A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android.
SOME CONTEXT
April Showers was a game I played relatively early into the jam. I remember seeing it got submitted a few days before the deadline and being pretty surprised by the random tiger on the thumbnail. The opening haiku caught me completely off guard, because the game auto advances text at that point, so when streaming we had to go back a few time to actually catch and read it.
WHAT I LIKED
The tiger was such a pleasant surprise! I found the idea of taking an adoptable (withing the jam development timeline rule, under the organiser's scrutiny) so interesting and thinking out of the box. I'm glad Peter managed to find a new home, with his charming expressions, silly striking septum ring, smashing tits and his second, lore exclusive secret piercing.
The feeling of warmth is my main takeaway from this game. Back when I played, and every time I think back on it, the first thing that comes to mind is how warm and comforting this game feels. From the sunny colours, with a lot of pink and warmer hues of purple in the background, the to the imagery of flowers, the candles, the warm spices and coffee flavours. Both the visuals and the prose worked together to evoke this very strong feeling of a pleasant sunshine shining on your back.
The gay solidarity between the two supporting characters and Peter was really sweet. I really enjoyed seeing friendship and platonic interactions between queer people, and them having each others backs when it comes to dating.
WHAT I DISLIKED
I felt like we breezed through the main event and then the game ended abruptly. While the interactions between Paavo and Peter are adorable, there wasn't much to it other than a simple meet cute. My group discussed how we felt like the story ended just as it was about to begin, and how the meeting with the wolf was pretty underwhelming compared to the nice scenes with the two other characters. However, on a replay for this review, I realised that feeling of an abrupt ending mellowed out. While still abrupt, I made my peace and I think I like it as a little story about a new beginning.
The wolf felt pretty underbaked, which is ironic for an author named after a b(j)akery*insert Vine boom sound effect*. I think Paavo is one of the jam wolves we know the least about, which makes sense since this story feels like a prelude to the player character actually getting to know him. Out of all the characters in this game, he gets the least screentime and lines, and is the least memorable. I do wish the story gave us more to work with. At least Peter is right, that underbite is fucking cute and it's time somebody finally said it.
CONCLUSION
April Showers was a cute, short entry. The author was cooking and b(j)aking something sweet and warm, but just as we got served some delicious appetisers, we were shown the door. I had to resist making b(j)aked goods metaphors the entire review, bear with me getting it out of my system now.
