Florence

About

"Florence" is a touching and interactive narrative-driven mobile game. Follow the protagonist, Florence, through her romantic journey with a cellist named Krish, as players solve simple puzzles to progress through the game. The game explores themes of love, self-discovery, and communication through its engaging and relatable storyline.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

94%

Audience ScoreBased on 3,799 reviews

story931 positive mentions

replayability11 negative mentions

Beautiful art style and soundtrack that enhance the emotional experience.
Innovative gameplay mechanics that effectively convey the story without dialogue.
A relatable and heartfelt narrative about love, loss, and self-discovery.

Very short gameplay, typically completed in under an hour.
Limited replayability with a linear story that doesn't change based on player choices.
Some players may find the story predictable and lacking depth.

story
2,595 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
62%
3%
The story of *Florence* is a poignant exploration of love, personal growth, and the bittersweet nature of relationships, conveyed through minimal dialogue and innovative gameplay mechanics. While the narrative is simple and somewhat predictable, its emotional depth resonates with many players, making it a relatable experience. The game's stunning visuals and evocative soundtrack further enhance the storytelling, creating a memorable, albeit brief, journey through the ups and downs of adult life.
- “Despite its short length, [i]florence[/i] tells its story masterfully, using simple yet innovative mechanics to convey emotions without relying heavily on dialogue.”
- “The game’s visual style and musical score are absolutely stunning, perfectly complementing the story and enhancing the emotional journey.”
- “Florence is a beautifully drawn, heartfelt interactive story about love, growth, and self-discovery.”
- “I've basically clicked through it because there was nothing that could get me immersed into this boring story.”
- “The story is far too linear and predictable to be compelling, and this isn't helped by the length of the story, which condenses a whole relationship into something that lasts for less than an hour.”
- “The story is ordinary and a bit cliché.”
music
1,280 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The music in *Florence* is widely praised for its emotional depth and ability to enhance the storytelling experience, with many reviewers highlighting the beautiful compositions by Kevin Penkin. The soundtrack, which features soothing piano and cello melodies, complements the game's charming art style and effectively conveys the protagonist's feelings throughout her journey. Overall, the music is considered a standout aspect of the game, elevating its narrative and emotional impact.
- “The game’s visual style and musical score are absolutely stunning, perfectly complementing the story and enhancing the emotional journey.”
- “Beautiful art, touching music, and creative gameplay build together a unique experience that's sure to satisfy those who are fans of artistic games.”
- “The music complements the experience wonderfully, enhancing its emotional depth.”
- “The music becomes repetitive pretty quickly, and the story itself is cliche and dull.”
- “The music is fine, it's relaxing, but I found it really annoying when the music kept fading out at the end of every chapter; it would be so much better if the music sort of blended through as we progress.”
- “While the gameplay is simplistic, the story is endearing, and the soundtrack is superb, but it lacks depth and can feel shallow at times.”
emotional
714 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
99%
1%
The emotional aspect of "Florence" is widely praised for its ability to convey a deeply personal and relatable narrative through stunning visuals and a poignant soundtrack, often leaving players in tears. Many reviews highlight the game's exploration of love, growth, and self-discovery, emphasizing its heartfelt storytelling despite its brevity. While some players found the story simplistic, the overall emotional impact and artistic presentation resonate strongly, making it a memorable experience for those who appreciate emotional storytelling in games.
- “The game’s visual style and musical score are absolutely stunning, perfectly complementing the story and enhancing the emotional journey.”
- “It beautifully portrays a relationship through music and colors, making every moment feel real and emotional.”
- “The journey through Florence's romance, from the initial sparks of love to the heart-wrenching process of moving on after a breakup, is portrayed with an authenticity that resonates deeply.”
- “I've basically clicked through it because there was nothing that could get me immersed in this boring story.”
- “Tldr; very short and boring story.”
- “Boring game, boring story.”
graphics
601 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
40%
1%
The graphics of "Florence" are widely praised for their beautiful, hand-drawn art style that effectively conveys the game's emotional narrative. Reviewers highlight the charming, cartoonish visuals and the seamless integration of the soundtrack, which enhances the overall experience. While the game is short, its aesthetic appeal and emotional depth resonate strongly with players, making it a memorable interactive story.
- “The art style is beautiful and the music is emotional and gorgeous.”
- “The hand-drawn art style is vibrant, and the use of color is masterful, creating a visual tapestry that is both evocative and enchanting.”
- “The art style of Florence is a visual treat, with its cartoonish aesthetic adding a layer of charm and whimsy to the emotional journey it takes players on.”
- “The game does not have particularly realistic graphics.”
- “While it is a short game with simple graphics, almost no gameplay and a story you’ve heard a thousand times before, you can’t just pass it by.”
- “The whimsical art style in Florence has a charm, but that's about where it ends for me.”
gameplay
598 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
72%
3%
The gameplay in *Florence* is characterized by its simplicity and minimalism, serving primarily as a vehicle for storytelling rather than a source of challenge or entertainment. Players engage with intuitive mechanics that cleverly reflect the emotional nuances of the narrative, such as piecing together conversation puzzles that evolve as the relationship develops. While the gameplay is brief and may feel repetitive at times, it effectively enhances the overall experience, making it a unique blend of interactive storytelling and art.
- “The gameplay in florence is refreshingly simple yet deeply meaningful.”
- “Through clever gameplay mechanics, symbolic interactions reflect the evolving dynamics of florence and krish's relationship.”
- “What makes florence incredible is how it masterfully finds concise and meaningful ways to convey the emotion of the narrative through interaction, the game is absolutely worth your time, for its incredible production, sweet story, and exploration of communicating meaning through gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is very simple, most of the time you just move and click things across the screen, or make the characters walk.”
- “The gameplay itself is very minimal, but I felt satisfied with it.”
- “The gameplay is linear but the point-and-click mechanics are quite clever when it comes to narrating the story!”
replayability
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
62%
30%
Overall, the game has been criticized for its low replayability, with many players noting that it can be completed in about 30 minutes to an hour and lacks significant content to encourage multiple playthroughs. While some players enjoyed the experience and found it worth the price, the consensus is that there is little incentive to replay the game beyond collecting achievements.
- “It's relatively short, with a bit of replay value as well.”
- “Not very long and not a lot of replay value, but if you let it affect you and make you wonder, the experience is worth it and it'll get you thinking profoundly about love and the paths of life.”
- “Whilst the story itself is quite short (I believe they say ~45 mins, although I took my time and got nearly an hour out of it), the soundtrack has real replay value, so factor that in when considering whether this is worth purchasing.”
- “Super short and super casual; I finished in an hour or so. There is also no replay value, so be aware of that if you have a tight budget and aren't willing to support it for its artsy ways.”
- “It doesn't have a lot of replay value either; it's likely something you'll play once and that'll be it.”
- “It is an extremely short game, about 30 minutes to complete a run, and there really isn't much replay value.”
atmosphere
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
25%
13%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its beautiful art, simple yet effective color use, and evocative music, all of which enhance the emotional depth of the story. Reviewers note that the combination of these elements creates a charming, whimsical, and calming environment that effectively conveys the game's themes of love and personal growth. Overall, the atmospheric design is considered a standout feature, making the experience both immersive and emotionally resonant.
- “The music, art, and effects all come together beautifully to create the perfect atmosphere for aspiring, meet-cutes, young love and learning the price of following your dreams.”
- “The game is quite simple, but beautiful... gorgeous art and really atmospheric music that perfectly match the situation.”
- “It creates a really calming atmosphere which creates a nice contrast with a fairly sad storyline about moving forward.”
- “The use of color is very simple (grey for sad, not for happy), but it still helps sell the atmosphere and story.”
- “Still, the game's music is the saving grace as it still ties the atmosphere strongly until the end of the game.”
- “Similarly, in Gone Home, the oppressive atmosphere of the house and the freeform exploration help to put you into the perspective of the main character, feeling their nervousness, sadness, and relief at various parts of the story.”
grinding
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
29%
65%
The reviews overwhelmingly describe the grinding aspect of the game as tedious and time-consuming, with many players feeling that it detracts from the overall experience. While some appreciate the emotional narrative, the repetitive and trivial tasks are criticized for interrupting the flow and making the gameplay feel more like a chore than an engaging experience. Overall, players suggest that the game could benefit from more interactive and less monotonous mechanics.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “You can hardly call the puzzles 'puzzles'; mostly they are just tedious.”
- “It's not really a game; it's an interactive PowerPoint presentation that often interrupts the flow with trivial and tedious tasks, among which are: put two numbers together 10 times, put together a puzzle of 3 pieces 10 times, brush your teeth by moving the mouse a couple of times, and so on.”
- “Florence is boring, tedious, annoying to play, and fails miserably at trying to be this emotional story of self-discovery.”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
38%
38%
Overall, the game's optimization is well-executed, particularly on tablets and phones, with no significant performance issues reported. However, some players feel that the impact of their choices on performance is minimal, detracting from the overall experience. The game's unique dialogue presentation adds an artistic flair, but may not resonate with everyone.
- “The game is designed to run on tablets and phones, so there are no issues with performance.”
- “In addition, the game also uses bright red and sharper, more unusual dialogue fragments as the dialogue performance when two people quarrel.”
- “My only major complaint is that your choices and performance don't matter.”
- “A bittersweet, relatable game that feels more like performance art or a short movie.”
- “Performance?”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is described as a blend of funny and poignant moments, effectively balancing laughter with deeper emotional themes. Players appreciate the clever use of humor to enhance the narrative, with achievements and visual metaphors that elicit both chuckles and tears. Overall, the game successfully evokes a range of emotions, making it both relatable and entertaining.
- “The game achievements made me laugh, really, hang up on your mom 5 times, lmao.”
- “Sweet, moving, touching, intensely relatable, funny in places, and some of the most ingenious visual metaphors I've ever seen in a visual novel or comic book.”
- “This game is short, but it had me crying or chuckling every other act.”
character development
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Character development in this game is praised for its effectiveness and emotional depth, making it a useful example in game design education. However, some reviews criticize it as shallow, noting a lack of substantial character arcs and depth in the story, which detracts from the overall experience. While the game features smart characters and impactful music, its brevity and limited character development leave some players wanting more.
- “I use this game in my game design class (900+) students, to show the brilliance of effective character development to build on the potential of the video game medium.”
- “If you like romance, a little bit of drama, and want some character development, perhaps you will like this game.”
- “This game is short, you can finish it in about 1 hour and if you're also going for the achievements you can still be done in a few hours, but even within that 1 hour it can draw you into this game with its smart characters, character development, and the music is some of the most emotional and best music I have ever heard for a game.”
- “That said, I have to agree with some more critical reviews that the game is quite shallow ('story rich' in the user-defined tags?) in terms of character development, (i.e. there is only one example of it), actual gameplay, and much else that one would expect of a traditional story-driven PC game.”
- “If there was more depth to the story and character development, it might improve.”
- “Huge character design flaw.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, particularly with buggy interactions and a disappearing cursor, which severely impacts the gameplay experience in this point-and-click format.
- “Some of the interactions are buggy; the cursor disappeared a couple of times, which is a big pain in the ass for a point-and-click game.”
- “It is very buggy; you cannot see the cursor at all.”
- “The controls are buggy.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game features no in-game purchases, indicating a monetization model that does not rely on additional spending beyond the initial purchase.
- “In-game purchases: none”
- “The game offers a fair monetization model that doesn't pressure players to spend money.”
- “I appreciate that there are no paywalls, allowing everyone to enjoy the game equally.”