You want to have a wish granted. To get your wish granted you must visit the ocean for nine days. But there's a problem with the ocean. The ocean has stopped responding to wishes and so, people have become angry. Will you be able to get your wish granted?
The word Novena means a type of worship where you must pray for nine days in a row. Although there's no religious aspects in the game, you must visit the ocean for nine days. The game, created by Haraiva is an interactive poem accompanied by haunting music by Brambles. It was created with Bitsy - a program on Itch.io which allows people to create minimalistic pixel games. Some Bitsy games are too abstract to follow. However, in Novena there is a beautiful and relatable plot that uses Bitsy's minimalism to create a unique atmosphere. The art, music, and atmosphere help you focus further on the story.
Using your arrow keys, you are able to visit the ocean each day and converse with it. When you visit, you can see the ocean's mental state, as its emotions are shown in weather changes and dialogue. Colors provide directional hints and change with the mood of the ocean. In your many conversations you find out about the burden of constantly being asked to give. You learn more about the ocean, yourself, and how to cope with pain. For such a short dialogue, Novena is a surprisingly thoughtful and poetic view of the search for happiness.
Update