New Heart's Choice Game! "Dawnfall" by RoAnna Sylver

This game basically has all my favorite things: complex relationships that don’t revolve around the MC, platonic relationships being as valued as romantic ones, found families and sci-fi setting with aliens that aren’t boring blue humans (that we get to play with!) AND it’s hella queer.

I appreciate how the sci-fi setting wasn’t just uses for space stuff. I always wanna hear about small mundane details like chairs for aliens and gadgets and stuff like that, the things that ppl live with.
Plus, it’s always nice to have escapist settings rather than “racism/homophobia exists in every world regardless of context FEEL THE EDGE”.

I loved the crew and how they all had diff connections to each other but were strongly connected as a whole (like Oz and Zenith being basically sibs). I personally really like that all the characters have their own lives and aren’t sitting around waiting for me to play with them, and we only learn about them if we make the effort to get close - makes it feel like they’re their own people who don’t exist to entertain me.

I also really enjoy poly romances so I loved seeing the diff kinds present in the game. The triads were v carefully done and felt v inclusive, with the circle one being a classic meshing of tropes I enjoy. And if you weren’t in a triad you had to respect your partner’s right to have their own relationships, rather than them being just your personal toys.

This game did a lot of things I’m usually resigned to seeing only in fan content, and it felt incredible. I am looking forward to more works from this author!

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Thank you so much. This is EXACTLY what I was trying to do, and I’m so glad you see it. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this. I’m never sure if I’ve gotten it right, and giving queer/trans/polyam/aspec players a welcoming and fun experience (as opposed to what we usually get) is so, so important. You GET It. Thank you. This game was for you.

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there’s no “spicy scene” in chapter 8? just the mention that you “did it” when mc wakes up in Gwen’s bed, like out of nowhere.

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Seriously? Movie knight with Princess Bride? That’s a real good one, you know your classic :wink:.

Romance are sweet, but I think that my favorite relation was with Aeon.

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I didn’t realize it was inspired partly by TP, one of my favorite Disney movies next to Mulan and Aladdin. I can see the characters in my head better knowing that.

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12 posts were merged into an existing topic: It Is A Matter of Respect

This thread is to discuss “Dawnfall” … any other discussion should be held elsewhere:

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Thank you. So much. The way you’ve handled this is incredible and I’m just kind of blown away right now by everyone here. Holy heck.

Also @lordlorac and @LJ_Phoneix I see you two are folks of discerning movie taste as well, lol!

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To shift the discussion back to the game…

So, finished my first playthrough of the game.

Didn’t get everything I wanted; sadly-seems that not lying to Aeon killed my chances to romance the Ghost Queen, but getting a nice happy ending for everyone involved is enough.

The game very much throws you deep into the world at the start which was a touch disorienting-I found my feet eventually, but a glossary( if a small one to not be immersion-breaking) might be worth for those who still have trouble finding stability at the start.

As for characters…
My favorite has got to be Gwen- I’m a sucker for her type and not being able to romance her in the end is my one regret, even if it was because of the next character being done so well.

Aeon was a very good Inspector Zenigata to Gwen’s Lupin. Doubly so due to the connection between the two. And she was a good older sister.
Though… I do wonder if making her more of an Inspector Javert might have added more of a harder bite to the plot.

Oz… the relationship with Rune was cute indeed, and so were the memory trips. And seeing the happiness at getting Rune back made it all worth it.

Averis- definitely was the down-to-earth part of the group and I kept him that way. Nice how polar opposites work together so well.

Zenith-the pie in the sky to counteract Averis. My character was more in tune with hir, and xie definitely made up his lost time being out of play in the first half after the prologue.

Rune…I know we got to know them through Oz’s memories and a bit after we bring them back…but I wish we had a bit more time to get to know them; their lack of development is a minor flaw for me, since it makes them feel more like a MacGuffin for the rest of the crew, rather than an actual character…though maybe pulling a relationship with them might change that.

Vyrnatrix…he ends up being the only darkness in the sea of grey in this game, which I know was needed…but I feel he needed just a bit more development. Or at least more impact.

Funny how I come out of a story that was meant to be more focused on romance and not nab anyone in the end and yet still be mostly fine with that. It’s a testament to the strength of the story itself, with having mostly a sea of grey, but still just enough white and black to play the dashing heroics if need be; characters that (mostly) excel, and a universe that does amazingly well at building itself in one story, while not making the player lost…even if it throws a lot at you at the start.

That, or maybe this just tickled my Sci-Fi biases really well. :stuck_out_tongue: Either way…I am quite glad this is my first jump into Heart’s Choice( though I will have to gladly do another play through to see the more raunchy aspects of it) and I do hope that my dives into the other three starters go just as well.

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Fixed that spoiler for you, mate.

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Much obliged. Where did I screw up?

Also, found this in my run:

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I’m so glad you liked it! Seriously thank you so much for your thoughtful feedback. I find myself wanting more Rune too and wondering if down kind of dlc or bonus thing might be possible. (also! There is a glossary at the bottom of the stats page if that helps!)

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Could someone tell me what the goals mean please I’m a bit confused

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Bonds: how much the crew trusts you/each other
Ley Lines: the structural integrity/‘health’ of the universe
Day Dawns: this, but for the Dawnfall
A Queen’s Trust: how much you’re helping the Ghost Queen accomplish her aims
A Knight’s Quest: This but for Aeon
A Ghost Story: How close you are/how much you’re helping Spoiler Cutie

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Just started playing it, is Averis in love with Zenith or just friendship?

From what I gathered when playing is that Averis and Zenith were unofficially together or rode the line between lovers and friends (but it seems everyone’s on that line for a hot second) and hadn’t started an ‘official’ relationship due to the distance between them until Zenith got hurt and everyone was back together. Then again that might change depending on if you ask Zenith or Averis to be monogamous – I hadn’t tried asking either of them that tho…

I could be very wrong tho lol

Edited: Fixed spelling (hopefully) and tried to make everything make better sense – I’m also on mobile so I apologize.

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Thank you! I don’t really like to romance characters who are in love or interested in someone else.
It makes me feel like a couldhavemayhavehomewrecker.

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People already said it, but I also think it’s kinda unfair to people interested in romancing guyso put all male ROs in as poly relationship options. Sure it’s nice that polyamory gets representation, but there are people who prefer monogamy and I think there is nothing wrong with either form as long all parties consent to it. Imo in this game the representation of polyamory might have been taken a bit too far, to use a Hungarian idiom I’d say the author “fell off the other side of the horse” (that means they took it too far).

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