Justice Bundle Reviews #7: Highway Blossoms
I've appreciated the sheer variety of items in the Racial Justice Bundle. The first games I picked out were quick-play shmups; then I played some meatier action and exploration titles; then recently I had a need for something that didn't demand too much of me from the player seat, and kicking back to read a "kinetic novel" sounded perfect. Enter Highway Blossoms by Studio Élan, a yuri tale set in the present-day American Southwest.
It did not disappoint! Completing the title took me a few sessions of clicking, reading, and listening, and every time I needed to sign off to attend to other things, I found myself looking forward to the next chance I'd have to see these characters' relationships develop. A few plot contrivances took some effort to suspend disbelief on (a gold rush in 20XX? folks on the road without cell phones in 20XX?), but it's the emotional beats that matter, here, not the backdrop. The story's climax in particular is brilliantly paced, with all the right measure of humor, intensity, and catharsis. I didn't cry, quite, but my lip was quivering!
HB provides two versions: an all-ages script available in the main install, and 18+ content that it takes a bit of hoop-jumping to add. I would definitely recommend the "adult content patch" if you're not averse to that sort of thing! The odd bits of coarse language make sense, and the ero scenes work well. The prose isn't too purple*, and it portrays sex as fun, complicated, and imperfect in a really refreshing way. It even models healthy consent, which I find to be a relief in a genre that (in my admittedly limited experience) too often hits the viewer with non-con interactions sans content warnings as if they were the default expectation.
At least we're being honest about it, I guess...?
I can level one criticism at Highway Blossoms, though: it is very much a white tourist fantasy. The A plot is literally and explicitly about a bunch of Americans stomping around disturbing Native lands in an attempt to get rich. I'd say that's rather on the nose, if the text showed any more than a hand-wave's worth of self-awareness about it! You'd think that a story set in the American Southwest would at least feature some Latinx characters, but alas, there is a mere one nonwhite bit part, and voiced by a white actress no less. Sigh.
That's not enough for me (from my privileged position) to withhold a recommendation for this heartful title, though. It's $13 on Itch, quite reasonable for a novella plus artwork, animation, music, voice acting, and even some fun reread features! Maybe what you need is some dusty sweaty love?
* It is a little purple. A gentle shade of lavender?