Red Lilies is yuri horror visual novel by indie developer ButterflyLatte of KrispyCat.
A young woman named Irene has been accepted at Lady Lilianne’s Academy For Proper Young Women, a finishing school where young women learn the ways of etiquette and charm. On her first day, all seems well; Irene is placed under the wing of an upperclassman, Lucy, and meets four schoolmates, all of whom take an interest in her. And on the first day, it seems that her school days will be bright…
Until the next morning, when Lucy is found dead and drained of blood.
The demo
was released in October 2022, covering pre-route content. The full game is expected to release October 2024. A KickStarter to fund the game was launched in April of 2023, and reached the stretch goal of allowing Irene to pursue Lucy.
Due to the nature of the demo, spoilers are unmarked.
This visual novel provides examples of:
- Art-Style Dissonance: The girls look very cute, and wouldn’t be out of place in a moe yuri game… but they’re in a horror story. The game’s page makes sure to inform viewers that it is not meant for kids.
- Back from the Dead: Appears to be the case with Lucy; she appears in promotional material and was offered as a stretch goal - though now she has Mystical White Hair.
- Cassandra Truth: Suggested on the game’s description, which states that the teachers and staff do not believe anything supernatural is occurring.
- Closed Circle: The entire game will take place within the school, as the girls are too far away from cities and have no way of leaving.
- Content Warning: The game's main page warns that it is a horror game and will feature death and bloody imagery.
- Dean Bitterman: Miss Cooper is stern and no-nonsense when we meet her, and the creator has suggested she will be of no help when the horror hits.
- English Rose: Discussed; the girls are attending Lady Lilianne’s in order to become these, with Hazel in particular being extra determined to be the model of a ‘proper lady.’
- Establishing Character Moment:
- Camelia is first seen in the library, sitting away from the other girls, reading ‘’Carmilla.’’
- Maggie and Hazel are introduced demanding an argument between them be settled; the argument is due to Maggie wanting to play ball but coming dangerously close to Hazel’s tea party.
- Amanda is introduced clinging to Iona’s arm and childishly asking for a particular silverware.
- Foreshadowing: Camelia is shown reading Carmilla in her introduction, the Trope Codifier for lesbian vampires. Doubles as an Inspiration Nod.
- Girls Love Stuffed Animals: Hazel is shown to have tea parties with her collection of teddy bears.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Amanda has blonde hair and is easily the most innocent and kind of the quartet. Lucy has blonde hair as well, but speaking with Iona reveals she may not be as kind and sweet as she initially comes across.
- How We Got Here: The demo opens with Irene hiding in her room, while someone pounds on the door and demands she come out to talk. From there, we go back to more peaceful times of her arrival at the school.
- Multiple Endings: According to the Kickstarter page, there are eleven endings to obtain in the full game.
- Nice to the Waiter: Irene thanks Iona, the maid, for her service. However, Lucy admonishes her and tells her a lady does not acknowledge the staff.
- Nightmare Fetishist: Camelia is introduced reading Carmilla, and it’s well-known in the school that she knows many scary stories. This may apply to the other girls, too, as they ask Camelia to tell them one.
- Irene may be one as well; she mentions reading a book by "Shelley," likely referring to Mary Shelley, aka, the author of Frankenstein.
- Queer Flowers: The game title references lilies and lily imagery is featured prominently in some of the promo art. Irene also describes the flower vases containing violets - which also have sapphic symbolism.
- Riches to Rags: In Iona’s backstory; she describes how she was once a student herself, but her family fell upon hard times and she was unable to continue funding her education. She had no choice but to become a maid.
- The Storyteller: Camelia is known to tell scary stories to her classmates.
- Tsundere: Hazel appears to be one; she prides herself on being a proper and elegant young lady over her peers, but at the same time she has moments of clear fondness for the other girls. Notably, she does not push Amanda away when the other girl latches onto her in fear.
- Wham Shot: Lucy’s dead body lying in blood-stained sheets is this, solidifying the moment when the game goes from romance to horror-romance.
- Yuri Genre: The game is solidly classified as such, with the promise that Irene can romance one of the five girls she befriends on her first day. In addition, some of the girls are shown to be clingy or affectionate with one another - Maggie and Hazel in particular.
