Lead designer Ken Wong wanted to create games that eschewed violence and was inspired by his work on Monument Valley to have a more narrative-focused experience that included puzzles.

The game plays out linearly, requiring input from the player in the form of short minigames which help mimic or reveal Florence's thoughts and actions.

[3] The game follows Florence Yeoh, a 25-year-old woman who lives alone and is settled into a monotonous routine of working at her job and mindlessly interacting with social media on her commute.

[9] The staff discussed how film and books regularly explored love and human emotions, but that it was missing from game design and it would be a "good challenge.

[8] Wong and the team were inspired by film in creating Florence, and specifically cited 500 Days of Summer, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Titanic.

[11] The team decided to use music as a substitute for dialogue throughout the game, with the cello representing Krish while the piano follows Florence.

[14] Mountains used musical themes for the characters after accidentally creating them during development of the "Groceries" chapter, where Krish and Florence have their first fight.

[15][16] One staffer, who served as a lead developer on Florence, accused Wong of abusing him emotionally "to the point of depression and suicide.

[18][19] A policy was implemented after Florence's development that allowed staff to decline one-on-one meetings with Wong if they thought he was overstepping and to use a safeword that would immediately end any conversation with him.

[4] Tim Biggs of The Sydney Morning Herald felt that the minigames made Florence "truly special" and that it was "breathtaking and emotionally affirming".

[2] Jordan Erica Webber of The Guardian praised Florence's ability to capture "what it's like to fall in love for the first time.

[4][5][32] Destructoid's Andriessen stated that the game left him with a "pessimistic opinion" about love and noted that "it's the narcissistic pursuit of their real passion, art, that wins out in the end.

[33] Ken Wong, Florence's lead designer, described the game's sales as "okay" and stated that "Premium mobile is tough.

"[33] At a panel discussion, Wong mentioned that half of the sales for Florence were from China, and noted that more people had played the game in Mandarin than in English.