Although it's not unheard of (Norn9, anyone?), Him, the Smile, & Bloom isn't an otome game where you're forced to choose between romantic interests. Instead, when you pick which route you want to follow, you also pick which heroine you're playing – each love story unfolds between a specific couple rather than exploring the different romance possibilities for a single heroine among many men. It's a nice change from the more typical way that otome games (at least those licensed in English), and it makes the game into a collection of short stories in a way that helps keep it playable without a huge time commitment.

That's also reflected in the length of each route. There are fifteen chapters per story with three endings per route – bad, good, and best, called wither, bloom, and glow – and a special short after story that unlocks once you've completed the glow ending. Each route is roughly five to eight hours, depending on how fast you read, and chapters are short enough that they can be played whenever you have a moment. Even in the angst sections of each story, the plots never get too dark, making this a truly relaxing experience. But even two “wrong” choices will deprive you of the glow ending so there is still an element of challenge.

The four love interests are varied in age and trope. Wataru is the youngest at nineteen and while the accepted terminology here is “golden retriever,” he reminds me more of a pit bull with his relentless expressions of affection. Hokuto is the oldest at twenty-seven and the reliable big brother type, followed by playboy Ginnosuke, and finally boy next door Tenya. While all the routes are fun, Tenya's feels the most rewarding as a love story, followed by Ginnosuke's. Tenya's romance is one of the sweeter ones, while Ginnosuke's is the raciest (in a T-rated game, mind you), and both of their heroines were a bit better-rounded than those in the other two routes. The heroine of Wataru's has such a fixation on the five-year age gap between them that it becomes a bit annoying while Hokuto's heroine comes across as a bit desperate, although given that she's been in love with him since childhood, she is perhaps allowed.

The way the stories unfold is interesting in terms of a visual novel. As I said before, this is a collection of four separate romances, and they're all unfolding concurrently, which means that some of the story elements cross each other and all of the love interests are present in all the routes, interacting briefly with the heroine. Not all chapters have choices, which enhances the story (as opposed to the game) feel but also makes the chapters with choices feel more important, since you have fewer opportunities to control each route. It's easy to tell which options are likely to steer you down the wither branch but the difference between bloom and glow selections is much less clear, sometimes even after you make the choice, which adds a needed element of strategy to what otherwise would feel very much like a kinetic novel game. Each love interest has multiple sprites with different outfits and expressions, and the art is very attractive – not surprising when you consider that it comes courtesy of Yuuya, who also did the art for the Cupid Parasite games. In keeping with the differences between the two, the art for Him, the Smile, & Bloom is less whimsical than Cupid Parasite, and it's a testament to Yuuya's skill that both look equally impressive. The only real visual issue I have is that when Ginnosuke's mouth moves, the mole by his lips remains stationary, which, while in keeping with limited animation, is unsettling.

While the heroines are all renameable, their personalities are set, and that is occasionally an issue. Wataru's heroine, as already mentioned, is almost ridiculously fixated on their minimal age gap, while Hokuto's wears her heart on her sleeve to detrimental effect. Ginnosuke's has some believable anxiety about dating the self-proclaimed prince of Fill Flower, and her worries, although exaggerated, feel natural. Tenya's heroine is the most human of the batch, but that could also be because I relate to her introversion more than I do the other three. Most importantly, all four women are as different as the men they're romancing, which gives the game a nice feeling of variety.

Gameplay works equally well on both available platforms, the Switch and Steam. Controls are intuitive on both, and the touch screen can be used on the console, which makes it very easy to make choices or get to the menu. This is a strict visual novel, with no minigames, so no hand-eye coordination is required. Writing is generally good, although not quite up to the quality of writer Uta Amamiya's work on my absolute favorite otome game, Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly or the aforementioned Genso Manege, which they also wrote. The voice acting, however, is excellent, and the music is pleasant and unobtrusive.

Although Him, the Smile, & Bloom wouldn't be the first otome game I'd recommend, it's still a good time. Short and sweet with four different love stories to explore, the game is charming, and the included flower dictionary is a very nice addition. With charming stories, lovely art, and a comfortable runtime, this isn't the absolute best, but it's still more than good enough.