposed to look for.

I guess when it comes down to it, this was an 'investigation-turns-into-a-cold-case' simulator, as diminishing returns eat away at your resolve, and you end up with a nagging sense of a job left undone. Well done, Mr. Barlow!

I've always wanted a codicil to Hal Barwood's old "Don't exhaust the player rule" (the #1 rule of the 400 rules!), which is "Don't let the player exhaust themselves." Players can be compulsive idiots, doing things in games that other games have rewarded them for. It's like the old experiment where if a rat in a maze learns to bang on a lever that rewards them with food entirely at random, their lack of ability to distinguish a pattern makes them bang on that lever all day. It's an unintentional formula for bad gameplay.

So I respect Her Story greatly, but after a while the little lever gave fewer and fewer rewards, and ultimately I felt dumber than a rat.