The baseline weirdness at which Flowers operates is something to behold. What initially masquerades itself as a pretty normal slice-of-life affair is soon revealed to involve an absolutely deranged soap opera storyline, lore about the nondescript contemporary setting actually being an empire, and constant – and I do mean constant – references to the protagonist's gains, presumably in an attempt to incorporate the game jam's theme of "expanding".

Furthermore, it's hard to tell if all the strange touches in the writing are intentional or a byproduct of the language barrier. At one point, a description of the main character cooking is inexplicably written in the register of a recipe; to explain the concept of giving someone a glass of water to drink, a person interviewing him for a job remarks: "I have prepared a glass of water for you. Drink whenever you want." The task of running a coffee shop is described in equally grandiose and clunky terms – to quote Emmett: "To serve quality coffee to those who never give up on this journey called life, as a reminder that this respite is a part that should never be forgotten."

The juxtaposition of complete mundanity, high melodrama, and bizarre worldbuilding details admittedly forms an intriguing, unique literary effect. I was sort of reminded of the films of Aki Kaurismäki, with their combination of grounded stories featuring working-class characters and the sweeping romanticism of classic Hollywood. There's a particular similarity to his latest release Fallen Leaves, which gets a lot of incidental background humor from its surreal, anachronistic setting. All in all, I am completely on board with what's being done here on the level of concept – the game escapes precise comparison, but I do feel like it's working towards something worthwhile.

In a more negative sense, it's difficult to not feel like the bulk of the VN amounts to non-sequitur. The protagonist's job search has the majority of the wordcount dedicated to it and overshadows the intriguing but sparsely told mystery storyline, and the thematic connection between the two just never quite comes into focus. I like the gradual introduction of the main conceit in theory, with the eventual reveal feeling like a proper twist, but opportunities to indulge in characterization or imagery are not taken; the barista quest isn't the worst piece of slice-of-life in town, but it hardly feels meaningful to the whole.

Finally, the visuals and the sound design are just sort of affectless. None of the plain backgrounds do anything but deliver information mechanically, and Emmett's new place doesn't even really look like something a barista could afford to live in. Some of the jam sprites have been badly squished, which is all you can think of when looking at them. Having a portrait for the main character is a nice touch, though, and the design looks admirably cohesive with the stock assets.

Did I have a fun time with Flowers? Yeah! Can I get behind it as "good art"? Probably not! Could a person smarter than me provide a more compelling defense of its strange charms? Sure! But for the purposes of my review, I guess the girl reading this has to settle for an uncertain, shamefully half-hearted endorsement.