The Flower Shop: Winter In Fairbrook is the second game in a series of visual novels set in Fairbrook developed by Winter Wolves. First released in 2011 the game is available on Windows, Mac, Linux and iOS mobile devices with a blend of gameplay that pairs farm simulation and dating into a single video game title.
While the The Flower Shop: Winter In Fairbrook ties in with the original game in a number of ways (The Flower Shop: Summer In Fairbrook) you do not need to play the original game for the full experience. It definitely adds an extra layer of enjoyment to the story experience though and if you plan to play both of them regardless than it is better to start with original game.
The Flower Shop: Winter In Fairbrook builds on the gameplay of the original game with the same focus on dialogue, story, farm management, romance and player choice. This addition to the series does away with the actual physical farm though and replaces it with growing flowers for the flower shop. While mechanically similar the shift ensures it’s not a direct copy of the first game and allows for new farming strategy to be used.
What isn’t changed though is the romance mechanics with 9 unique endings that you can attempt to achieve and are based on the 4 romance characters of Ryan, Jacob, Steve and Trent. With a mixture of familiar and new faces The Flower Shop: Winter In Fairbrook will bring back some memories while encouraging you to learn more about the newcomers.
Your avatar during this process is Natalie who has just finished her first semester of college and is hoping to take a break from what was a stressful first experience. With your parents pushing you to take on a job during the break from college though players feel forced to obtain a job in the local flower shop through their roommate.
With The Flower Shop: Winter In Fairbrook being based on how you set your schedule each week this job plays a large role in where you spend you assign your time. While you can spend all your time working this will mean your health starts to suffer and you’ll be unable to pursue any of the potential romantic relationships. Achieving each of these requires players to select the correct dialogue option at certain key story points but also requires you to level up your stats of determination, empathy, culture and intelligence through certain activities.
This makes The Flower Shop: Winter In Fairbrook require a blend of visual novel gameplay but also time management to successfully reach each of the game endings that of course encourage you to replay the game several times.
Summary:
- Plan your week, from working in the flower shop to romantic dates and stat boosting activities.
- Unlock a total of 9 different endings with the 4 love interests of Steve, Ryan, Trent and Jacob.
- Features familiar faces and locations from the original including Steve your character from the first game being a romantic option.
- Blend of mechanics that sees a well paced visual novel alongside farm simulation and time management.
- Available on iOS, Windows, Mac and Linux.
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Review Platform: PC
