This worsens his mental stability, as he watches his party forget their experiences with him at the start of each loop, and he eventually views them as repeating lines in a play.

Out of leads, impatient, and worn down by experiencing a vast amount of loops, Siffrin snaps and insults his party, before leaving to confront the King by himself.

Incredibly strong from fighting in many loops, Siffrin traverses the House alone and comes close to defeating the King, only to be slowed down and frozen in time.

Eventually, with Loop's help, he is woken up by his actual party, which reflects one of the King's spells back at him, freezing him in time just as he finally remembers his country.

[6][7] Bazir found the concept of prophecy and repetition to have potential for a role-playing game, and developed a short prototype: Start Again: A Prologue in 2020.

[6] Bazir was inspired by the latter when writing, wanting to avoid undue focus on Siffrin by making each member of his party distinct and ensuring that they had a "very interesting and rich inner life".

[9][7] The Stanley Parable was also cited by Bazir as a "conscious inspiration" for the game in its approach to creating a "conversation with the player" and instilling a sense of "unease".

[8] The looping narrative was influenced by the repetitive and solitary nature of lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the writing mirroring Bazir's connections with their friends during that time.

[7][6] Additionally, they wanted to expand on the video game trope of replaying sections after dying by having the main character remember previous iterations.

[8] The player's annoyance as dialogue is repeated was designed to mirror what Siffrin would also be thinking, with Bazir stating that "art should make you feel bad emotions sometimes".

[13] In 2024, following the games release, insertdisc5 and Studio Thumpy Puppy collaborated with Yetee Records to create a physical vinyl copy of the full OST.

[16] TechRadar reviewer Catherine Lewis stated it stuck with her "for a very long time after playing" and Izzy Parsons of RPGFan described it as a "a must-play for fans of quirky indie games" but "repetitive more often than I would like".

Parsons described the narrative as the "true heart of the game" and "wonderfully heartfelt and thematic", and Sam Wachter of RPGamer lauded its "powerful twist".

[17] Conversely, Parsons criticised the game for causing "a feeling of being stuck" but noted that it fit the story: "as Siffrin is getting frustrated with the loops, so too is the player".

[1] Nintendo World Report's Jordan Rudek stated that the repetition was "fairly tedious" and difficult to keep track of, but somewhat alleviated by changes in dialogue, while Katharine Castle of Rock, Paper, Shotgun called it "unsatisfying filler".

[17][3] Parsons and Castle also praised the game's battles, but criticised them for remaining the same throughout different loops, claiming that they eventually encouraged the player to skip them or use the escape button.

[1][18] The game's art direction was largely praised; Parsons described the illustrations as "beautifully drawn", and Wachter said that the enemies were "distinctive and full of personality" and the monochromatic palette was "a bold and interesting choice" that thematically cohered with the narrative.