Solstice - a mystery from the makers of Cinders [done!]

[TeeGee]

Hey there . We're working on our next visual novel. Same team as with Cinders, only now our writers took the lead and it's their original story.

(click to enlarge)

Website | Pre-orders | Greenlight

In an exotic city in the midst of a frozen desert, cut from the outside world by raging blizzards, local archeologist goes missing. Doctor on a contract and a certain mysterious woman who just arrived with the last dog sled caravan pick on the trail...

There's going to be lots of pretty, lots of mystery, lots of snow, and loads of secrets.

We will publish more media and info as we go. For now, we're really interested how you like the video and the animated characters. We think it adds a lot, but it's the first time we're doing animations this big, so we're curious of your opinion.

[jack_norton]

Congrats on announcing the game!
Looks good, the only thing is that during the video sometimes you see the previous arm pose for a fraction of a second, but I think because you played it fast when making the video. I can confirm that in the real game is much better than it already looks

[TeeGee]

Yeah, some things definitely need tweaking yet. Thanks for feedback.

[Cadenza]

I'M SHRIEKING AND JUMPING UP AND DOWN BECAUSE BOTH THE PEOPLE WE SEE ARE LADIES OF COLOUR ♥♥♥♥

It looks so good!! Art is gorgeous as always. I'm really enjoying the animation, like Constance fiddling with her hair. Is Constance the female protagonist? (I remember a while back you said there was one male and one female protagonist?)

I hope Aunt Ghede isn't too cold, her outfit doesn't have sleeves ;u; *casually throws a blanket over her shoulders*

[TeeGee]

Yay! Actually, because of the game's setting, pretty much all the characters are of color. It's funny, because someone already called us both racist and sexist because of that in a YouTube comment .

Constance is not the protagonist. She's a former courtesan and the owner of the local bathhouse. A pretty prominent figure in the city, with a complicated past.

The male protagonist is Galen. A doctor hired for the winter season. Out of boredom, he starts investigating the disappearance of the local archeologist. He's both black and gay, so I'm kinda worried how people will react to him. He's also the nephew of Madame Ghede .

The female protagonist is named Yani. She arrived with the last dog sled caravan and her origins and agenda are pretty mysterious, so I won't spoil anything.

I'll post some images of both player characters when their art is ready .

Ghede isn't cold in that scene, as she's actually appearing in Galen's dream.

[Cadenza]

Yay! Actually, because of the game's setting, pretty much all the characters are of color. It's funny, because someone already called us both racist and sexist because of that in a YouTube comment .

I saw that and laughed, oh man. A prostitute? Wearing skimpy clothing? But the prostitute appears to have a good handle on herself? Must be sexist!!!

(Honestly, I had my fingers crossed for a POC cast once you announced it was in a frozen tundra - I don't know if you've heard about it, but Disney's "Frozen" concepts are of two white blonde people, and I think Disney really missed out on an opportunity to have a more diverse cast. I'm so glad Solstice isn't going down that road!)

I like the protagonists already, ahh. Galen sounds like a darling, I'm sure I'll love him. ~ Those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter ~

Are there going to be romance options, however slight? (Look at me and my priorities!)

[TeeGee]

Yes, there are romance options for both characters, though they are of less focus than in Cinders.

[azureXtwilight]

I am watching you. Very intently. Any release date planned yet?

[TeeGee]

We don't know yet, and after Cinders' delay, we're careful to make any promises . It's still relatively early in the development, so at least several months from now.

[KittyKatStar]

Looks beautiful! I look forward to its release. ^^ (Loved Cinders.)

[FatUnicornGames]

Looks gorgeous (of course)! I loved Cinders and I look forward to your original story!

I would just watch out to make sure the characters don't look too "fidgety" in action.

[Blane Doyle]

I have only played the Cinders demo (though I SHALL be purchasing it in the future), but with that little experience with your games I know that I am looking forward to this one.

Very eagerly.

I wish we could have seen a slower preview video so we know how everything looks between sentences and so it didn't seem so jittery (but it wasn't that bad, honestly). This works though, sparked my interest for sure.

[SilverHyena]

I'm definitely buying it when it comes out. All I needed to know was that it was being made by the Cinders team. That game was gorgeous and just generally awesome! I can't wait!

[victorita9]

OMG+ Squee is how I feel after seeing Ghede. Is this game in the same world as cinders, or can she travel between worlds? Will we know more about her in this game?

[SundownKid]

I really have to step up my game, here... I can't have another isolated-town ice-based fantasy steampunk mystery catastrophe simulation stealing my thunder! To the Icebatcave!