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* AntiClimax: Zion National Park is the first place Amber wanted to go see, and she spends a lot of time talking it up. Unfortunately the weather reduces visibility to zero, resulting in them nearly killing themselves getting up to the top and then staring at nothing but cloud.

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* AntiClimax: AntiClimax:
**
Zion National Park is the first place Amber wanted to go see, and she spends a lot of time talking it up. Unfortunately the weather reduces visibility to zero, resulting in them nearly killing themselves getting up to the top and then staring at nothing but cloud.cloud.
** The Treasure Hunt itself ended on this note. [[spoiler:After all the exciting race for the first three treasure pieces, Amber and Marina didn't celebrate finally finding the last piece of gold at the Valley of Fire for very long before they both moved on from the hunt quietly.]] Justified as up to that point in the story, the focus isn't about the treasure hunt anymore, but rather about Amber and Marina's budding romance and what they planned to do together after the hunt is over.
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A [=DLC=] called ''Highway Blossoms: Next Exit'' was announced with the planned release date sometime in 2020, which is a follow-up story taking place two months after the events of the main game as Amber and Marina returned to Las Vegas for an alien-themed convention and to see Tess for her birthday. They also end up reuniting with [[AscendedExtra Cassi, the candy shop girl]], who's determined to start following her own dreams.


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* AdultFear: In Las Vegas, Marina excuses herself to go do something personal away from Amber for a few hours. Amber is understandably reluctant to let her go alone in a city like Vegas where anything could happen. She gets very anxious when Marina was late to return to the RV and becomes afraid for her well-being. The effect is strengthened by an earlier encounter with Jumbo, a very creepy trucker who tried to seduce Amber and Marina. [[spoiler: Fortunately, nothing bad happens to Marina except that she had a run-in with Mariah who coerced her into playing a poker match for the treasure, which Marina lost.]]
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* BaitAndSwitchComment: Joseph says he sticks with Mariah and Tess, because, in his words:
-->'''Joseph:''' One of them needs someone to look out for her, and the other's ten.
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* ShoutOut: Goofball Mode's Extreme difficulty, where Amber and Marina's travels take place ''in real time'', is a reference to ''[[VideoGame/PennAndTellersSmokeAndMirrors Desert Bus]]''. There's even an achievement called "Desert RV" for completing the first drive.

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* ShoutOut: ShoutOut:
**
Goofball Mode's Extreme difficulty, where Amber and Marina's travels take place ''in real time'', is a reference to ''[[VideoGame/PennAndTellersSmokeAndMirrors Desert Bus]]''. There's even an achievement called "Desert RV" for completing the first drive.drive.
** Also in Goofball Mode, after getting flagged down at the beginning, Amber tells Marina that isn't a good idea, [[Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia because of the implications.]]
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Not sure how to format strikethroughs in wiki text—any help appreciated

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* PaintingTheMedium: When Amber is talking to the couple from Wisconsin, she gives fake names for herself and Marina—"Jane" and "Lacey." The next time they speak, their names appear with strikethroughs, followed by their fake names.

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Dewicking per TRS decision.


* BiTheWay: Marina has had two boyfriends before, though one was when she was twelve and the other she describes as ‘boring’. Still there’s no suggestion she’s anything other than bisexual.



* ClosetKey: It's heavily implied that Amber is this to Marina, with Marina realizing and coming to grips with her [[BiTheWay bisexuality]] pretty much right before she and Amber get their RelationshipUpgrade.

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* ClosetKey: It's heavily implied that Amber is this to Marina, with Marina realizing and coming to grips with her [[BiTheWay bisexuality]] bisexuality pretty much right before she and Amber get their RelationshipUpgrade.
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* CreepyChild: Amber thinks Tess is one due to he {{Stoic}} personality and quiet nature.

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* CreepyChild: Amber thinks Tess is one due to he her {{Stoic}} personality and quiet nature.
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* CasanovaWannabe: Jumbo, a truck driver encountered by Amber and Marina, thinks he can score with both girls. Granted he had no way to know [[IncompatibleOrientation Amber at least doesn't swing that way]] but a greasy trucker implied to be at least in his 40s trying to score with two late teenagers is slimy enough.

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* CasanovaWannabe: Jumbo, a truck driver encountered by Amber and Marina, thinks he can score with pick up both girls. Granted he had no way to know [[IncompatibleOrientation Amber at least doesn't swing that way]] but a greasy trucker implied to be at least in his 40s trying to score with two late teenagers is slimy enough.
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* CasanovaWannabe: Jumbo, a truck driver encountered by Amber and Marina, thinks he can score with both girls. Granted he had no way to know [[IncompatibleOrientation Amber at least doesn't swing that way]] but a greasy trucker implied to be at least in his 40s trying to score with two late teenagers is slimy enough.
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** Also in Goofball Mode while in Zion National Park the girls encounter the personification of said Park from ''National Park Girls,'' another game published by Sekai Project.
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* CuddleBug: Marina definitely (just look at the picture at the top). Curiously despite being an EmotionlessGirl Tess is also fond of cuddling up to people she likes.


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* TheGlomp: Marina is fond of delivering these, especially to Amber.
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* EmotionlessGirl: Eleven year old Tess never shows any emotion greater than mild interest, something that actually seems to worry [[ParentalSubstitute Joseph.]]
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* NotAMorningPerson: Marina has this trait, which contrasts notably with her usual demeanor. It doesn't take long for her to perk up, however.

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* AndTheAdventureContinues: Sort of. [[spoiler: While they aren't in any hurry to go on another wacky treasure hunt, it's clear Amber and Marina have no intention of settling down and will keep travelling the country together.]]

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* AndTheAdventureContinues: AndTheAdventureContinues:
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Sort of. [[spoiler: While they aren't in any hurry to go on another wacky treasure hunt, it's clear Amber and Marina have no intention of settling down and will keep travelling the country together.]]



* RealityEnsues: The second sex scene sees Marina take the lead, which is as awkward as you might imagine considering she's a virgin who's considered herself straight up to now. Amber eventually fakes a orgasm, considering they might be here all night otherwise.

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* RealityEnsues: RealityEnsues:
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The second sex scene sees Marina take the lead, which is as awkward as you might imagine considering she's a virgin who's considered herself straight up to now. Amber eventually fakes a orgasm, considering they might be here all night otherwise.


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* ShoutOut: Goofball Mode's Extreme difficulty, where Amber and Marina's travels take place ''in real time'', is a reference to ''[[VideoGame/PennAndTellersSmokeAndMirrors Desert Bus]]''. There's even an achievement called "Desert RV" for completing the first drive.

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* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Amber is horrified when she realizes she's been [[spoiler: [[ReplacementGoldfish using Marina to cope with her grandfather's death]], espically after using her as SexForSolace.]]

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* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Amber is horrified when she realizes she's been [[spoiler: [[ReplacementGoldfish using Marina to cope with her grandfather's death]], espically especially after using her as SexForSolace.]]


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** After unlocking the Goofball Mode by completing the game, one of the options is to play the game in "Extreme" difficulty, which involves an unskippable timer popping up that forces you to play the game in real time whenever the characters are driving a long distance (the girls' very first trip down the road to a gas station freezes the game for 30 minutes, and it just gets worse from there).
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* IllBoy: The Prospector who hid the gold died of an unspecified illness (possibly black lung) after returning to Missouri but before he could bring his family back out west. His journal entries mention a persistent cough that he can't shake and how he collapsed in the desert and had to be rescued by a local native, Lamasi.

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* IllBoy: The Prospector who hid the gold died of an unspecified illness (possibly black lung) after returning to Missouri but before he could bring his family back out west. His journal entries mention [[IncurableCoughOfDeath a persistent cough that he can't shake shake]] and how he collapsed in the desert and had to be rescued by a local native, Lamasi.
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* EveryoneHasStandards: Joe and Tess both disapprove of Mariah [[spoiler:scamming Marina out of the gold in a game of poker]]. Joe tries to have the whole deal annulled, and Tess outright admits she'd help the girls cheat the double-or-nothing game if they asked.

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* ConspiracyTheorist: Being a massive hippy, Amber's grandfather was one. A bit of it has rubbed off on her.



* CreepyChild: Amber thinks Tess is one due to he {{Stoic}} personality and quiet nature.



** Mariah has some as well. Not only does she give Amber [[WisdomFromTheGutter some solid advice]], some of her dialog and alcohol issues imply she's hiding an InferioritySuperiorityComplex.



* LikeParentLikeSpouse: Marina says Amber reminds her of her father, Amber says Marina reminds her a bit of her [[RaisedByGrandparents grandfather]].



* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Amber is horrified when she realizes she's been [[spoiler: [[ReplacementGoldfish using Marina to cope with her grandfather's death]], espically after using her as SexForSolace.]]



* PlatonicLifePartners: Mariah and Joseph turn out to be this, after Amber enquires if the two of them are a couple, flatly denying the two of them are in a relationship, though she admits if he's still single in ten more years, she ''might'' marry him out of pity.

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* PlatonicLifePartners: Mariah and Joseph turn out to be this, after Amber enquires inquires if the two of them are a couple, flatly denying the two of them are in a relationship, though she admits if he's still single in ten more years, she ''might'' marry him out of pity.


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* {{Protectorate}}: Amber comes to see protecting Marina as her responsibility.


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* QuitYourWhining: The first part of Mariah's "pep talk" to Amber. Amber [[spoiler:gets the treasure and gets the girl]], but is going to throw it all away because she feels a little guilty? ''Please.''


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** Their first sex scene has an issue too. Does it seem weird to you that Amber went from [[spoiler:breaking down over the loss of her grandfather]] to having passionate sex with Marina at the drop of a hat? [[spoiler: [[SexForSolace Because]] [[ReplacementGoldfish it]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone should]].]]


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* WisdomFromTheGutter: Mariah of all people ends up being the one to help Amber out of her funk.
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* AffectionateNickname: Amber begins using "Mare" for Marina as they grow closer. Near the end of the game she discovers that Joseph also uses the same nickname for Mariah, due to their similar-sounding names.


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* FriendToAllChildren: In contrast to Amber, who is not overly fond of children, Marina gets along great with them, as evidenced mostly with her interactions with Tess.

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* GoldfishPoopGang: Mariah and her crew have a habit of tailing Amber and Marina, even after the treasure hunt's over.

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* GoldfishPoopGang: Mariah and her crew have a habit of tailing EurekaMoment: Amber and Marina, even after has one regarding the location of the final treasure.[[spoiler: It happens when Amber is remarking that people used to call her a "chip off the old block" in regards to her grandfather, which is what provides the eureka. The Prospector talks about hiding the treasure hunt's over.between two prominent standing stones, which has led the majority of treasure hunters to search the area around the Windarch stones, which would seem to fit the bill. However, Amber realizes thanks to her knowledge of national parks that there was previously ''another'' set of twinned standing stones in the park, but that fifty years ago one of them collapsed and now just looks like another big rock on the ground...but it's called "the chip off the block", and would have still been standing when the Prospector went by. This leads her to realize ''that's'' where the treasure is buried, not at Windarch.]] Unfortunately, she has this realization right in front of Mariah, who realizes what Amber's figured out, leading to a high-speed motorhome chase.


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* GoldfishPoopGang: Mariah and her crew have a habit of tailing Amber and Marina, even after the treasure hunt's over.
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* {{Gaygnst}}: Averted; Amber is already comfortable with her sexuality at the start of the story, and even after working out her own bisexuality, Marina is never bothered by being in a relationship with another woman or any of the usual assorted problems. [[spoiler: While they do run into relationship issues not long after getting together, they stem from Amber's fear that she's been unintentionally using Marina as a way to cope with the recent loss of her grandfather and her own fear of what a life with someone who truly cares about her could be like, not because they're both women.]]

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* {{Gaygnst}}: {{Gayngst}}: Averted; Amber is already comfortable with her sexuality at the start of the story, and even after working out her own bisexuality, Marina is never bothered by being in a relationship with another woman or any of the usual assorted problems. [[spoiler: While they do run into relationship issues not long after getting together, they stem from Amber's fear that she's been unintentionally using Marina as a way to cope with the recent loss of her grandfather and her own fear of what a life with someone who truly cares about her could be like, not because they're both women.]]
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* SexForSolace: Amber seems to briefly consider this [spoiler: after her fight with Marina near the end of the story and walking out on her; she ends up passing by what is heavily implied to be a lesbian bar and catches the eye of an attractive young woman inside, but ultimately backs off and ends up running into the desert. Likewise, the fight itself is brought on after Amber and Marina have sex for the first time after Marina tries to comfort her when the reality of Amber's grandfather's death finally hits her and leads to them sleeping together. The idea that she might have been trying to use Marina and that she might have forced her into it are what leads Amber to try to end the relationship, but after they've patched things up, Marina assures Amber that if she hadn't wanted to, she would have said so.]]

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* SexForSolace: Amber seems to briefly consider this [spoiler: [[spoiler: after her fight with Marina near the end of the story and walking out on her; she ends up passing by what is heavily implied to be a lesbian bar and catches the eye of an attractive young woman inside, but ultimately backs off and ends up running into the desert. Likewise, the fight itself is brought on after Amber and Marina have sex for the first time after Marina tries to comfort her when the reality of Amber's grandfather's death finally hits her and leads to them sleeping together. The idea that she might have been trying to use Marina for this and that she might have forced her into it are what leads Amber to try to end the relationship, but after they've patched things up, Marina assures Amber that if she hadn't wanted to, she would have said so.]]

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* {{Gaygnst}}: Averted; Amber is already comfortable with her sexuality at the start of the story, and even after working out her own bisexuality, Marina is never bothered by being in a relationship with another woman or any of the usual assorted problems. [[spoiler: While they do run into relationship issues not long after getting together, they stem from Amber's fear that she's been unintentionally using Marina as a way to cope with the recent loss of her grandfather and her own fear of what a life with someone who truly cares about her could be like, not because they're both women.]]



* SexForSolace: Amber seems to briefly consider this [spoiler: after her fight with Marina near the end of the story and walking out on her; she ends up passing by what is heavily implied to be a lesbian bar and catches the eye of an attractive young woman inside, but ultimately backs off and ends up running into the desert. Likewise, the fight itself is brought on after Amber and Marina have sex for the first time after Marina tries to comfort her when the reality of Amber's grandfather's death finally hits her and leads to them sleeping together. The idea that she might have been trying to use Marina and that she might have forced her into it are what leads Amber to try to end the relationship, but after they've patched things up, Marina assures Amber that if she hadn't wanted to, she would have said so.]]



* TheUnreveal: [[spoiler: It's never revealed what happened to the second box of treasure; if someone already found it or if it was even in the Mummy Cave to begin with.]]

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* TheUnreveal: [[spoiler: It's never revealed what happened to the second box of treasure; if someone already found it or if it was even in the Mummy Cave to begin with. Likewise, it's never explained what gift Marina was trying to get Amber in Vegas before she got waylaid by Mariah and the rest of the Trio, as Marina still refuses to divulge that information afterwards.]]

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* DrivesLikeCrazy: Mariah, whenever she gets behind the wheel of the Trio's motorhome.



* FunnyBackgroundEvent: [[spoiler: Tess silently sliding back and forth across the screen as the Trio attempts to get Amber back into town before Marina leaves to go back home after their fight with a severely hung-over Mariah at the wheel of the motorhome.]]



* MsFanservice: Mariah leaves her jumpsuit almost completely unzipped all the time, showing off her bra, belly, and even part of her panties as well. Amber's narration of their first meeting even notes that she constantly looks like she might burst out of her clothes.

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* MsFanservice: Mariah is quite well-endowed, and leaves her jumpsuit almost completely unzipped all the time, showing off her bra, belly, and even part of her panties as well. Amber's narration of their first meeting even notes that she constantly looks like she might burst out of her clothes.

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* HeterosexualLifePartners: Mariah and Joseph turn out to be this, after Amber enquires if the two of them are a couple, flatly denying the two of them are in a relationship, though she admits if he's still single in ten more years, she ''might'' marry him out of pity.


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* PlatonicLifePartners: Mariah and Joseph turn out to be this, after Amber enquires if the two of them are a couple, flatly denying the two of them are in a relationship, though she admits if he's still single in ten more years, she ''might'' marry him out of pity.
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* BlackBraAndPanties: Mariah wears these, as evidenced every time she appears on screen thanks to her constantly unzipped jumpsuit.


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* CovertPervert: It's relatively minor, but Amber does sneak a few side glances at Marina (like when she's wearing Amber's old slightly too-small gym uniform as bed clothes or at her legs when she puts her feet up on the dashboard), but she begins to feel bad about it after she starts developing feelings for her. [[spoiler: After they have sex for the second time, as Marina is heading to have a shower, still naked from the love-making, she actually catches Amber watching her in the rear-view mirror of the motorhome and casually adjusts the clothes she's carrying to give her a better look.]]


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* HeroicBSOD: Mariah briefly shuts down [[spoiler: after Marina and Amber find the first piece of the treasure, since the location it was buried in doesn't make sense if the prospector was trying to head back to Missouri. She has to be led away by Joseph and Tess while muttering under her breath trying to figure it out, oblivious to everything else.]]
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Mariah and Joseph turn out to be this, after Amber enquires if the two of them are a couple, flatly denying the two of them are in a relationship, though she admits if he's still single in ten more years, she ''might'' marry him out of pity.


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* IllBoy: The Prospector who hid the gold died of an unspecified illness (possibly black lung) after returning to Missouri but before he could bring his family back out west. His journal entries mention a persistent cough that he can't shake and how he collapsed in the desert and had to be rescued by a local native, Lamasi.


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* MomentKiller: The Trio end up ruining a moment for Amber and Marina at the Grand Canyon, just before they're about to kiss.
* MsFanservice: Mariah leaves her jumpsuit almost completely unzipped all the time, showing off her bra, belly, and even part of her panties as well. Amber's narration of their first meeting even notes that she constantly looks like she might burst out of her clothes.


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* TheRival: Mariah quickly becomes one to Amber in the search for the lost treasure, culminating in a high-speed motorhome chase to get to the third treasure box after they simultaneously figure out where it must have actually been hid.


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* TheUnreveal: [[spoiler: It's never revealed what happened to the second box of treasure; if someone already found it or if it was even in the Mummy Cave to begin with.]]
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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/highway_blossoms.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Marina and Amber.]]

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Highway Blossoms was released on Steam on June 17, 2016. The game is all-ages by default, but a free adult patch can be downloaded on the game's website. An update known as ''Highway Blossoms Remastered'' was released on May 18, 2018, which includes some new artwork, full English voice acting, and a Chinese translation.

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Highway Blossoms was released [[https://store.steampowered.com/app/451760/Highway_Blossoms/ on Steam Steam]] on June 17, 2016. The game is all-ages by default, but a free adult patch can be downloaded on the game's website.

An update known as ''Highway Blossoms Remastered'' was released on May 18, 2018, which includes some new artwork, full English voice acting, and a Chinese translation.
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* YuriGenre: The game focuses on the relationship between Amber and Marina and how they end up falling for each other.

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* YuriGenre: The game focuses on the relationship between Amber and Marina and how they end up falling for each other.other.
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* AllThereInTheManual: The characters' last names aren't mentioned in game, only in [[https://twitter.com/SyonSanteria/status/751207963918950401 a tweet from one of the developers]].

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* AllThereInTheManual: The characters' last names aren't mentioned in game, only in [[https://twitter.com/SyonSanteria/status/751207963918950401 a tweet from one of the developers]]. Averted in the end credits of the remastered version, as the main characters' full names are displayed alongside the characters' respective voice actors.



* TheCameo: Senri Kanzaki, a character from another Alienworks visual novel ''The Human Reignition Project'', briefly appears during the music festival, but only in Goofball Mode.



* SillinessSwitch: After completing the game once, you can play through "Goofball Mode," which is mostly the same but adds various memes and lampshading of tropes throughout, or "EZ Mode," which goes through the story in about a minute and is hilarious.

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* SillinessSwitch: After completing the game once, you can play through "Goofball Mode," Mode", which is mostly the same but adds various memes and lampshading of tropes throughout, or "EZ Mode," Mode", which goes through the story in about a minute and is hilarious.

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