Quest Route Review
Game Title: Blooming Panic: Full Bloom Edition!
Creator: robobarbie 
Writer: Destini https://x.com/destiniislands
Where to Find: Itch.io https://robobarbie.itch.io/blooming-panic Free to download
Route Themes: Forgiveness, Second Chances, Toxic Ex
Favorite Username: Journey (since I like symmetry)
Note: I always use she/her pronouns when I’m playing Blooming Panic, but as I explained in the overview you can select your desired pronouns at the beginning of the game. For this review, I will refer to the character that you play as Journey and use she/her pronouns.
All About Quest
Quest is the mod of the server, a responsibility he takes seriously. Everyone in the server respects and admires Quest, but he’s also an easy target to tease. He’s affectionately known as the “Dad” of the server.
A perk to Quest’s route is that he never swears in his voice calls. Ever. Which I highly appreciate. Reading swear words doesn’t bug me since I can substitute them mentally, but hearing them makes me cringe. The voice actor for Quest is BardCommander https://x.com/BardCommander?s=09. His voice is a sweet, honest baritone which fits Quest’s good-natured but mature vibe.
Even though Quest is known for his maturity, he has a sweet and gentle personality. He’s considerate, believes in second chances, and is very protective of the ones he cares for. Quest is all about keeping the peace, but he can take some good-natured teasing. In fact, he seems to enjoy it when Journey teases him.
He also has major puppy-dog vibes once Journey gets closer to him. If Journey needs anything, big or small, Quest is right there waiting to rescue her. It’s absolutely adorable and one of the reasons I love Quest’s route so much.
I also find Quest’s character design super appealing. The pen tucked behind his ear, his professional-looking glasses… even the fact his shirt is almost the same color as his eyes is perfectly to my taste. Plus I love black hair, so win-win all around for me.
Basic Plot Review
I personally hate spoilers, so I will try to keep things as vague as possible in this section. Feel free to skip if you don’t like spoilers and play the game for yourself! Blooming Panic is free, so there are no excuses not to experience this adorable story for yourself!
From start to finish, I played through Quest’s route in just under two hours. Yet the storyline is rich, immersive, and has such a beautiful conclusion. It may be shorter than many visual novels I read, but I enjoy it just as much as the more detailed ones!
I really, really love how realistic this game feels! Each server member has a distinct and interesting personality. I love seeing Journey chat with all the server members, even when Quest isn’t online. My favorite side character is probably BigLady. She’s so sweet, supportive, and funny, but she also has insecurities which make her relatable.
Overall, Quest’s storyline is all about embracing your past and learning to let go of mistakes. salociN – the oldest server member and the sweetest grandpa figure you ever did meet – has a line that I think sums up the theme of Quest’s route. He says, “Too many things happen in a person’s life for them to not change along with it.”
Change is inevitable, whether good or bad. In Quest’s route an old ex-lover of Journey’s shows up on the server and is a constant reminder to her of the bad decision she made in going out with the stalker in the first place. Quest defends Journey, gives her a sympathetic ear, and encourages her to not let this get her down.
Unfortunately, the ex is toxic as all get out. He hates that Quest and Journey seem close so he ends up revealing a very personal and traumatic secret of Quest’s. This causes Quest to turn inward and he expects everyone to hate him after finding out. Journey has the choice to accept his past… or to judge him and lose their friendship.
Honestly? I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t NOT forgive him. Forcing myself to see the bad ending (even after 4 replays) just wasn’t possible because I couldn’t bear to hurt my sweet teddy bear of a mod. However, whichever you choose as you play, will determine the ending you get for the route.
This image shows the main screen of Blooming Panic. After you finish a route if you click on the fancy, butterfly-looking icon that says “bonus” you can see a small gallery of CGs AND you get a written epilogue. There is a good epilogue and a bad one… although I’ve only ever read the good one since I can’t get myself to read the bad ending. If you got the bad ending please let me know if you think it’s worth getting the “bad” epilogue.
Romantic Relationship
Warning: Mild spoilers. Don’t read if you don’t want them!!
There are SO many moments in Quest’s route that make my heart flutter. My goodness, this guy is just adorkable. Since it’s a shorter game the cute and fluffy moments start right from the beginning.
The first video call with Quest is quick, but his initial reaction to seeing Journey is so cute!!! You can tell that he is stunned by Journey’s good looks but he is super slick and plays it off like he was surprised her eyes turned red from a glare on the screen. But from the voice actor’s quiet “Oh… wow” you just know that Quest was about bowled over by the unexpected beauty he found staring at him. So cute!
It doesn’t take long for Quest to start calling Journey by a pet name. The first time he called Journey “angel” my heart flip flopped. Later you find out the reason why and it’s just so cute! Goodness, I’m grinning just thinking about it.
Quest’s confession is also SO sweet. He is so worried about Journey feeling pressured but with Journey’s ex causing issues in the server Quest wants to be upfront about his feelings. And then if you choose to respond positively to his confession he gets so adorably flustered!
One of my FAVORITE parts about their relationship is that if you make certain choices Quest feels comfortable enough to actually tease Journey back. My favorite line of his is, “Well surely you can’t be so irresponsible to start liking a guy you just met!” LOL I felt so called out at this line but I couldn’t help but laugh. This is what makes fiction so much fun!
If you make it to the good ending it has a beautiful wrap-up to the story and shows the beginning of Journey and Quests’s official relationship. In the bonus section, Quest’s good epilogue gives you a peek into his past and shows just how happy he is to have found someone who accepts and loves him. It’s really tender and sweet so please check it out!
Conclusion
So! If you like your men sweet, responsible, and hiding a dark past then this route is for you!
Quest is the most loveable of cinnamon rolls, but his personality has many layers. His route is full of surprising depth and makes you consider whether you believe in second chances or not.
I loved everything about this route and I hope if you have the time you will give it a read-through as well! I can guarantee that you will get multiple sweet and romantic heart flutters as you get to know Quest and all of the other server members.
Thank you for reading! If you’ve played Blooming Panic, which is your favorite route? Have a fluttery day
