The Echoes of the Fey series mixes a high fantasy setting with the mysteries and conspiracies of pulp detective fiction. Play as Sofya Rykov, a private investigator with a secret of her own: she is the only Human able to wield unlimited magic. Her country of Oraz is recovering from a 30-year war between Humans and Leshin (elves) over the use of Fey energy, so her unstable magic is best kept secret.
Sofya herself is an unusual protagonist. For starters, we gave her personality traits typically given to the male leads of hard-boiled mystery tales. She sports a sassy, optimistic attitude that laughs in the face of danger, but this is a cover for the fear and helplessness underneath. As a result she sleeps around, drinks heavily, and knows she could die at any moment from the strange magic trapped inside of her.
In The Last Sacrament, Sofya’s childhood love and the Emperor’s daughter, Katerina, seeks her protection from threats near the border. Meanwhile Katerina’s rival, Nikolai, needs a dangerous drug stolen from the powerful Krovakyn Church and uses blackmails to force Sofya’s assistance.
Nikolai wants a dose of the Sacrament, a mysterious substance from the Krovakyn Church that can cure illnesses and extend lifespans. But repeated use of the Sacrament causes strange side effects, such as hallucinations and physical deformities. Nikolai wants to give the Sacrament to his grandmother, who has already received the maximum dosage allowed. It’s up to you, the player, to solve each case and determine its outcome. Can you track down Katerina’s enemy? And if you manage to steal the Sacrament, what will you choose to do with it?
You also have several romance options in The Last Sacrament. If you proceed carefully, you can develop a romantic relationship with Katerina, Arkady, Nikolai, or Heremon.
Most of The Last Sacrament consists of traditional VN scenes with choices to direct the story. You can also roam the town of Vodotsk freely as a side-scrolling environment, which opens up side quests and optional investigation opportunities.
But the most experimental aspect of Echoes of the Fey: The Last Sacrament is a complex mini-game called RiftRealms. This is a tabletop game that exists in the world of Echoes of the Fey, and as Sofya you can play with other characters. We thought this would be an interesting way to showcase each character’s personality based on how they treat you as a Dungeon master. It also explores the question: what do people fantasize about in a fantasy world?
What I'd love to hear from you:
1) Feedback about RiftRealms
Via the download-able demo, you can see the first few scenes of the game and try RiftRealms for yourself! We'd love to hear what people think of the mini-game and whether you feel it will be an enjoyable addition to the narrative experience. If you have any other specific feedback about the game right now we'd love to hear that, too
2) Feedback regarding technical game performance
Due to the fact that we're building this game in Unreal Engine 4 and implementing some fancy 3D environments, we realize that playing the game will require a better graphics card and CPU than most visual novels. You can set the Overall Visual Quality to LOW in the Options menu if you have a lower-end computer. Either way, we'd love to get a general feel for how the game performs for the average player.