Hand of Horzasha
A downloadable Visual Novel for Windows, macOS, and Linux
Live with monsters or die trying!
When a headstrong knight from the sealed-off human world witnesses the
neglect of an orphaned child, she abandons her former life as an explorer to
protect her newly adopted daughter in life-risking ritual combat in a strange town of monsters. An adventure mystery visual novel by Shiny Vacation.
Soundtrack available on: https://mbulteau.bandcamp.com/album/hand-of-horzasha
Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/6CPehaG
Features
- Meet the host of monster races that inhabit the enigmatic Randall Village, complete with 35 different characters and lush, animated backgrounds.
- Document your findings in a robust encyclopedia system as you gather clues and profiles that will help unravel the mysteries of the valley.
- Form and strengthen bonds with the cat-like Meire who rule the town. Create alliances with each family to avoid eviction at the end of each month.
- Explore optional encounters with townsfolk to bolster your standing and learn more about the region.
- Put your life on the line in dangerous ritual confrontations that decide the fates of your neighbors.
- Experience four intriguing chapters and a total of seven different endings.
Characters
Diala is the protagonist of this story. She has arrived in the village by accident and is new to this world.
Aurelia is an orphan who appears in Randall Village to play with its children. But the adults, for whatever reason, do not acknowledge her existence.
Hudra is Diala's next-door neighbor. She is a skilled hunter and acrobat, but she is not the most sociable person around.
Yolk is a messenger who works directly under the mayor of Randall Village. It is his job to watch over various refugee villagers, Diala included. He is notoriously mean-spirited.
Nathaniel is one of the village's guards. He lives with the Oodse family and is among the friendliest of all residents in town.
Fielle is the Randall Village librarian. She is reserved, but also knowledgeable about many worldly topics.
Al is the village's south guard. He lives with the Vall family and is not a very trusting fellow. He is, however, revered by the village Meire for his integrity.
Ernst runs the general store and is the only other human in Randall Village besides Diala. He is cold and quiet, but seems to know more than he ever lets on.
Credits
Story, Art, and Game Design by Shiny Vacation (@ShinyVacation)
Editing and Proofreading by Gwendolyn Hicks (@prioryruins)
Music and Sound Design by M. Bulteau (@MBulteau) and Miguel Jesus (@AbsentiaDie)
Current version: 1.1.3
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- Steam Release!Jan 31, 2019
- New Versions!Jan 20, 2019
- Launch Day!Dec 18, 2018
- Release Date!!!Nov 12, 2018
- Demo Launched!Jul 28, 2017
Comments
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Its a beautiful game with a lot of heart in it. It is an experience that I will not be forgetting for a long time.
The writing in the game is brilliantly done. It will make you laugh and cry. It will make you love the characters and make you love to hate some characters. Which, are very expressive and well drawn. Each of them will have their time in the spotlight. The player will find someone in this game that they can relate to. Speaking of the art, the backgrounds are beautiful as well and can be quite hypnotizing at times.
Accompanying the art and brilliant storytelling is the amazing soundtrack. M Bulteau knocked it out of the park with this. Each theme fits the character its for and a lot of them are bops. It will make the player feel genuine excitement at times.
Its a living breathing town with its own secrets and it was joy to discover what makes this town tick. The relationships between the characters, the houses, and its lessers were great fun to learn about. And the mystery surrounding it all made me feel on edge at points and gave me a lot Ah Ha moments.
I've played a few visual novels but never one with multiple endings so I will definitely go through see the others at some point. The game makes me want to.
Looking forward to the next game by Shiny Vacation. If this says anything it's that it will be great.
I can't praise Hand of Horzasha enough. I've read more visual novels than I can count, and no game has been so rewarding. This was a joy to play!
With a delightful and varied cast of characters that feel truly alive, realistic feeling relationship building mechanics, and a compelling mystery to solve, I was sucked in from start to finish. The writing is phenomenal, and made me both laugh out loud often and cry more than once because I was so moved. The design is intuitive and a pleasure to navigate, and rewards multiple playthroughs. The original soundtrack by M. Bulteau is masterfully lush, heightening every interaction whether tense or tender. The character designs are simple, yet expressive, and the dynamic backgrounds and lighting were a treat to see. I loved having access to a journal during my adventure, with the ability to learn more about this vibrant world.
Frequently when I play a visual novel I enjoy it, but not enough to pursue every ending and dialogue tree. With Hand of Horzasha I knew very early on I wanted to go back to experience everything there was to explore. I 100%-ed this game and I am left with a deep sense of emotional resonance. This game beautifully and thoughtfully explores what it means to search for the truth, and what it means to make a truth of your own. I wish I could spend even more time with Diala and Aurelia! It's a truly spectacular debut, and I can't wait to play every game Shiny Vacation makes going forward.
AAAA you're so sweet!! I will keep making games for people like you until I die!
very well written
Thank you so much!
After I dealt with this... Art style, This game was One decent meal, Finally a VN worth playing, even among the paid ones.
The writing, is so thick and has some good reactivity, It's worth replaying and choosing other options, and they got good immersion.
And the art, Maybe It looks like Uhhh, but Da characters' faces are Alive. I even can't tell who is whose children or parent by their looks, but I Can feel what they are thinking, what they are feeling, Kinda stuff, I can see it. So I may call it 'Lively arts'.
I like Toan.
This was great! Love the cast of colorful characters and playing as Daila.