Love & Dehumanization 2023.5.31

This is an adult visual novel that takes place in a fantasy RPG world. A girl willingly becomes a monster and is subject to brutal violence. Though she doesn't realize it, hope is somehow waiting on the other side of this cruelty.

At its core, this story is about the desire to be violated and dehumanized, to be viewed as lesser, to be stripped of your autonomy. It is a story about how this desire manifests and inflicts itself, how it hurts and traumatizes us, and how to reclaim it in the name of catharsis and love. If you've struggled with these sorts of feelings and how to reconcile them with yourself, I hope you'll try reading it.

The story is divided into five chapters, each around 20-30 minutes long. It is around two hours long in total, although the exact time will depend on your reading speed.

Warnings

This story is unsuitable for people under 18 as well as many people 18 or older because it contains graphic sexualized violence and other disturbing subject matter.

Content warnings are available in-game before each chapter. They are optional and can be skipped. You can view vague warnings with minimal "spoilers", or detailed warnings that discuss story events.

A general list of sensitive topics that appear in this work,covering the entire story, is availablehere. It does not contain specific plot details, but may reveal or hint at certain events that happen in the story.

Credits

I (Aria) created the story and art, but the music, sound effects, fonts, and game engine (Ren'Py) were created by others.

Aside from a harmonica song composed and performed by my friend Hubol Persson-Gordon, all of the music is free music by 煉獄庭園 (Rengoku Teien). All of the sound effects are free sounds from TK's FREE SOUND FX.

I am deeply grateful to the following people for reading early versions and giving feedback: LAWatson, Taylor McCue, Poe, and Mythossanta.

See the in-game credits for some additional information anddetails. There are files in the game folder containing license information / terms of use for the free assets, as well as exhaustive lists of songs and sound effects used.

Love & Dehumanization was created for the 2023 Queer Games Bundle. The bundle is over and can no longer be purchased, but I wanted to mention it and thank the organizers of the bundle for accepting my work.