Flowers -Le volume sur ete-

Spoiler free review! As the second game in the Flowers series, this one is a fair sequel to its predecessor. I won't go into detail about the art, music, UI, mechanics etc, as they continue just as wonderfully as the first game had - gorgeous and perfectly fitting the theme of the game. What I will say is that there are both pros and cons to this second instalment. The cons are mainly just the variety of endings you can get - they don't feel quite as diverse as in the first game. However, having played the full game, I can appreciate why the developers chose to write the endings as they are. They make sense for the characters involved, and while not all of them have the magnitude that the first game's endings did, we have to remember that this game is a stepping stone along the road of this 4 part tale, so in a way, it doesn't have to be a huge epic thing, because it's not the be all and end all. The only other criticism I have is that for me personally, there wasn't enough difference between the Lovers ending and the True ending. It felt slightly lazy, and could have done with more distinction to make it feel extra worth it to have played through again for the True Ending. That being said, I still believe that this game is a worthy part of the Flowers series, which brings me to the pros; firstly, I love that you get to play as someone other than Suoh Shirahane, the protagonist of the first game. At first, I wasn't sure about that detail, but I very quickly began to love it. You get to experience the group of girls through a different lens - one which reveals things that Suoh's perspective didn't. It's also interesting to see Suoh from an outside perspective, rather than playing as her as we did previously. Another great thing in this game is that despite it seeming from the outset that we're moving away from the cliffhanger that was left at the end of the first game, we actually uncover some hidden lore that helps that cliffhanger to still be investigated alongside this second game's own main story. Very well done, and I really cherished the moment when it happened. If you've played the first Flowers game, I'd urge you to continue with this one. It's a beautiful universe that the creators have designed, and I can't wait to buy the next two games and progress with the story!