16 people found this review helpful
Recommended
0.0 hrs last two weeks / 13.4 hrs on record (11.6 hrs at review time)
Posted: 26 Jan, 2022 @ 10:38pm
Updated: 13 Feb, 2022 @ 8:17pm

Highway Blossoms—a warm and touching yuri story

Highway Blossoms is a Yuri Kinetic VN with a western desert setting. This VN also has a few sex scenes, but the default version from Steam blacks out the images. Despite this, this VN is more about the wholesome relationship between 2 girls so if you are worrying about fanservice, there is basically none.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2753158532
Overview
+ Exquisite CG vertical painting
(There is little sense of collapse in the whole process, some CGs are rendered by light, and the effect atmosphere is impressive)
+ Unique style BGM
(The style of the song is very suitable for the setting of the gold rush in the western United States, the bgm that renders the atmosphere is also in place, and the ending song is very nice)
+ Warm and touching story
(There are few characters on stage, and there are no complicated plots and character relationships. It focuses on describing the inner contradictions and entanglements of the protagonist Amber. The story develops smoothly and naturally, and players who have similar experiences with Amber are likely to empathize and be moved.)
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2753175840
The story
Our story takes place in the desert. There are myths of the "Miner's Treasure", buried with lots of valuables inside. The person who buried the treasure was someone's great grandfather who had struck it rich during the Gold Rush. Recently, people have found the journal and now everyone is on the hunt for the "Miner's Treasure" to become rich.

Amber is a 19 year old girl simply ignoring everything and taking a trip to ease her mind about a something that has been bothering her. Her main plan is to go to a music festival in California. On the way, she ends up finding a cheery girl named Marina who is lost. Amber feels sorry to leave her alone so she offers to let her stay with her. Marina convinces Amber to help her find the Miner's Treasure together. At first, Amber is a bit skeptical, but in the end they decide to work together.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1449896570
The characters
Amber and Marina are both polar opposites in terms of personality. Amber is a more reserved girl who doesn't like crowds or dealing with people in general. On the other hand Marina is a joyful and innocent girl who enjoys anything fun and always loves company. Without spoiling too much, there really is a sense of character development as the story goes on. The girls both learn about each others' pasts, interests, and their own reasons for living life. This does lead to conflicts in their relationship together, but they eventually learn how to understand each other deeply.

The others
This VN has voice acting which helps to immerse you in the story. It isn't only the main cast but even side characters in the story recieve voice acting. Amber is voiced by Katie Dagnen and Marina is voiced by Jill Harris who have mostly worked on other VN titles. They do a decent job portraying their attitudes and during certain times it can seem very believable. I feel Harris does a great job at portraying Marina as a girl who knows how to joke around and simply have a good time.

The art can be a bit inconsistent as CGs sometimes switch from western looking to really moe style. It was not much of a turn off for me as the different styles are used for important scenes such as bonding moments. Other than that, there are plenty of character CGs that show a range of emotions and the sprites move across the screen to show physical movements.The music is a highlight of this game that captures that southern desert feeling. There's guitars and woodwinds to give a sort of 'cowboy' or 'country' vibe to the story.

The reasons I recommend
Yes. If you love a nice Yuri story with a more western feel in terms of characters and settings, Highway Blossoms may be perfect for you.

The treasure hunt isn't really that amazing as it seems to go by fast. The majority of the novel is spent strengthening the bond between Amber and Marina and I feel it ends with a good payoff. Average reading time for me was around 8-9 hours and there's even an end game mode which is all for fun.

The version on Steam appears to be a remastered version which includes improved CGs, voice acting, and additional languages including Russian and Chinese.
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