It breaks me, it broke my heart </3

For some reason, I feel that ideas highlighting awareness about signs of a toxic relationship are quite rare. As someone who has never been in a romantic relationship, this hits me hard and makes me more cautious about who I fall in love with

this one was certainly intense and unexpectedly hit home </3 a bittersweet, realistic experience and I felt satisfied reaching the true end which gave that kinda moving on aspect more easier, there's truly that valuable something you can take from this, some inspiring strength, relatable moments, and well, it helped me to learn about those toxic relationships that were so difficult to get out of.

I'm glad i played this. It helped me to realise some important things about both past and present relationships. Thank you for making this.

I came to see how this game is going to play with the 'hanahaki' disease trope and oh. My God. I did NOT expect to get flashbacks and absolute whiplash. THE PLOT IS SO GOOD. This feels so.... so realistic. My ex used to act like our sweetheart, making me feel horrible each day and then acting like it was fine afterwards, it feels suffocating and this game did those feelings so so well. I felt trap and when I got the final, true ending... Oh the tears. I learned how to forgive them, not just the characters, the person i was with, too. I wonder about them sometimes but I'm way better now. Thank you for this game, you have truly TRULY moved my heart.

(not really spoiler free)

oh. my god. I absolutely BAWLED my eyes out over this game. I love yua sooo much !!!! they're such a cutie pie!! wish there was an ending where we happily ended up with them; but it makes far more sense from a realistic and creative project to not have that. this game is such a fucking masterpiece!!! the scene with yuu trying to make yua remember what their mother was actually like was SO SAD. and that scene with them walking together happily at the end of the 4th end?!?!? im dead. deceased. literally cannot explain how much I love this game.

Someone ask me to play this game... and I'm glad they did 1000/10

it's been quite a while since i've left a comment for something on itch.io... hopefully nothing slips my memory! it'd be a shame if i were to forget something i've been looking forward to talking about.

anyway, hydrangea was an absolute delight to play through! i decided to download it on a whim during the dead of night, completely oblivious to what was in store for me... there are many aspects of the game i'd like to praise such as the art, the writing, or the voice acting; but i'd definitely say its biggest strength is how the story and the gameplay loop heavily tie into each other.

normally, i'm not a huge fan of when visual novels lock certain—usually better—endings behind the initial endings which also happen to be the worst ones. it's mainly because i don't think it makes sense for most VNs; the protagonist has the ability to do whatever they'd like for most of the game, but at the last stretch you're forced to trip and fall unless you've already sat through the events about to transpire before.

in hydrangea however, it not only makes complete sense but also reinforces the story's core themes. the protagonist is nigh-powerless to do anything to affect their circumstances, and by forcing the player to keep replaying the game in the hopes of getting a better ending, they're put into the protagonist's shoes and get to experience the sensation of being trapped in a horrible loop which keeps going nowhere much like the protagonist themself does.

the fact you slowly learn more about the twins as you unlock more endings also helps, since i'm also not particularly fond of replay-for-better-ending visual novels where the entire story remains the exact same for a new option you get to choose from at the very end. in fact, i also enjoy how revisiting certain earlier events after completing the full game frames some of the twins' actions in a new light.

some examples which come to mind right now are the friend twin's reaction to you gripping their shoulders without warning or being intimately familiar with various manipulation tactics enough to recite them from memory (i had initially chalked it up to explosition for players not acquainted with the story's premise), and just about everything to do with the sweetheart twin's behavior in general. this might be my favorite story-relevant replay loop which isn't tied to time loops somehow!

speaking of fantasy elements, i also think the complete absence of them (aside from the central disease) in this story is what makes it so effective as well. coughing up flowers aside, the rest of this game is just a heavily realistic yet poignant story exploring the topic of abusive relationships (not even necessarily romantic, a rarity in these kinds of games in my opinion), how they form, and the fallout resulting from them. i don't want to give too much about myself away, but certain parts of this game hit like a truck and also felt like staring into a mirror.

for me, at the very least.

i also want to compliment the usage of the hanahaki disease trope in this story as well, by the way! i last heard the term used like... what, maybe well over a decade ago? it was what drove me to give the game a try, considering the fact i tend to be wary of games which use the term "yandere" as part of its marketing due to. uh. Genre Expectations, i guess???

like, as someone on the aromantic spectrum who also used to be chronically online back during the early 2010s, there are A Lot of thoughts i have about both the hanahaki disease and yandere tropes. i like the general idea behind both, but the way they tend to be depicted leaves me with a sour taste in my throat. don't get me wrong! i fully understand there's a market for that sort of stuff, but it's just not for me, haha.

funnily enough, i also had an idea for a story somewhat similar to this one a few weeks ago? that's not relevant right now, though! my point is, this story was a perfect deconstruction of the "yandere" archetype. both how people fall into such a mindset in the first place, and how they continue the cycle of abuse and hurt the people around them without meaning to.

i also appreciate the ability to not forgive the sweetheart twin in the true ending epilogue (ultimately bittersweet, but also the most realistic best outcome for everyone involved). a phrase i've always held dear to my heart is "i can always hope you heal and get better; i can also hope you do it far, far away from me."

anyway! i'm sure i've long overstayed my welcome, but i wanted to dedicate this last paragraph to liyah pon for lending her voice to yua; regardless of whichever role yua played in the story, her performance genuinely struck a chord deep within me. i'll probably revisit this game more than a few times in the future for inspiration.

Since starting itch.io games, I've grown a new appreciation for the  beauty that's woven so intricately within these creations. 

Hydrangea is a visual novel that I will hold forever dear to my heart, and it is purely due to the amount of love and care intertwined within its story and storytelling. 

Characters, especially Yua, were so biting and raw. I would really like to say thank you to the Liyah Pon for her part, the voice acting was genuinely phenomenal.

Abuse isn't a mistake, or an occurrence, or some whimsical slip of acclaimed cruelty, but more often than not a cycle of... love. Not the love of purity and of warmth, but the love that holds and the love that drowns. 

As a previous commenter has mentioned, Hydrangea perfectly encapsulates the pure suffocation within relationships where unbalanced power dynamics are followed with resigned servitude. 

Thank you so much to all those that worked on the game, it was such a delight to play. 

I genuinely felt so trapped and helpless playing this game...it beautifully encapsulated the prison that abusive relationships can be. 10/10 experience, I found it horrifying. 

Passing by to remind everyone that Hydrangea’s Steam page is live! Wishlisting it helps the game reach more players. Tell your friends, family, and pets! https://store.steampowered.com/app/3121650

so good didnt even bother looking for a walkthrough guide

I originally downloaded the game due to taking an interest in the concept of a psychological horror that delved into the topic of an abusive relationship and it didn't disappoint in the slightest.

I was sucked into the story and began to relate a lot to the MC in terms of their mindset and how they thought, which then made me realise that a relationship I had gotten out of a few months back was like the one portrayed in Hydrangea to a lesser extent. 

The game portrays the topic in a very interesting and respectful manner and I appreciate that. Even making me aware of the cycle of abuse and that being the thing to make me realise what had happened and choosing to portray it via hanahaki disease was genuinely a smart move.

10/10 

this game was quite interesting to say the least. The concept of hydrangeas in the game was just WOW.. the characters and the story itself was so emotional it left me thinking about my life in the end. 

this is genuinely one of the best games i have played on here. its extremely immersive, well written, sad, and beautiful. love it <3

🤍NEW UPDATE🖤

Great game! Made me very emotional, I almost cried which doesn't happen often. All of the characters were very well written. Glad that in the true ending everyone got a happy ending. I loved this and it is definitely one of the best games I've ever played. 5 stars!

Amo  los Yanderes y a esa enfermedad ficticia q puede salir mal ? Jsksj

this game was insanely good
and i almost cried playing this
amazing storyline, art and everything 
10/10 

this is so good oh my gosh,, what's more crazy is after playing this I can see myself realizing and relating to some of the traumas elaborated in the game. 10/10!!

I love this game so much! The art looks amazing and the storyline is wonderful!

This is and absolutely BEAUTIFUL game, the art and just the game in general is amazing! I don't really have any words to explain the game but it's very amazing

This game is so touching. What I went through in the past wasn't nearly as intense as this, but there were definitely similarities in the roles both parties filled and the events that went down in what happened in the game--- the dynamic between the MC and their sweetheart was portrayed wonderfully and offered empathy to all of the characters, even the one who harmed us. It's not something I see much, but I always appreciate content that is able to acknowledge that a character was truly abusive or harmful without taking away their humanity.  I also appreciate how the game acknowledged that you can forgive someone while not wanting to stay in touch --- which is, again, not something I see much in media, but something that reflects my experiences perfectly. Thank you so much for making hydrangea, its wonderful, and I really enjoyed playing it :)