Perfect Tides: Station to Station is more somber than wistful, more grounded than nostalgic, and more realistic than fanciful. The 2003 setting feels circumstantial rather than deliberate as a storytelling device, and the autobiographical piece of it bleeds from every word of text. It’s not entirely a downer and has plenty of humor, personality, and hopefulness. But it’s not trying to make you feel good about looking back at the past and being a fun game. This is a story about what it’s like to be on your own for the first time, and everything that comes with that. The unforeseen complications, the relationships, the learning. You’ll be reminded of the things you regret in your own life just as much, if not more than, the things you look back on fondly. You might laugh, you might cringe a little, both on behalf of Mara and yourself. Above all, it’s a good reminder that you’ve always struggled, and you’re still here to reflect. And that’s pretty cool.