In the Duchy of Vespyr, House Talyn rules with an iron fist. Terror at their very name permeates throughout the land and heads duck at their mention. And they rightfully should. After all, Vespyr’s ruler and heirs are gods among men, creatures of eternal life who feast off of the blood of their lessers.
“Vampires,” people whisper, their tones equal parts terror and awe.
You are a young villager from a settlement near Castle Vespyr. Every three years, your village selects two sacrifices to offer as servants to your lieges. When you and your little brother, Julian, are chosen as this period’s sacrifices, you are condemned to certain death.
As you leave for the stronghold of your overlords, you are sure that your days will be short and miserable. You can only hope, at least, that your deaths will be quick. But then you catch the attention of the volatile vampires who rule you. And all of a sudden, both you and your brother’s survival – or your agonizing deaths – might be in the cards.
Note: Survival of the Fittest is a dark romance. The love interests are cruel, self-interested, and brutal. They are truly bad people, and their treatment of the MC is far from the hallmark of a healthy relationship. Understand this going in.
Romance
The game has four romance options and five romance routes. They go as follows:
Marcus/Marcia
Vespyr’s ruler. M is careless and violent. Their temper is infamous to all the servants of the castle. Unfathomable amounts of blood stain their hands, and they thrill in that fact. Despite being the Duke/Duchess of Vespyr, they care not for ruling, often shrugging their responsibilities onto others.
M is tall and muscular, with bold, square features. They have light brown skin, bright hazel eyes, and curly black hair lined with some silver that falls to just below their ears.
Lucius/Lucia
The eldest adopted child of Vespyr’s ruler. L is cold and aloof, placing duty above all else. If a servant has to choose which of the siblings to serve, they would likely pick them. But beneath all of their ice-cold control, fire burns beneath their skin. On the rare occasions when their savagery is unleashed, it is devastating.
L is tall and statuesque, with cutting, aristocratic features that could have been carved out of marvel. They have pale skin, frigid blue eyes, and straight blond hair that reaches their shoulders.
Damianos/Damiana
The middle adopted child of Vespyr’s ruler. D is vain and frivolous, prioritizing their own desires over all else. To be caught by one of their whims is to be granted certain death. The servants of the castle keep their heads down in D’s presence, lest they be pulled into one of their cruel games.
D is of average height and has a slim build, with slender, delicate features. They have black skin, dark brown eyes, and coiled black hair they keep in braids.
Antonius/Antonia
The youngest adopted child of Vespyr’s ruler. A is playful and whimsical, always quick to grant their favor with the servants. But as bright as their affection shines, it burns out just as quickly. A long line of dead former favorites trails after them. The servants fear them most out of the duke’s children.
A is short with a soft build. Their features are round and heart-shaped. They have warm bronze skin, stormy gray eyes, and curly brown hair that falls to their back.
Features
Play as male or female
Customize your MC’s appearance and personality
Choose between one of five romance routes
Do your best to survive Castle Vespyr, or pay the price with your life
Try to resist the degeneracy of Castle Vespyr, or fall into it
Word Count
The game currently sits at 10.3k words, excluding code
Already read the demo and loved it! Can’t wait for the next update.
On a mission to protect our little bro from the horror of the castle, as well as try to be Marcus’s bride lol I will also make it my life goal to end up turned by Marcus lol, cuz who doesn’t want to be turned by a powerful vampire lord.
The only path my mc sees to get out of this mess alive and try to keep our village safe, is to be close to Marcus and try to make him fall for me. lol
Yay, Julian as a protector in your MC; he needs it. Your MC can become M’s beloved, but it won’t be an easy road . You can, indeed, be made into a vampire in certain endings, so maybe your goal of being turned by M isn’t too far off
As for the ROs: yeah, they’re all absolutely awful people. I knew going in that this was going to be divisive. I’m glad it suits you
I won’t lie to you, chief. I usually despise short demos unless they grab you by the balls right from the get go. And you, captivating bastard that you are, have done exactly that! It’s like Dracula decided to adopt a bunch of ADHD kids instead of having wives, and them terrorizing the countryside is their idea of going to the park. Lol guess what I’m trying to say is I am % behind this premise and these characters. Lucia + playful MC will definitely be a fun dynamic because big siblings trying to manage their lil siblings.
I totally get where you’re coming from! I would have held off on posting the demo, but I’m optimisitc in my ability to get chapter 1 part 1 out realtively soon, and I wanted the forum’s take on the prologue in the mean time. With that being said, I’m glad that I’ve caught your attention.
LMAO, this is the funniest way you could have described the members of House Talyn, I actually laughed out loud. It’s also insanely accurate. I’m glad you enjoy the premise and the characters! L and a playful MC will definitely have interesting dynamic
I get that, they are pretty awful. Unforunately, you have to be taken to them . But hey, you definitely don’t have to be happy about it!
Honestly rather fight and die bro, I got way too much honour in my self for this like we are basically becoming a walking blood bank for some walking leaches how’s has a rebellion not happened yet?
The entire plot revolves around the MC having to navigate the dangerous waters of Castle Vespyr. They have to use their wits and their instincts to ensure that both they and Julian make it in one piece. I understand where you’re coming from, I really do, but this is just how the story is. If you aren’t cool with that, maybe the game just isn’t for you, and that’s okay
I finally get to live out my toxic, resident evil 8 adjacent, yuri through this and I am living. Genuinely super excited. The poly sounds horrific in the best way. How many replays will it take to juggle that fuster cluck. I cant wait to find out!
You want to fight the vampires that are both feared and admired - not to speak of, they’re the ROs? It’s stated to be a dark romance… Why would you want to fight the ROs so badly?
This game is stated in its intro to be a dark romance. The entire premise is that you go to the castle and romance them. If you expect to fight the vampires, then perhaps it’s not a game for you.
The summary legitimately says this story is dark romance and that the castle is ruled by vampires. All the ROs are vampires, they rule the castle. It describes the denizens as depraved. I’m so confused how people missed that.
ANYWAYS, looking forward to this. Imma climb M like a tree. I’m curious how it will all shake out. Who will be pursuing who and whatnot.
Yesss another RE8 fan! The inspiration I took from that game in terms of serving a evil cruel vampire/supernatural family directly inspired this one. That’s not something I’ve tried to hide, I’ll own it haha. Though I would say that I’ve added my own touch to the game and most of these are my own ideas. Thank you for your kind words! The poly is definitely going to be an… experience. I look foward to writing it
I do apologize for the mixup. COG demos only allows me a small character limit, so it didn’t allow me to expand on the summary the way I did here. I’ll add the full summary inside the demo for future clarification.
Part of people missing that might be because of them coming from cogdemos, it seems. In which case in the next update, I’ll patch the summary to be included. Everyone should know what they’re getting into imo. As for people who came from here or tumblr: Guys. Please read the premise and the warnings. No guys, you cannot be full on fight the vampires (though there’s at least one ending where you can try to leave). Yes, you have to go to the castle. Yes, you have to romance the ROs. Yes, there is an uneven power dynamic that isn’t fair to the MC — it’s a dark romance. If these things bother you, this probably isn’t the game for you and that’s okay
I’m glad that you’re looking forward to romancing M! Their route is definitely going to be interesting to write. I’m looking forward to getting them offiically introduced to the MC in the game.
Options feel very stilted between A or B (Stoic choice vs Emotional. Playful Choice vs Serious.) and our character tends to have predefined stances on things like their religion and feelings about their brother. Nothing wrong with that, but I’d personally lose my faith in a situation where I’m being offered as cattle and I think the option would be nice.
Haven’t even met any of the RO yet so not much else to say as of now.
Thank you for your feedback. I’ll definitely try to make the choices less stilted going forward. As for the MC’s predefine stances: over the course of the game, they can become less religious. They’re starting off somewhat religious right now so that they can potentially have a sort of… fall from grace if that makes sense. As for Julian, the MC loves him and wants to protect him. That’s a core facet of their character and it won’t change.
I will also make it my life goal to end up turned by Marcus lol, cuz who doesn’t want to be turned by a powerful vampire lord.
. You can, indeed, be made into a vampire in certain endings, so maybe your goal of being turned by M isn’t too far off 
% behind this premise and these characters. Lucia + playful MC will definitely be a fun dynamic because big siblings trying to manage their lil siblings.
. But hey, you definitely don’t have to be happy about it!