Visual Novel Nook: Miss Bullard’s School For Former Ladies

Miss Bullard’s School for Former Ladies is a supernatural romance visual novel by Quibble Quills, released on October 30th, 2018. It follows Lillian, a young woman who is tormented by a presence that gives her terrible nightmares. In an attempt to remedy this, her physically and emotionally distant father sends her to Miss Bullard’s School for Former Ladies, a boarding school in the Old Continent where young women who have magically induced afflictions are sent for treatment.

At the school, Lillian meets four other girls her age: Meredith, Winifred, Virginia, and Greta. Each girl has different romance paths that are locked in once you spend enough time with them (this happens after about two encounters). By romancing each girl, you find out the nature of her affliction, and eventually uncover the secrets of the school. While the girls all come off as a bit one-note and trope-y in their introductions, getting to know them better reveals deeper personalities, personal traumas and what has brought them to the school. I enjoyed my time with all of them, even the ones I wasn’t looking forward to romancing.

After my first playthrough, I enjoyed the game, but felt it had issues with its pacing and story delivery. It wasn’t until my second playthrough that I realized I didn’t have the full picture. Playing through one girl’s story isn’t enough to give a real understanding of what’s going on with both Lillian and the school, and that’s a good thing! The way you discover certain information and have encounters depends on the personality of the girl you’re spending time with, and provides good characterization for all of them. Meredith’s strengths, for example, are different from Winnie’s, so spending time with them has different benefits respectively.

I appreciated how this played out in the narrative of the story as well. Time with your chosen companion is unique, but certain parts of each day are basically the same no matter who you choose. That said, on days when certain events happen in class or in the dining room, who you spend time with will change how they play out. The core of the scene will remain the same, but whose side you’re on for a conflict, or an explanation for why someone isn’t in class, will depend on if you’re currently romancing them, or your knowledge from a previous playthrough.

At times, the writing can be a bit too earnest, but I had fun nevertheless. Each girl’s story has compelling elements, and the romances are sweet. While darkness lurks in every companion’s story, the romances tend to be fluffy and kind, mercifully sparing players the “kill your queers” trope (at least from what I’ve seen after one playthrough of each girl’s story). I’m excited to go back and play more so I can see every ending, as all four have more than one. If you’re looking for a visual novel focused on queer women and the supernatural, Miss Bullard’s should scratch that itch nicely.

Miss Bullard’s School for Former Ladies is available on itch.io for $10.

All images courtesy of the Miss Bullard’s itch.io page or screenshots by the author