Highway Blossoms

Highway Blossoms
N/A
Metacritic
95
Steam
88.117
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$6.49
Release date
17 June 2016
Steam reviews score
Total
95 (1 807 votes)

The gold rush has struck the west for a second time. Highway Blossoms is the story of Amber, a girl trying her best to be alone on the road until she stumbles upon a young hitchhiker and the journal of a prospector from long ago.

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Highway Blossoms system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows XP
  • Processor: 1 GHz Intel or AMD Processor
  • Memory: 1024 MB RAM
  • Graphics: OpenGL or DirectX Compatible Graphics Card
  • DirectX: Version 9.0c
  • Storage: 680 MB available space
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The Jillty Gear
The Jillty Gear

This is a very cute lesbian road trip, where the 2 ladies meet on the road and end up together by the end. Of course it's not the smoothest ride (what relationship is?), and it handles that very nicely.

TheOneAndOnlyRanch
TheOneAndOnlyRanch

this is just a flat out enjoyable read, its a great feel good read and i reccomend it to anyone able

ninryu
ninryu

One of the greates visual novels I had the pleasure of playing.

何も考えず、百合だけ
何も考えず、百合だけ

two lesbians in the desert searching for the gold what will they do

also I HATE THE DESERT RV MODE I HATE THE DESERT RV MODE

Illiathu
Illiathu

TL:DR THIS IS AMAZING! I wholeheartedly recommend this.

Picked this up on sale expecting a generic yuri feelgood VN. What I got instead was:
- A story that is an amazing roller-coaster of emotions, from happy, to sad, to silly, to scary and all stops in between.
- A well fleshed out cast of characters (both of the main heroines, the small but memorable cast of supporting characters and even the extras who only have a few lines are both believable and hit the mark on the feelings they should evoke.B)
- An amazing soundtrack (seriously, I cannot praise the artists enough for this!)
- Some incredible voice actor talent (The fact it was dubbed in English kinda put me off to begin with as I tend to be a "purist" when it comes to anime dubbing, but I very quickly fell in love with them all)
- and some absolutely beautiful CGs and artwork.

The base game took me around 5-6 hours to finish and the DLC, Next Exit, took me around 4. So both can be marathon-ed in two free afternoons.

I tend not to be a fan of of the adult scenes in VNs however the ones in HB are quite short, tasteful and really relevant to the plot of the story, so I would recommend installing the 18+ patch even if you aren't a fan of this sort of content.

Big thank you to Studio Élan and Studio Coattails for making this game. I hope there will be more DLC to come, however in case there isn't, I'll be playing Heart of the Woods next, which, if is even half as good as this will be amazing.

Jay-155
Jay-155

This game is pretty great! The story is compelling and the characters are written so astoundingly well! I couldn't put it down once I started it, Highway Blossoms immersed me almost immediately and wouldn't let me go!

cHamzKi
cHamzKi

Review using one quote from the game:

"Sleeping 07:59:56"

i press buttons
i press buttons

Loved the plot of the game and the characters. It was worth every penny! Also get the DLC, its definitely worth it :)

dainbramage7
dainbramage7

This is one of those games that once you finish it you wish you could rewind time so you could experience it anew. I really appreciate the dynamic between Amber and Marina, and the inclusion of the emotional weight of Amber's grandfather really weighing her down makes the story so much more relatable. Also, the trio of misfits they keep running into crack me up (especially young Tess) and they add a lot to the story. Overall, I fully recommend this game for those who want 5-6 hours of genuine entertainment in visual novel form but also appreciate a romance story with emotional weight and substance.

Gaiko
Gaiko

Well-written story with good art, interesting characters and amazing voice acting.

春江花月夜
春江花月夜

nice nice good good game,I played this game two years ago, but I didn't understand or think something at that time.
Now I have played again and I just thought this summer would be funny

take that hackers
take that hackers

Lesbians who were living the domestic life before they realized it.

Valkyria
Valkyria

While the idea of some dry desert trip didn't struck me
at first (yeye, im not from America) I originally put this
game aside. One day, I atleast wanted to see the trailer.

This young man in his suit dancing to sexy yuri music
and knocking bad jokes absolutely sold it for me.

--- Review ---

Story:
The story is very well written. Nothing seems forced,
nothing feels weird, its overall incredibly well crafted.
Even though I doubted the setting at first, I wouldnt
wish for any other later on, it was just perfect.

Unlike other VN's, this one had no choices. And it
still works out good and plays out like an wonderful
story, loomed by professional writers.

While the story is quite long, it never feels stretched
or boring, even in the sober parts. Always hyping to
continue.

My biggest plus in the story is - while it is supposed
to be a lovestory - we still get an entire adventure
built around it. Amber and Marina travel around
America, trying to find the treasure while also
visiting popular places in several states. The pacing
was insanely well done.

Characters:
Great, fleshed out and interesting in their own ways.
I loved all of them, even Mariah. Somehow. Yes.

Graphic:
Places are well drawn, the mood and atmosphere
is always fitting and the characters are drawn very
pretty. Amazing job!

Features:
Lots of options and even some replay-shenanigans.

Sound:
Music is great, especially the desert-themed tracks.
The voice acting is amazing and whenever sound was
needed, it was added in a fitting way.

18+:
Oh you better believe I popped that in with 300mph.
Was very cute ♥

Ending:
Satisfying and deserved.

--- Over all ---

A beautiful little game that will give you a certainly
nice experience and is definitely worth the money.

habicore
habicore

almost put me in tears and left me mentally ill for a week

Otome Gremlin
Otome Gremlin

Highway Blossoms is an amazing kinetic visual novel with a realistic take on lesbian relationships. So real, sometimes, that it can actually be a bit hard to watch. The voice actors all fit the characters very well and bring life to the otherwise dull gameplay without any choices. There are virtually no spelling errors that I can recall and no issues with functionality. The settings menu has an abundance of choices and everything is extremely well organized so no complaints there.

At some points the story seems a little bit rushed, and in others it feels too drawn out and sluggish, but for the most part I enjoyed the main plot as well as the side characters' bits. The main character, Amber, can unfortunately be pretty unlikable and was my main source of contempt for this game but most of the time she's alright. I have to say that the Next Exit DLC was a great addition and fun to play through but sometimes had me doubting the titular characters' relationship even more than the base game. Hearing the others' points of view shed a whole lot of light on certain situations as well.

I played Highway Blossoms' sister game Heart of the Woods first and also enjoyed that one immensely, so I'd say that you can trust Studio Élan to create quality vn's with a lot of soul. I'm looking forward to what games they'll put out in the future.

maddy
maddy

Absolutely one of the best Yuri VNs I've read. Real fun characters, very sweet relationship building, and a really unique premise brings this one together for me along with tackling some of the issues that come with loss, grief, and the journey to overcome those feelings.

Seriously makes you squeal with delight and heart pounding soft moments.

Idiot Box
Idiot Box

GIVE ME STRENGTH YURI!
FIRE OUT OF CONTROL!
IT'S HARD TO FOCUS!
MY LIFE FOR YURI!
NON BELIEVERS!

reN
reN

One of the best VNs I've read. Very good, very gay!

ToastyTime
ToastyTime

Wholesome Reddit Moment

Before buying Highway Blossoms I watched a review that claimed it was impossible to make fun of. I then learned that Alienworks (the team that developed this game) was formed in 2012 by a group of volunteers from the visual novels subreddit. Now, in my mind, "not make fun of" and "redditors" simply do not go together, so I bought this game as a challenge.

I wanted to see if a bunch of redditors could write a compelling romance, and after playing the main game and entire dlc, I can confidently say that yes sorta ehhhhh. It's overall a solid, wholesome, entertaining romance, but it does have some immense cringe. Yet again I find myself wishing Steam had a neutral review option.

See a more in-depth "review" here: https://youtu.be/SHM2kVou5P8

BerylliumBanana
BerylliumBanana

I wanted to like it, but it left me with a sour taste. The voice acting didn’t add to the experience, the writing was downright bad at times, and the romance wasn’t compelling. The characters were often unlikable too. I could excuse the ridiculous plot if the characters had better chemistry with each other, but instead it falls flat.

I’m sad that this is recommended often for people that want wholesome wlw romance. You can see the hours I put in—I truly tried to find something to like about it and couldn’t.

tiwerter
tiwerter

游戏不错,画风挺好,音乐也挺好,就是剧情有些突兀。
“我昨晚和你SOX了,然后我就迷茫了,然后今天我就因为一些倒霉的事情宠发火,然后我冷静了,然后我觉得让你走比较好,然后我和之前遇到的一个混蛋聊了一会天,我就悟了,然后我又向你道歉,请你留下来”
剧情节奏把控不到位啊。
而且另一位主角的描写太少了,既然是百合,就整些百合特色出来。(如果DLC有当我没说)

Foxicann
Foxicann

Would honestly love another installment of the game! I love this game and the artwork with it! I do hope you guys decide to make a sequel or another DLC!
Edit: I have achieved over 150 hours :)
Edit 2: I have achieved over 200 Hours :D

MiyakoThug
MiyakoThug

Ah my favorite type of sorcery...

L E S B O M A N C Y

*sobs*

Jellyish_
Jellyish_

I like the part where they kissed

CamEth
CamEth

Talking about the plot and story, it can get really annoying at times. But I think the romance between the two characters was well written and both of them using eachother well that's realism. I do think Marina's act of childish is mostly because of her large family and not actually being able to be like a child, because she had even more little brothers/sisters. And Amber who only family was her grandpa, I think it was an interesting story overall. I enjoyed it, and felt it even if it got to much at times. Btw my favorite part was the festival, when they are resting against eachother and talking about what they wanna do with the treasure.

I guess i can see how eveyone would think of the +18 scenes a bit too...forced? But while reading them throughtout the story, It kinda made sense to it? The recently new couple being awkard and messy around those scenes, also I did felt so bad that Amber faked it, but dang things you do for love. Also, one thing I dislike generally was voice acting, it was really... to say that the best acting goes for Tess, and during the +18 scenes is kinda really not it to be honest. I actually did ended up liking the soundtrack the game had, but the foleys where kinda awful, way to loud and not clean. Kinda expected more as foleys have a great impact in getting inmerse in VN.

your avarage teenager
your avarage t…

"hey Marina i think we went in the wrong RV?" Why is there equiments for meth brewing?

HaruIsMyWaifu
HaruIsMyWaifu

such a cute game, 10/10 would recommend

also the dub is fantastic

tjackie
tjackie

My very first Visual Novel. Got it right after release, immediately loved it, still do.
Now I'm addicted to Yuri VN's O.O

Centipede Chan
Centipede Chan

Highway Blossoms is the first paid visual novel I've played, and I've only played 4 VNs at the time of this review. It's also the first I played with english voice acting. I didn't think I'd like the voice acting, but it was actually well done and the VAs did a good job matching their characters tone the way they were written.

The story was done nicely, I didn't think it would be the most exciting thing to go through. But the dynamics between Amber and the rest of the main cast were all written incredibly well. The soundtrack was fitting and comfy. The conflicts were especially strong, they didn't pull any punches with Amber's feelings. The yuri scenes were nice of course. I don't have any complaints, felt like I got my money's worth. Someday I'll get the dlc

It wasn't about the destination, it was about the journey. The real road trip lesbians were the friends we made along the way

Jal
Jal

Highway Blossoms is a cute lesbian love story about a young woman travelling in her RV to a music festival and rescues a damsel in distress on the side of a desert freeway. Together they go on an adventure and fall in love. The art is pretty good, the music is pretty good; the story and emotion have some cringeworthy moments but its a fun time.

All the dialog is fully voiced, but unfortunately, the actress that voiced the protagonist is abysmal. It is incredibly distracting at just how poor of a job she did and its felt in nearly every single delivery. The voice work for the other main character is pretty good; occasionally over the top, but she does a fine job conveying the bubbly innocence that makes her such a likable character. Fortunately, individual voices can be muted; should you choose to do so.

This is a kinetic novel, there are no choices.

The DLC patch provides uncensored, non-mosaic'd scenes.

Quantuis
Quantuis

Very good and cute story. On top of the main storyline, there's also some additional content like the Goofball mode that is there mostly just for fun. I loved the inclusion of Tara from Heart of The Woods in that one mixtape MLG moment in High Speed Flower Bloom mode, it absolutely made my day. Couldn't stop laughing. Props for that.

The music is good, but what really stood out to me was the voice acting. The actors did a really good job at portraying their characters. Even side characters had voice acting.

I definitely recommend getting the DLC if you liked the original game. It's a continuation on Amber and Marina's relationship, but also takes a closer look at other characters, as well as letting us see the point of view of not just Amber, but also Marina's and the Trio's. I might have actually enjoyed it more than the original story.

Blue Love
Blue Love

Positive:
-Cute waifu designs
-Characters are memorable with charming personalities
-Story is simple to follow
-Witty humor
-Free hentai patch
-Fully voiced characters
-Good build up to emotional scenes

Negatives:
-Exposition is VERY slow
-Amber's inner monologue kills the flow during the voiced scenes
-Extreme mode

d_d_c_95
d_d_c_95

not the best vn not the worst but was enjoyable over all worth buying on any kinda sale

Casual Candy Cane Enjoyer
Casual Candy C…

I fucking love this game so much, the story is amazing.
I just love the characters, graphics, story and just everything about it.

gay crime doer
gay crime doer

I'm a lesbiab
Lesbiam
Less bien
...Girls

beccaisadog
beccaisadog

No likable characters and the love interest is mentally challenged.

Whitley
Whitley

This might be one of my only serious reviews of a game, but for my experience, this game really deserves it.
TLDR; 10/10 would yuri again

Written before purchase of the Next Exit DLC:
This is my first real VN (not counting Sakura Santa or Doki Doki for pretty clear reasons) and I think it's genuinely good. Sometimes the voice acting can be a little over the top but it's kinda what you'd expect out of a game like this. I recently went through a breakup and honestly this VN filled the void. Wholesome, honest fun with a good pinch of hardship and relationship awkwardness, as well as some parts of the story I could reflect on my past issues. As I played through the first half-ish of the game I played in maybe 45 minute segments but the last couple hours of the game was all one session because of how intense it got. For anyone interested in a good yuri VN this is a great pickup.

After purchase of Next Exist DLC:
I might never stop crying but at least there's cool jazz music

Ayando
Ayando

Road trip + yuri = awesome
haven't think that road trip is that gud before

RadLittleRazzie
RadLittleRazzie

This was such a cute story! The relationship growth between the two main characters was a joy to watch from a chance encounter into something more, their romantic dynamic is adorable!
(The 18+ aspects of this was even more erotic through the player's understanding of each character & the role they've started to play within each other's lives.)

- If I had to add anything, I'd suggest that the voice actor for Amber also reads the unspoken text as well (..but that's totally just me being lazy, lol)

Reikagari
Reikagari

highway blossoms is so good i wish women were real

PlattyPlatt
PlattyPlatt

I love the soundtrack. Some songs, for some reason, sound like they belong in a visual novel, but there are others that strike a cord for me. I especially like "Holding On" by smoke thief. To hit home how much the soundtrack is enjoyable for me, is the fact that its the reason I'm writing this review. I think there's so many underrated songs that are tied to this visual novel.
As for the story, I can't remember much of it; I had a good experience with it (about two years ago was my first read of it) and I remember it making sense and pacing itself well with mood and tone etc ... at least I think that's what I thought.
No definitive "yes the story is good" or "no the story is bad" will be said in this review. I can only say that I had a positive experience with it and the soundtrack has some nice gems.

Brody Gam3s
Brody Gam3s

Just a super sweet yuri visual novel (with an 18+ patch), need I say more?

But on a more serious note this game is really good, its basically cute girls do road trip stuff in the southwestern US. The art, music and voice work is great, and the 5 major characters are distinct and memorable but what really shined in this game for me was the writing, the dialogue is cute and occasionally really funny, but there's some pretty emotional stuff in there as well, particularly in the after story "Next Exit", which had some really strong scenes that might even bring out a few tears.

The only real downsides to this game I could think of was the lack of actual choices, there isn't multiple endings or routes (Besides goofball mode) so it feels more like book than a game, but that's not strictly a bad thing, it just hurts replay value a little.

Despacito Lesburrito
Despacito Lesburrito

This is pretty gay. I like it.

WM-DD
WM-DD

really not feeling this one, kinda over written for how little happens, it had a few genuine moments but for the most part i felt the characters were kind of bland. Artwork and music is nice, voice acting largely so so. I dunno huge meh for me.

Flowing breeze
Flowing breeze

Loved it! I'm also not from the US so I learned some from the places they went to. Now on to their next game Heart of the Woods!

Demondrug
Demondrug

I had to put this out there because I was convinced to purchase by the 'overwhelmingly positive' review status, but I didn't enjoy the game. It is evident a lot of effort went into it, and it's well presented, but I would not recommend Highway Blossoms for the following reasons.

- The characters are one dimensional and the dialog is extremely middling. There are rare moments of brilliance around Amber's grandfather, but they are overshadowed by the vast majority of slow conversation and subpar back-and-forth. The main pair consist of a stoic but kind hearted girl and a bubbly idiot archetype. To be honest, that dynamic is my JAM, but to me the execution was very safe, unsurprising and shallow.
- The romance was not interesting. I didn't experience chemistry; I believe this is because a) the humorous banter didn't land for me personally (3.5hrs of 'wow you're a dork' / 'no you're a dork' which is all well and good for 10 minutes but overstayed its welcome) and b) a large portion of text is used on introspection. Both of these things take up so much space.
- The sexual scenes felt weird (note: this was with the 18+ patch).
> It goes 0-100 very quickly. It could be the nature of the prose - IMO it's crass - which may not be my cup of tea. Personally I feel that more crude erotic language can be used to powerful effect in the right balance but this missed the mark for me and stayed mostly within slightly gross territory.
> In one case a character faked having an orgasm which is truly bizarre to include in my opinion, especially when the story was arching towards a positive. To elaborate, my expectation on why I would be shown a situation like that would be to evoke some sense of realism and allude to a down point, maybe hint that something isn't all well in the relationship. Undeniably faking happens, but it's the choice to specifically incorporate that into I suppose a pivotal intimate scene when the characters have resolved their conflict that felt discordant.
> These scenes are few but I would have probably avoided the title if I'd known they were like this.
- The rival squad take up a lot of space and detracted from the main relationship often. I didn't dislike them; I was ambivalent to them for all their screen time I don't think they added much value.

Evidently many people enjoyed this game, so you might? In all it was decidedly okay and I respect the developers for their hard work.

kevrei2000
kevrei2000

diging for gold & treasure and yuri love of life

Rin Salamander
Rin Salamander

A sweet visual novel about a hitch hiker, a weirdo stuck in the 90s and their lesbian adventure. I think this game's strength is that it feels authentic, more than some other WLW VNs do.

Falconeer
Falconeer

It's a cute visual novel that grabbed me because I love highways and road trips. A lot of things don't make any sense but I doubt anyone plays visual novels to find sense or logic or realistic circumstances so whatever bothered me isn't necessarily going to annoy anyone else. I enjoyed it a lot (granted, I played it over 2 years as a way to cover the commercials during the 2020 and 2021 Buffalo Bills season, and it's kind of anti-climatic that I got the Happy Ending achievement the moment the BIlls were losing in over time in Tampa), and I also found a way to relate to some of the things that happen towards the end so after all the fun and games there's something worth choking a bit on for people like me who don't ask for help and always worrying about hurting others, so yes I'd recommend it as a good one among the non-Japanese and non-Russian VNs.
My only negative comment, and I am sad about this, goes to the voice acting. I simply had to mute it because it was flat out ruining the experience for me. The fact that the voices match what I imagine the characters would sound like is clearly subjective, but the delivery is so exaggerated and over the top for some of the main characters that I simply had to turn them off and forget about it. Itàs sad because I am sure they are great professionals, so I wouldn't know if it's a matter of direction or what. All I know is that they are unbearable and the game is 100% when you turn the voices off. At least it was for me.

riveeeenx
riveeeenx

SO WHERE CAN I FIND ANOTHER GOOD YURI GAME LIKE THIS
The audio made this game 12/10

studioadina
studioadina

gay road trip!!!! gay road trip!!!

benmc2770
benmc2770

Yoooooo this shit gooooooooooood.

But seriously, so heartwarming, the pace never drags and there isn't a dull or unfunny moment in it. The writing is realistic but really funny, and the romance evolves naturally but it's so sweet and genuine. Please please please give this a go, and get the DLC to support the creators too! :)

Lightnin' James
Lightnin' James

this is the daddy or mummy of all the VN's. i mean 95% of them are garbage.i think this one will be a film evntually.

WiseOfRunes
WiseOfRunes

A wholesome visual novel romance between two adult females on an RV road trip... UNTIL FROM OUT OF NOWHERE IT BECOMES A HARDCORE ADULTS ONLY LESBIAN PORNO WITH DIRTY PERVERTED RAUNCHY DIALOG AND VOICE ACTING! I LOVED IT! Very well drawn and perverted adults only art work. Fun for the whole family!

I 100% completed the game getting the hardest to get achievement with a guide. This game almost had an epic plot twist but then that whole plot line went no where. I thought for a second the lead female was going to cheat on her girlfriend after having a few beers. Would of added a lot of drama and depth to the game. Oh well, what we got was good enough i guess. lol

Orion Matrix
Orion Matrix

POTENTIAL SPOILERS INCLUDED.

TL:DR - fantastic game, really well detailed, wonderful story, cant wait to hear about a sequel.

If you want an engaging, riveting, and emotional roller coaster of a story, then I HIGHLY recommend Highway Blossoms.

I've played several visual novels over the years, but Highway Blossoms is far and away the most impressive I have seen in a long time, if not ever. The Characters are engaging, you want to learn more about them, to see what makes them tick, the setting is interesting, and the story line is gripping and interesting.

I adore the interactions between (Most of) the characters. (I want to like Mariah, but her personality is so abrasive, and she treats those closest to her so badly, it really bothers me)

The work on the sprites and their positioning really is top quality, having the sprites move from one part of the screen to the other as if scurrying into cover just makes the visuals more immersive, and the detail on the characters faces is incredible, you can easily see and almost feel the emotions the characters are feeling.

I very much hope that a sequel is in the works because i love the characters and I want to see how Amber and Marina's relationship grows, what kinds of troubles they might run into (or finds them) and what the future holds for them.

Also I'm STILL wondering what they did with the gold! :D

And the 18+ content is tastefully done, and adds a different dimension to the intimacy of the characters, but it is not essential to enjoy the story. But it dose add depth to the characters.

EROHON [Detective Unhinged]
EROHON [Detect…

Marina's voice acting is absolutely amazing!
The two-minutes version was totally hilarious too.

UltraComboSupremeVictory
UltraComboSupr…

So I played this game a 2nd time and I have to say the remastered version with all added voice acting made for an enhanced experience. I just have have to say, can we get a spin-off off this game featuring the mis-adventures of Mariah and company. I really want to see what shenanigans they get up to after the end of this game.

Takeoff
Takeoff

Extraordinary mixture of American culture and Yuri. Can't be more familiar with both and love them so much. This is something I've been dreaming to see. 10/10

LMAOYEET
LMAOYEET

I wish I was a girl, but this is really cute!

Easy
Easy

This is a very good romance visual novel. One of the best I've read. The relationship seems organic, the conflicts in this story are realistic, and the art, voicework and soundtrack are superb.
For about 25 bucks with tax, (may fluctuate based on discount and time) you get around 11 hours of reading material. (At least for me, since I read very fast.) which is def worth it imo. Possibly one of the best 25 dollars I've spent on an indie game. Will be checking out other games developed by these people soon.

wyom
wyom

i might just be going insane as i sink into increasingly pretentious spirals about the value of frustrating and painful video games, but highway blossoms strikes me as a more complicated, valuable, and meaningful narrative than even the writers thought it was. it is in this that i struggle to even decide whether i recommend it or not, but i'm pretty sure i do.

the game is ostensibly very simple, sometimes annoyingly so. by that, i mean that the dialogue and many of the characters are very straightforward and trope-y. i have no qualms with this on the surface. if this was a feel-good little romp i would be happy to consume it as the wonderful Luhrmannian experience that it would be. the problem is that IT JUST ISN'T. the story is incredibly emotionally complicated despite itself, despite the writing style, despite the aesthetics, despite (what i imagine) the intent was. and by what is that manifested? GRIEF. before i explain that, though, i have to make an annoying framing narrative for it.

the dialogue is lacking in realism for most of the story, something that i'm okay with, but i see how it can really put people off. this sort of carries through into the internal thought processes of the main character, amber. she words things in often downright silly ways, regarding herself as a world-weary old-timey guardian. (this has the unpleasant downside of making her very ignorant and/or causing her to voice rather offensive things. i'm not really going to focus on that aspect because i don't think that i can really contribute anything of value in that regard, but i do feel like i need to mention it.) despite that lack of realism, it somehow manages to pull together an incredibly interesting commentary on grief by the strength of subtext. this is my main point in recommending this game. if you're someone who struggles with processing grief and how it relates to your self-image, this game is designed to torture you. it will do its best to rip up your preconceptions and tunnel right into your brain like a funny little bookworm to call you an idiot.

for this game, the struggle around grief is amber's inability to process the death of her grandfather. she allows this struggle to become both a weapon of self-flagellation and for it to seep into the way that she views social relations. by not confronting her emotions, she has bricked herself into the role of the protector, someone who cares for others but doesn't want to see any of that care returned. the description of the game LIES to you by calling amber indifferent, when in reality she's actually extremely tortured. this is where that "frustrating and painful" aspect comes in, because it's really just difficult and unpleasant to watch her grapple with these real emotions that you may know all too well. recovery isn't linear, and this story basks in that fact. it is so willing to press amber to her absolute breaking point. whenever she breaks down, it's awful to watch. she's clearly struggling immensely, and the way that marina (the deuteragonist) is written just doesn't reflect that fact. it's like somehow amber's emotions get lost in translation, as if the writers didn't understand (or were maybe trying to avoid) what they were writing.

that all sounds negative and like i wouldn't recommend the game, but i do. i think that regardless of what the story was going for, what it actually ends up being is something that's really valuable because it asks you to look at yourself. amber's thought processes are both realistic and common. she reaches conclusions about herself and other people in ways that many people do, and the story is a critique of her thoughts. it even does what i believe to be the absolute holy grail of a grief story: it acknowledges anger. this is subjective, but i find anger to be the most difficult part of grief. it pits you not only against yourself, but other people. i wish that it had looked at it more, but doing so would have detracted from the sweetness that the developers were going for. i find this to be both a reasonable and heretical decision.

i'm assuming that most people aren't approaching and playing this game with my awful art critic mindset, and are looking for a game with a sweet, touching, ultimately simple and enjoyable read. keeping the most complicated parts of emotional recovery is probably the best way to uphold that experience. you can also experience the game as what it very well can be, a wrenching push-and-pull character study that rather unintentionally begs questions about human relationships and emotions themselves. in that, highway blossoms is tentatively an accidental gunjo. i wish they would have leaned more into that aspect and sacrificed some of the feel-good-ness, but that's subjective. either way, it's a good game.

---

SEPARATE CRITIQUES: despite how much i like the game as a mixed bundle of emotions, there are some things that i cannot reconcile with as being of any good to the game. i generally really disliked the voice acting for multiple main characters. i thought that amber's voice actress did a good job, i liked that she didn't do an exaggerate character voice. i think that the voice direction may have been shoddy since she often delivers lines in a way that seems inappropriate for the context. maybe she just couldn't do it, but it seemed to me as if she genuinely didn't know what she was supposed to be reacting to. of the supporting characters, i thought that joe and tess were both solid. nothing phenomenal, but they worked for me. i personally think that mariah was miscast. the tone of her actress was just too high pitched and juvenile for the character. and then there's the penultimate sin of MARINA'S VA. she does this AWFUL Avenue Q-esque character voice (not that i have a problem with avenue q, i just don't think that one of the main characters of your visual novel should talk like an ACTUAL PUPPET.) it drove me utterly insane and was the sole cause of me playing most of the game without the voices on. more on marina, she was a disappointingly flat character. when i say that, i mean that she didn't have an arc. she started sweet and innocent, ended sweet and innocent. as a deuteragonist i wanted her to have a minor arc of her own where she learns to stand up to amber, but she never really does. she has a really important, emphatic, genuinely angry line that seems like a remnant of a script where she actually did start holding her ground, but she pretty much drops it immediately after she says it. i was so thrilled when she said it, and so heartbroken when she backtracked on it. you'll know it when you see it. she does serve the purpose of a flat character pretty well, though. it's just disappointing. something that really bugs me intensely is in the (and this counts as somewhat of a spoiler) final sex scene where amber fakes an orgasm. i thought that was so ridiculous and such a stupid writing move. that scene is symbolic of their mutual relationship and trust, when amber has surpassed her urge to posit herself as the distant guardian. to have her fake an orgasm and not communicate? it was just weird. she's supposed to have grown past that so why?? a smaller issue i have is with some of the art. the cgs are clearly made by different artists who can't replicate each other's styles. some of the images have incorrect anatomy, but that's nitpicky and more of a personal qualm. the colors are all gorgeous though, except for those of marina's confused and garish palette. admittedly, it sort of adds to her character. other than these things, the previously mentioned offensive stuff that i can't give valuable analysis of, and the stuff in the main paragraphs. i didn't have any other big issues with the game.

if youre wondering why i didnt mention the lesbian stuff its because homophobia just doesnt exist in their world so in my backwards mind i thought itd be funny if didnt mention it. you cant get mad at me im a les

Dakotab
Dakotab

I have never in my life felt more attached to characters ever. It is seriously the best visual novel i have ever done. I dont know what else to say besides im a lesbian and it just made my lesbian little heart flutter

Panterrus27
Panterrus27

Wonderful storytelling, phenomenal artwork and animation, an adorable, blossoming relationship, and plenty of action and comedy to keep things more lively than you might expect. This VN is EXCELLENT!!!

アリティテリス
アリティテリス

TL;DR
Rigid 3.75/10
The 18+ content is good, but besides that... everything else are pretty average/bad.
And if you are not too lazy to read, all my explanations with spoilers will be below.

So, I'll start with the most basic, the heart of any story - the characters.
What do we have?

Amber

As one person pointed out in the reviews - really reminds me of a typical male character. She lacks any femininity at all. Replace her with a male character and it doesn't change much!
Yes, I understand, she grew up with her grandfather, it certainly affected her personality, yes, yes...
It’s hard to explain, but overall, this gives not a good vibe.

If we talk about her character, she is a complete asshole: pessimistic, callous, shows signs of sociopathy and sociophobia, have problems with sense of humor, even more with politeness. Womanizer? (got the impression)
The endless inner monologue about her grandfather, and the way she constantly mentions him in conversation kills the atmosphere. Yes, yes, the loss of a loved one is really is bad, but then perhaps such an element in a romantic Yuri story should have been abandoned altogether???
Often (and this is 80% of the time) she can't talk normally with Marina about her thoughts and feelings. There is a lot of dialogues like this:
M: Are you ok?
A: Yes, just a little tired. (she is not really ok)
M: You sure?
A: Yeah.
What the heck?

At the same time, she doesn't forget to talk about her experiences with her exes, and in one of the sex scenes instead of helping Marina to opens up and help her in the difficult art of the lesbian love, she just straightforwardly says 'Lick my pussy,' lol.
But after the aforementioned process starts, she realizes that Marina, all of a sudden, does not have that much experience (or rather, none at all), and just fakes an orgasm and says that everything is great. Sheeesh.
Poor thing Marina.

She is a very toxic character. In the scene when her truck broke down, she acted just really awful and obnoxious. I felt very sorry for Marina. I really don't understand how she could stand it.
And what happened next was just fu***d up. It was really 140 IQ move to f**k around with her "love" and then without any explanation just send her home! (and before you do that, you have to sleep with her, ofc).
But that's more a question for the plot, which we'll come back to a little later.

As a result of all this, I can't feel the slightest bit of empathy for this character.

Marina

A very simple and naive girl. I'd even say she is ignorant.
But... even that is too little to describe her, because her simpleheartedness just kills. At the very beginning, the three men from the box STEALING AND DISASSEMBLE her car. And what do you think?! How should any sane person react to this? Marina's reaction speaks for her whole persona in this novel: it's okay.
Her attitude toward life is really unhealthy. She's overly frivolous.
It was just an example from above, but she seems willing to tolerate almost anything from anyone. Yes, she snapped at Amber once, but Amber didn't react much to it, lol.
But nevertheless, she has a soul and is described out in an interesting way, but she doesn't evoke any sympathy either.

Rival Trio (Mariah, Joseph, Tess)

Joseph - you can replace it with a cardboard and nobody won't notice the difference. He is not really playing any role in the story.
Tess is the same as Joseph, but the author breathed a piece of the soul into her, but it's hard to say anything concrete about her role in the story. She's an ordinary side character.
Mariah - oh yeah, she is the only character I can empathize with.
At first it seems that she is just a typical villain, but in fact, compared to all other heroes, she is the most adequate and normal.
She's manipulative, a bit of an alcoholic, rude, overconfident, but it all feels on the positive note. That is, and despite how the author tried to make her out, her character still felt better than the main cast.
I can imagine her pain and frustration when after a lifetime of dedication to finding a treasure, two fools find it in literally a couple of hours! It's just unthinkable.
I would have loved to have watched the adventures of Mariah and Tess (Joseph might show up once every three hours to say hello and then leave again)

Overall, mostly all of the characters just makes unreasonable, irrational and illogical actions through the entire story. Its sucks - 2/10

So, the

Story

Plot twists and turns could be the envy of Nikita Mikhalkov himself.
In the beginning, when the girls found the first treasure - I was surprised. But fine, maybe they are really lucky.
When they found the second part of the treasure I just went nuts. How????! And this was so fast!
After that, I was just sure they'd find a third, and yes, they did.

Drama for the sake of drama

I'm talking about the part where Amber wanted to send Marina home (and she almost succeeded).
Why? Just WHY??? I still don't get it. You kind of confessed your feelings to each other, you have a lot of GOLD, your endorphins should be going off the charts!
But no, the spirit of the grandfather reappears and makes Amber question the rightness of her actions for reasons far beyond the thinking apparatus of the average person. Meh.

Overall, the story itself is crap, 2/10

Art

Actually, sometimes its looks pretty good and generally suits my tastes.
6/10

18+ content

I really like those parts. Not that I'm a real that much of a COOMer, but...
It's rare to find descriptions of sex scenes that resemble of the real thing.
The way I see it, it came out pretty great here. Can't complain.
8/10

Sounds

I generally doesn’t care about BGM that much, I guess it’s been all right.
4/10.

Overall enjoyment:

4/10
As a big Yuri fan, I really, really tried to immerse myself into this story, but I was hindered by everything I noted above.

P.S. That F**cking seat belts that occasionally just disappearing and then come back just piss me off.

KUUUY?
KUUUY?

The story is so good, thou there isn't much you can do in the game or options to use and which path to choose, but if you are into reading, reading books, novel and stuff. Then you would not be getting bored easily.. this is something you can't miss cause ain't noway you say no to gay stuff like this right?

17nim
17nim

the game does really good job, serving you with all of those yuri gay shit. worth every penny.

Clyde the Hobo
Clyde the Hobo

One of my favorite visual novels ever. The first half of the story follows a treasure hunt through the American southeast, establishing characters and connections. The second half starts building on the personalities of the main characters and starts really building up the romance. Neither of these girls are faultless and that leads to trouble a couple of times but love is very rarely as straightforward as it's often portrayed. I'm super grateful that a story with a more realistic romance like this exists. Absolutely check out the DLC too.

Also I played the game on Extreme mode from front to back even though I didn't need to just because I could. As you can see by my play time, it took a while.

mixlr
mixlr

just great. well written sweet romance vn. highly recommend.

Xeriné
Xeriné

I've only played through a few dozen VNs, but I can say with confidence that this is my favorite out of them all by a landslide. I originally read it years ago, and have reread it more than a few times since. Giving it another go now after a long while for the DLC, and I already know I won't be disappointed. Can't recommend this one enough.

Ass Clown
Ass Clown

This is the shit...and I mean THE shit

I love it so much

RucaXIII
RucaXIII

This is the first non-japanese yuri game that I played. I bought it out of pure curiosity and started playing right away. It did a good job in many way.

The theme of the story is quite unique, focus on relationship building while go on treasure hunting in the desert. I personally felt it a little short, around 6 hours to finish. But there is 'Next Exit' DLC for addition story to compensate (that I haven't play yet). The story is lovely and also heartwarming.

There is 18+ patch available for free and can be directly download from steam. It contains 2 adult scenes of the main couple (no mosaic censorship yes). It doesn't affect main story so you can skip it if you don't like it.

The arts and musics are great too. I forgot to mention game system, which has nothing difficult because it is a kinetic novel (so no choice at all). You just have to sit back with snack and read at your comfortable pace.

Overall this game is easy to dive into. Highly recommended for anyone who want to play yuri game with great story.

shakermaker
shakermaker

Ok, so I was looking for a point and click game with some spice and good story. This game came up on some forums so I decided to give it a shot. GUYS is horrible. Sloooowww as hell. Who in his right mind over 18 will have the time to scroll over endless amounts of boring text? OMG. My advice is, get Sumertime Saga for free. WAAAAYYY better game and free. This game should cost at the most .99 cents.

spacey-interruptions
spacey-interruptions

Nothing about Highway Blossoms is exemplary, but the individual parts all come together to tell a touching, mature story about love and grief.

Two things help set this VN apart.
The first is that it's fulled voiced. The VAs all add charm and charisma to their characters, and really help bring them to life. Also on the audio side, I thought that the soundtrack was excellent.
The second thing is the two sex scenes. In my opinion, it's quite rare in this medium to find sex scenes that aren't gratuitous or cringeworthy (usually they're both). Highway Blossoms handles the moments in realistic, heartwarming ways, and shows different ways that sex can be used; as an expression of desire, as a show of reconciliation, or even a distraction from grief.

Aside from all of that though, the overall story is also very fun to read. Two road-tripping girls searching for treasure? Hell yeah, A really fun premise.

Highway Blossoms is worth your time and money.

AriaCasteal
AriaCasteal

Probably the best visual novel I've ever read. Made me cry two or three times. Some of the best writing, voice acting, and characters.

Misanthropic weirdo
Misanthropic weirdo

Very cute story
the 18+ scenes are meh but they do add to the story, so I would recommend them even if you prefer playing these sort of games vanilla

WeatherThis
WeatherThis

The sound track makes this game, don't get me wrong the story is great but this is suck a different take on the visual novel that the music just owns it, definitely recommend.

AKinkyKadaver
AKinkyKadaver

Highway Blossoms is a good experience.
I was a bit mixed on it until the ending and the DLC.

The setting is fairly believable with a bit that you have to kinda not think about it too much. The art is cute though and the story is good too. Honestly, I didn't really like Amber at first and towards the end I wanted to slap her but I think that just adds a bit of emotional resonance to the plot. Its good and takes you through a lot of different emotions, especially with the Next Exit dlc.

The characters are not perfect by any means and frequently make mistakes. Especially Amber. Amber is an emotionally traumatized character who oftentimes does not know how to properly express herself due to growing up with an old man constantly hopping from one destination to the next, this causes most of the real drama in the game.

The only thing negative I can really say is that this doesnt really feel like a game. Even with the visual novel setting, theres usually at least SOME stuff you can do, such as choose dialogue or interact with the environment , but with Highway Blossoms, you click "Auto" and that is the entirety of the game. I don't know what else I was expecting really, but I was kinda disappointed with that.

Overall though, the experience was nice. The voice acting is pretty damn good and even the lewd stuff isnt overbearingly lewd and plays a large role in the plot. |'d recommend picking this up on sale, but I don't think I can recommend it at full price as the character sprites rarely move or even do simple things like open their mouths to display who is currently speaking, plus the lack of anything really to do outside of watch as events unfold, like some helpless bystander. I honestly feel like you could have just released this as an audiobook with the girls narrating their own thoughts and the experience would largely remain the same.

ElyiaElven
ElyiaElven

I really enjoyed this game for all the reasons pretty much all the other positive reviews say but one thing did strike me as a negative that I haven't seen anyone else mention. At one point while searching for a part of the treasure the two main characters trespass onto protected Navajo land. Its clear that they are aware that that's what they're doing and in their words they make a point to be "super careful." I expected them to get caught and told off or face some other kind of consequence learn their lesson and move on since the game does explore some other serious topics pretty well in my opinion. Instead they just don't find it and are sad and try to figure out where to look next. Obviously this is a fake story and no real harm was done but the fact that all the places they visit are very much real landmarks and this particular one is still inhabited by navajo people and considered sacred and protected land ehhh I just wish more care was taken with this part of the story. I don't know I just think if you're going to have your characters do something unjustifiable like this maybe don't have them justify it to themselves with "we'll be careful" and "rules were made to be broken" and then face no consequences for it. I just felt this part could've been handled much better and didn't see anyone else mention it. Again, I still really enjoyed it overall but felt that in this part the writing was kinda careless. Do with that what you will.

Hunt_em_down
Hunt_em_down

I love the story and the graphics. You can actually get into the story.

Miko
Miko

Played through Heart of the Woods a few months back and had to try more games by Studio Élan and I’m glad I did because this was another banger Yuri visual novel, the plot is really unique and the characters have such naturally written dialogue and developments. The voice acting was also spot on and very consistent, and what ties it all together is the amazing soundtrack, been playing it on repeat since hearing it lmao.

Looking forward to see what future projects they put out!

10/10 very gay😎