I’m here because of BlerdyOtome! After reading her article and watching her Let’s Play, I hit download. No regrets!
Rosea’s gentle nature and the cute art belied some very heavy theme and plot work. While Rosea herself may disagree with me, she did not have a happy or safe childhood. Between her cheery lines about cooking and sewing, the player can trace the dripping blood of Kaffir’s theocratic dystopia. The content warnings do not hold back. The hair on my neck prickled as I read yet another hint that Rosea is a lamb raised for slaughter. Her pride at her compliance with Kaffir doctrine made me shudder. My dark impression may be colored darker by the Mystery Path’s Church ending. I’m unsure if there are other endings for the demo prologue—I thought I had Clematis’ affection quite high, but I’m a notoriously poor VN player without a walkthrough.
All that said, I’m very much looking forward to the full game. I fawned over the soundtrack, the happy colors, the high feminine fashions, the lovely CGs, and the flowers in abundance. Rosea was my favorite character. Her determination to help, to uplift her people, to be kind; to do right by her mother was wonderful. She displays incredible inner strength in a world intent on abusing her. Clematis and his budgie bubble with charm. Alyssum’s world is thoroughly thought out, from the magic system and the religions to the geography and race relations. While sometimes the exposition could stand to be more spaced out, I ate up the nuances and details about the Bell Flower faith and its Maidens.
Light fluff hides quite the meaty game. If you’ve been searching for a soft Black girl protagonist in a well-developed romantasy, give Bell Maiden’s Bloom a play!