Sigh of the Abyss joins the GAMES WITH WINGS showcase 📣
I am thrilled to announce that Sigh of the Abyss will be featured in the Games with WINGS showcase, airing for the first time ever this Friday March 1st at 10AM PST | 1 PM EST | 7PM CET on Twitch, Youtube & the Steam Women's Day Sale Event Page ✨ Hosted by award-winning creator, Ebonix, and Krista from WINGS, the showcase will include gameplay trailers (including that of Sigh of the Abyss!) and several exclusive interviews with talented women developers behind popular indie games.
Have you seen the new look of the game's Steam page?
I redesigned the Steam page of Sigh of the Abyss to tell you more about the game and showcase some of the amazing art: Click on the widget below to take a look, and wishlist the game to ensure the game's announcements will show up in your library hub ✨ https://store.steampowered.com/app/2025310/Sigh_of_the_Abyss/
Have a wonderful day, and don't forget to check out the stream 👋
Sigh of the Abyss joins the Storyteller's Festival ✍️
Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well 😃 Today's announcement is jam-packed with information—let's dive right in!
Release date
Sigh of the Abyss has a release date! Mark your calendars, the game will become available June 26! A new voiced demo will release some weeks prior as well, and I will try to make save files compatible between the main game & the new demo! Sigh of the Abyss will be priced at $17.99 / € 17.49 / £ 14.99 £ / A$ 26.50 / CDN$ 23.49 (and make use of Steam's regional pricing tool 😃).
Progress
All the backgrounds of the game are complete, and so is the soundtrack! Have a taste of both in this video about the sights and sounds of Carolise: I am currently editing the script, which is also being looked at by the proofreader. It's... 396k words in total?! 😳 Once the script is ready, coding will begin in earnest, and selected scenes will be given to the VAs to receive voiced lines ✨
The Storyteller's Festival
Sigh of the Abyss has been invited to the Storyteller's Festival! If you enjoy narrative games, you can't miss this event! Head over to the festival's Steam page to discover amazing new games, demos & more ✨
Thank you so much for reading until here. Toodles~
June/July update ✨
Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well😄 I recently posted this update on Kickstarter; since it's public, I thought of sharing it on Steam as well!
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The Summer Solstice passed by in a flash, and sweltering July arrived in a blaze.
In their starlit chambers, astronomers study the sky to announce the exact date of the aphelion—the point of our planet's orbit that is farthest away from the Sun. Rumor has it that on that day, the influence of the Triune Goddess wanes; the nobility revels in luxury without putting on a pious façade, leaving the Citadel for the shade of the Forester's Hide. Stretching between the river Valse and the city, the Forester's Hide is a vast woodland dotted with natural springs and pools. Its canopies give shelter to the rowdy boar, the laughing fox and the nocturnal dormouse—beasts to the peasant, but quarries to the nobles. The Hide is where they compete to prove their hunting prowess, returning with trophies to be devoured over a glass of wine or mounted on the wall.
Those that turn their eyes away from the hunt prefer to dance instead, with flowers in their hair and fur trimmed fineries; some chase love, others chase powerful alliances and political marriage.
What might bring the protagonist into this verdant realm of scheming and diplomacy? The reeds that surround the creek shield you from sight with their gentle dance.
If you have romanced Alpheon in Shadow Bonds you might find the illustration above familiar, but there are some differences in the angle of his head and in the hand that cups his face, which brings me to...
Development progress
After a short break, character art and illustrations have picked up the pace again! Alongside new art, updates are being made to old pieces to have them fit the full game, like in the example above.
Most of the OST is done, with only some arrangements left, and the majority of the background art pieces have been completed as well. Woot woot 🎉
When it comes to writing, this "Forester's Hide chapter" is a massive, branching monster of choices, consequences and some points of no return. I'm having a lot of fun working on it! The challenge is to keep the scope of this asset-heavy portion manageable (she says, already resigned to the fact that several characters will need a costume change).
Updated content warnings
The content warnings here and on the Steam page will have to be updated to reflect the previous chapters and the den of debauchery I'm currently writing. Here they are:
On screen: murder, suicide, blood, consensual discussion of sex, coarse language, legal prostitution, implied nudity, mind control;
Text only: consensual sex, public execution, gore, legal alcohol consumption, stalking, poisoning, torture, infanticide;
I wonder if a list like this would be enough, or perhaps it'd be better to be more detailed while still trying to keep spoilers to a minimum. Let me know if you have a strong preference for either way!
And now, a palate cleanser...
...in the form of a sneak peek~ Alpheon, June's golden child, is featured in two of them this month 😉 I had to share more than one expression, so I turned it into a GIF (which looks better here than on Kickstarter!)
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Thank you for reading thus far! I'm so excited to share more of this world with you 😄
I'll see you in two months with the next public update which will be all about the game's sapphic options—Sylas and Marané! For now, toodles ✨
FULLY FUNDED! Now... onto stretch goals?
Hello everyone! It's time to celebrate... 🥳THE CAMPAIGN IS FULLY FUNDED!!🎉 Thank you so much for the outpour of support and kind words! I'm stoked to bring voice acting to Sigh of the Abyss, and can't wait to show you what the voiced game will be like. I'm so excited!!
What's next?
Let's talk about stretch goals! If the campaign reaches €15k, a fifth romance option will become available in the game! Who might this mysterious suitor be? Even big spoilers get small hints... 20% of the stretch goal funds will be used to commission illustrations for the romance and modify the above illustration to give it a romantic spin. The remaining 30% will be used to voice act the romance-specific scenes and add more voiced scenes in general to the game!
Greetings, Envoys! In the world of Sigh of the Abyss, tea is a rarity known only to Marané and a handful more.
In Kabaret, however... https://store.steampowered.com/app/1525580/Kabaret/ Fellow WINGS-funded game Kabaret releases on April 5th! This visual novel is steeped into Southeast Asian myths and folklore, and is the story of a boy turned into a monster. You will: 📖 Talk to monsters & learn their stories 🍵 Brew tea 🕹️ Play minigames To celebrate its release, write in the comments the name of your favorite tea blend to have a chance to win a key! You can do this in this post or in the Shadow Bonds one (or both, to double your chances)!
I'm thrilled to show you two previews of what voice acting would sound like in Sigh of the Abyss!
Listen to Malec, Marané, Ascanio and the protagonist: Listen to Sylas, Alpheon, Atri and the protagonist: Having the character talk truly makes a game feel more alive, more engaging and immersive, don't you think? That's why I launched a Kickstarter campaign to bring voice acting to Sigh of the Abyss!
I would love your support—even just sharing the link helps a ton :D Thank you!!
New voiced trailer & Kickstarter campaign coming soon!
Greetings, Envoys! I am really pleased to show you Sigh of the Abyss' new trailer! It features an original composition by Edwin Dizer—the main theme of the game!— and the wonderful voices of all the talented VAs that will be voicing the main and supporting cast.
Speaking of voice acting...
A Kickstarter campaign to fund partial voice acting for Sigh of the Abyss will launch soon! Click 'notify me on launch' to get a reminder straight to your inbox, and be one of the first to take advantage of the early bird deals!
Have any questions?
Whether they're about the game or the campaign, ask away! I don't bite~ You can also find me on Twitter or reply to newsletter issues.
Wishlist Sigh of the Abyss!
Spanning over ten chapters rippling with choices and consequences, Sigh of the Abyss is a dark fantasy tale written in blood and shadows. You are the product of a bloody ritual; human in appearance, yet imbued with monstrous powers. The men and women that sacrificed their life for yours speak to you in whispers, beg you to put their spirits to rest. The sun-drenched Carolise hides centuries of treachery, ever-expanding and craving more. Take control of the city or let it explode in revolts and blood—it's up to you. Luckily, you're not alone. Friends, bitter rivals or even lovers... how will you shape the bonds with your companions? Sigh of the Abyss is currently in development, and is slated for a 2023 release.
