INVALUABLE

INVALUABLE - A Visual Novel

Shaped like a human. Sounds like a human. Qualities she is considered special for. And yet, when she seems to feel like a human, it is frowned upon. The same people shaking their heads at her excessive cruelty will turn around and judge her for feeling compassion. It is lonely at the top and Val cannot quite see the ceiling yet. While steadily marching towards the foreign capital, she seems to be losing her way in other regards. In the early morning light, the best hope – only hope – of the Peninsula steps off the main road, wondering herself what she is looking for. She has half a mind to turn the first person she sees into her mother for a quick fix, but hesitates as she observes them. Surrounded by empty silence that provides sanctuary only as long as it is unbroken. Awake, painfully awake, yet triumphant in a sense. Alone in a sleeping world. Much like… Why, she would dare say, she used to wear her hair exactly like that!

Turns out, her double won't intuitively know who they are and she might need some pointers. So many, in fact, that Val’s half-hearted attempt leaves her more confused than she was before. The visual novel format gives some options for the victim in how to twist the dream logic, but it was only ever going to end with loss. Listening to the death struggle of personhood, the realisation is practically forced upon Val; she is repeating history.

[The following description is copied from the 'About' section of the game.]

Something important was lost along the way. Something Val is going to need if she is to fix everything. Long after the first 'Mum' and right before the Massacre of Mal-Retour, a newborn god seeks answers from none other than herself.

This fan game was created by Vidra (vidra-comprehends on Tumblr) for the anniversary of the last The Silt Verses episode as part of the Zine of Tide and Flesh. Check out the rest of the fanzine and - as always - support the original release!

Set sometime before Chapter 40 (Season 3, Chapter 8), 'INVALUABLE' may contain spoilers up to that point. The player character is referred to by she/her/hers pronouns and called either the name agreed on at the start or 'Jane Doe'. Forceful alteration of identity and reality is a key aspect of this story. There are also mentions of past and future canon-typical violence. Intended to be played with sound on, which might take a while to load.

All visuals were inked on paper. Ambient background for the menu sourced from Freesound.org (uploaded by user kvgarlic) under CC0. In-game audio recorded and edited by Vidra.