I’ll Take 4 Discord Boyfriends Please [Blooming Panic: Full Bloom Review]
Y’all will have to forgive me on this one. I had every intention of adding a Gaming After Dark post for this month, but I cannot get Blooming Panic off of my mind. I got all four of the “good endings” in less than 24 hours. I am hooked and head-over-heels for the amazing love interests in the form of Discord boyfriends. I knew I needed to get this review out before my heart exploded from the wholesomeness that is this indie Otome game!
- Age Rating: Not Rated (see content warning)
- Genre(s): Drama // Romance // Indie
- Developer: robobarbie
- Play For Free: itch.io
- Rating: 5/5 Stars
Depressed day-in and day-out from a draining corporate job, you become invested in a fantasy webnovel and find a mysterious link to a fan server. Everyone is warm and welcoming, but four members take a special interest in you!
This game contains cursing, mildly suggestive content, situations that involve stalking (towards the main character), discussions of parental abuse, and loud sudden sounds.
I discovered Blooming Panic on TikTok of all places. A streamer uploaded some clips of them playing one of the boys’ routes, and their reactions had me going straight to Google to download the game! I attempted to find it on Steam, but so far, it looks like it can only be downloaded via itch.io. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was getting into, but the game’s main page was so enticing that I couldn’t help but jump in with both feet.
But I’m getting ahead of myself… Let’s give this game the intro it deserves!
The main character (in this case it’s yourself) is emotionally invested in a webnovel called Blooming Panic! I’ve Become a Monster?. The webnovel is about a girl named Lola who is undergoing a transformation. With a rival opposing her, two great friends at her side, and three boys that have found themselves in love with her at one time or another, Lola braves this final transformation.
The MC uses Lola’s story as an escape from their stressful job. One day, they are sent a mystery link on Twitter advertising a Discord server for readers of the Blooming Panic webnovel. This link takes them to server, but something is definitely suspicious. Within the server, they find more than they bargained for… Among uncovering the secrets of Blooming Panic and making friends, The MC finds themself with four guys that are ready to steal the their heart.
This is the first time I have seen a Discord dating sim, and not only that, but it’s done incredibly well! The layout is very similar to a real Discord server complete with bot commands, channels, a mod, and folks in the chat daily. Once you join the server, you are able to pick your username, pronouns, and are shown all the bot commands available to you. The commands include changing the music on the server, learning the backstory of the characters of the webnovel, and summarizing the webnovel’s chapters. Along with commands, there are also restrictions on private information you and others can share inside the server as well as prompted server debates/arguments. We love a good fandom debate around here.
There are also different channels in the server like the bot requests where you input server commands, blooming discussion where the regulars chat about the webnovel, fanart dump which includes unique artwork of the webnovel (some routes differ on the fanart as well!), and general where all non Blooming Panic talk happens. You also unlock special, private channels with each love interest. However, I think the most important channel of all is the voice channel! Yes, that’s right. Your love interest regularly participates in voice calls with you.
And all four love interests, their characters… I can’t even describe how amazing the writing is for each of them. They are all incredibly human with a past that we slowly get to uncover as well as flaws among their lovable traits. I felt like these guys could have been real people with the way the interactions felt so genuine and sometimes emotional. Everything from the way they type in the server to how they respond to you to the interactions that happen via the voice calls. It’s all *chef’s kiss*!
Let’s kick it off with nightowl, the youngest and cutest of the love interests at 25-years-old. He’s a grad student who stays up until the wee hours of the night or until the sun comes up. Exam or no exam, he frequents the chat often. He’s also arguably one of the biggest flirts on the server. That’s all surface level stuff that you learn on the first night though. Further on his route, you discover that he’s an architectural student whose parents aren’t supportive of his dream at all. Things aren’t going that well for him on the academic front, but maybe a little support from you will help him find his way?
Next is the incredibly handsome Quest. He’s the sole mod of the server and also works a mundane job like your character. He’s 28 years old and most definitely the most mature of the four guys. I actually got Quest’s route the first time I played through Blooming Panic, and I’m really glad I did. His route was probably the most emotional for me (with xyx’s as a close second). His route reveals a bit of your character’s past but also helps Quest open up about his own past in an unexpected way. If you play your cards right, you might even help him open up more to you as the nights go on.
Then there is NakedToaster, the 29-year-old Final Fantasy XVI gamer. He’s very sarcastic and aloof, but it’s easy to catch him off guard with a bit of flirting. Getting him flustered is definitely my favorite part of his route because he is so freakin’ cute. NakedToaster’s route is meant to be the true (or canon route) of Blooming Panic. You have to play through nightowl’s and Quest’s routes before you can unlock NakedToaster’s. Throughout his route we finally get to see the story behind story of Lola and her group of friends… which was very surprising but enjoyable!
Last, but certainly not least is the server troll, 29-year-old xyx. xyx is probably the most mysterious of the four guys, and it takes quite some time before you start to learn more than what is on the surface. Don’t push too hard though; this one is better savored if you take your time letting him open up to you when he’s ready. xyx’s route is the newest in Blooming Panic and wasn’t apart of the original Otome Jam release. I am so glad that his route was included in Full Bloom! As I said before, his route is my very close second favorite! He made me laugh so much during his route and I really enjoyed getting to know his character; it was a lovely reprieve from feeling sick for a week.
All four good endings left me with warm and fuzzy feelings. I haven’t played to get the bad endings yet. And I’m not sure I’m emotionally ready for them — it brings back memories of Katawa Shoujo and how much I cried over the bad endings for the girls. That’s how emotionally invested I am. It’s been a long time since I fell this hard for a digital love interest, let alone FOUR of them!
So many things stood out to me for Blooming Panic that made it so, so good. The characters are 100% believable, so much so that the interactions between them and myself felt emotional and real. Coming from someone like myself who did long distance with their significant other for several years, the Discord server aspect was such a cool and fun concept. The player being able to build relationships via the chat channels as well as voice calls really hit a soft spot for me. I got so excited every time one of the guys asked to voice chat, just like it was for real.
The bottom line is this: if you love a good dating sim, Blooming Panic will far exceed your expectations in every way! I cannot believe this game is FREE. Like, I feel like I should have paid to play something that is this freaking good. If it sounds like something you’d like to try, you have nothing to lose. And if you like the game, show the developer some love with a follow on their socials. I’m keeping my eye on this team. If Blooming Panic was this good, I can’t imagine what their next game will be like!
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