Many thoughts about this!! All good!!! I enjoyed it immensely and cannot wait to throw money at a full release.
Friend's design interests me very much! Probably because I'm an art student and have been extensively pushed to analyze visuals... Regardless! Primary colors coupled with pitch black is what initially caught my attention when I saw dear Friend for the first time (banger name choice btw). The primaries are generally reserved for "child's things" (like those big wooden block sets for small children) and are most often coupled with white (purity and lightness: Sunny Day Jack's design comes to mind), but using black (generally reserved for death or a bad omen) had me looking for Friend's origin pretty much immediately because it's a more unusual combination. Unusual enough that I can't really think of anyone/anything to compare it to off the top of my head!
That, and his golden, anime-yellow hair with cutesy hair clips coupled with his... well, his face. Cutie though he be, there's a disconnect between his presentation and his expressions. He looks somewhere between haunted and chronically exhausted. And it works!! It's the perfect line between "sweet tired lad" and "offputtingly creepy."
This is getting longer than intended, but the bottom line is!! I love looking at this game! And playing it was a blast!!!! And I am having a great time and cannot wait for more ! <33