Being a visual novel without any advanced gameplay mechanics beyond sitting there and watching, Class of '09: The Re-Up needed a seriously great script behind it that fleshed out it's characters, dialogue, humor, and the American world of 2009. Many have called it the most accurate period piece in decades that delivered great humor and themes which carried the player through hours of gameplay. Rather than dealing in arbitrary fantasy, it took on the real world by depicting every American high school for what it was. Traditionally this had led to embarrassing content that feels like it was written by a 50 year old man, but this game stood strong in delivering a relatable reality that allows us to think about our own friends, relationships, and school experiences. Any other game dealing with controversial subjects like drug-use, emotional abuse, sexual assault, and more would result in a laughable afterschool special written by people with a distant experience of these topics. Class of '09 shined through because every event was directly inspired by true stories. Other game's stories were made to fill time, Class of '09's story was made for the people who's stories would otherwise be left untold by mainstream media.