this VN was pretty good for a first and i love how all the choices matter, though they seem trivial. the plot was interesting and the Pale One was kinda cute and i pretty much liked her! the CGs were really good and well detailed as well as the sprites.

!!SPOILERS AHEAD(obviously)!!

i got kind of emotional when vergilius (?) asked my name at the end just like how he hinted that he would ask my name after all this was over. the Pale One reminded me of Sophia from MY Next Life As The Villainess: All Routes Lead To Doom and i'm surprised that nobody has mentioned it in the comments...guess i'm the only otaku here huh :D

anyway the visuals, character sprites and background music was pretty impressive and oh yeah! i wanted to talk about the endings (this'll probably be long)...

obviously, the first ending freaked me out and that was the time that i came to know that i have an ability to get the bad end on my first attempt.

the second ending was kinda spicy though it was a bad end and if i remember correctly, i die because he sucked too much of my blood and feel great pleasure (?) until the end. 

the third one was when we die due to the sunlight. this ending is my personal favourite and it made me realize that the goal we were working towards was a dead end, and made me feel really emotional. the execution was pretty good and obviously, Vergilius is FINE.

the fourth one was the ending in which i think i kill him through a knife and run away from his mansion (red flags aside, i feel bad for him T_T) i don't like how she deceived him just for her own good (i would've stayed there forever!)

the fifth ending was the only happy ending for me and it felt good because she decided to stay with him (literally me) and was pretty spicy and loved her fangs and his pleasurable expression.

finally, the unlockable ending, in which the fourth wall breaks and was pretty good though it didn't actually have a conclusion. though it's a bit tragic, but i imagine that the conclusion to this... was the third ending, though i shouldn't conclude based purely on imagination because there would be no difference to this and the third one except the breaking of the fourth wall. i don't know if there's conclusion to this or not, but i hope it's a happy ending.

btw, i loved the way he kissed me (though i sound like a creep) <3

so, this is the end of this review and sorry for the though's and the shifting pov towards the protagonist (the Pale One, she,me/i)

well, keep up the good work! even though this VN was short, it was a wonderful one and was enough to quickly attach the player to the characters! hope there'll be more works from you <3

can i upload this game on youtube

I LOVE THIS GAME SO MUACHHHHHH. Like it was so perfect for mee!!. The male protagonist is sooooo handsome ><, and the mc (pale one) is so cutee! i love her design so muchh!! I love how the story goes, and absolutely love your art tyle. Oh and this game kinda reminds me of "Diabolik Lovers" which is my most favorite otome game!! Keep up the goodwork nef<333 im looking forward for your future games!
Also the music is also reaalllllyy beautifullll, very very much reminds me of Diabolik lovers soundtrack also:>>, Goodjob too for Eric Jeffrey Tan!

i cant even figure out how to download or open the game 😞

This game was perfect. I don't need to say more other then I hope to see more from the creator. :D

By "dubious consent", are you referring to sex or something else?

I had lovely time playing Duskbound! I love how Vergilius was quite a mystery in the beginning -- I love exploring the branches to get to see different side of him and get to know him more as I read! I especially loved seeing him blushes. Characters art are super cute and the backgrounds are so beautiful. It's amazing creation! Thank you for making this <33

Spoilers:

It's almost lie they're both yanderes, because it plays the soul mate/ fate bound card so hard.

I actually liked the ending where she bit him to turn herself, but that's short term satisfaction. What's to keep them from literally going insane 100 cycles more? And I was actually a bit sad on the ending where he turned to ash. If it'd been elaborated on more, I might have even teared up. It was giving me "interview with a vampire" flashbacks for sure. The "Let's Fight Fate" haha I wasn't feeling optimistic they'd succeed. But I love the kinda fourth wall breaking meta memory thing. Thanks for making it, I'll put it on my recommend list.

The art style is soooo lovely! The main character is super cute and the colours of the game are beautiful. Incredible seeing the script come to life. The paintings are quite haunting and I love all the little details from the textures of the BG, the red moon and clouds, and the UI. The placement of character sprite was such a great effect for closeups and other parts too

Super impressed by solo devs that do art, writing, and programming like you!

Side note, I did think the sharp teeth would be revealed a bit later (how this girl not notice this dude is a vampire immediately?? XD)
Also thought the pale one became a lady at first, but maybe vampires are just beyond gender ;). I too have a long-haired dude in my VN based on my bf that may have been mistaken for a lady by my bf's friends hahaha

Aaaaa I loved this so much!! This game really does so much with so little- it's a complete story and experience that tugs on the heart in less than 10k words, and I was fully invested from start to finish. The turns the story took, our heroine's determination, the complex emotions both characters have internally and about each other, the visual atmosphere that hits the perfect balance of sanguine and stifling...I'm completely charmed!

OHHHH NEFF this was so GORGEOUS?! I was expecting it to be good; I was NOT expecting it to be THIS GOOD. 

First of all, the prose is BEAUTIFUL. It is so sweetly sophisticated and poetic, like seeing a beautiful painting transcribed to text. I really loved the visuals as well - the color palette and aesthetic set a very eerie and yet dreamlike mood that perfectly suited the story. I also liked how the text box was darker and more saturated than the other colors to distinguish it, while also contributing to the creepy but sophisticated air. The sprites were SO cute, and although Vergilius' normal sprite was adorable, and I also really liked seeing his...ahem..."rarer" expressions. 

As for the story, WOW. I love how it was simultaneously dreamlike and gritty, dark and yet so sweetly romantic at the same time. The worldbuilding is surreal and ambiguous, yet gives you enough of an idea to know what is happening. I adored Vergilius' contrasts - dark and charismatic, vile and romantic. Although he expresses some WICKED desires, it is also clear that he cares deeply for the MC. But my favorite was the MC - while sometimes she gets swept away by Vergilius, in her moments of determination, I really adored her guts and her proactiveness. Without spoilers, in a couple of the endings, I was rooting for her HARD (despite how toxic or not toxic her decisions might have been)! I won't spoil too much, but I LOVED how the story was resolved and thought it was very appropriate.

A LITTLE BIT OF SPOILERS, but the game also made SUCH interesting use of visual novel mechanics. The time loop aspect was fascinating and very well implemented. I also like how the story varied between giving you one choice to giving you multiple choices - really reflecting how the MC's mindset changes over the course of the game. Lastly, I LOVE how you are only prompted to give your name when the MC finally "comes into her own" and shows her determination in one of the endings. That moment hit me like a punch to the gut! Each of these mechanics really contributed to the storytelling in unique and thoughtful ways!

Overall, I really enjoyed this! Such a great take on dark romance and the yandere trope! The aesthetic was IMPECCABLE, and it was splendidly written. FANTASTIC job!

 I liked the illustrations of the character sprites, so I played. I enjoyed it very much because I like vampire stories!

I tried many rounds of choices and gradually understood his suffering, which made me very sad. I love him...

In the true ending, I was moved by the scene where the remembered Pale One makes a certain decision with him! I was glad to see him face his difficulties together and not alone anymore.

The writing was super beautiful, and I will admit it took me a while to get all the different endings - but the final scene was worth it! I loved learning about their history, and on each play it got better and better! <3

This was so lovely!! Thank you for making & sharing this project. I'm a big sucker for playing around (in universe) with the concept of restarting a game and the way it was done here was wonderful! And the final secret ending was a great treat as well. The art was so lovely and I really enjoyed the writing of the LI's feelings regarding his situation and the MC herself. Looking forward to any future projects you may make!! :) <3

This was such a cool story!! The writing is so poetic and beautiful, the whole victorian vibe is lovely and the art is simply GORGEOUS!! 

The mystery of the loop got me super invested (I'm a sucker for time loops xD) and I don't think I've ever seen one with a vampire! I love the duality of how he (not saying the name to avoid spoilers) both loves and yet also resents the MC at times, it's something that would be inevitable being in his situation and it was shown really well!! The detail of not mentioning either of their names until much later, when you start discovering the mysteries little by little, was very unique and creative, I don't think I've seen many stories with that and it was really cool and refreshing to see!

And the fact that this is your first VN, omg!! I can only be amazed, it's a wonderful achievement and everything looks so polished and nice!! Will be looking forward to more of your work, awesome job!! <3

Cute art. Managed to get a decent end in the first go and then went back to all the dead ends ^^' until I got the loop....and I'm missing one CG but it just loops now OTL.

Characters stuck in tragic loops do pull at my heartstrings. 

Amazing job on your Jam entry!

Hey! I played your entry!

First thing first, I have to mention the writing! It felt very... victorian, but in a way we don't see much of today. For instance, even in the true ending, I didn't find the romance "healthy" but... that wasn't the point of the game?? It just felt desperately romantic, like the type of romance we see in books which are centuries-old and I liked that! Also, I really appreciate the poetic writing style. The way the story tried to make the "starting a new route" over make sense was very pleasing too. Just a note: it's impossible (as far as I know at least) to reach the other endings once the "true" route is unlocked. Hopefully for me, I had saved before obtaining the true ending, but perhaps it's a thing to consider?

The art was great: I loved both the CG and the sprite work, and GOODNESS, the backgrounds were very good! The colour palette was overall very pleasing and, even so, I really appreciated the textbox that accompanied it, it was fitting!

This was a very good first VN (and even if it weren't the first, it would have still been very good, haha), and you can be proud of it! I had a lot of fun trying to reach all the endings!

EDIT: Oh, a little bug, the variation of the kissing CG (with blood) doesn't appear in the gallery!

What an atmospheric VN! The art style is really cute, and the dark brown + red colour palette used throughout makes the whole thing look very consistent.

The CGs were gorgeous, and it was nice it had so many different choices/endings to explore. My fav ending has to be the one where the MC can be a bit bitey herself, it was a pleasant surprise given she seems so meek and mild haha ;;

If I had to criticise anything, it would be that the font strained my eyes a bit. Having the text in your VN be wholly in italics can be a bit wearying to read.

Other than that, I enjoyed this a lot. Thank you for creating it!