The Hidden Sanctum by Dariel Ivalyen (Released!)

Pretty sure the author said this is the first book and said there will be a sequel so nothing to worry about missing out on things like that. This book just introduced everything.

2 Likes

I know a sequel was intended. There was some talk about whether it would actually happen based on the success of this game.

2 Likes

I just could not get into the story of this one.

The world is not set up at all, and our character barely is. Every new character just kinda appears outta nowhere, and context is severely lacking for many, many other things. The other posters are definitely right in that the character has little to no reaction most times to what is happening, even when something crazy is. The story is pretty fantastical but sure tries very little to immerse you into it.

Overall, I give this game a 3/10. The concepts are great, but the execution is just so barebones, lackluster, and amateur to be able to enjoy anything without giving the game multiple passes all at once.

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Why would the author not have control of there own work and where it gets posted

I have no insider knowledge, but I would assume it is much like any other videogame. The author is the developer, whereas CoG acts as the publisher. They market and distribute the work, so they make decisions like what platforms it is released on. I would assume there are considerations about releasing too many titles at once to Steam so they pick and choose which titles they think will do best on the platform so they can build a strong publisher profile there.

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Hey there! Currently reading through Hidden Sanctum and can’t help but notice that in chapter 2 after entering cave with F!Sky present, the third choice refers to F!Sky with masculine pronouns? I think this has been mentioned before and i may need to update(I’m playing 1.01 of the full release and i think the most recent is 1.03?) Sorry if you’ve already addressed the issue 1.02 or 1.03. I’m enjoying the game so far! I went with the Mind path and I’m uncertain how to positively interact with the little girl through the right door. Using telepathy seems to unnerve her and just trying to talk leads to her ignoring you. Is there a right choice here? I haven’t tried levitating the cookie yet. Anyway, thanks for the your time!

It’s not perfect, but I really enjoyed this game. It’s fun exploring the different paths and the different possible friendships and romances, and I really like what the author tried to do with the PC’s influence over the other characters, even if it didn’t work out perfectly in practice. I hope the author is indeed taking some time to develop his craft, and that he does eventually come back to finish this story. I’d really like to know what he had planned for the touched souls of the Hidden Sanctum.

3 Likes