Everbloom

Everbloom is a cozy fantasy game, set on a charming island with serene JRPG vibes.

Unlike other works from the writer, like Temple of Endless Night, this is a largely happy and relaxed game. You set up a teahouse on a mystical and charming island, meet an eccentric character cast and head out with them on misadventures. Still, there can be no light without darkness, and there are also darker elements in the story such as a mysterious curse, family difficulty and so on. It's not a 100% happy and angelic read, but it has its charm for the most part.

Gameplay is a lot more straightforward here. As far as I can tell, there are no skills, so feel free to pick whatever choice sounds good for you. There are personality stats, which I presume are affected by how you interact with folks in the game, although I didn't pay much attention to them, and I'm not sure if they had a substantial impact on gameplay. There are three romance options, gender-selectable, with a good mix of personalities as well as mild intimacy. One thing I did like was that romance choices were carefully signposted throughout the game.

While I did like the atmosphere and vibes, the premise and story felt weaker. Your father wants you to be the dutiful child and serve your House. On the other hand, you start with a strangely specific (and not quite explained) desire to run a teahouse, before someone else in your family gives you your lucky break towards that goal. When you reach Everbloom Isle, you start living the teahouse dream and hanging out with folks, but plotwise, the game still felt a little thin, even if the vibes and atmosphere had plenty of charm.

The game was originally worked on as a Hosted Games release, although the writer later decided to release it for free. For the wordcount you're getting, it's a pretty good deal. If some cozy fantasy and romance is your thing, you could definitely take a look.