I Wani Hug that Gator! Reviews

This game and even just its soundtrack has made me cry on multiple occasions. 11/10 writing and the best visual novel I've ever read. Absolute cinema <3

I played this game all the way through the night for nearly ten hours straight. I do not regret my decision a single bit. During my all-night first time playthrough of this game, I got Ending 3, and I felt incredibly moved. I couldn't help but enjoy how organic the dialogue was, even though it came off incredibly dorky sometimes. I seldom grow attached to characters easily, but Olivia was one of them, and while this may not be a sober thought, the way her relationship with Inco develops throughout the story is nothing short of a masterpiece. The conflicts suit the coming-of-age visual novel perfectly, and each and every character feels so real, as if it was all based on some sort of true story. I even felt that Inco, although clearly based off of the "anon" trope, felt so real, it makes me wish he had a proper face. Although I haven't 100% completed the game, I don't think I ever want to.

Enjoyed every moment of this visual novel and highly recommend it to anyone even remotely interested

i have been a fan of visual novels but never found something with so much heart and soul put into it even if is the result of a bunch of 4chan users just trying to make a point that they could make something better then a company in canida though i just finshed my first play through and didnt quite get the ending i was expecting i was raleved to know there are three more wating for me to discover and that just brings a smile to my face and makes me excited for there next project exit 665 ending this review i can say this game no this story really had me every moment

After playing, I learned that the titular character isn't the only one who needs a hug. The developer excels at crafting a heartwarming or heartwrenching story. Very enjoyable experience, would recommend.

Wow..Never in all my years of gaming has a game made me feel as emotional as this game did. I absolutely adore this game and its story. I haven never been so affected by how a game was written. The emotions I felt during my time playing is other worldly. I simply cannot put into words the effects this games has had on me, I enjoyed every second of it and shed a bucket full of tears while doing so. I highly recommend this game if you love a good story and need something to pull at your heart strings.

After 100 percenting this experience I can wholeheartedly say that this game blew my expectations out of the water and beyond the stratosphere even, I knew after finishing the demo that the rest of the game could only get better but I didn't think the overall story and character progression would turn out to be this incredible. The art only grows more detailed and beautiful the longer you progressed into the story, the animations are awesome, the character's designs and overall style of the game are extremely unique and well done and those are just but a mere few praises that I can give this experience, I could go on and on for hours! In conclusion this experience is one I'll cherish forever and I believe that everybody should give this ride a go, trust me on this, you will not regret it!

I took a long time to sit down and give this game a proper try, but I am glad I did. Gator-Hug Simulator is a stellar experience, full of wit, heart, and love for its characters and their story. This game made me feel more empathy and love for these silly dinosaurs and their bald ape buddy than any other game of the last years-- hell, the last time I cried this much was the ending of Persona 4 Golden. You know the moment, when the piano starts playing and the train begins to roll. I could probably write half a dozen paragraphs about everything I love about it, but at the end of the day, it just made me wani hug a Gator. And try haystack cookies!

Absolutely phenomenal visual novel. While it doesn't have tons of different dialogue options, this is a must-play. An absolute emotional rollercoaster in the best way. Lots of laughing and crying, both sad and happy. Absolutely adorable and beautiful game. Great and endearing animation and art style. Just try to pay attention to everything and understand Olivia as well as you can, and consider your choices very carefully, and try to get the happiest ending, ending 4. I challenge you to not cry like a baby playing this game.

I gave this game a shot after a friend recommend it. I made fun of him for playing a furry game naturally, because of all of its connotations and the repulsive subculture, but I downloaded the demo to try it out. To my surprise, the writing was good and it was getting better. It has animations and they are good? And the music is great too? No way. Oh no. Twenty five hours of reading later and I think I just had the most humbling, life changing gaming experiences of my life. Easily the 2024 game of the year, no competition. And while I still can't stand furries this is now one of my favorite games. Are those two things contradictory positions? Yes. First of all, everything from the colorful style to the name "I Wani Hug That Gator" screams that this is a bad attempt at a self parody, a cringy wifu simulator, or a ♥♥♥♥ post. It completely embraces this expectation, or rather it completely unapologetically embraces its dumb premise and asks itself 'But how do we actually make this kind of game good?'. And the answer is to just tell a compelling romance story, but the impressive part is that they actually managed to pull it off. The style in a way blindsides the player, the over the top designs make you lower your guard, so when the moment comes, the exploration of more mature themes hits all the harder. And it is masterfully executed. A big part of the game's charm for me are the multiple endings that give the game real stakes. The main character is not a blank slate, although you couldn't tell by the design. Instead, you guide him in a certain path by picking some choices for him, watch him struggle with his own problems and hopefully by the end of the game he becomes his own person. To my surprise, there is never a point in the story that feels off tone wise, and the humor is well balanced with the more serious plot points. Despite the fact that a big part of the game is lighthearted banter intermittent with slapstick humor, the game and the story itself never become the punchline. It's so refreshing compared to modern day marvelbrain baby writing today's writers are increasingly afflicted with. This game is clearly a labor of love, it is what you would call soulfull. In this day and age where products masquerade as art, this is a shining example of what is possible to create when you create with heart. Everything from the writing, the art, the music, and the animations work wonderfully together to create a cohesive believable world. The music does a lot to elevate the scenes, and there are some real gems in there. You know that a soundtrack is good, when you notice it. "I Dream of a Dance", "Final First Page", "Furious March of Red", "Green Specter", "Teenage Traffic" all stand out as highlights of the original soundtrack. The are fantastic on their own, and paired together with the scenes they are written for they are absolute perfection, and I love them. Even the non original tracks are well picked and add a lot to scenes in which they are used. We are talking about some real tear jerking tracks that will leave even the most grizzled, shriveled up, bonafide crusty sailor complaining about sudden onsets of rain or having some crap stuck in their eyes. The only questionable parts are the crude pixelated background images that are either passable or stick out like a sore thumb. There was an effort made to make them fit in, but some of them really make the game feel cheap in comparison to the rest of it. The art that is there is great, and while the budget was obviously put into some parts (animations) and not others (background images), there clearly wasn't a lack of effort, because the game is full of details. For example, all over the game there are simple sprite movement animations of the characters visually reacting to something that was said or seen. They add life to the characters and some of them are very cleverly used to convey the story through visuals. The characters are for the most part well written and very human. They feel as if they are real people, and not just characters there to entertain you or to be a foil to you. While I have given a lot of praise here to the writing, it is not perfect by any means. There are some flaws with the story, but none of them are enough the ruin the good parts. For example not all the characters got the amount of exploration I would have liked. Some parts felt rushed and are left somewhat unfinished, but it's clear that the writers wanted to focus on the two main characters. The reason being, delivering the game's central themes. The two main characters Inco and Olivia struggle with self actualization, agency and responsibility, and you get two see them at their best or worst depending on your choices. The game does a beautiful job of presenting those struggles, and it does so consistently, with kindness, and most importantly a real sort of rough sincerity that could have only come from the author's personal experience. The maturity with which the themes and characters are explored makes this one of the best romance stories I've ever seen. If I had to describe the game in two words, it would be unapologetically sincere. And finally, I don't think a piece of media ever made me cry out of happiness before. I cried like a baby during one of the animations. This wonderful story made me really inspired to create again, something I hadn't felt in a long time. I didn't know how much I needed this game until I got to play it. This piece of art touched me deeply, and it's messages will stick with me forever. I will never forget your game. Thank you Cavemanon.