(I apologize in advance for the lengthy comment, but I felt that all of the wonderful work you put into this deserves to have its reception and praise be heard)
Forester Title theme: You have a great ear to be able to place such different instrument timbres next to each other and make them sound phenomenal. The solo violin is gorgeous. I think it was a cool choice to have the long 8 bit synth play a pedal tone underneath because it prepared my ears to hear orchestral plus 8 bit together for the rest of the soundtrack.
A Tale of Two Lovers: The lute-like strums accompanying the flute and oboe give such a delicate sound that is perfect for a story-telling narrative to set up the game. They are so exposed yet they sound so good. I may need to invest in the libraries you use… but at the same time I wish I could at the same time get the skill you have at making them stand out and come to life!
Nettle Glade (Day): The staccato woodwinds, especially in the minor B section sound like actually skipping or tip-toeing through a field of nettles. Great musical imagery.
Nettle Glade (Night): This is such a cool idea to have alternate versions of each level and adds tremendously to the gameplay. The low piano roll felt so good in this song. I like the sparseness of acoustic instrumentation with just the occasional piano painting the musical imagery that you are in a different place, but it still is connected to real world.
Evening’s Reflection: I love the reintroduction of the Lover’s theme here. I notice that there is quite a lot of reverb added to this track, but with the solo guitar, I wonder if finding an intermediary value would be beneficial so that the rawness of the solo guitar can help emulate the rawness of the emotion the main character feels during this point at the end of each day.
Lumbermill Lake: This is my favorite so far! I love the short string clusters panned to the side. The guitar feels so peaceful against the string breeze while the piccolo and xylophone add some jovial excitement to the texture. Expertly crafted! I may end up borrowing your instrumentation choice on this one.
The Marshlands (Day): This has a very desert-y sound to it which I absolutely love. The piano and bells then add more of a mystical feel. The contrast of the dark atmosphere with the re-introduction of the main theme feels perfect. It makes this location feel uncomfortable yet familiar. So far in your soundtrack I notice a really nice balance of at least 3 different instruments carrying the melody in each track which I think is a really great way to also create more character identity in each of the pieces. I like this idea and will try borrowing it to see if it helps my composition.
The Marshlands (Night): The spooky wobble is a fun touch. There is a muddiness to the wet reverb you use which fits nicely with what a marshland actually is. Again I like the light piano ornamentation with chip tune theme you use for the night themes.
The Marshlands (Dark Night): Another really cool idea! It would have been cool to hear the transition in action within the night theme. But in this format it’s also game ready!
The Oasis: Adding in the electric bass is a new instrument which tells us that we’ve reached an area that we’ve never seen anything like before yet which I think is a very clever effect. But I also notice similarities in the melody from the marshlands to this theme which make it feel like a natural progression on the journey.
Jessamine’s Temple: What a unique piece to write a tango in 15/4 time. This definitely adds to the exotic feel of the temple. Using both orchestral instruments and chiptune within the same piece after hearing the chiptune exclusively in night themes before gives the sense that this temple exists somewhere in between the day and night worlds.
Wisteria Pass (Day): The choir and flute swells make this area feel magical. The synth sound gives a nostalgic feeling of the classic Mario 64 Dire Dire Docks making this place feel extra special.
Wisteria Pass (Night): Glad you kept the choir and flute swells even in the night theme! That would be difficult to translate to chiptune I would think.
Wisteria Pass (Dark Night): Oh that low EQ on the choir sounds perfect for the dark night version! The reversal effect is also unique and interesting.
Aspenroot: Your description of this location is very apt. Disorienting and magical are great descriptors and the choices you made to fit those characteristics were very clever.
The Thornway (Day) and (Dark Night): Having the orchestra and chiptune playing together described exactly what was happening in the story without me even needing to read what you wrote (though I did because your story-telling is very intriguing).
Entering the Temple: The echoey organ with both diatonic and dissonant harmonies gives an odd sense of spirituality and toxicity. It is difficult to find a tonal center which is a great effect for your musical narrative.
Facing Esona: The organ intro is definitely final boss worthy! The following bassoon bounciness feels less final battle-y but gives a sense that you need to be tactful and calculating in how you face Esona rather than just button-mashing to win the battle. I wonder if adding more to the percussion might have made Esona feel a little more powerful as a final boss.
Her Last Wish: After everything before, this is such a heart-wrenching decision to make. It’s cruel to do to the player, but also such a perfect way to cap such an emotionally investing story. The somber tone with the flute playing a sweet melody and reintroduction of a previous motif give the music the bittersweet sensation that matches the gameplay. Such great ideas!
Homebound (Credits): This is a nice finalizing piece that captures the emotions of sadness, guilt, relief, exhaustion, and consolation. I wish I had the ability to include so many emotions into a single loop! Well done!
Overall: What a special thing you have created. This is incredible. I frequently reserve 5 star votes in any given category for submissions that truly standout to me, but yours has stood out in a way that I believe earns you all 5s: my impression of the story, the quality of sound, the expansile world of the game and the nuanced details you paid attention to and the shear volume of quality music stands out; the creativity with having alternate themes depending on time of day and on spread of disease and the way that the alternate versions present themselves and their instrumentation is an extremely creative, yet perfectly implementable idea for this to be game-ready; the composition is amazing in the way you weave instrumentation, have interesting harmonies and flowing melodies that all have purpose, and in the use of overarching structure, story-telling through music, and use of motifs is professional; the quality of the sounds you use and the presentation of your mixes sound like they come from the biggest name labels and make the music sound alive; and the theme is embodied completely in the story you’ve woven from both the aspect of running away as well as the picture theme to create environmental context for your game. All in all, amazing work. You’ve created a few masterpieces over the past few OST jams and I certainly hope you get the recognition you deserve in this one. Masterful work not only on the composition, but on the story and game narrative and design as well. You have a marketable product here that is very much worthy to be a best-selling game. I highly respect your talent as well as your altruism as I’ve also noticed you have been writing thorough and helpful comments for many submissions. Thank you for all you’ve done and for being a part of this community! Excellent, excellent work my friend.