Starlit Flowers

A good story can trump almost every other element in a video game, and this stays true no matter the genre or the studio behind the game. This is especially true for visual novels, especially since most of them lack any kind of gameplay mechanics or interactive elements. Thus, a good story is all they can bet on, or at least a great set of characters.

Starlit Flowers is a kinetic novel in which you play the role of a girl by the name of Einar, who one night stumbles into two girls who appear to be from a different world. The term “kinetic” signifies the fact that there are no choices to be made over the course of the story, which means that it always starts and ends the same. On the other hand, it shouldn’t matter if you have fun it with.

Einar is a herbalist traveling the world to gather plants, and she notices to falling stars one night while she is walking through a forest. As it turns out, she finds two girls at the site of the crash: Ailis and Cerise. They are from another world, and given the fact that Einar recently lost her mother, she begins to suspect that they are actual star guardians.

Since you cannot make any kind of choice along the way, the only thing you can do is watch the story unfold and see how the three characters bond with each other along the way. Einar gets a bit of information from the two creatures, and the whole thing can be quite therapeutic if you need a lesson about acceptance and forgiveness.

As for the visual quality, the characters and the environments are very nicely drawn, and the art style is pretty unique, at least in certain regards. On the other hand, it’s worth noting that the backgrounds can be a tad too repetitive and boring sometimes. The same goes for the music, which although can be pretty relaxing, the few available tracks become repetitive in a rush.

In the end, Starlit Flowers doesn’t feature any incredible revelations, but it’s nice enough to keep you engaged all the way through. The artwork is very calming, as is the soundtrack.