A very sweet story about three friends and how their lives and relationships change over the course of a year. Manami's episode made me cry. Short and sweet and worth your time.
So wholesome!! I would've given 5 stars for the themes alone, it just ended up being less game and more... semi-interactive webcomic? I started the game hoping to play but it's almost entirely reading dialog and pressing next. It took me less than an hour to finish. V cute concept though!!
I loved all 3 of the stories. It was so sweet while being very real at the same time.
i mean yeah its not much but its so pleasant :)
Feeling so called out,
the story and writing in this game is so GOOD, very realistic and accurate.
made me literally cry 4 times in the space of 2.5 hours, 10/10 game
the story and writing in this game is so GOOD, very realistic and accurate.
made me literally cry 4 times in the space of 2.5 hours, 10/10 game
Incredibly cute and sweet, but also unimaginably tender and surprisingly profound. The lowkey drama found throughout A Year of Springs is something that’s not quite easy to see. Like, there are a lot of cozy games, games that in some ways have similar vibes to this one, but which couldn’t be more different in terms of the effect that cozyness has on the player. When I play something like Animal Crossing I don’t feel at all like when I played this. One feels like a neverending winter with unlimited hot chocolate while the other feels like holding hands with your favorite person on a rainy day, each doing different things but nevertheless feeling like that company is the better part of the experience. I don’t know.
I love how every chapter plays with the dialogue mechanics, from the multiple ways you can affect the story in the first one, in contrast to how the state of mind of the main character in the third one basically locks you from diverging from the one path, to the second one, which has one BIG choice masquerading as multiple little ones. But that works in service to the writing and the very human and serene way the relationships between these three women changes over the spring. I was left wanting more, but in a good way. Have you eve watch a movie and felt that you just wanted like a sitcom made out of it? Like, fine, the story is done, but you just couldn’t let the characters go? I wanna know not necessarily what happens next, but what these people do with their lives. I don’t care if it’s boring, I just wanna know. In a matter of an hour the developer made me care, made relate, made cry and made miss three people that don’t exist but I have met.
Genuinely one of the best games I’ve ever played.
I love how every chapter plays with the dialogue mechanics, from the multiple ways you can affect the story in the first one, in contrast to how the state of mind of the main character in the third one basically locks you from diverging from the one path, to the second one, which has one BIG choice masquerading as multiple little ones. But that works in service to the writing and the very human and serene way the relationships between these three women changes over the spring. I was left wanting more, but in a good way. Have you eve watch a movie and felt that you just wanted like a sitcom made out of it? Like, fine, the story is done, but you just couldn’t let the characters go? I wanna know not necessarily what happens next, but what these people do with their lives. I don’t care if it’s boring, I just wanna know. In a matter of an hour the developer made me care, made relate, made cry and made miss three people that don’t exist but I have met.
Genuinely one of the best games I’ve ever played.
A short, but very sweet look at real issues lgbt folk face within Japan and the world, but is never depressing about it, at least not lingeing on it too much. This game made me wish I could hug my monitor it is so comfy cozy.
finishing the epilogue and then thinking about one of the bad ends for the first game... anyway this is fantastic for what it is! it only took me two hours to get all the endings but i loved all the characters so much, i would play ten more of these games just exploring their lives. i've never really seen trans media that portrays the vague disconnect of being around friends who are cis girls... our experiences are so similar yet so different and that subtly sits in the back of your mind always. masterful!
it's a little too sweet for me personally and it's defintely gonna be a million times more resonant if you're transfem but i still liked it well enough. manami's episode is definitely the standout section, and the rest is still good, it just doesn't feel all that notable to me, but, again, I'm clearly not the target audience lol
This game is so cute. It's simple but i thoroughly enjoyed it, strong characters and I really love how it handled its themes. For five bucks and just five hours of your time if you're going for every ending, I think its definitely worth the attention of any LGBT folks.
One of those games that will change you. A really great visual novel game
Phenomenal. Can't recommend more.
Sweet game
depression (momentarily) cured
The differences in simple mechanics for each story perfectly reflect whichever character you're playing as at the moment. It's simple but incredibly effective and only serves to characterize the trio and invest you in them.
Beyond that it's just really refreshing to see queer people portrayed in a way that feels so honest and relatable. I need to play more stuff like this, I owe it to myself.
Beyond that it's just really refreshing to see queer people portrayed in a way that feels so honest and relatable. I need to play more stuff like this, I owe it to myself.
i'd die for all three of them
A Year of Springs is a visual novel about three friends: Haru, Erika, and Manami. Each chapter focuses on one of the girls and tells you about their challenges. During the novel, all of the characters learn something new about themselves and each other.
It's a very sweet and wholesome game, and I liked playing it for this nice sense of comfort. The way it handles characters' identities made me feel warm inside. ♡
It's a very sweet and wholesome game, and I liked playing it for this nice sense of comfort. The way it handles characters' identities made me feel warm inside. ♡
like, personally, Haru is too waifish and ""soft"" for me to really identify with her, (and I do think it veers a little close to Online Transfem Stereotyping) but this is still easily the best trans representation I've seen in a video game ever I'm pretty sure.
short and sweet, really really lovely. it's just ultimately a little too minimal on its actual gameplay, being more of a semi interactive webcomic than true visual novel; or at least the fairly brief length of these chapters sort of shapes that perception. I'd love to rate this higher though! Erika's chapter really made me almost cry. Highly recommend, I just can't imagine much reason to come back to this and replay it necessarily
short and sweet, really really lovely. it's just ultimately a little too minimal on its actual gameplay, being more of a semi interactive webcomic than true visual novel; or at least the fairly brief length of these chapters sort of shapes that perception. I'd love to rate this higher though! Erika's chapter really made me almost cry. Highly recommend, I just can't imagine much reason to come back to this and replay it necessarily
This is such an adorable and sweet game about these three characters. I especially love having a game with a trans women who likes other women in it as it feels rare to find someone like myself in games.
This game has stuck with me since first playing it. Haru’s struggles are very much a reflection of my own. Being overwhelmed of fighting for your own rights, cancelling events because of anxiety, not going out with your friends for a fun time just because you’re a little different, finding yourself so broken, so unlovable that you think no one will ever find you attractive, becoming the women you want to be but having people and governments treat you inhumanely, they’re all struggles I’ve dealt with, some even still to this day. It’s all so real it hurts, so real that I cried multiple times.
But what makes me cry the most is Haru’s friends. Their dedication towards her feeling included, listening to her problems and making their own solutions to make her feel loved and appreciated. How they notice how awfully difficult the world can be and still try their absolute best to make her happy is the most heartwarming thing.
All the characters are wonderful and they all deserve multiple hugs from me. 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈
But what makes me cry the most is Haru’s friends. Their dedication towards her feeling included, listening to her problems and making their own solutions to make her feel loved and appreciated. How they notice how awfully difficult the world can be and still try their absolute best to make her happy is the most heartwarming thing.
All the characters are wonderful and they all deserve multiple hugs from me. 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈
amazingly cute & brilliantly wholesome & suprisingly well thought out, the three short stories featured in A Year of Springs are heartfelt exploration of all aspects of relationships and I can really recommend it!
(Especially relatable for trans-people as well)
(Especially relatable for trans-people as well)
This review contains spoilers
Crying in the club because A Year Of Springs has ace rep.
This review contains spoilers
I like this one for many of the same reasons I liked Secret Little Haven. It's got a lot of nice queer stories that I haven't really seen explored before, especially when it comes to Spring Leaves No Flowers' story about an asexual and aromantic character discovering that about themselves. All the stories have very sweet and positive relationships which I loved. I almost expect for something awful to happen in these kinds of stories as a sort of "look how awful the world is!" and so when you expect the awful thing to happen and it turns out that characters are more understanding than you might have feared, it's real nice!
I already reviewd the individual games here, here, and here so I'll just use this to say that the epilogue is very nice and hit unexpectedly hard entirely because I moved out of my apartment of 7 years literally this wednesday.
Also it took me an emberrasing amount of time to figure out that all these games having spring in their names is a pun on Haru's name.
Also it took me an emberrasing amount of time to figure out that all these games having spring in their names is a pun on Haru's name.
Very cute game, it represents me so much! It's probably the most relatable game I've ever played!
at this point just read the pervert like come on man
kickstarted a revelation about my identity
short and sweet and cute
cute
Cute, simple narrative game with queer themes.