Essence Hunt [BxB] [Fantasy]

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SilverHyena
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Essence Hunt [BxB] [Fantasy]

#1 Post by SilverHyena »

title.png
After much toil, I present to you my latest project!

General Info:

Title: Essence Hunt
Genre: Fantasy
Pairings: BxB

Plot:

While out hunting, Shugo ignores his village's superstitions and kills a deer on sacred ground. This angers a powerful nature spirit and she curses him, telling Shugo that he must return what he stole within three days or he'll die. That's easier said than done however since returning the deer's soul isn't exactly in the realm of human expertise. Luckily, he's not completely on his own. A fox spirit named Kei has agreed to help him out on a whim. Can the two catch the deer's spirit and return it to its body before the three days are up? And is Shugo's new travelling companion even trustworthy in the first place?

For (just a wee bit) more info you can visit the wip topic here: viewtopic.php?f=43&t=38775

Features:

- 25,000+ words
- 6 endings (12 if you include variatons)
- It's free!

And now, here's the link to the itch.io page where you can download it:
https://silverhyena.itch.io/essence-hunt
Ending Guide (Possible Spoilers)
Notes:
- To get the romantic (A) endings, kiss Kei when you're at the hotsprings. Otherwise you'll get the friendship (B) endings. Simple enough, yeah?
- The choice to spare or kill the spirits on the short path doesn't do anything besides change up the text a bit. (This is why you should really plan out your games and not write them as you go like I do... Learn from my mistakes!)

1A - take the short path, the hunter is a girl, give it a happy ending, kiss Kei
1B - take the short path, the hunter is a girl, give it a happy ending, don't kiss Kei
2A - take the short path, the hunter is a girl, give it a horrible ending, kiss Kei
2B - take the short path, the hunter is a girl, give it a horrible ending, don't kiss Kei
3A - take the short path, the hunter is an old man, kiss Kei
3B - take the short path, the hunter is an old man, don't kiss Kei
4A - take the long path, sit in the middle of the crowd, tell Oubu you're together, kiss Kei
4B - take the long path, sit in the middle of the crowd, tell Oubu you're together, don't kiss Kei
5A - take the long path, sit away from the crowd, tell Oubu you'd like that, kiss Kei
5B - take the long path, sit away from the crowd, tell Oubu you'd like that, don't kiss Kei
6A - take the long path, sit in the middle of the crowd, Kei is your guide, Kei might get bored, kiss Kei
6B - take the long path, sit in the middle of the crowd, Kei is your guide, Kei might get bored, don't kiss Kei

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- Eris
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Re: Essence Hunt [BxB] [Fantasy]

#2 Post by - Eris »

OMG I didn't even had time to comment on your other post and you already finished the game!
I really liked 'Sacred Sand' so I was looking forward to this game too, congrats on the release!!
I'm downloading it now, once I get to one of the endings I'll comeback and tell you what I thought about it ^^ (or I'll wait till I get all 6-12 endings xD)

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Ertal77
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Re: Essence Hunt [BxB] [Fantasy]

#3 Post by Ertal77 »

I got all the endings for the long path, and what can I say? I adore how cute is this story! Shugo and Kei are just adorable!

I like how colorful and clean the art style is, and although the story is simple there're moments like the festival that are simply beautiful. The side characters are also enjoyable, and I liked a lot that you could have a romantic end and a friendship end, both of them equally good.
Do you like BL games? Then join Ertal Games' Discord!

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sanashi27
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Re: Essence Hunt [BxB] [Fantasy]

#4 Post by sanashi27 »

When I saw your username, I clicked immediately. I haven't played this yet but Sacred Sand is one of my faves. This is gonna be good... I can tell.
Playing games are wonderful. It's like living another life although short, yet it's unforgettable.

MikaYuu is Love, MikaYuu is Life. My OTP <3

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SilverHyena
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Re: Essence Hunt [BxB] [Fantasy]

#5 Post by SilverHyena »

I am so terrible at responding in a timely fashion. :P Sorry guys. Aaaaanyway...

@- Eris: Haha, yeah. I hardly ever updated that wip topic so it probably seemed sudden to a lot of people. I should really be better about updating. Aaaaaanyway, I'm always happy to hear someone enjoyed Sacred Sand. This one is a bit simpler (since it was supposed to be for a game jam at one point... :P) but I hope you still enjoy/enjoyed it!

@Ertal77: Gah! Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it! XD Also, on a side note, I enjoyed your game A Hand in the Darkness and I'm looking forward to your next game. Keep being awesome!

@sanashi27: Awww! That makes me feel awesome! Thank you for playing my games and I hope you enjoy Essence Hunt too! Edit: Just saw your signature. And yes, MikaYuu is life.

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runeraccoon
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Re: Essence Hunt [BxB] [Fantasy]

#6 Post by runeraccoon »

Played it, I love it!

Here's my lengthy review... haha.

I love the sprites and Kei's expressions. I absolutely love that every ending has a different "ending card". I love that the choices make... sense. Like, choosing this will result in that ending. The logic behind the choices is very clear. Your simplicity is charming! From the artworks to the gameplay itself. The backstory is light, but not cheap. The relationships between existing characters feel nice. And I love the two different branches of the literal route to go to Shugo's destination.

I think the relationship progress accounts for all route's development, though. Which means that when I was in my first playthrough, the relationship progress feels too quick. I think you should be more careful there, so that the first playthrough will make more impact. (Then again, I feel that choosing the
festival
will be more impactful on first playthrough, but I think all routes should be treated with the same 'weight'... if that makes sense XD)

I want more ecchi scene, I'm sorry lol.

I wonder if I've gotten all the endings... The completist in me needs an ending checklist lmao.

Overall, thank you very much for the charming little VN. It's been a very long while since I play any VN to be honest, but for some reason, I never missed yours. :)

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sanashi27
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Re: Essence Hunt [BxB] [Fantasy]

#7 Post by sanashi27 »

Got all the endings last week!

Okay so, this game's got nice art and the game design looks good. And compared to Sacred Sand, this one has ecchi. XD It's a nice short game with lovable characters.

Now for my other comments...
The story concept is interesting but it was too short to be used to it's full potential in my opinion. Things felt like it went too fast. Also the same regarding the relationship development (especially when taking the short path). In Sacred Sand, the character had more time to interact so their romantic endings actually made sense (for the 2 main guys, of course) plus the story got more interesting as time went by on that one since a lot more things happen. In EH, I remember seeing the hot spring choice and saying 'This early in the game?!' but seeing as there's no other choice after that, I guess it's not 'early' instead it's just short. Their interaction in the long path is better. Still cute though... I mean Kei and Shugo make a really cute couple. XD

I was wondering what the 1st choice for the short path had to do with the whole story but you said there was none. I was hoping there is like, since Shugo would decide whether to spare the spirits or not, I assumed it would have impact on his later decisions and Lady Asha's final verdict since what landed Shugo in trouble in the 1st place was not sparing a creature's life in her domain. I agree with one of the above comments that at the rest of the choices for this game make sense for the ending. I can tell since I wrote down which choices I picked and which ends they got and I see what impacted what in the end. It was nice.

The endings are all cute though. Also, I liked Oubu's character. He was fun lol and his teasing made the 2 mains interaction cuter.

Like your 1st game though, this wasn't made as properly as other games I played from others as if I checked the game folders, I can find all the cg that'd appear in game (it's like I actively looked for spoilers which are instantly provided). Other games, this stuff aren't visible. It kind of helped me see which stuff I haven't gotten yet though lol

Anyways, nice game as usual! Thanks for creating this.
Playing games are wonderful. It's like living another life although short, yet it's unforgettable.

MikaYuu is Love, MikaYuu is Life. My OTP <3

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illuminate001
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Re: Essence Hunt [BxB] [Fantasy]

#8 Post by illuminate001 »

Hey SilverHyena!

I finished your VN a few days ago and have been meaning to comment and so here I am! I'm not sure which of the specific endings I got but I was sure it was one of the LOVE endings. Very sweet and just feel good vibes all around. It's nice to play something that is easy to take in and feels light hearted despite some of the more serious danger and aspects of the story.

One thing I found interesting was that usually in BxB games, one tends to play the "softer" male protag, so to me, it would've felt more expected to be playing from Kei's vantage point. Shugo definitely comes across as more of the manly half of the couple, who tend to be the characters I go for when I play yaoi/bara VN's. But Kei was sooo sweet I couldn't personally turn him down and I found I wanted to end up with him even though he isn't typically the type of guy I would play for. So good job! You made a very relatable, likable and sympathetic character. They are perfect together. <3

I wouldn't mind seeing more adventures with these two in future. :)
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SilverHyena
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Re: Essence Hunt [BxB] [Fantasy]

#9 Post by SilverHyena »

Ahem. First off, apologies for the super late replies. I am the worst at responding in a timely fashion.

@ runeraccoon: Aw, thank you so much! It makes me really happy that you go out of your way to play my VNs! That's kind of the ultimate compliment! I did originally plan to make the game for the yaoi game jam so I structured it with the intention of moving things along quickly. I agree that the relationship develops a little fast and I think that's because of that. As for endings, if you hightlight that big block of white in the first post it has a list of all the endings and how to get them. There are 6 endings with a and b versions based on if you're relationship with Kei is romantic (so twelve). And finally, on a side note, I'd kind of like more ecchi too. Haaaaah. I always end up talking myself out of it though since if I keep it tame more people can play it. One day I'll probably go over to the dark side and make a game that isn't so PG.

@ sanishi27: Thanks for the comments. You make a lot of fair points. I definitely agree that it's too short to reach it's full potential. I was originally making it for a game jam so that's why I tried to keep the scope small, but once I bailed on that I should have probably tried to extend it some more. And yeeeeah. I don't know how to actually fix the folder thing. Not that I've actually looked into it since I didn't really see it as a huge problem. (Which is probably a bad attitude to have if I plan on making my games more professional) I'll have to see if it's an easy fix for my next game.

@ illuminate001: Thank you for your kind comments! XD And you are absolutely right about most bl games letting the player take on the role of the less manly character. That switch was actually intentional on my part. I already made a game (Sacred Sand) where you play that type of character so I wanted to challenge myself and write from the opposite perspective for this game. I'll probably switch back for my next bl vn though. It just depends on how I feel I guess. Anyway, I'm glad it didn't throw you off too much and it's good that you ended up liking Kei. The whole story kind of breaks down if you don't get invested in him, after all. :P There is definitely room for them to have more adventures so I may eventually make a follow up game. (I actually have a story idea involving Oubu where Shugo and Kei could be supporting characters. Whether it sees the light of day remains to be seen, but it could definitely happen.) Also, I just want to say that it's been forever but I remember really enjoying my playthrough of Dream Savior Gakuen. I also intend to play Let's Meat Adam at some point. It looks really cool.

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Re: Essence Hunt [BxB] [Fantasy]

#10 Post by illuminate001 »

Aw well thank you, on both counts! I'm flattered that you really enjoyed DSG and also I do hope you get to play Let's MEAT Adam. At least give the demo a shot and see if it's your cup of tea.

Yea I mean, I'd love to see them both again in another story and even if it was just a short VN, I think that would be cute. That way also, it won't detract from any major new VN's you're plotting out. :)
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