A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android

CONTENT WARNING (CLICK ME)

Psychological and verbal abuse, child abuse, gaslighting, self harm, suicide, substance use.

"Your sweetheart fell ill with a mysterious illness. Thankfully, you changed your mind about breaking up with them. Now, you're even closer to them. 

Too close."

A romance/psychological horror visual novel inspired by the Hanahaki disease trope. Immerse yourself in a romance with a sweetheart you can customize. But beware, as affection turns to obsession, the petals of love may suffocate.

      Features:

  • Choose your name, as well as your sweetheart's name, pronouns, and appearence.
  •  Contains four endings. Aim to see the first three to unlock the true end.
  •  Original soundtrack, backgrounds, portraits, and CGs!
  • Story  length: 20k words.
  • Play on your Windows, Linux, and Mac devices, as well as your Android phone!


Submission for the 2024 Yandere Jam.

Languages: English, Brazilian Portuguese

If you're interested in translating the game, contact me.

PRESS KIT HERE.


This story is fiction, but the feelings expressed in it aren't. Be mindful of the content warnings displayed and remember there is a human being behind what you read.


WHAT IS 'HANAHAKI DISEASE'? (CLICK ME)

Hanahaki is a fictional disease, often seen in fan-created content, in which the victim coughs up flower petals when they suffer from one-sided love. It ends when the beloved returns their feelings.

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Hydrangea Development Team:

Writing, project lead: Meiri

Sprites and CG: Misha

Background art: Banh-mi andJam

Music: Eric Jeffrey Tan

GUI: Abby Jocson / craboozled

Promo pixel art: Mary

Coding: Shie

Technical Artist: Joshua Bowles

Additional CGs and Special Thanks: Nevi

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More free horror games here.

Contact: applepiegame(at)gmail(dot)com

 

Please my read terms on fan content and commercial products.

I greatly appreciate your comments! Help the game reach more people by leaving a review.

If you're recording or streaming your playthrough, please send me a link, I would to love to watch!

HINTS! (CLICK ME)

  • You can change text speed in the settings menu!
  • Ending 3 is not unlocked by default.
  • CGs can be viewed in the gallery. The displayed CG will include the appearence you chose for your sweetheart last time you finished any ending.
  • There is one secret ... but I won't spill the beans!
  • Updated 22 days ago
    StatusReleased
    PlatformsWindows, macOS, Linux, Android
    Rating
    Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars
    (49 total ratings)
    AuthorsMeiri, int_45h, banh mi, Jamboree, ejtanmusic, craboozled, Misha
    GenreVisual Novel, Interactive Fiction
    Made withRen'Py
    TagsAmare, Anime, Cute, Horror, LGBT, Multiple Endings, Psychological Horror, Romance, yandere
    Average sessionAbout an hour
    LanguagesEnglish, Portuguese (Brazil)
    InputsKeyboard, Mouse, Gamepad (any)
    AccessibilitySubtitles

    Download

    Download
    hydrangea-win-linux.zip 187 MB
    Version 1.2 32 days ago
    Download
    hydrangea-osx.zip 182 MB
    Version 1.2 32 days ago
    Download
    hydrangea_android.apk 182 MB

    Install instructions

    WINDOWS: download the win-linux .zip file. Utilize an application to unzip files, such as winRAR or 7zip. A folder with the game's name will appear.

    Development log

    Comments

    Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.

    this was such a hard game to play but it really opened my eyes on things. I didn't really realize at first a lot of things about my own life....till i played this game so.. ANYWAYS ENOUGH ABOUT ME.


    THIS GAME WAS GREAT WAUGHHHW AUGHHHW AGHJHJHJHJHSHJHS (thank you)

    Nem joguei ainda mas vou dar 10 só por ter tradução brasileira, muito bom!!

    (+2)

    Love the end!!! Gosh, I really cried a lot. Thank you for making such a wonderful game.

    (+1)

    Thank you so much for playing! <3

    (+1)

    I love this game, a lot. I love how the psychological abuse was perfectly portraited since I've been in a mentally abusive relationship once. I think I might need a quick break after playing this game because holy. I didn't expect a dating sim to hit too much like home, honestly XD. But, seriously, I love this game a lot and I don't think I can describe my love for this game.  Maybe you can make sense of this because right now, I'm not sure I can.

    Thank you for playing. Hope you’re doing okay now. <3 Take care of yourself!

    (+1)

    this was an amazing game, but I uninstalled it as soon as I got to the final ending. i just can't replay it anymore, it felt too real. beautiful game and beautiful art though!

    (+1)

    Honestly I can understand, some games make me feel that way too. Glad you enjoyed the experience!

    (+1)

    this was beautiful im speechless

    Thank you for playing!!

    (+1)

    the secret letters in the download folder after all endings are just so... thank you for sharing this beautiful work. I think i see someone close to me in the Sweetheart, and it's enlightening to say the least. Thank you.  I hope that everyone who are suffering will find peace

    (+1)

    Thank you for playing. I hope you’re doing okay, please take care of yourself. <3

    (+1)

    spoilers ↓




    i was not prepared for the true ending.. i told myself i wouldn't cry, and i was *very* convinced i wouldn't cry during the playthrough, and yet i did. wonderful game, i appreciate and love how accurate it is to victims of abuse, as someone who has experienced it myself. the art was so pleasing to the eyes, as well! 10/10 game. ❤️

    Thank you so much for the kind words ;w; I hope you’re doing better today. Happy to hear you enjoyed it!

    (+3)

    (SPOILERS FOR THE GAME WARNING :) ) Bro, this one hurt. I really downloaded this cause of how attractive the colors and art were but I was crying at the final ending. I haven't seen such a dark concept portrayed so perfectly and showing how it effects people but can end for the better. Makes me feel seen from how the MC is on a path of recovery in the 4th ending like so many.

    Really can't begin to explain how pretty the art was and how emotional the storyline is.

    love this with all my heart <3

    Thank you so much, the team and I really appreciate the feedback <3 Hydrangea is a very special project and I’m happy to hear you enjoyed it so much.

    (3 edits)

    (ai, the down below comment is for the developer, don't really want to spoil if possible with some words I've said✌️)







    I rarely comment on this site but damn, this game is just so good. I can't believe how much I hated the twin who manipulated mc and loved the twin who tried to and helped us, perhaps my emotions are a bit more intense since I've had a similar experience before with the mc so I really hated the manipulating twin but I'm really happy that I played this game and got to the true end, I'm so glad for mc and everyone. Ai, the story is just so good and the art is chefs kiss.♡⁠(⁠Ӧ⁠v⁠Ӧ⁠。⁠)

    Thank you very much for creating such a lovely game, while this may be out of place, the game made me feel better and have more positivity in my outlook in life(after going through the true end ofc xd)!❤️

    Thank you so much for playing!! I’m very happy to hear that you enjoyed it. I wrote Hydrangea hoping to help people who went through similiar things feel less alone, so this really nice to hear ;w;

    Excellent storyyyy, there's more I want to talk about but it's not covered in this video.  But here all I can say is that it's an excellent way and little bit of twist in the Yandere type!!!
    (+1)

    My goodie, its good

    Heck yeah!

    (+3)

    To be honest I related so much to the protagonist, their actions, their thoughts, to the point it made me sick. I often wondered if my situation "counted" (I'm trying to not give spoilers, just in case) and this VN honestly helped me so, so much to accept what happened and to understand that I did the right thing. This game was amazing in all the ways possible, I can't thank you enough for creating such a thing!! <33

    Thank you for playing! I’m very happy to hear that the story has helped you a little bit ;w; mission accomplished!!

    (+2)

    dang oh my gosh this made me feel so emotional;; thank you for creating such a beautiful game

    Thank YOU for playing!!

    (+1)

    The story is beautiful, and I love your story telling! Although right after we promise to read the letter, an exception occurs (i also play on mac)

    Yeah, I’ll try to fix that :( press the ignore button for now and the game will continue.

    thank you for telling me :))

    I updated the mac version, now the error won’t pop up - but sadly mac users will be missing out on that feature…

    I’ll keep trying to find a way to have it working for everyone!!

    thank you so much for trying your best to make this game the best for everyone 😭❤️

    I love this! Your talent and passion for this game is obviously clear in this game - it's beautiful!

    I did find a small error in the code! I play on Mac, not sure if that changes anything. I hope the screenshot helps:

    oh i got that error too and I also play on mac 🥲

    Aw, man. Looks like that feature doesn’t work on Mac :( bummer…

    I’ll try to fix it - for now press the ‘ignore’ button.

    I updated the mac version, now the error won’t pop up - but sadly mac users will be missing out on that feature…

    I’ll keep trying to find a way to have it working for everyone!!

    (+2)

    I loved it!! The story and the game is well-made and it really gives an insight of how it feels to be in a desperate situation such as abuse and to empathize with the outcomes of it. The game was such an emotional roller-coaster and I think it was a masterpiece. The character designs & the art was soo cute and well drawn as well! 

    I really want to thank everyone who had contributed in the making of this game, I'm glad I've got to play it 💗💗

    (+1)

    Thank you so much for playing and sharing your thoughts! We’re very happy to hear that ;w;

    (+1)

    Eu amei esse jogo ❤️❤️ ótimo que tenha uma tradução para português! :D

    Fico muito feliz de ouvir isso!! <3 É os BR huehuehue

    (+2)

    playing this was def a journey went from oh no to stand up !!! to damn this again to go yua get them !! to no yua !!!! SO MANY EMOTIONS ( also me going crazy for five min for that secret until my mind did a click )

    i can't really explain well but it was so good, i think it's so nice to have games like this since i never went through stuff like this ( thankfully )but i still had a general idea of certain things and what is bad, made me realize that other signs can mean abuse, gaslighting, so at the end it was kinda like a new lesson learned to me

    leaving that aside the art was so pretty as well ( maybe it's also because i like flowers so much that i always took time to look at the background for a couple of minutes ) overall i loved it a lot !!

    hope this is understandable since english isn't my first language

    (+1)

    Thank you for playing!! ❤️ I’m happy to hear you enjoyed this rollercoaster.

    Thank you for the compliment on the art as well, the art gang will appreciate it for sure 👉👈

    (+4)

    wow... this game is very good and i think more ppl should Make game like this  its important to talk about this but its also makes me sad because Yua/Yuu situation kinda remind me of my situation

    my mom and dad are both very toxic

    they always had(still do) fight each other

    i would say they both are narcissists with BIG anger issues

    They always blamed me for the stupidest things and my mom love to play the victim 

    i will now ignore all the other things that have been said or done to me  but the worst is i feel like i become more and more like them .

    i'm afraid.. i'm already unhappy with my life but i don't want anyone else to get also unhappy but also can't leave my parents i love them even when they are aholes and ignore me and my feelings

    ugh i can't believe i get emotional because of the game it's embarrassing but i just wanted to tell my story to someone to show they are not alone 


    so thanks  for the great game that showed us that toxic relationships in the family but also outside of the family hurt & is not good for you and others <3


    (1 edit) (+1)

    I’m so sorry hear that. I hope you manage to get out of that situation ❤️ you are not alone.

    I wanted to share Hydrangea with others exactly to help people feel less alone. Thank you for playing.

    (+5)

    This is geniunely one of the best games I've played regarding abuse, gaslighting and other forms of manipulation. I'm not going to spoil it for anyone who wants to play as I highly recommend it, but I will touch on my personal feelings. I've went through something similiar to this and the way it was put together and structured was a very realistic approach and very well researched, it made me feel a lot of strong emotions, bittersweet ones. It made me cry, it made me smile, etc etc. 

    I want to personally thank everyone who worked on this game, from the writers, coders, artists and devs for making such a beautiful masterpiece thats both horrifically accurate and horrifically nostalgic to those who have gone through similiar experiences. Putting stuff out like this helps people learn and understand abuse, and it could help them realize they're in abusive situations themselves without knowing.

     I always see abuse portrayed as hitting, verbally berating, etc, and while those hold true and are very real, it's nice to have a game that accurately portrays gaslighting and more subtle abuse in a realistic way that doesn't demonize the victims of these situations, as they are hard to get out of, and even harder to understand. So thats why I'm thanking you from the bottom of my heart, I feel heard and like I finally have a game that represents some of what I went through. I've honestly thought about this game for hours and will continue to think about it even after that.

    I will keep singing my praises about what a gem this game is, from the graphics, the music and the story. You and your team are truly amazing. Have a good night/day/afternoon, thank you so much for your hard work.

    (+2)

    I’ve reread your comment about half a dozen times now. Thank you. This is exactly why I wanted Hydrangea to come to life.

    The fact that the game has touched you in that way means the world to me and the team. Thank you so much for writing your thoughts. ❤️

    (+1)

    thank you so much for taking time out of your day to respond, I’ll continue to support and follow you through future endeavors, you guys did such an amazing job and I hope you continue to do what you do. xx

    (+1)

    Hi I'm having a problem where I can't play this on Windows. I tried downloading both files but I just keep getting the same thing: hydrangea-osx. Idk if I even can play this for windows or not but just letting you know :D

    Hi! The game is playable on Windows, you have to download the win-linux file. Seems something odd is going on with itch as someone else was having issues with the downloads too, but it works fine for me…

    I’ve uploaded the Windows version for you on Google Drive. Lemme know if it works! Make sure to use an application to unzip the .zip file, such as winRAR or 7zip. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cjSalb4hPip1XAVqaAgwdUh-8MHKfuXT/view?usp=sharing

    Tysm it's working now!

    (+2)

    I love this game so much! Such a beautiful story. I was moved 🥺

    Thank you for playing! ❤️

    (+1)

    Several error messages appear with the Android version. (From the moment he gets a strong coughing attack)

    (+1)

    Oh dang it. Will fix that ASAP. Taking down the android build until that’s sorted 😭😭😭😭😭

    (+1)

    Android build has been fixed!

    Thank you for your effort! <3 :D

    (+1)

    Can you fix the Android system? A problem has occurred. Can you fix it please?

    What problem?

    Yeah, I will upload a fixed version ASAP!

    (+1)

    Appreciate your efforts and apologize for inconveniencing you

    Should be fixed now!

    (+3)

    gorgeous art and gorgeous story... tysm <33

    Thank you for playing ❤️

    (+2)

    I enjoyed the game a lot and would like to give feedback but probably shouldn't in fear of spoiling.

    You can send me an email! applepiegame(at)gmail(dot)com

    (+1)

    That is a nice alternative. I will send one soon. I do want to overlook the notes and game + your logs just a bit longer. Thank you for giving me the email and for responding!

    (+4)

    I peeped the development logs and saw what was alluding to a secret end but I still couldn't reach any other conclusion when replaying. I got the same endings and felt there was too much left unsaid. Then I checked my downloads and saw his original letter and every letter that corresponded to each end. Lovely detail and it felt like the words that weren't being said. Was this the secret?

    (+1)

    ;)

    (+1)

    Ohhh? My perception did not fail me?

    (+1)

    I'm so sorry Meiri but it appears the download is not working

    Although it may be an issue on my end

    What problem are you having?

    When I download the game, it says the site was not available.

    :( Seems to be a problem with itch.io then…

    which version do you want to download - mac, pc, or android? I can try to upload the game somewhere else for you.

    Sorry to reply so late, and to answer your question it would be pc, also thank you for going through the trouble to help me!

    (+3)

    Great game!  Not at all what I was expecting.  I could write an essay in the comments about how great it is, but the game is so poignant that it can speak for itself.  (Also, I don't want to spoil things for people who have not played yet.)

    Instead, I will just write: it is very, very, very, very good!

    (+1)

    Thank you so much! I’m so happy to hear that ;w; my heart is full

    (I would love to hear your thoughts on the game, you can email me if you’d like so it doesn’t spoil others here! I’m really curious to know omg)

    (+1)

    I'm in the middle of playing (and noting down typos/pronoun errors I see) so no comment for the game itself yet. But, so I can edit VNDB accurately, was Brazilian Portuguese in the original 1.0 release or did it get added in 1.1?

    (+1)

    It got added in 1.1!

    (+3)

    The game is very wonderful. I liked everything about it. Thank you for adding it to Android devices. I hope you will continue to develop games. I am excited for your upcoming game.❤️❤️

    (+1)

    Thank you very much! <3

    (+1)

    (⸝⸝๑ ̫ ๑⸝⸝⸝)

    ૮꒰ ˶• ༝ •˶꒱ა ♡

    (+2)

    simply incredible, i have no other words to describe it, amazing job

    Thank you so much for playing! ❤️

    (2 edits) (+1)

    EDIT: Bugs fixed, yipieeee!

    (+2)

    there is no gokku, no skibidi, no even GROTTY this gmae SUXXXXX 0/91928373839 BUYERS BEWARE

    (+2)

    i will refund you your 0 dollars ASAP 😔

    (this is an inside joke int is part of the dev team)

    (+3)

    I really loved and enjoyed this story amazing work! 🥺

    Great work to everyone who worked on it! :D

    (1 edit) (+1)

    i particularly liked the support a certain person whose name is eerily just like yours gave through the development process myself ❤️