The Last Winter Knight (DEMO)
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux
You wake up as a ghost, with no memory of who you were or how you died. The only clue to your past is the empty suit of armour you now possess.
As you explore an abandoned castle and piece together your memories, you’ll uncover your tale: A tale of broken promises, regret, and bonds that last beyond death.
But your story doesn’t have to die with you.
How will you write its ending?
The Last Winter Knight is a Gothic visual novel with point-and-click elements.*
The demo includes:
- Chapter 1 (roughly 40 mins - 1 hr of gameplay)
- Two (and a half) endings to find
The full game features:
- A melancholy story where you play as a haunted suit of armour.
- A lonely castle to explore within interactive point and click segments.
- Hand drawn artwork that captures a dark fairy tale feel.
- A pensive piano soundtrack that subtly shifts depending on where and what you examine.
- Multiple endings to uncover: Will you remained trapped in your armour, or finally find peace?
*Note: Instead of clicking, you can hover over objects and hit -Enter- to interact with them. Text can be advanced with -Space-
Content warnings:
This demo contains themes of death and violence, implied animal death and light horror elements (but no jump scares).
Release Date: Q4 2024
Press Kit | Newsletter | Walkthrough
FAQ
Q: Will this game have romance?
A: Not this time, nope. The Last Winter Knight is a story that focuses on platonic and familial bonds rather than romantic ones. (But if romance is what you're looking for, check out this dark fairy tale otome...)
Q: Is this a horror game?
A: This game will have horror elements (such as ghosts, skeletons) but isn't meant to be especially scary.
Status | In development |
Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux |
Rating | Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars (35 total ratings) |
Author | ENDYSIS |
Genre | Visual Novel, Interactive Fiction |
Made with | Ren'Py |
Tags | Atmospheric, Dark Fantasy, Fairy Tale, Fantasy, Gothic, Medieval, Mystery, Point & Click, Story Rich |
Average session | A few minutes |
Languages | English |
Inputs | Keyboard, Mouse |
Download
Development log
- Minor Demo Update - Patch 1.06Jul 28, 2024
- Walkthrough & Ending GuideFeb 02, 2024
- Winter Knight Demo Release!Feb 02, 2024
Comments
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This was everything and so much more than I ever thought i needed. Was instantly captivated by the somehow minimalistic, yet very effective gameplay. Loved the atmosphere and how the music fit every scene, especially how it kind of changed depening on what you did. Looking forward to the full release!
Really appreciate the kind comments and for checking out a few of my games! I'm honoured you enjoyed them, thank you again!
Hi!, Will you post the complete version of the game here or in Steam?
I loved the game, the plot, the characters, the music, the art.. all of it, honestly.
Thanks so much! The full version should come out on both itch and steam.
Played it right after coming home from the game garden, this is really awesome in everyway, wishlisted and waiting for the full release~
Thank you so much!! Really glad that you enjoyed it! :D
Been awhile since I've played one of your games Endysis, but glad I did! The Last Winter Knight was a great demo, as I anticipated it would be. I look forward experience the full story in the full release!
Thank you once again! Really appreciate it and hope you had a good time with it! ^^
Last video for the demo
Made a video
I'm speechless, this game was just... An wonderful experience
Thank you for playing, I'm glad that you had a good experience with it!
Another such a good game by Endysis. Enjoyed it greatly!
Thank you again for playing another one of my games, I'm glad you enjoyed it!!
I am going to go actually literally completely and utterly insane??? This game so far is INCREDIBLE. The atmosphere, the potential endings, the plot??? All incredible. The writing is exquisite. The art PERFECTLY fits the vibe. I am going to be completely not normal about this game for a very long time
I'm so glad that everything meshed for you, thank you for the kind comment!!
My god this is absolutely incredible! I've been looking for this kind of atmospheric VN for a while now, I mean I do enjoy romance and horror as much as any other guy, but this, this hits differently. It's almost...soulslike? Will closely follow for sure.
Hearing that makes me feel like I'm going in the right direction with what I want to make haha, thank you for checking it out!
The art is beautiful and the writing polished/emotive!
One nitpick: would it be possible to have a setting option for keeping the text box visible at all - or most - times? I found it really disorienting to have it blink in and out so frequently.
Anyway, great demo!
Thank you! I'm not sure I can do that without it blocking important sections, but I'll see what I can do for the final version. I hope you were still able to have a good experience with it!
<3
Yay I made it to the end! I love how vibrant the final memory felt in comparison to the foggy recollections. Wow the charcoal silhouette riding on a horse through the woods felt so immersive.
Appreciate the hint too to go back to the last choice, I was like... didn't I pick both paths already? (Little did I know... XD)
Anyway, I'm in love with the characters and I can't wait to learn more about their past. Thank you for creating this beautiful masterpiece!
I'm happy you made it to the end and enjoyed it so far! Thanks so much!
This was an incredible demo. Absolutely loved it. Going to write an essay of bullet points here, don't mind me.
Mechanics stuff:
- Thank you, SO MUCH, for the point-and-enter alternate controls. I have wrist issues and point-and-clicks are really hard for me to play even though I love them dearly. It makes a massive difference having an alternate control scheme and it's a big reason I was able to play the whole thing in one sitting.
- There were just a few points (mostly when navigating hallways) where the glow to indicate movement was not completely obvious - in cases where an object or some such is highlighted it was really clear, but in a few cases where there is just a light glow on the side of a dark screen, it might benefit from having something else there to highlight to make it more obvious. However, if you don't get this feedback from anyone else, you can likely disregard and it might just be a matter of the glare hitting weird on my screen when I played.
Visuals:
- Your art is always incredible. I REALLY loved how most of the game is completely muted and grey-scale, and there are just touches of blue here and there that really make it feel COLD. The very sparse use of red was very impactful because of how little it was used, and it was not lost on me that Lin's portrait contains both colors
- The textures are wonderful
- I LOVE THE CURSOR AND TEXT BOX DESIGNS SO MUCH!
Music:
- The extra layer that kicks in when you enter the room with the candles was magical. Really effective having it grow there.
- Having most of the soundtrack solely piano-based makes it really feel lonely and isolated. The compositions and performances are both gorgeous.
- LOVE the starkly different track that plays in the cellar darkness, that was REALLY effective
Sound:
- THE ARMOR FOLEY IS *chefs kiss*
- Atmospheric layers to the sound, whether they're a separate track or mixed in with the music, are phenomenal. It sounds as cold and abandoned as it looks, through and through.
Narrative:
- I really like your depiction of what being a ghost is like. A spirit consisting of more or less raw regrets and feelings, but no body or physical sensations. How not having a voice to shout or ears to cover makes it impossible to drown out the undesired. It's really interesting and described in a way that makes the reader really feel it, too
- I feel like I learned more about armor parts in the past hour than in the entire rest of my life leading up to it. I love that you credited an armor consultant, it 100% comes through in the writing because you can tell the spirit haunting the armor is deeply familiar with it
- The "real" ending is a fantastic hook - I cannot wait to experience the rest of the story!
I've loved just about everything I've played from you, so I expected to love this, but it was definitely really fun playing something that also had these interactive point-and-click elements. Because your artwork is so strong it REALLY compels the player to click on stuff and experience the narrative that way, so this just really works in a lot of ways. Amazing work and huge congratulations on the demo release!
I swear, I'm going to print out this comment and read it whenever I have a bad day. Thank you for playing it! I'm so glad that so much of it worked well for you and a lot of what I was trying to achieve came across!
I totally feel you on the alternate mouse controls, (which is thankfully something built into ren'py) and I'll definitely let my armour/foley helper know, haha.
Fantastic game Can’t wait for the full thing
Thanks so much!
This is gorgeous as always, I love the chalk aesthetic and the whole experience! I'm a bit lost trying to find a key to the door heh
Thank you Jaqui! I'm sorry about that, I just posted a guide in case you're still stuck!
Ahh thank you so much, I didn't expect such a fast response! I'm going to take a peek, appreciate it a lot! (I'm probably just dumb lol)