Spring Gothic
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux
CONTENT WARNINGS
minor sexual content, self-harm, mentions of needlesCONTENT WARNINGS (SPOILER)
stalking, domestic abuse (non-major character)
"I dream of myself, taking Nica by the hand and leading her through the rainy streets of a desolate London. I see these roads broken and littered with cars, Kensington Park overgrown with weeds, Big Ben's clock tower fallen by the wayside—
Maybe others would think of this as eerie, but to me, this is the only way London could ever be beautiful: as a stage for just the two of us, on equal footing and with the sun as our only witness."
After months of flirting and sexting, Nica and Chun are finally meeting up for the first time in London. Nica is a up-and-coming trans retro game streamer, and Chun is a med student who is having cold feet over her workload. They have confided their deepest secrets to each other online, but can they understand each other offline?
Spring Gothic is an unsentimental take on long distance relationships and whether physical love can bloom in a fragmented society connected by a corporatizing internet infrastructure. The game is about 25,000 words long and features character art and programming by lacunova (Gotta Marry That Clown). The scenario is mainly written by Kastel (31st March, Midnight, Chinese Family Dinner Moment), with input from editor Nitori (another reverie, another happiness) as well as sound designer and composer Noelle Amelie Aman (Dead End City, Witching Stone).
Together, we present Prof. Lily’s second complete visual novel, submitted for Spring Thing 2025 and your appreciation.
Kastel: Writing, Background Support
Lacunova: Programming & Scripting, Illustration, UI
Nitori: Editing
Noelle: Music, Audio Scripting
Special Thanks: Curry, Moekki, Nadia Nova, Rikako and Saori
Playtesting & QA: Anarki, ash, Lill, Intvl, Jak, Katherine, Kumiko, Quincognito
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Comments
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I've been binging VNs for the last week and of all of them, this is my favorite. Not one tear shed, but it has touched me most deeply. It feels real. I feel seen. I do not have the words to fully express how this work makes me feel. This is something I will have to recommend to partners so they can better understand who I am.
Thank you for making this.
The game is great. I don't usually read visual novels, but I ended up enjoying the story a lot more than I expected. I'm looking forward to your future projects!
slight spoilers:
i adored the concept, awkward meetup with all the expectations being challenged by the reality was really good. its like just such a relatable struggle. i liked getting one side of the story and then the second and how confusing and challenging navigating this meeting was for both of them. i think especially on the second round ever since the kiss seeing how things really panned out was so exciting. i feel like repeating the same story from a different perspective is a really fun approach i feel like i see surprisingly rarely, but here it was perfect. i also like the narration shifting to an impartial description, i found it thematically fitting the conflict of them both just being clueless together as were just left to watch these girls fumble like a voyeur, since thats what the relationship was built on, both sides
the art is so good and the sprites are so lively and adorable. they sell the cute expressions just as the serious ones. so good job. and the music is so fitting that after completing the game it became my music player for the rest of the day. everyone involved did a superb job. good job thank you for sharing
bigger spoilers onwards:
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the whole focus of boundaries and how they can be bent and broken without even knowing was extremely thought provoking. and when things just didnt make sense anymore, when they felt at loss dealing with the same person in the same room that felt so different than the one they had known from online... so what stood out the most to me was how i was very touched by the part when they couldnt talk so they began conversing digitally in the place that was familiar for their relationship. i think that part really sold the shape of their relationship and so when they went back home and could return back to being bold and "normal" it was perfect.
a kiss with tongue is too scary in real life but the same person confessing to stealing your panties makes you suddenly wanna fuck the dork is hilarious. i really get that how when i have my own space and own privacy to interact from its so much safer. big mood.