I've played through the anti-game a number of times and...
First off, I love the way the characters and their change is built up.
The hero in their relentless improvement, and the queen in her fondness of the hero. So many aspects come together to really make me feel this game... The reflection in the floor, the sound. The way the hero's sword clatters to the ground as the queen pulls their body to her heart. The battle theme abruptly ending when the hero is easily slain.
Second, I feel like some aspects could still work better. Sometimes, the hits from the 2nd form claw attacks just don't register and it's brought me down when it felt like staying alive mattered the most... But more about this.
Third, related. I think the plot hasn't been entirely honest with me. The whole premise, the whole message the hero had been bringing is - "there is hope as long as you keep trying". And yet... I don't think this story leaves me any hope. Any hope of surviving and changing. Any hope of walking out through that door and seeing that gatehouse, that waterfall which used to hide that fancy sword. Any hope of the hero deciding not to strike the queen down after all that she's shared and all the ways in which she may have changed.
I love the story. I love the characters. I love the endings that exist. I just feel cheated that there isn't another way. That a story about change cannot be changed. That the story about hope is hopeless.
I feel you there. It's a story about change through the eyes of someone who cannot change; a story about hope from the point of someone who doesn't understand it. Importance highlighted through lack, if you will.
If it helps... I myself consider there to be meaning in the game ending the moment of the Queen's death. The game tells the story of the Dark Queen of Mortholme, but beyond its end the title is no more. I like to think that the person bound to that role is released from it.
Though I think "someone who cannot change" is a little inaccurate towards the Queen here. From the way I perceived the story - she moreso doesn't believe in change nor in having capacity or need to do so - but she does evolve as in that view as the confrontation escalates. Or, well. Has the capacity to do so. That part is left up to the player.
I agree entirely that the game's ending is well placed. That no matter how this story would end, it would end with the Dark Queen of Mortholme being no more.
I just wish there was room for a little hope before that final screen. Just a little bit of that purple flame of rebirth or whatnot, if the circumstances were right.
I actually think the death animation for the Queen is phenomenal, in how she appears to be absorbed into the Hero's sword. I see that as a sign - that the Hero will forever carry the imprint she left in their memory. But it is always the same - whether the hero's last words are just to put her to rest, or to acknowledge her change. I think it works the best in the ending where the Queen gives the Hero her blessing, though, beyond any other.
I think the motivation behind writing little confirmation of whether the Queen will be able to resurrect or not after the game ends is because all the dialogue happens within the reign of the Dark Queen. Before it's over, before the status quo ceases to be, it's still bound to treat her capacity to change as an unknown.
You're absolutely right that the Queen's fate is left to the player; to their understanding of who or what she is and how metaphorical death is in this world, to their beliefs about change. It's a fair point that this uncertainty has potential to come off as a tad grim, perhaps moreso than I expected it would. Still, that freedom has resulted in a wide variety of interpretations, which has been fascinating for me and hopefully valuable for the players.
Love the story and how gameplay shows it. The mooves are predicrtable and slow, while hero is fast and nimble. Hero can become more, while you are eternally the same. The saddnes of not growing. When you are at the top of the mountain you cant go up, but the queen did't have the privlage of going on a journy up, she was born like this. I wish there was a little chance of the queen's mace dropping and hero using it, so at least he can see the hero grow maybe even more and be "upgraded" by the hero if he chooses so.
a great storyline, but the gameplay just sucks IMO, all moves are slow and clunky, they don't hit even though it clearly should. and it doesn't turn when you want you.
beautiful game, very well made, but being scripted to die, landing hits but they dont count? kinda ruins it for me personally was hoping you could keep playing till you lost , that he became the challange rather than you but eventually its just the last battle, one more time, and he cant die
aaaand as i write this i see a bug fix turns out it wasnt scripted, its a bug that refuses to go away...poetic
What an awesome game. I don't usually comment but this one just made me feel so many emotions. Character development was top notch, actually made me feel like I was the queen trapped in my never-ending cycle of killing the hero and trapped in my castle for an eternity. 11/10.
Hey, I'm Loving the gameplay & characters, always thought a game like this could be quite interesting, nice to see it done so well
I did notice a bug where one of the "hurt boxes" doesn't go away sometimes (possibly while the hero is dying?) so the next fight there is a area around the queen that just does damage.
It also seems to ignore the third health level & doesn't show it properly, instead removing the second heart & then first heart after it hits the hero again killing them while leaving the third heart untouched?
it showed up when playing on desktop & laptop (both running windows). I'm not sure what causes it... but the way I play seems to set it off? (twice in my 4... maybe 5? runs)
Sorry if that description isn't very helpful for recreating/finding the error
Thank you for the great little game & I wish you good luck hunting any bugs down
Thanks for the bug report, it's appreeciated! I'll look into the sticky hurt boxes. Do you mean that it's only the "stuck" hurt box that causes weird things to happen with the Hero health display, or does the latter happen in other situations too?
There's this super loud crackling that starts around 5 minutes in that keeps getting worse - I thought it was surround sound first but after turning it off it was still there ;; Still a super fun experience though!
I might need some help here as when I try to download the . exe it fails every time. Haven't found a solution through google yet.
Update: After trying to download it 20+ times it has finally allowed itself to fully download. Now to have fun playing this interesting concept of a game.
honestly thats what i was hoping would happen and idk if you beat him one more time when you are being nice to him and then you get the ending where they both live. i am not good enough to get there though because when he says one more try it like super hard and i managed to get him to 1 heart but he killed me with bow unfortunely.
This was actually incredible to play, it's solemn. I think it hit me so hard since this is how people actually act in the world. Some just won't change, no matter what. And that costs themselves and everyone else. I feel like you also managed to kind of point at the cost of in-action, which is not something I expected to write about a game (anti-game? interactive thingie) ever. I won't forget about this soon. Fantastic work.
The HOLD this game has over my brain after playing it for the first time. It's such a touching story delivered in such a short time. I can't help but really feel for the Queen! Wish we could've like, I dunno, defeated her and just befriended her. Let her join our party! :D lol, ok, but seriously! The art of this game is so gorgeous and I'd often get distracted just staring at the Queen's animations. That title screen art?? I think I'll make it my wallpaper, it's SO neat. I'll definitely be checking out your other games.
10/10 very beautiful story even though it isn't very long, the dialogue options are just MWAH, and The art style and detail are just a cherry on top! In the end there was only two problems for me. The game isn't that long and the ending glitched out a bit. but the game not being that long is kinda just a part of the charm so I'll let it slide teehee. Please keep making more games. This world needs people like you who actually put depth into their stories even if they're short. I loved this experience and would recommend to any story lover. Please move on to do great things in your future. ;
Yes. If you simply stay at the bottom of the stairs of the throne, you can just spam 3, and 1 when the hero gets close enough to trick him into going into the 3 circle. Eventually, you win, but it takes a while.
Hello, I just happened upon this game on a Youtube showcase just now, and I am absolutely *in love* with the premise! Would it be alright if I created an animated comic series based on this game? I will not profit from it in any way, and will be sure to credit the original. Even with me saying this, I lose motivation for things incredibly easily, so this is mostly just an "in case I actually fully follow through with it" ask, rather than a "I plan to fully finish and release it within a set time frame". ^^'
If you even like start with that hit me up I would love to make the sound design (original soundtrack, soundeffects and so on) for this (I too am in love with this game) Discord: celeritas_lucis. email: celeritaslucis.business@gmail.com
I’m trying to install the game on Linux via the itch app, but the installation silently fails. I had to download it from the website manually. There, I had to chmod +x the binary and then I could run the game. Could you have a look?
(nice to have a Linux build anyway - and fast to export with Godot!)
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So gooooood. Loved the dialogues
I've played through the anti-game a number of times and...
First off, I love the way the characters and their change is built up.
The hero in their relentless improvement, and the queen in her fondness of the hero. So many aspects come together to really make me feel this game... The reflection in the floor, the sound. The way the hero's sword clatters to the ground as the queen pulls their body to her heart. The battle theme abruptly ending when the hero is easily slain.
Second, I feel like some aspects could still work better. Sometimes, the hits from the 2nd form claw attacks just don't register and it's brought me down when it felt like staying alive mattered the most... But more about this.
Third, related. I think the plot hasn't been entirely honest with me. The whole premise, the whole message the hero had been bringing is - "there is hope as long as you keep trying". And yet... I don't think this story leaves me any hope. Any hope of surviving and changing. Any hope of walking out through that door and seeing that gatehouse, that waterfall which used to hide that fancy sword. Any hope of the hero deciding not to strike the queen down after all that she's shared and all the ways in which she may have changed.
I love the story. I love the characters. I love the endings that exist. I just feel cheated that there isn't another way. That a story about change cannot be changed. That the story about hope is hopeless.
I like the way you are going with this... 🤔
I feel you there. It's a story about change through the eyes of someone who cannot change; a story about hope from the point of someone who doesn't understand it. Importance highlighted through lack, if you will.
If it helps... I myself consider there to be meaning in the game ending the moment of the Queen's death. The game tells the story of the Dark Queen of Mortholme, but beyond its end the title is no more. I like to think that the person bound to that role is released from it.
Thank you.
Though I think "someone who cannot change" is a little inaccurate towards the Queen here. From the way I perceived the story - she moreso doesn't believe in change nor in having capacity or need to do so - but she does evolve as in that view as the confrontation escalates. Or, well. Has the capacity to do so. That part is left up to the player.
I agree entirely that the game's ending is well placed. That no matter how this story would end, it would end with the Dark Queen of Mortholme being no more.
I just wish there was room for a little hope before that final screen. Just a little bit of that purple flame of rebirth or whatnot, if the circumstances were right.
I actually think the death animation for the Queen is phenomenal, in how she appears to be absorbed into the Hero's sword. I see that as a sign - that the Hero will forever carry the imprint she left in their memory. But it is always the same - whether the hero's last words are just to put her to rest, or to acknowledge her change. I think it works the best in the ending where the Queen gives the Hero her blessing, though, beyond any other.
Thoughtful meta, thank you!
I think the motivation behind writing little confirmation of whether the Queen will be able to resurrect or not after the game ends is because all the dialogue happens within the reign of the Dark Queen. Before it's over, before the status quo ceases to be, it's still bound to treat her capacity to change as an unknown.
You're absolutely right that the Queen's fate is left to the player; to their understanding of who or what she is and how metaphorical death is in this world, to their beliefs about change. It's a fair point that this uncertainty has potential to come off as a tad grim, perhaps moreso than I expected it would. Still, that freedom has resulted in a wide variety of interpretations, which has been fascinating for me and hopefully valuable for the players.
just spam 3 at the left corner and hit on the right time with 1 and he walks in his death each time .... no more story follow up at this point
An absolute masterpiece in story telling! thanks for this amazing experience!!!!
Love the story and how gameplay shows it. The mooves are predicrtable and slow, while hero is fast and nimble. Hero can become more, while you are eternally the same. The saddnes of not growing. When you are at the top of the mountain you cant go up, but the queen did't have the privlage of going on a journy up, she was born like this. I wish there was a little chance of the queen's mace dropping and hero using it, so at least he can see the hero grow maybe even more and be "upgraded" by the hero if he chooses so.
a great storyline, but the gameplay just sucks IMO, all moves are slow and clunky, they don't hit even though it clearly should. and it doesn't turn when you want you.
i think being slow and clunky is kind of the experience when you´re the boss instead of the hero.
beautiful game, very well made, but being scripted to die, landing hits but they dont count? kinda ruins it for me personally
was hoping you could keep playing till you lost , that he became the challange rather than you
but eventually its just the last battle, one more time, and he cant die
aaaand as i write this i see a bug fix
turns out it wasnt scripted, its a bug that refuses to go away...poetic
I tried to play it, but it's stuck on a black loading screen 🤔
Anyone else having this problem?
The way we humans touch on the ephemerality of eternality is astonishing.
This game does that extraordinarily well.
I have a question (not trying to be mean). Did you search that word up on google?
I did search "ephemerality" since I wasn't sure if it existed, yes.
Nice
It wont let me pay you for it with my card maybe cause im australian idk. But in any case this game is amazing and Ive greatly enjoyed it.
aww, I was hopin for somethin more than just the hero always wins...
There are three endings you know.
I did not, only just started playin, thanks for the heads up ^^
I just finished it, the game has very intriguing details with dialogue in it. Enjoy finding them.
There are at least 5
it has 6 endings now
We need romance ending please ( •̀ ω •́ )y
I hope to see a 50000 word long romance fanfic with extensive smut and fluff.
I actively avoid smut fanfic but even I would read this just to get more of these characters.
This is a good game
yessssss
That was to most terrifying horror game I've played
I worked hard, I won... and yet all I felt was lonely.
10/10 - great real life simulator.
What an awesome game. I don't usually comment but this one just made me feel so many emotions. Character development was top notch, actually made me feel like I was the queen trapped in my never-ending cycle of killing the hero and trapped in my castle for an eternity. 11/10.
Imagine if this were an animated short film...
Hey, I'm Loving the gameplay & characters, always thought a game like this could be quite interesting, nice to see it done so well
I did notice a bug where one of the "hurt boxes" doesn't go away sometimes (possibly while the hero is dying?) so the next fight there is a area around the queen that just does damage.
It also seems to ignore the third health level & doesn't show it properly, instead removing the second heart & then first heart after it hits the hero again killing them while leaving the third heart untouched?
it showed up when playing on desktop & laptop (both running windows). I'm not sure what causes it... but the way I play seems to set it off? (twice in my 4... maybe 5? runs)
Sorry if that description isn't very helpful for recreating/finding the error
Thank you for the great little game & I wish you good luck hunting any bugs down
Thanks for the bug report, it's appreeciated! I'll look into the sticky hurt boxes. Do you mean that it's only the "stuck" hurt box that causes weird things to happen with the Hero health display, or does the latter happen in other situations too?
I only saw it with the stuck hurt box & It happened both times? So I assume they are linked
Could we get an Android version?
its a 20 min game...
On vacation rn, don't have a PC to play it.
what an amazing game, so inspiring
There's this super loud crackling that starts around 5 minutes in that keeps getting worse - I thought it was surround sound first but after turning it off it was still there ;; Still a super fun experience though!
this, too, is yuri
This too is yuri.
I might need some help here as when I try to download the . exe it fails every time. Haven't found a solution through google yet.
Update: After trying to download it 20+ times it has finally allowed itself to fully download. Now to have fun playing this interesting concept of a game.
Great game, something truly new.
I'll be thinking about these two for much longer than the 20 minutes it took to experience their stories. Wonderfully written and beautiful artwork ^^
Honestly love it and hope it gets an update of some sort, maybe he can free us, or maybe even more boss forms :)
(if that's in the developer's interest)
honestly thats what i was hoping would happen and idk if you beat him one more time when you are being nice to him and then you get the ending where they both live. i am not good enough to get there though because when he says one more try it like super hard and i managed to get him to 1 heart but he killed me with bow unfortunely.
This was actually incredible to play, it's solemn. I think it hit me so hard since this is how people actually act in the world. Some just won't change, no matter what. And that costs themselves and everyone else. I feel like you also managed to kind of point at the cost of in-action, which is not something I expected to write about a game (anti-game? interactive thingie) ever. I won't forget about this soon. Fantastic work.
The HOLD this game has over my brain after playing it for the first time. It's such a touching story delivered in such a short time. I can't help but really feel for the Queen! Wish we could've like, I dunno, defeated her and just befriended her. Let her join our party! :D
lol, ok, but seriously! The art of this game is so gorgeous and I'd often get distracted just staring at the Queen's animations. That title screen art?? I think I'll make it my wallpaper, it's SO neat.
I'll definitely be checking out your other games.
10/10 very beautiful story even though it isn't very long, the dialogue options are just MWAH, and The art style and detail are just a cherry on top! In the end there was only two problems for me. The game isn't that long and the ending glitched out a bit. but the game not being that long is kinda just a part of the charm so I'll let it slide teehee. Please keep making more games. This world needs people like you who actually put depth into their stories even if they're short. I loved this experience and would recommend to any story lover. Please move on to do great things in your future. ;
This might be my favorite game of 2024.
This is one of the best game i have played.Hope it will update more content and endings
touching story qwq
Is there a way to win?
Yes if you beat him enough in your first phase the Queen will be sad but you win
Yes. If you simply stay at the bottom of the stairs of the throne, you can just spam 3, and 1 when the hero gets close enough to trick him into going into the 3 circle. Eventually, you win, but it takes a while.
Petition to add "let me solo her" for when the queen wins too much.
Hello, I just happened upon this game on a Youtube showcase just now, and I am absolutely *in love* with the premise! Would it be alright if I created an animated comic series based on this game? I will not profit from it in any way, and will be sure to credit the original. Even with me saying this, I lose motivation for things incredibly easily, so this is mostly just an "in case I actually fully follow through with it" ask, rather than a "I plan to fully finish and release it within a set time frame". ^^'
If you even like start with that hit me up I would love to make the sound design (original soundtrack, soundeffects and so on) for this (I too am in love with this game)
Discord: celeritas_lucis.
email: celeritaslucis.business@gmail.com
This SICK, GJ!!
I’m trying to install the game on Linux via the itch app, but the installation silently fails. I had to download it from the website manually. There, I had to chmod +x the binary and then I could run the game. Could you have a look?
(nice to have a Linux build anyway - and fast to export with Godot!)
Beautiful
Damn you for making me feel