Clannad is a must-play game if you’ve ever loved the Clannad anime. The story is quite old, and some of the jokes definitely feel dated, but overall, it’s a pretty solid experience. There's a good balance of sorrow, sadness, happiness, and a lot of content that never made it into the anime. If you want to deepen your understanding of the story, this game adds a ton of valuable information and emotional depth. I really enjoyed playing it, and for me, it’s a solid 8.5/10.

The game got me good...

Arguably one of the best visual novels ever made and the only piece of media I've experienced that brought out tears of both sadness and joy at multiple points. However, there are some rough edges you'll need to be able to overlook to fully enjoy.

+'s:
- Outstanding story, arguably the best in the "slice of life"/romance genres.
- Vast majority of character lines voiced, most quite well.
- While relatively simple, the music does a great job where it counts. The backing tracks set mood well, most heroine's themes are distinct/catchy, and the silences and big crescendos in the main themes happen just when they need to achieve maximum impact.
- The story is far from being serious 100% of the time. Most routes have multiple "literal LOL" moments. You do need to enjoy corny and slapstick humor for this to apply to you though.

-'s:
Primarily just the limitations and pitfalls of being a 20+ year old romance anime game...
- Dated visuals and presentation
- Dated/cliche dialogue, especially early on.
- Almost every character is a walking cliche when first introduced. The majority get fleshed out and grow nicely as the story progresses but, you know exactly what role/type most are within the first 30 seconds of them being introduced.
- A guide is pretty much mandatory and you'll need to complete nearly every route to unlock "after story", which is really the 2nd half of the main route where the story is actually resolved. Some side routes are a bit weak (nothing truly a slog though) and a couple of the heroines just don't make sense as love interests for the MC. As a result, their romance developments happen late and come off feeling a bit awkward and forced.

?:
- Kotomi is best girl.