THE JAMES J. HILL HOUSE??? I THOUGHT I WAS IMAGINING THINGS WHEN I RECOGNIZED THE ORGAN, I'VE BEEN TO THAT PLACE MULTIPLE TIMES SINCE I WAS LIKE 7. THAT'S ACTUALLY KIND OF CREEPY. amazing game btw i binged the whole thing instead of sleeping and i do not regret it.
Hahahaha, Hill House jumpscare! It's cool that you got to have that experience; sometimes when I read a novel or watch a movie that takes place somewhere I know, it adds a lot!
Thanks, I needed new capsule art for the Steam release! I would’ve liked to have been able to paint it in watercolor, but I had only a limited amount of time, so digital was better than nothing. 😁
I really loved this story! I'm so looking forward to new investigations and more lore about the imps and of course Hawley and Harrold and their respective imps. Also want to see more of Maggie, as I'm seemingly a bit confused bc I thought Harrold is a trans man but somehow other comments seem to suggest he's not and Maggie is the manifestation of his trans identity being repressed. But why does everyone know about Harrold being trans?
Want to see Hawley's pirate moms and honestly I would die for would not at all mind a reappearance of Lupine and Goose, they're kinda cute together, I ship tbh. Plus their story also seems interesting to me, with the literal hole in gooses chest and the lore about their imp. Liked Dea as well with her imp and its reaction (was that her dad or smth. connected to him? or was it something else connected to Dea's being considering they asked whether she's okay when that imp cried and said "let me out"). Regardless, that was such a time well spent and a genuinely interesting story leaving hopes for more!!
Hey there! Thank you so much for reading, and I'm really glad you enjoyed it! ^u^ I'm very happy with this cast too, and would like for some of them to return in future chapters! They've got some important arcs that are just getting set up. :D
Harold is trans, and it's totally fine if you found what was going on with him a little confusing. He's feeling something that is pretty common to a lot of trans folks, but it's something that is a little more complex than a lot of mainstream media likes to depict. If we get to make more chapters, then we'll get deeper into the topic, but if you want a bit more of an explanation, Harold lets slip a little bit more in this prequel game:
Brilliant game, I really enjoyed the story, and I got the true ending on my first playthrough, the art style for this game is beautiful, and I really like all of the characters, the music is also excellent and fits the different scenes very well. Thankyou so much for an amazing mystery visual novel! This game is a masterpiece!!<3 My favourite character is Luipin. :3
Heeheehee, no worries if it took a couple tries, it just meant you got to see some more endings! And I'm super flattered that you were using a dictionary while playing. Some of my favorite text based games have me right-clicking the "define" option in my browser all the time so I can learn more words. XD
Such a compelling and exciting story! The jokes were amazing, the characters were deep and fun to explore, and the artwork was incredible !! The watercolors really pulled the setting together. I am at a loss for words for how amazing this game is!!
Really loved playing this game, all the characters were enjoyable (even the guy who is the worst XD)
I like the symbolism of each of the imps and how they relate to all the characters. Also the fact they have been commodified gives some big capitallism will sell your soul if given the chance XD
The whole image of missing a part of yourself being reprehsented by a massive hole in your chest, kinda metal ngl, also cool party trick XD. And Bell having a creature that almost forces her to do work and how it's obviously unhealthy but also it's actively rewarded by her publishing is really unfortunate. Having cool eyes that force people to do what you say as long as your indimedated sure gives off dictator vibes, what a dick. Exit just being her classic chaotic self is always a plus and love how she's just waiting for the chance to off her husband XD. And I still dont know what the little ballerina paper really means but it's cool too (maybe it's a delacate performer who needs to appear graceful but could give you a paper cut if your not careful?) :)
It seems like Hawley has some sort of ability to overanalyse the world which leads him to critise and question his own value as a person :( I'm guessing that his insecurities have gotten alot worse since the letter game, probably since that incident with the demon and not being able to help Harry.
Harry seems to have repressed the side of himself that wants to be a girl so much that he's made a sentiant being (I'm interpreting this as bigender panic mayhaps?). Seriously impressive how much bagage she has to unpack there. He really needs to accept the demon instead of finding more convoluted ways of hiding them. The way she appears gives me the vibe that Harry sees himself as both too clingy and highly toxic to Hawley + love obsessed and dangerous to everyone around him is very sad :(
Overall Hawley and Harry are having some old sad gay issues but also they love eachother very much and I'm glad they at least get a relatively nice ending.
I thought the mystery was well thought out even though I kinda got the right answer by vibes alone, it was nice to walk through all the stuff I missed XD
Hope I get to see more of these characters in other games :)
Thank you very much, and especially for sharing your thoughts on the imps! I quite like getting to hear what people have picked up on while playing; metaphor is much better for communicating these sorts of emotional things than just plopping them down in a wiki or something XD
Got this in the bundle. The imps are fantastic, the way they're used to show the main characters' problems are fantastic. Don't know if Gareth traditionally being a male game means anything, but Maggie's appearance was both terrifying and also... kind of charming. Kind of want to hug Harry. Would love to see more. While the mystery might be simpler, the characterisation is subtle - DeLus's eyesight issues being slowly hinted at; Marek's awfulness, Goose being, well, goose... Clarisse's jumping into acting to scare Marek off... it's just fantastic.
Thank you very much! And you're correct, Gareth's name (and nickname, Gary), were chosen because they're usually male names.
And I very much appreciate that you liked the characterization! One of the things I enjoy the most about mysteries is getting to peel back the layers of characters and see what they're hiding.
Goose is delightful, even as only two-thirds of themself! Harold is perfect! I said perfect, goddammit, and I mean perfect. I wish to feed him bonbons and listen to him bitch. DeLus is, in fact, the light of the party, and every scene I waited to see what tactless horrors she'd unleash upon us next.
And the end! I flipped through the notes again, going 'this can't be right...' but there was only one conclusion that made sense! Wonderfully horrifying!
I shall now go loot your creator page for more treasures!
Thank you so much! these characters are very near and dear to my heart, and Harry would be very consoled to know that someone liked and accepted him just the way he is. ^u^
Absolutely amazing on so many levels. I'm struggling to articulate it but I feel really seen as a disabled person and trans and nonbinary person both in body and mind. Also would do anything to make sure Goose lives their best life
My saga of reviewing begins [ehehe, I have no idea if this will spam your inbox, Royce]
I loved this game! I think the concept alone hooked me from the start, and the point-and-click aspects made it a lot more fun. Not to mention just how great the art is, I think you could make a game about listing the entire dictionary and I would still play it just to see your artwork. Especially with all the details in this game, they make it environmentally astounding, as well as a joy to look at, even in some of thesadder aspects of the game. Overall a very fun play!
Awww, thank you for playing it, and for such high praise! Though I gotta admit, the dictionary's got a lot of cool words in it, there's fodder for something interesting in there... 🤔
This game was AMAZING!! It was super entertaining, and I loved the story elements and world building. The are is gorgeous, the characters are fun and unique, and the storytelling was marvelous. Hawley and Harry had a great dynamic together and were some of my fav characters, including Goose and Clarisse!
I love the characters, the world, the lore, the art, and the gameplay<3.
PLEASE TELL ME YOU WILL MAKE MORE GAMES WITH THIS WORLDBUIDING AND THESE CHARACTERS
PLEEEASE, I NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THEM
P.D.: I noticed your nod to your other game Lupine x Disuke, I love how you recycled the characters to make them your own and how they would be if they existed in that world XD
Thank you so much! I absolutely want to make more stories with Harry, Hawley, and the rest of this world! If you want to see more, please tell your friends about the game! Spreading the word helps more than you can imagine. ^u^
I loved this!! This was an absolute delight; I enjoyed the writing and the characters so much, and particularly partial to Harry and Faraday. I'm also a painter, so it was so lovely to see a game rendered in watercolors like this.
Watercolors and gouache, mostly! I loved finding ways to completely ignore the rules of using gouache and build them up like thick oil paint or just use them as hyperpigmented watercolor. It's been years since I've had the time and space to paint, so I miss it a lot sometimes. Seeing paint on paper again (and in such an unexpected place as a game) was deeply satisfying.
"Сказанные с досадой слова молотом ударил по голове. Казалось, что она расколется на двое."
q "Я болен."
"Руки судорожно прижали накрывавшую подушку."
f "Ты не болен. У тебя похмелье."
q "Сжалься, Хоули. Я этого не выдержу. Не сегодня."
f "Ты не выдержал бы ни вчера, ни сегодня, ни завтра.{w} Твои шансы как у лобстера в кипящей воде."
"Не оказав сочувствие Холули Фарадей пошёл к наружной двери.{w} Стук в дверь продолжился, стоны тоже."
"Открыть дверь было далеко не простым заданием."
"Он мысленно прокрутил в голове кучу заковыристых заклинаний,{w} разломил над дверной ручкой кусочек мела{w} и отодвинул десяток мелких задвижек."
"Все эти обновки, сила которых в ритуальной магии, надоели ещё несколько месяцев назад."
"Печать разрушилась - дверь распахнулась. Свежий воздух, ворвавшися в дом, принес с собой запахи осени. От яркого света Хоули часто заморгал."
"На пороге стоял курьер с письмом. Своим высокомерно-невозмутимым видом он демонстрировал важность своей миссии - кто бы ни был отправитель, он заплатил за доставку прямо в руки."
deli "Срочное письмо мистеру Ле... Дух... Кайл?"
"Правая бровь Хоули поползла вверх. Значит, за доставку курьером заплатили,{w} но разборчиво написать не удосужились? Любопытно."
f "\"Лу-ди-ка-ил.\” {w} Лудикаил."
"На мгновение понимание озарило лицо курьера и тут же сменилось невозмутимой маской."
This is game was so fun to play with, i honestly loved the whole cast and im kinda sad for the victims in the game, still it was a 10/10!!! experience for me thought i think finding the killer was kinda easy just going based off gut feeling sorry if theres any spelling mistakes english is not my first language
I played this game to completion in one sitting. I absolutely love everything about it. The art, the characters, the dialogue, everything, Lupine and Goose have to be my favorite, but I still adore everyone else. I would love to learn more about everyone in the game. 20/10.
Thank you so much for playing and this kind comment! Hopefully your wish will come true, we really want to make more games in this setting to reveal more about the characters and the world :) We'll need to save up some money to be able to fund it but we really hope to someday make sequels!
This game was pretty good. I would like to see these characters in a future game because all the characters are so unique and interesting. My favourite characters have to be the main two and also Goose. Really liked their design and personality. I was able to get the true end on the first try because of all the clues that the game gave you. My second suspect was Miss Myers because she just acted strange. I hope to see future games about these characters in the future as I would gladly play them. I'm also interested in learning more about Goose and their imp/their backstory as I feel it would be very interesting to see since we don't know that much about them yet. Would also be fun to see how Goose met Lupine as well. Overall this game was really good so keep up the good work!
I'm reviewing this after I'm finished playing the game and it is phenomenal. The story and world is really interesting with the characters and their imps background and personalities, the watercolor art style fits the tone nicely and the writing is well done with good humor, pacing, and characterization. I would say that there's a little error of Lupin referring Goose as "him" instead of "they" but that can be fixed, along with the characters facial expressions can be still at times though with the watercolor that is understandable. As for how the mystery is written it is logical and satisfying to solve it, though for someone who have read and play mystery media it's too easy solve but I'm really impressed that it's tied in a neat bow especially since it's the first time you've ever did a mystery.
I'm hoping that you'll be planning to make a sequel of the game and explore more of the characters and their backstories (especially DeLuse, she's my fave). I'm hoping it would have a nice twist of the mystery next time and the character sprites have more lively animations. Looking forward to your future projects.
For that Goose error if you happen to remember the scene it was in even vague details of around when it was that will help me hunt for that, please let me know. I tried to catch all of those for the most recent build, I hate to have still missed one.
It's completely fair to say the mystery was more on the easy side, I definitely underestimated how hard it is to write a puzzle that is not too obvious but also not too difficult. I really hope if we have more chances to make games in this universe that we can refine that level and get it to feel satisfyingly challenging but not unclear. Ace Attorney makes it look easy, sheesh!
As for Dea, Royce writes her amazingly and I love her so much too, I feel like she has 1000 watt personality hehe she has been in a few other games we've made in different iterations, though they are NSFW. I really hope to expand this universe further if we can! Thank you again for the support and feedback!
Here's the typo I found, it's the part where the player picks "How did you find out about this party?"
And since you have mentioned making other games I can check them out in my spare time and review them also. Don't sweat it trying to make a good mystery, one advice I can give that I've learnt after playing the DGS Duology is to trick the mind of the players. Make it subtle and have the player think of the obvious answer, then when new information is discovered it could change their minds in a new light.
Hello! I just wanted to say I played your game last night and I loved it! The lore was sooo great (really enjoyed every little thing you told us about imps and their possible meaning), characters charming and the plot entertaining. I found the art (specially the art made for the sprites) very appealing: full of personality, giving me kind of a "One Piece Characters" vibe. And I LOVED the change in the sprites for the main characters when changing pose: a bit rough but like, really, really charged of charm. Btw I understand it'd been hard, but actually I think backgrounds made with that combination of watercolors plus line would have work marvelous too !
Personally I would have liked an ending a little bit happier for Harold (some development for their situation, because they end up almost the same way they started), but if this is the presentation for characters and their world, I can get why.
And that's it! Congratulations for your game (because it was amazing, yes) and good luck with all your future projects!
Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed what we made! Some of our shortcuts were due to the time constraints of the competition which meant making most of the game within only a month. We have added a few things since then (such as unique bad ends for each wrong choice) but yeah backgrounds being this combo of photo and watercolor definitely helped us have the ability to have this many.
As for a happier ending for Harold (and Faraday too) we really hope to tell more stories with them and to hopefully give both of them a longer arc to resolve some of their current issues. The hope would be if this ever becomes successful enough to pay the bills, we want to do about 4 or so more "chapters" that explore more of the world and give Hawley and Harold a chance at growing and healing. But for now that stuff is kinda outside our reach until we have more firm footing moneywise. But I certainly won't say never!
Thanks very much for your kind enthusiasm and I'm pretty sure we'll make more games in the future, though what they might be I can't be sure yet :D
Dear developers of "The Case of the Serialised Killer",
I would like to say thank you for this great game! It's so simple, yet so interesting to play!
I enjoyed the murder mystery part. The way you presented the characters made me think any of them could be the killer, but it was getting clearer as I found out more information. The case is totally solvable, which is perfect, because I didn't feel stupid at the end)
Also, the music was just magical. It really sets the stage, makes it realistic. But I'd like to mention I was a bit disappointed with sound effects. In my opinion, more sounds would be good, but it's not a big deal.
I can't stay silent about the design. Watercolor paint sprites! And backgrounds! It's a thing I've never seen before. I admire your work, I'm sure you've spent a lot of time on it. There was only one CG, but I haven't noticed it until I finished the game. I guess, the sprites are so well-drawn you don't even need CGs!
For me the best thing in the game is its characters! I fell in love with Harold and Hawley. I want to see the development of these characters and their relationship, of course! The things you've shown in game is great. I think, you've left some questions unanswered, but I'm not annoyed by it, I just want to know the answers! This game is a wonderful start, the first chapter of the story. And I really-really wish to see more of it!
I hope your game will be noticed and get the respect it deserves (and you win in the Spooktober Jam!).
Sorry for mistakes in my comment, English is not my native language.
Thanks for the game again!
(By the way, I would like to make your game more popular. So, I can try to translate the game into Russian (it's my mother tongue). Can't promise I'll do it, but I promise to try! If I find a way to make a russification, I will inform you, if you don't mind:)
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a kind comment and for enjoying our game, even though it's not in your first language! I'm very glad the mystery wasn't too hard, so that people could get a good idea of who the killer is without feeling very stressed out.
I love Hawley and Harold so much and it's wonderful to hear you enjoyed them too!
We would be thrilled if you wanted to try translating it into Russian, we would even be happy to add your name to the credits for your translated version so people knew who did all that hard work! We are actually going to be adding a bit more to the game in about a week, giving all the wrong answers for the suspect their own unique ending instead of just one that plays for all of the wrong answers, so you might want to wait for that.
We only would like to ask that you please let us host your translation on this game page, so that people can find it more easily. And we would also ask for you to please not change any of the LGBT characters relationships, because they're very important to us, thank you!
We might try to sell our original English version of the game after the game game jam is over, but we would be happy to keep the Russian version free to make sure people can access it! I hope you do make a translation, because I would love to see it!
Made it all the way to the True End thanks to spotting important clues early on and during the investigation process! How the mystery was laid out and the character interactions are so good. My favorite characters were Dea and Hawley as I loved their snarky banter and the way they bounced off the other cast members personalities. Maggie is a real spitfire (and I mean that in the nicest way possible)! The hug CG between our two lead lovers was hella precious. It's clear that there was a lot of love and effort put into this work. Thanks for the hint in the boiler room; it really helped! Overall, 10 out of 10, would watch Nowak get his ass handed to him by an imp again!
So happy you were able to get it finished and I also love that CG hehe. Thanks so much for the glowing review and for taking the time to finish it even after getting stuck for a bit. We seriously appreciate it! Let's hope Nowak continues to get his ass kicked in the future hehe
Sooo i just finished the game (i got the real ending thanks to the notes i took of suspects and facts!!! i'm kind of a detective haha), and i was fascinated! there are several things i liked:
-the visuals. they're stunning and beautiful, the watercolor aesthetic and the era in which it's made is elegant and magical, simply wonderful. the artist is very talented and their style of drawing is to my liking, so i hope alexis keep doing their projects in this way because it gives distinction from other videogames
-the music, especially the piano songs and the slower ones are my favorites. i could listen to the soundtrack all day long, they give the scenes more feeling and interest, a very good work
-the universe! i'm quite interested in the fact that ships or shipping business are important, plus the imps and other non-human creatures like the "Fae", as well as some magic that hovers in the air, and the fact that alchemist teachers exist is pretty interesting. i want to know more about this world (;
-the characters. i absolutely love, love, love Harold and Faraday! they complement each other very well and i'd like to hug them because it's obvious they've been through a lot of bad things )): from there, my favorite characters are DeLus, Goose, Vance, Maggie (she ISN'T cringey) and Harold himself.
(oh and i love Lupine's ears, they're so cute ;w;)
i could say many more things but in short, i DEMAND more visual novels of this universe and its characters!!! i got quite attached haha. anyway, thank you very much for this game and i'll definitely vote 5 stars. good luck in anything you do!
Thank you so much for such a lengthy and loving comment! I'm really happy that you liked Harold and Faraday, they're characters we've been working on for a really long time, so it would be a joy to maybe make more with them in the future. The world has a lot of aspects left to explore, hopefully we'll have the opportunity in the future to do so. But either way, it's so nice to hear you liked it so much!
I've managed to play up until the first investigatiom scene, clicked on the wheeled cart, the body in the furnace, the scrap of fabric, the imp in the lower left corner then selected the 'I worked too hard for all this to be all for nothing' option and that's where I'm stuck at. Do you need to check areas of interest in a certain order or is there something I'm missing? Btw, the story/character writing is stellar and the general design and feel of the game is flat out goregeous!
Heya ! I started playing this game on my channel recently ! It seems sooo high quality I can't believe it. When I found this game I was super excited to play it as well, just thinking about it made me really happy. The music is really nice and I really enjoy the dynamic between all the characters, even if I'm not far yet 0]:-) Congratulations on the marvelous project !
This was such a treat to watch! I always get nervous when watching people play a game I worked on, but this video was so funny and I really liked the voices you did for everyone. There were a number of times where you laughed at something and then went "oh no, I shouldn't laugh at that, this is serious." And I wanted to tell you to please feel comfortable laughing! You were laughing at our intended jokes, and it felt so NICE hearing someone understand exactly what we were tying to communicate with them!
You've probably already heard or thought of this but this duo looks so much like Aziraphale and Crowley from Good Omens! That along with the "crime-solving" aspect of this pulled me in, and I'm so glad I checked it out! Such a cleverly written story with such intriguing character designs and pretty art kept me hooked during every second of it, and it was a blast to play! Just like Is Lupin Still Flirting? this is exemplary! (maybe it's on purpose but Lupine flowers reminds me sm of Lupin III I loved him.) It will be one to beat for the Spooktober VN jam for sure.
Thank you so much for such high praise. And yes Lupine was very heavily inspired hehe he and Goose steal imps, which is a bit different than stealing for glory or fun, but they share a similar joy about what they do :)
Thank you very much for checking it out! I wanted to let you know there seems to be a bit of visual capture glitch towards the end quarter of the video.
This is a great game but my only complaint is that there are many times where the character Goose gets misgendered. The pronouns he/him are used instead of they/them. Please fix this in future updates.
Uh no I dont remember exactly but there were a few times around when the seance happened? I cant exactly remember. I think it'd be a good idea to look over the script if you still have it?
Thanks so much for helping us spot those, I found 3 in the seance scene, and hopefully we got them all. We've uploaded a new build, we appreciate your help catching those mistakes!
Made an account just to give this game a 5/5 rating cause holy shit it was good. (been usin Itch for years, funny how this, a visual novel (which I normally don't care for) made me get off my ass and get an account to rate it CX
Whoa, thank you very much! We’ve made a few other VNs, but this was our first mystery, so we weren’t sure if people would like it! Comments like this can really encourage creators to keep going, so I’m grateful that you took the time out to let us know. If people end up really liking this one, there’s a chance we might do more. Harold and Hawley have been on my back burner for a looooong time. :3
Ngl, I love Harold and Howley a lot from this game! I've also gone on to download all the games you've made to try them all out :3 (oh, and a friend of mine watched me stream this to them and they also made an account just to give u 5/5, They said they loved all of the characters, but mostly DeLus, Goose, and a character they keep referring to as "Gay Mettaton Man" (guessing they are referring to Lupin cx). Also, this shall be one of the few games that stays on my pc forever :3 (only 3-4 others hold that spot xD)
Well thanks, and I hope you like them! Never feel bad about deleting our games if you need to free up disc space, though. XD There should always be new games to enjoy in your future!
Usually, I stay away from mystery games, unless they're heavily scripted like DanganRonpa because I suck at finding the culprit all by myself, but this one caught my attention because for some reason, it contains everything that I love (Queerness? Edwardian fashion? Witchcraft? Demons? A fae? Funny jokes? SIGN ME IN!) and let me tell you, I didnt regret my decision at all.
The story is so wholesome and yet, so disturbing sometimes: The (b)romance between Harry and Faraday is so sweet. The potentially triggering parts were written in a way that made me feel uneasy. I really felt like I was within the game with these people.
Thank you for releasing this gem and good luck for the contest! 🤗
Thanks so much for checking it out and enjoying the game! We didn't want the mystery to be TOO challenging, so I'm glad to hear you didn't have too much trouble :) And as for Harry and Faraday, it's definitely a dysfunctional but romantic relationship lol
"I EARNED THIS DAMN DATE!" Has easily become my favourite quote from a damn visual novel EVER- and as strange as it is to say, this story was deeply touching at moments.
Maybe it's the relatable readiness to give up on everything from the main characters, or Maggie completely winning me over and making me fall in love... But it was something I appreciated beyond "haha, funny depressed gays struggling and NB rep."
So thank you.
All the characters were genuinely memorable for me and that almost NEVER happens- least of all in murder mysteries, because authors just cram in as many red-herrings as possible!
Also, the art was heart-warming to look at because of the colours and (sorry, hope this doesn't seem rude, honestly saying it will all the endearment I have in my heart) rustic feel.
So once again, thank you. Hope you have a lovely week, month, year- whatever XD
edit: OMG, LESBIAN PIRATES AND LUPIN?!?!?! DOES THAT MEAN WE GET MORE GOOSE? OMG, IF THAT HAPPENS, JUST KNOW THAT AT LEAST ONE PERSON IS SO DOWN!!
Ahhh this is such a kind comment to receive! I'm so happy to hear our characters stood out, that was one of our goals, and it feels great to hear we did it! Thank you so much and I'm super glad to hear that you're interested in seeing more, too. This is a world that has a lot more potential stories in it! Knowing people might want more is great news hehe Thank you again for playing!
Just downloaded the game to my PC! But can you add 'Genre: Visual novel' to the drop down 'More information' menu? This'll help get the game out to a wider audience!
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привет! а здесь в этой игре есть персонаж-мужчина из игры "off the cuff"? очень любопытен этот товарищ
Да! Рыжеволосая женщина тоже одинакова в обеих играх! 😁
ну, тогда придется 5 звезд игре ставить и хвалить разработчика)
THE JAMES J. HILL HOUSE??? I THOUGHT I WAS IMAGINING THINGS WHEN I RECOGNIZED THE ORGAN, I'VE BEEN TO THAT PLACE MULTIPLE TIMES SINCE I WAS LIKE 7. THAT'S ACTUALLY KIND OF CREEPY. amazing game btw i binged the whole thing instead of sleeping and i do not regret it.
Hahahaha, Hill House jumpscare! It's cool that you got to have that experience; sometimes when I read a novel or watch a movie that takes place somewhere I know, it adds a lot!
New banner I see! I like it. 😍
Thanks, I needed new capsule art for the Steam release! I would’ve liked to have been able to paint it in watercolor, but I had only a limited amount of time, so digital was better than nothing. 😁
I really loved this story! I'm so looking forward to new investigations and more lore about the imps and of course Hawley and Harrold and their respective imps. Also want to see more of Maggie, as I'm seemingly a bit confused bc I thought Harrold is a trans man but somehow other comments seem to suggest he's not and Maggie is the manifestation of his trans identity being repressed. But why does everyone know about Harrold being trans?
Want to see Hawley's pirate moms and honestly I
would die forwould not at all mind a reappearance of Lupine and Goose, they're kinda cute together, I ship tbh. Plus their story also seems interesting to me, with the literal hole in gooses chest and the lore about their imp. Liked Dea as well with her imp and its reaction (was that her dad or smth. connected to him? or was it something else connected to Dea's being considering they asked whether she's okay when that imp cried and said "let me out"). Regardless, that was such a time well spent and a genuinely interesting story leaving hopes for more!!Hey there! Thank you so much for reading, and I'm really glad you enjoyed it! ^u^ I'm very happy with this cast too, and would like for some of them to return in future chapters! They've got some important arcs that are just getting set up. :D
Harold is trans, and it's totally fine if you found what was going on with him a little confusing. He's feeling something that is pretty common to a lot of trans folks, but it's something that is a little more complex than a lot of mainstream media likes to depict. If we get to make more chapters, then we'll get deeper into the topic, but if you want a bit more of an explanation, Harold lets slip a little bit more in this prequel game:
Brilliant game, I really enjoyed the story, and I got the true ending on my first playthrough, the art style for this game is beautiful, and I really like all of the characters, the music is also excellent and fits the different scenes very well. Thankyou so much for an amazing mystery visual novel! This game is a masterpiece!!<3 My favourite character is Luipin. :3
Thank you so very much! I'm glad that you liked Lupine; when I was updating the game, I had to sneak a new CG of him in there:
woooo more of the gays hawley and harry!!!! really enjoyed the story and worldbuilding and music and humor and everything
perfect vn for almost spooky month!
except im such an incompetent detective lmao it look me like three or four tries to get it right
P.S. the first half of the game really got me searching up the definitions of words every other second, thanks for expanding my vocabulary
Heeheehee, no worries if it took a couple tries, it just meant you got to see some more endings! And I'm super flattered that you were using a dictionary while playing. Some of my favorite text based games have me right-clicking the "define" option in my browser all the time so I can learn more words. XD
Such a compelling and exciting story! The jokes were amazing, the characters were deep and fun to explore, and the artwork was incredible !! The watercolors really pulled the setting together. I am at a loss for words for how amazing this game is!!
Thank you, that's incredibly kind of you to say! We very much loved making this game, and I never pass up a chance to break out the paints.
Really loved playing this game, all the characters were enjoyable (even the guy who is the worst XD)
I like the symbolism of each of the imps and how they relate to all the characters. Also the fact they have been commodified gives some big capitallism will sell your soul if given the chance XD
The whole image of missing a part of yourself being reprehsented by a massive hole in your chest, kinda metal ngl, also cool party trick XD. And Bell having a creature that almost forces her to do work and how it's obviously unhealthy but also it's actively rewarded by her publishing is really unfortunate. Having cool eyes that force people to do what you say as long as your indimedated sure gives off dictator vibes, what a dick. Exit just being her classic chaotic self is always a plus and love how she's just waiting for the chance to off her husband XD. And I still dont know what the little ballerina paper really means but it's cool too (maybe it's a delacate performer who needs to appear graceful but could give you a paper cut if your not careful?) :)
It seems like Hawley has some sort of ability to overanalyse the world which leads him to critise and question his own value as a person :( I'm guessing that his insecurities have gotten alot worse since the letter game, probably since that incident with the demon and not being able to help Harry.
Harry seems to have repressed the side of himself that wants to be a girl so much that he's made a sentiant being (I'm interpreting this as bigender panic mayhaps?). Seriously impressive how much bagage she has to unpack there. He really needs to accept the demon instead of finding more convoluted ways of hiding them. The way she appears gives me the vibe that Harry sees himself as both too clingy and highly toxic to Hawley + love obsessed and dangerous to everyone around him is very sad :(
Overall Hawley and Harry are having some old sad gay issues but also they love eachother very much and I'm glad they at least get a relatively nice ending.
I thought the mystery was well thought out even though I kinda got the right answer by vibes alone, it was nice to walk through all the stuff I missed XD
Hope I get to see more of these characters in other games :)
Thank you very much, and especially for sharing your thoughts on the imps! I quite like getting to hear what people have picked up on while playing; metaphor is much better for communicating these sorts of emotional things than just plopping them down in a wiki or something XD
Got this in the bundle. The imps are fantastic, the way they're used to show the main characters' problems are fantastic. Don't know if Gareth traditionally being a male game means anything, but Maggie's appearance was both terrifying and also... kind of charming. Kind of want to hug Harry. Would love to see more. While the mystery might be simpler, the characterisation is subtle - DeLus's eyesight issues being slowly hinted at; Marek's awfulness, Goose being, well, goose... Clarisse's jumping into acting to scare Marek off... it's just fantastic.
Thank you very much! And you're correct, Gareth's name (and nickname, Gary), were chosen because they're usually male names.
And I very much appreciate that you liked the characterization! One of the things I enjoy the most about mysteries is getting to peel back the layers of characters and see what they're hiding.
Goose is delightful, even as only two-thirds of themself! Harold is perfect!
I said perfect, goddammit, and I mean perfect. I wish to feed him bonbons and listen to him bitch.DeLus is, in fact, the light of the party, and every scene I waited to see what tactless horrors she'd unleash upon us next.And the end! I flipped through the notes again, going 'this can't be right...' but there was only one conclusion that made sense! Wonderfully horrifying!
I shall now go loot your creator page for more treasures!
Thank you so much! these characters are very near and dear to my heart, and Harry would be very consoled to know that someone liked and accepted him just the way he is. ^u^
Absolutely amazing on so many levels. I'm struggling to articulate it but I feel really seen as a disabled person and trans and nonbinary person both in body and mind. Also would do anything to make sure Goose lives their best life
I'm so glad that the game spoke to you! It's a very personal game for us, too. ^u^ And the Goose love is profuse! XD
My saga of reviewing begins [ehehe, I have no idea if this will spam your inbox, Royce]
I loved this game! I think the concept alone hooked me from the start, and the point-and-click aspects made it a lot more fun. Not to mention just how great the art is, I think you could make a game about listing the entire dictionary and I would still play it just to see your artwork. Especially with all the details in this game, they make it environmentally astounding, as well as a joy to look at, even in some of thesadder aspects of the game. Overall a very fun play!
Awww, thank you for playing it, and for such high praise! Though I gotta admit, the dictionary's got a lot of cool words in it, there's fodder for something interesting in there... 🤔
Sadly i can't play i tried playing it on my laptop but it always says something failed to load "Check Javascript console for details"
Thanks for checking it out! If you’re having trouble with the browser version, you might want to try downloading it instead.
This game was AMAZING!! It was super entertaining, and I loved the story elements and world building. The are is gorgeous, the characters are fun and unique, and the storytelling was marvelous. Hawley and Harry had a great dynamic together and were some of my fav characters, including Goose and Clarisse!
Thank you so much! I'm so glad to hear that you had a good time. ^u^
Wow! If you ever continue this series, please let me know bc this was AMAZING
Thank you so much! I was about to mention Hoping This Finds You Well, but then I noticed you'd already seen it! :D
I LOVED IT!!!
I love the characters, the world, the lore, the art, and the gameplay<3.
PLEASE TELL ME YOU WILL MAKE MORE GAMES WITH THIS WORLDBUIDING AND THESE CHARACTERS
PLEEEASE, I NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THEM
P.D.: I noticed your nod to your other game Lupine x Disuke, I love how you recycled the characters to make them your own and how they would be if they existed in that world XD
Thank you so much! I absolutely want to make more stories with Harry, Hawley, and the rest of this world! If you want to see more, please tell your friends about the game! Spreading the word helps more than you can imagine. ^u^
How fun and delightful! The writing is brilliant and the artwork is so unique. I should like to see these two boys at work in some other case perhaps.
Thank you very much! We would quite like to make another proper mystery game with them, but if you're interested, I do have a prequel game over here: https://alexisroyce.itch.io/hoping-this-finds-you-well
Thank you for the link, I will definitely check it out!
I loved this!! This was an absolute delight; I enjoyed the writing and the characters so much, and particularly partial to Harry and Faraday. I'm also a painter, so it was so lovely to see a game rendered in watercolors like this.
Thank you so much! Harry and Faraday are very special to me, and it still feels incredible to me that they exist outside of my head now!
Also what kinds of paint do you use? I always love to talk about paint :3
Watercolors and gouache, mostly! I loved finding ways to completely ignore the rules of using gouache and build them up like thick oil paint or just use them as hyperpigmented watercolor. It's been years since I've had the time and space to paint, so I miss it a lot sometimes. Seeing paint on paper again (and in such an unexpected place as a game) was deeply satisfying.
Я игрок, но переписал начало под свой вкус:
"Двери закрыты, на окнах решётки."
"Редкие лучи дневного света пробивались в полумрак и яркими пятнами выхватывали элементы обстановки."
"В наружную дверь постучали. Эхо резкого звука разошлось по залам особняка."
"Послышался слабый стон."
"Тишина."
f "Мне снова всё решать самому?"
"Сказанные с досадой слова молотом ударил по голове. Казалось, что она расколется на двое."
q "Я болен."
"Руки судорожно прижали накрывавшую подушку."
f "Ты не болен. У тебя похмелье."
q "Сжалься, Хоули. Я этого не выдержу. Не сегодня."
f "Ты не выдержал бы ни вчера, ни сегодня, ни завтра.{w} Твои шансы как у лобстера в кипящей воде."
"Не оказав сочувствие Холули Фарадей пошёл к наружной двери.{w} Стук в дверь продолжился, стоны тоже."
"Открыть дверь было далеко не простым заданием."
"Он мысленно прокрутил в голове кучу заковыристых заклинаний,{w} разломил над дверной ручкой кусочек мела{w} и отодвинул десяток мелких задвижек."
"Все эти обновки, сила которых в ритуальной магии, надоели ещё несколько месяцев назад."
"Печать разрушилась - дверь распахнулась. Свежий воздух, ворвавшися в дом, принес с собой запахи осени. От яркого света Хоули часто заморгал."
"На пороге стоял курьер с письмом. Своим высокомерно-невозмутимым видом он демонстрировал важность своей миссии - кто бы ни был отправитель, он заплатил за доставку прямо в руки."
deli "Срочное письмо мистеру Ле... Дух... Кайл?"
"Правая бровь Хоули поползла вверх. Значит, за доставку курьером заплатили,{w} но разборчиво написать не удосужились? Любопытно."
f "\"Лу-ди-ка-ил.\” {w} Лудикаил."
"На мгновение понимание озарило лицо курьера и тут же сменилось невозмутимой маской."
deli "Да, он."
This is game was so fun to play with, i honestly loved the whole cast and im kinda sad for the victims in the game, still it was a 10/10!!! experience for me thought i think finding the killer was kinda easy just going based off gut feeling sorry if theres any spelling mistakes english is not my first language
I played this game to completion in one sitting. I absolutely love everything about it. The art, the characters, the dialogue, everything, Lupine and Goose have to be my favorite, but I still adore everyone else. I would love to learn more about everyone in the game. 20/10.
Thank you so much for playing and this kind comment! Hopefully your wish will come true, we really want to make more games in this setting to reveal more about the characters and the world :) We'll need to save up some money to be able to fund it but we really hope to someday make sequels!
This game was pretty good. I would like to see these characters in a future game because all the characters are so unique and interesting. My favourite characters have to be the main two and also Goose. Really liked their design and personality. I was able to get the true end on the first try because of all the clues that the game gave you. My second suspect was Miss Myers because she just acted strange. I hope to see future games about these characters in the future as I would gladly play them. I'm also interested in learning more about Goose and their imp/their backstory as I feel it would be very interesting to see since we don't know that much about them yet. Would also be fun to see how Goose met Lupine as well. Overall this game was really good so keep up the good work!
Congratulations on the translation of the game into Russian! I hope that new players will discover your amazing game! :D
I loved your world, and Harold and Faraday, and I hope one day to find them in a sequel. <3
Thank you! We're so honored to have the game accessible to more people, it actually gets sometimes MORE downloads in Russian than English!
I'm reviewing this after I'm finished playing the game and it is phenomenal. The story and world is really interesting with the characters and their imps background and personalities, the watercolor art style fits the tone nicely and the writing is well done with good humor, pacing, and characterization. I would say that there's a little error of Lupin referring Goose as "him" instead of "they" but that can be fixed, along with the characters facial expressions can be still at times though with the watercolor that is understandable. As for how the mystery is written it is logical and satisfying to solve it, though for someone who have read and play mystery media it's too easy solve but I'm really impressed that it's tied in a neat bow especially since it's the first time you've ever did a mystery.
I'm hoping that you'll be planning to make a sequel of the game and explore more of the characters and their backstories (especially DeLuse, she's my fave). I'm hoping it would have a nice twist of the mystery next time and the character sprites have more lively animations. Looking forward to your future projects.
Thank you so much for the review!
For that Goose error if you happen to remember the scene it was in even vague details of around when it was that will help me hunt for that, please let me know. I tried to catch all of those for the most recent build, I hate to have still missed one.
It's completely fair to say the mystery was more on the easy side, I definitely underestimated how hard it is to write a puzzle that is not too obvious but also not too difficult. I really hope if we have more chances to make games in this universe that we can refine that level and get it to feel satisfyingly challenging but not unclear. Ace Attorney makes it look easy, sheesh!
As for Dea, Royce writes her amazingly and I love her so much too, I feel like she has 1000 watt personality hehe she has been in a few other games we've made in different iterations, though they are NSFW. I really hope to expand this universe further if we can! Thank you again for the support and feedback!
Here's the typo I found, it's the part where the player picks "How did you find out about this party?"
And since you have mentioned making other games I can check them out in my spare time and review them also. Don't sweat it trying to make a good mystery, one advice I can give that I've learnt after playing the DGS Duology is to trick the mind of the players. Make it subtle and have the player think of the obvious answer, then when new information is discovered it could change their minds in a new light.
Good luck on your future projects!
Thank you so much, that's incredibly helpful! We'll work on patching that and updating the game in the next week.
Hello! I just wanted to say I played your game last night and I loved it! The lore was sooo great (really enjoyed every little thing you told us about imps and their possible meaning), characters charming and the plot entertaining. I found the art (specially the art made for the sprites) very appealing: full of personality, giving me kind of a "One Piece Characters" vibe. And I LOVED the change in the sprites for the main characters when changing pose: a bit rough but like, really, really charged of charm. Btw I understand it'd been hard, but actually I think backgrounds made with that combination of watercolors plus line would have work marvelous too !
Personally I would have liked an ending a little bit happier for Harold (some development for their situation, because they end up almost the same way they started), but if this is the presentation for characters and their world, I can get why.
And that's it! Congratulations for your game (because it was amazing, yes) and good luck with all your future projects!
Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed what we made! Some of our shortcuts were due to the time constraints of the competition which meant making most of the game within only a month. We have added a few things since then (such as unique bad ends for each wrong choice) but yeah backgrounds being this combo of photo and watercolor definitely helped us have the ability to have this many.
As for a happier ending for Harold (and Faraday too) we really hope to tell more stories with them and to hopefully give both of them a longer arc to resolve some of their current issues. The hope would be if this ever becomes successful enough to pay the bills, we want to do about 4 or so more "chapters" that explore more of the world and give Hawley and Harold a chance at growing and healing. But for now that stuff is kinda outside our reach until we have more firm footing moneywise. But I certainly won't say never!
Thanks very much for your kind enthusiasm and I'm pretty sure we'll make more games in the future, though what they might be I can't be sure yet :D
This was so interesting. I absolutely loved it because I love murder mysteries X3
Thank you so much! Us too, and it was both intimidating and a lot of fun to write one!
Dear developers of "The Case of the Serialised Killer",
I would like to say thank you for this great game! It's so simple, yet so interesting to play!
I enjoyed the murder mystery part. The way you presented the characters made me think any of them could be the killer, but it was getting clearer as I found out more information. The case is totally solvable, which is perfect, because I didn't feel stupid at the end)
Also, the music was just magical. It really sets the stage, makes it realistic. But I'd like to mention I was a bit disappointed with sound effects. In my opinion, more sounds would be good, but it's not a big deal.
I can't stay silent about the design. Watercolor paint sprites! And backgrounds! It's a thing I've never seen before. I admire your work, I'm sure you've spent a lot of time on it. There was only one CG, but I haven't noticed it until I finished the game. I guess, the sprites are so well-drawn you don't even need CGs!
For me the best thing in the game is its characters! I fell in love with Harold and Hawley. I want to see the development of these characters and their relationship, of course! The things you've shown in game is great. I think, you've left some questions unanswered, but I'm not annoyed by it, I just want to know the answers! This game is a wonderful start, the first chapter of the story. And I really-really wish to see more of it!
I hope your game will be noticed and get the respect it deserves (and you win in the Spooktober Jam!).
Sorry for mistakes in my comment, English is not my native language.
Thanks for the game again!
(By the way, I would like to make your game more popular. So, I can try to translate the game into Russian (it's my mother tongue). Can't promise I'll do it, but I promise to try! If I find a way to make a russification, I will inform you, if you don't mind:)
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a kind comment and for enjoying our game, even though it's not in your first language! I'm very glad the mystery wasn't too hard, so that people could get a good idea of who the killer is without feeling very stressed out.
I love Hawley and Harold so much and it's wonderful to hear you enjoyed them too!
We would be thrilled if you wanted to try translating it into Russian, we would even be happy to add your name to the credits for your translated version so people knew who did all that hard work! We are actually going to be adding a bit more to the game in about a week, giving all the wrong answers for the suspect their own unique ending instead of just one that plays for all of the wrong answers, so you might want to wait for that.
We only would like to ask that you please let us host your translation on this game page, so that people can find it more easily. And we would also ask for you to please not change any of the LGBT characters relationships, because they're very important to us, thank you!
We might try to sell our original English version of the game after the game game jam is over, but we would be happy to keep the Russian version free to make sure people can access it! I hope you do make a translation, because I would love to see it!
Thanks for a quick reply!
It's actually great you have your conditions, because the translation itself is not a problem.
I'm not going to change anything in the dialogues, so don't worry:)
I'll update you when I have some progress!
Привет! Помощь с переводом потребуется?
Здравствуй,
Спасибо за предложение, но помощь не требуется.)
Hello, it's me again!
The translation is almost finished, so I'd like to get your e-mail address to send you the material later.
Also, I have some questions I'd like to ask you, but it'll be easier to talk via mail.
Thanks in advance!
Wow I'm surprised you did it so quickly! My email address is chibisilverwings@ gmail.com and hopefully I can answer questions and such for you there.
Hello again!
I sent you the materials several days ago. I just don't know if you got it, because I didn't get a reply.
The letter's title is "Translation".
I'm sorry it took so long! I finally got around to emailing you back, you did such wonderful work, I'm so grateful! Thank you!
Ceri here!\
Made it all the way to the True End thanks to spotting important clues early on and during the investigation process! How the mystery was laid out and the character interactions are so good. My favorite characters were Dea and Hawley as I loved their snarky banter and the way they bounced off the other cast members personalities. Maggie is a real spitfire (and I mean that in the nicest way possible)! The hug CG between our two lead lovers was hella precious. It's clear that there was a lot of love and effort put into this work. Thanks for the hint in the boiler room; it really helped! Overall, 10 out of 10, would watch Nowak get his ass handed to him by an imp again!
So happy you were able to get it finished and I also love that CG hehe. Thanks so much for the glowing review and for taking the time to finish it even after getting stuck for a bit. We seriously appreciate it! Let's hope Nowak continues to get his ass kicked in the future hehe
(this a little too long lol)
Sooo i just finished the game (i got the real ending thanks to the notes i took of suspects and facts!!! i'm kind of a detective haha), and i was fascinated! there are several things i liked:
-the visuals. they're stunning and beautiful, the watercolor aesthetic and the era in which it's made is elegant and magical, simply wonderful. the artist is very talented and their style of drawing is to my liking, so i hope alexis keep doing their projects in this way because it gives distinction from other videogames
-the music, especially the piano songs and the slower ones are my favorites. i could listen to the soundtrack all day long, they give the scenes more feeling and interest, a very good work
-the universe! i'm quite interested in the fact that ships or shipping business are important, plus the imps and other non-human creatures like the "Fae", as well as some magic that hovers in the air, and the fact that alchemist teachers exist is pretty interesting. i want to know more about this world (;
-the characters. i absolutely love, love, love Harold and Faraday! they complement each other very well and i'd like to hug them because it's obvious they've been through a lot of bad things )): from there, my favorite characters are DeLus, Goose, Vance, Maggie (she ISN'T cringey) and Harold himself.
(oh and i love Lupine's ears, they're so cute ;w;)
i could say many more things but in short, i DEMAND more visual novels of this universe and its characters!!! i got quite attached haha. anyway, thank you very much for this game and i'll definitely vote 5 stars. good luck in anything you do!
Thank you so much for such a lengthy and loving comment! I'm really happy that you liked Harold and Faraday, they're characters we've been working on for a really long time, so it would be a joy to maybe make more with them in the future. The world has a lot of aspects left to explore, hopefully we'll have the opportunity in the future to do so. But either way, it's so nice to hear you liked it so much!
I've managed to play up until the first investigatiom scene, clicked on the wheeled cart, the body in the furnace, the scrap of fabric, the imp in the lower left corner then selected the 'I worked too hard for all this to be all for nothing' option and that's where I'm stuck at. Do you need to check areas of interest in a certain order or is there something I'm missing? Btw, the story/character writing is stellar and the general design and feel of the game is flat out goregeous!
Thank you for playing! Check right next to the body, in the furnace, there’s one more clue in there!
I really enjoyed your game! The cast was interesting, the world/magic fascinating, and the mystery solid. :D
Thank you so much! I'm really glad the world is getting people excited, I would love to make more in this universe. I'm sorry I took so long to reply!
Heya ! I started playing this game on my channel recently ! It seems sooo high quality I can't believe it. When I found this game I was super excited to play it as well, just thinking about it made me really happy. The music is really nice and I really enjoy the dynamic between all the characters, even if I'm not far yet 0]:-) Congratulations on the marvelous project !
This was such a treat to watch! I always get nervous when watching people play a game I worked on, but this video was so funny and I really liked the voices you did for everyone. There were a number of times where you laughed at something and then went "oh no, I shouldn't laugh at that, this is serious." And I wanted to tell you to please feel comfortable laughing! You were laughing at our intended jokes, and it felt so NICE hearing someone understand exactly what we were tying to communicate with them!
Awww, thank you so so much ! I really liked the writing and the vibe of the game, it was everything !
You've probably already heard or thought of this but this duo looks so much like Aziraphale and Crowley from Good Omens! That along with the "crime-solving" aspect of this pulled me in, and I'm so glad I checked it out! Such a cleverly written story with such intriguing character designs and pretty art kept me hooked during every second of it, and it was a blast to play! Just like Is Lupin Still Flirting? this is exemplary! (maybe it's on purpose but Lupine flowers reminds me sm of Lupin III I loved him.) It will be one to beat for the Spooktober VN jam for sure.
Thank you so much for such high praise. And yes Lupine was very heavily inspired hehe he and Goose steal imps, which is a bit different than stealing for glory or fun, but they share a similar joy about what they do :)
This was a very well written game. I loved the watercolor art used throughout it. Keep up the good work!
Thank you very much for checking it out! I wanted to let you know there seems to be a bit of visual capture glitch towards the end quarter of the video.
This is a great game but my only complaint is that there are many times where the character Goose gets misgendered. The pronouns he/him are used instead of they/them. Please fix this in future updates.
Thanks for letting us know! Do you remember where any of those typos were? I’d like to get those fixed right away.
Uh no I dont remember exactly but there were a few times around when the seance happened? I cant exactly remember. I think it'd be a good idea to look over the script if you still have it?
Thank you, having a specific area to look in is very helpful. We’ll check the script and do an update in the next day!
Alright thank you!
Thanks so much for helping us spot those, I found 3 in the seance scene, and hopefully we got them all. We've uploaded a new build, we appreciate your help catching those mistakes!
Made an account just to give this game a 5/5 rating cause holy shit it was good. (been usin Itch for years, funny how this, a visual novel (which I normally don't care for) made me get off my ass and get an account to rate it CX
Whoa, thank you very much! We’ve made a few other VNs, but this was our first mystery, so we weren’t sure if people would like it! Comments like this can really encourage creators to keep going, so I’m grateful that you took the time out to let us know. If people end up really liking this one, there’s a chance we might do more. Harold and Hawley have been on my back burner for a looooong time. :3
Ngl, I love Harold and Howley a lot from this game! I've also gone on to download all the games you've made to try them all out :3 (oh, and a friend of mine watched me stream this to them and they also made an account just to give u 5/5, They said they loved all of the characters, but mostly DeLus, Goose, and a character they keep referring to as "Gay Mettaton Man" (guessing they are referring to Lupin cx). Also, this shall be one of the few games that stays on my pc forever :3 (only 3-4 others hold that spot xD)
Well thanks, and I hope you like them! Never feel bad about deleting our games if you need to free up disc space, though. XD There should always be new games to enjoy in your future!
Usually, I stay away from mystery games, unless they're heavily scripted like DanganRonpa because I suck at finding the culprit all by myself, but this one caught my attention because for some reason, it contains everything that I love (Queerness? Edwardian fashion? Witchcraft? Demons? A fae? Funny jokes? SIGN ME IN!) and let me tell you, I didnt regret my decision at all.
The story is so wholesome and yet, so disturbing sometimes: The (b)romance between Harry and Faraday is so sweet. The potentially triggering parts were written in a way that made me feel uneasy. I really felt like I was within the game with these people.
Thank you for releasing this gem and good luck for the contest! 🤗
Thanks so much for checking it out and enjoying the game! We didn't want the mystery to be TOO challenging, so I'm glad to hear you didn't have too much trouble :) And as for Harry and Faraday, it's definitely a dysfunctional but romantic relationship lol
"I EARNED THIS DAMN DATE!" Has easily become my favourite quote from a damn visual novel EVER- and as strange as it is to say, this story was deeply touching at moments.
Maybe it's the relatable readiness to give up on everything from the main characters, or Maggie completely winning me over and making me fall in love... But it was something I appreciated beyond "haha, funny depressed gays struggling and NB rep."
So thank you.
All the characters were genuinely memorable for me and that almost NEVER happens- least of all in murder mysteries, because authors just cram in as many red-herrings as possible!
Also, the art was heart-warming to look at because of the colours and (sorry, hope this doesn't seem rude, honestly saying it will all the endearment I have in my heart) rustic feel.
So once again, thank you. Hope you have a lovely week, month, year- whatever XD
edit: OMG, LESBIAN PIRATES AND LUPIN?!?!?! DOES THAT MEAN WE GET MORE GOOSE? OMG, IF THAT HAPPENS, JUST KNOW THAT AT LEAST ONE PERSON IS SO DOWN!!
Ahhh this is such a kind comment to receive! I'm so happy to hear our characters stood out, that was one of our goals, and it feels great to hear we did it! Thank you so much and I'm super glad to hear that you're interested in seeing more, too. This is a world that has a lot more potential stories in it! Knowing people might want more is great news hehe Thank you again for playing!
AND YOU'RE SO NICE
Man, I've really struck gold, haven't I? XD Of course, you're welcome, thank you once again for making it!!
Just downloaded the game to my PC! But can you add 'Genre: Visual novel' to the drop down 'More information' menu? This'll help get the game out to a wider audience!
Hahaha, I can't believe I forgot that. Thank you very much for catching that!