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FlowersforJoy1 year ago(+1)(-4)

Oh god.... I am a mess (if someone wants to read the reviews before playing, please play if you can handle the content mentioned, if not feel free to keep reading.)

So I am a wreck, in a good way of course, content like this is never supposed to be taken lightly. I think what makes this game extra upsetting is how beautifully it's presented. Seeing out of a young girl in love eyes.

I hate Matthieu, not that it's a hot take or anything. But I hate how real he felt. Hate how handsome he is, how charming and intelligent he seems. How he starts off so caring, and is so aware of his failings, and how even so he keeps going. It's the worst kind of evil, to know you're doing wrong and never stopping.


I hate how he felt the need to be the victim, and be so dramatic, and to make himself some sort of martyr, this tragic figure. How pretentious he was with art, how much of a hypocrite he was. I hate how truly human he was.

I hate how I still cared and cried even after he died.

So the scene where he kills himself, I identified with Chloe so much, how she was so mad at him, how she couldn't even feel sad- because it would have been so easy to walk away. And yet he just had to try, he just had to keep pushing.

Like Chloe, I also had a 26 year old man talk to me when I was working as 17 year old turning 18 soon, graduating high school, and how he said 'we could be something, if I was just 18." even if he never did what Matthieu did, was it any better? Were his thoughts any cleaner, and in that same vein- were his hands  have any less blood.

I don't think so, I don't know the thoughts in that man's head. He knew it was wrong, and he kept going despite it. And to add to it, he made me care about him, he made me feel like I needed to grow up. To throw away something as precious as childhood innocence in favor of his favor.

I will say, I only was able to make the reluctant choices, I couldn't bring myself to play the role of love stricken teenager, because I'm not anymore I am a weak sensitive adult, and I couldn't meet the game halfway, it just hits a bit too close. So I apologize if I missed anything significant, but I'm just not strong enough. I will not push.

I'm so glad that Chloe ends up helping other victims. The last two scenes of the game were incredible, and the build up to it was like watching a plane crash, you knew what was to come but you couldn't look away.

I adore so many lines, namely that villains weren't these monsters hiding themselves away, they were real people capable of kindness and complex thoughts. But that's what makes them so much scarier.

I want to say Chloe was mature, but that never made her an adult, she understood so much despite not understanding anything. She knew deep down that it was wrong, that this man she loved was something broken and she loved him despite it. She is worthy of love, she deserved to bloom. Getting a glance of her at the very end confirms this. She's so much more beautiful as a result of her struggle. She's so inspiring and my heart is happy for her, happy that it wasn't worse, not to invalidate her struggle but just, I'm glad...

This story opens up the door for so much discussion, so much I'm sure I will talk to you about. This is like the classic literature they made so much reference to.

It's going to be stuck in my head for awhile. I just want to say you are so brave for writing this, for getting in the head of such a monster, even for a bit. There's so much beauty and charm despite it.

The music was killing me, you chose it well. Both the soft plucky piano tracks, and the more hellish decompressed sounds. I love the UI changes to something horrific during the closeness between Matthieu and Chloe. I admire Lucie and Bastien for being little spots of light in Chloe's life, and for being there for her even when she was so resistant.

This game horrified me and delighted me. I know how beautiful I once felt those moments were as a teenager, and how tainted and gross they look now. I have no doubt that Chloe' feels similarly. I hope to also help someone in someway.

This game scares me because stories like this are happening now, and I hope with all my heart that if a young someone stumbles upon this game, and they are going through something similar, that they realize what's going on and seek help.

I thank you Chime for writing this, I am a mess, but I am glad I engaged with it. I'm glad I jumped in the deep end so to speak, and I am so glad I didn't record mysself playing it (thank you Chatter) (Though I will for the other games dw) I'm glad you are so talented a writer, and intelligent and delicate with such a taboo topic. I'm glad you handled it with care, and delivered it with grace.

If you ever have doubts in regards to your writing, you've done good work! You've written a story worth telling, and I will forever sing it's praises.

-Joy (though not so joyful atm lmaoooo)

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chimeriquement1 year ago(-4)

Oh my god, Joy, thank you so much for your very detailed and thorough feedback! And I have to agree with you: the game can get very dark, so if anyone is reading this before playing, please make sure you can handle the trigger warnings (and to anyone reading this answer: it is not spoiler-free)!

Yes, it was very important for me to tackle the game from Chloé's perspective, rather than from her predator (similar to what the actual Lolita does: it explores the layers of a narcissistic's mind) because, in the end, I felt like the important story to tell wasn't Matthieu's, but Chloé's: the story of a victim who has to realise she's in a situation of abuse to get out of it.

Yes, what's very frustrating with Matthieu is that he is a very layered character! At the same time, when he dies, you can think: "Oh, he could have been better", but at the same time... he does things that are unacceptable and him recognising it is more like him pretending to be a victim of his feelings, rather than him taking accountability for his own actions? (In the ending you didn't get, a point mentioned is the following: a healthy adult would never say something like "I love her despite her young age", because they wouldn't project any romantic love on a teenager; and to give clues about this ending, let's say that in the ending you've got, Chloé has totally rebuilt herself, in the other ending, she's still trying to rebuild herself, but once again, her relationship with Matthieu eventually meets its end).

Thank you for sharing your experience, it mustn't be an easy thing to do (and to be honest, I don't even manage to share mine, haha)! I don't think he was any better since, in the end, he says this terrible thing which Matthieu also says, albeit phrased in another manner: I fail to see the difference between "we could be something if you were 18" and "I love you despite your age". And in the end, they steal something which is important, as you mention: childhood, and at such an age, more importantly, the closure of childhood to become a healthy young adult.

I'm happy you felt satisfied with the ending you got, I wanted it to be very positive for Chloé! I'd say the other is more bittersweet, but still overall happy (after everything she went through, she didn't deserve a sad ending).

And yes! In the devlog (don't know if you read it), I try to break down the way I see the teacher/student relationships trope tackled, and although the "evil teaching whose only goal is to groom children" is the best of the ones I mentioned (as this treatment at least sends a clear message: in these relationships, the teacher is up to no good), I wanted to paint a more nuanced Matthieu. He isn't a monster because it's his fatum, but because he performs monstrous actions.

Chloé is mature, but I think you can still tell she isn't totally. In her relationship with Matthieu, I hope it is clear that she's forcing herself to appear mature to please him, but even if the way she manages her feelings (in the ending you didn't get, she's almost beating up Bastien because she believes he told the headmaster about her relationship with Matthieu) or considers others (at some point, during the café scene, she mentions enjoying mature men because people her age are not nearly as emotionally complex... it's a thought I had a lot as a teenager, but that I don't hold anymore as a grown-up, obviously). And yes, I really think that, in the end, she deserves to feel happy and optimistic about her life, to realise she's the one who can change it, and that she doesn't need to rely on some random sexual predator.

I'm looking forward to these discussions! I wanted this game to raise the right questions about these situations (i.e. not "is this right?" because hell no, but "what are the signs? How can we protect children?"). And thank you! I don't know if it was being brave to write it, but I know this is very important to me, so I wanted to do it full justice.

Thanks for noticing the technical details, haha! I put a lot of work in them! And yes, I'm really happy Lucie and Bastien still supported Chloé, and only wish Chloé would realise earlier they were the kind of support she needed (but there wouldn't be any story if things were that easy, right?).

And aaaaah!!!!! Don't say such nice things, I won't know where to hide then!! Indeed, it would have been a bit tricky to record yourself while playing this difficult game, so glad you reached out to Chatter to make sure you played it with the right "set-up", if I dare use the word!

"If you ever have doubts in regards to your writing, you've done good work! You've written a story worth telling, and I will forever sing it's praises." F4RF4D3EREEZED THIS IS TOO MUCH MY HEART, AAAAH!!!!

But thank you very much, Joy, I'm very happy you had a good impression of the game despite it being so dark and I hope you soon find your joy!!!!!

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