Three days may sound like a long time to spend on a train, but if you’re going cross-country in the United States… that’s just how it is. Bring a book or some other way to kill a lot of time. Unless the train is making tracks in Three Days to Chicago, of course; a train on which a chance encounter between Aaron and Paul just might continue past the final stop.
But who are these two, where are they going, and why does the game page describe one of them (Paul) as a ‘bear’ when he is clearly a human being like you and me? Well, Aaron is a video game artist (awesome!) who’s going through a bit of an inspirational block (oh no!), trying to figure out not only the personal but also the professional and romantic aspects of his life. Aaron might at first glance seem completely different, a young-at-heart ‘daddy bear’ – in other words, someone without a care in the world, right? Not exactly. Much like Paul, Aaron has his own internal struggles and challenges to deal with. Perhaps this is that one extremely rare situation where two halves can in fact make a whole. Maybe.
Over the next three days, the pair find themselves drawn closer together and explore the connections between their lives, hopes, and fears.
As for the ‘bear’ thing, simply put, it’s a common descriptor used to describe a gay male of rugged masculinity – which might also explain the ‘young-at-heart’ aspect of Aaron, come to think of it. Anyway, onto something more important: what is to become of the two at the end of this incredibly stylish visual novel? Are they to go their separate ways, become besties, more-than-friends, or something else entirely? With no less than seven(!) different endings, at least one potential outcome for Aaron and Paul is bound to be of the romantic variety. But no matter the conclusion to their story in those six other routes, something tells me those Three Days to Chicago will always be a trip to remember.
