I Want to Fly

Set at Soaring Sails University, ‘I Want to Fly’ follows Evie Maine, a student restarting her education midway. Initially focused on making friends and catching up academically, her life changes when she witnesses a glider soaring overhead, igniting her own seemingly impossible dream of flight and teaching her that perseverance is key to overcoming perceived limitations.

I Want to Fly: Review

As the golden sun catches the wings of a glider soaring above Soaring Sails University, we begin our journey into I Want to Fly – a visual novel that transcends its simplistic presentation to deliver an intimate meditation on ambition and vulnerability. Developed and published by Raharabin Games and released on Christmas Eve 2020, this free-to-play indie title represents a paradox: a game with minimal technical ambition yet maximal emotional aspiration. By utilizing the accessible Ren’Py engine amidst a gaming landscape dominated by AAA spectacles, “I Want to Fly” achieves what so many resource-rich productions fail to grasp – authentic human connection through digital storytelling.

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Development History & Context

Raharabin Games emerged as a micro-studio in the fertile soil of indie visual novel development, crafting autobiographical narratives filtered through anime aesthetics. Released during the global pandemic’s isolationist winter, “I Want to Fly” debuted against a cultural backdrop where dreams felt increasingly unattainable – a theme it directly confronts.

The developer’s choice of Ren’Py, an open-source visual novel engine, reveals much about the project’s constraints and priorities. Sacrificing graphical complexity and mechanical depth, this toolset allowed Raharabin to focus resources entirely on narrative authorship. On itch.io, developer notes reveal severe social anxiety hindered progress – a vulnerability poignantly mirrored in protagonist Evie Maine’s journey. This convergence of creator and creation gives the work a raw authenticity rarely found in commercial productions.

The visual novel marketplace of 2020 offered both opportunity and challenge. While platforms like Steam and itch.io democratized distribution, discovery remained difficult for non-commercial titles. That this game built genuine player appreciation despite zero marketing budget speaks volumes about its resonant themes.

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Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

“Have you ever felt like your dream was impossible?” The game’s Steam description poses this koan-like question as both thesis and challenge. Playing as Evie Maine – a young woman entering university midway through the academic year after a mental health gap – we experience the suffocating weight of self-doubt. Initial anxieties about academic integration rapidly transform when witnessing a glider’s aerial ballet, igniting an obsessive new purpose that anchors the narrative.

Narrative Structure:
– Classic bildungsroman arc elevated through psychological introspection
– Seven-chapter progression mirroring Evie’s incremental confidence growth
– Minimal branching paths prioritizing thematic coherence over player agency

Characters as Manifestations:
– Evie’s social anxiety and ADHD (explicitly referenced) translate into gameplay through introspective monologues dominating screen time
– Supporting characters like the glider instructor become psychological mirrors reflecting Evie’s internalized fears
– Romantic interests (tagged LGBTQ+ and Romance) serve as emotional catalysts rather than plot devices

Thematic Exploration:
– The Anatomy of Impossible Dreams: Deconstructs how perceived barriers (family, finance, mental health) become self-constructed prisons
– Flight as Psychological Metaphor: Glider mechanics subtly echo therapeutic exposure therapy techniques
– The Courage of Trying: Reinvents the “follow your dreams” trope into an existential manifesto – failure lies not in falling but in never leaping

The narrative resonates strongest when exploring the intersection of passion and pathology. Evie’s racing thoughts during panic attacks manifest as overlapping text boxes – a brilliant Ren’Py implementation turning engine limitations into storytelling assets. That said, the pacing suffers slightly from underdeveloped secondary characters who serve primarily as emotional sounding boards.

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Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

As a pure visual novel, “I Want to Fly” operates on elegantly simple mechanics:

Core Interaction Loop:
1. Text progression through click/auto-advance
2. Sparse dialogue choices (7 significant decisions)
3. Minimal QTE-like distraction minigames

Character Progression:
– Knowledge system tracking aviation comprehension
– Emotional “courage meter” shown through Evie’s dialogue confidence
– Relationship milestones signaled by visual novel’s signature CGs (Computer Graphics)

Interface Design:
– Spartan aesthetic eliminating unnecessary UI
– Trigger warnings discreetly embedded in settings menu
– Thoughtful palette choices for dyslexic accessibility

While functional, the Ren’Py foundations highlight inherent constraints. Player agency remains confined to evocative rather than consequential choices – selecting whether to confide vulnerability in peers or retreat into isolation creates emotional resonance without dramatically altering outcomes. Combat exists entirely in the metaphorical space: battlefield psychology replaces swords and spells.

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World-Building, Art & Sound

The game elevates minimalism into an art form through thoughtful construction:

Setting as Symbolism:
– Soaring Sails University’s treeless campus suggests anti-nostalgic modernity
– The endlessly visible blue sky serves as persistent visual motivation
– Glider hangar scenes utilize forced perspective to emphasize scale against vulnerability

Visual Metaphors:
– Sunset palettes (ochres, lavenders) during introspection scenes
– Character sprites intentionally static during anxiety sequences
– Flight manuals as narrative objects rendered like illuminated manuscripts

Aural Landscape:
– Licensed ambient tracks create unobtrusive emotional scaffolding
– Pitch-perfect silence during critical dream sequences
– Aircraft sound effects filtered through dreamlike distortion

The restrained anime/manga aesthetic serves narrative rather than decorative purposes. Evie’s expressive eyes convey paragraphs of unspoken emotion, while the simplified backgrounds prevent sensory overload during intense psychological sequences. Unlike kinetic novels, the fixed-perspective presentation strengthens the sensation of witnessing life through Evie’s singular subjective gaze.

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Reception & Legacy

Player response presents a fascinating case study in word-of-mouth appreciation:

Launch Metrics (Steam):
– Positive Reviews: 93% (30 of 32)
– Tags: Casual (172), Indie (117), Visual Novel (110)
– User Tags: “#Emotional” widely cited

Community Sentiment:
– itch.io users praised “well-written characters” and “brave mental health representation”
– Steam discussion focused on personal parallels with Evie’s journey
– Minimal walkthrough requests reinforce narrative-focused engagement

Competitive Landscape:
Outperformed unrelated titles with similar names (“I Want Toilet,” “I Wanna Fly”) through organic discovery. Its free-to-play model eliminated barrier to entry – crucial for reaching players who most identified with its mental health themes.

Lasting Influence:
– Demonstrated how accessible tools like Ren’Py empower marginalized storytelling
– Risked depicting mental disorders not as plot obstacles but lived experience
– Inspired later titles like “An Airport for Aliens Currently Falling” (2021) in using aviation as therapy metaphor

The game quietly achieved cult status among the LGBTQ+ visual novel community, despite lacking mainstream recognition. Its permanent free status ensures continued rediscovery – essentially a digital time capsule of pandemic-era isolation and hope.

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Conclusion

In the crowded ecosystem of indie visual novels, “I Want to Fly” soars precisely because it understands gravity. Every limitation – the minimalist art, linear structure, and sparse mechanics – transforms into emotional strength when anchoring Evie Maine’s profoundly human journey from paralysis to possibility. Raharabin Games crafted an extraordinary paradox: a low-fi production with high-impact psychology that reaches heights its protagonist dreams of.

While constrained by budget and design scope (underdeveloped secondary characters frustrate somewhat), these become necessary compromises delivering thematic coherence. By turning Ren’Py’s constraints into storytelling superpowers, the studio demonstrates how passion can transcend resources.

Final Verdict:
Not merely a visual novel but an interactive soliloquy on courage, “I Want to Fly” earns its place in gaming’s emotional canon. Its availability at the universal price of $0.00 represents a generous gift – players receive in return something priceless: the quiet affirmation that their impossible dreams might have wings after all. For anyone who has watched others soar while feeling earthbound, this is essential playing.