I’m not much of a horror game fan. Jumpscares hold no interest for me, and gore and filth sometimes annoy me because their shock value often gets used as a substitute for interesting storytelling, rather than as an extension of it. However, in the world of visual novels, horror often gets used in more interesting ways; just think of games like Scarlet Hollow, where it’s all about the atmosphere and mystery, rather than the shock value.
It is in that regard that I took a look at the upcoming STARCULT. Night: Twisted Age, the debut game by NOT A CAT STUDIOS. This narrative visual novel takes a look at a very uneven society, where you play as Silviya, a person who has just married into the noble house of Nebula as part of a deal. We start the game on her wedding night, where she is gifted a prisoner, of all things, by her new husband Hans, the head of the Nebula family. This prisoner seems to know Silviya and has disturbing information to share with her.
From here on in, you get to make choices which will influence your relationships with the characters around you. As your husband slips away from the wedding party, do you join him in his study, or do you visit the prisoner to find out what he has to say? Whatever you choose, by the end of the night you go to bed, only to wake up the next morning to find your husband has been murdered. A wild beast seems to somehow have entered the estate and torn his face off. Soon, an investigation starts, and you are interrogated for the best part of the day.
When the – rather handsome – detective finally leaves you alone, your butler enters the fray, having found a lonely puppy on the estate. You then get introduced to another gameplay element, where you have to decide your actions for the day. In this demo you only get to choose your evening activity, as you have spent most of your day being interrogated, but it’s a small glimpse into what could be an interesting mechanic.
Later that night, you go to sleep, and what happens then I won’t spoil here. A publicly available demo should be coming soon, and I highly recommend you check it out when it does. The writing, despite some typos, is rather good so far, hinting towards a world with deep lore and characters with interesting histories, both separate from and with each other. The visuals are lovely too, with the character work not looking like your generic visual novel fare.
I’m also a big fan of the emotion palette, a feature that will make STARCULT stand out from other visual novels. During conversations, there is the possibility to gain one of four emotions: anger, sadness, fear and joy. As an artist and a noble, you are able to use these emotions to influence those around you. During my playthrough, I once died because I had accrued too much fear and my heart could no longer take it! It’s therefore important to use these emotions during conversations, when you can spend one of your emotions to influence what you say and how you will be perceived.
This also allows you to read the true emotions and intentions of both friends and enemies and will allow you to choose how you respond to them in turn. Will you be honest with your intentions, or will you manipulate? This will be increasingly intriguing since there are relationships to be built with the different characters you meet within the game. You can choose to build up these relationships or have them break down completely, and I’m very curious to see what happens when you push one of these beyond the point of no repair.
The game will also allow for very different kinds of relationships with the character(s) of your choice: spicy, romantic, toxic, platonic, etc., which in turn will lead to a wide variety of different endings to the game. STARCULT is a game that begs to be replayed, to explore different options, and to use your emotions in different ways, and I am here for it. Especially with the developers promising that there are plenty of different death endings to try and avoid as well. As I mentioned earlier, I already died once during my preview, so it’s not that far-fetched to feel like this might happen more often than not.
It has to be mentioned that STARCULT is a game aimed purely at adults and can even be challenging for those who have dealt with topics like violence, alcohol or drug abuse, and psychological violence. But if you’re up to the challenge, then exploring the upcoming demo is a no-brainer. Its fantasy world with Lovecraftian elements offers the possibility of a lot of depth in its storytelling, and I am very curious to find out how the game will play out when it releases sometime near the end of the year.
The world of STARCULT. Night: Twisted Age really invites you in with its interesting setting and promise of intriguing gameplay mechanics that introduce something new to the visual novel genre. Romance characters deal – or don’t deal – with impending doom in any which way you want to; maybe even start a cult and choose its purpose: it’s all up to you and Silviya with how the legacy of the Nebula family turns out.
STARCULT. Night: Twisted Age is due out in 2026. Give the Steam page a visit to wishlist the game or to check out the demo.
