A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux

Buy Now$9.99 USD or more

Herald is a choice-driven adventure game set during an alternate 19th century in which the West is united as a colonial superpower: the Protectorate.

You are Devan Rensburg, a man of mixed heritage living in an alternate 19th century. You were born in the eastern colonies - but raised in the west, In search of your roots, you booked passage on board of the HLV Herald, a 'Protectorian' ship set for your country of birth.

During your voyage, news of colonial unrest created tensions between the diverse crew and passengers.

Months later you alone are dragged ashore. No ship, no crew. All that remains is you, your journal and a captain's coat you were wearing. A mysterious woman is holding you captive and demands you to tell her what happened to 'your' ship. What you tell her, is your choice.


Book I & II are available as the base game and together contain about 4 hours of gameplay. Each Book has its own narrative arc. Book III and IV are still in production and will be released at a later date as episodic content.


    FEATURES

  • A branching narrative that changes depending on how you decide to play. Do you choose to be bold and stand up for the downtrodden, or would pleasing the elite be the safer and smarter choice?

  • Uncover all of the secrets aboard the merchant clipper Herald, as you explore its many nooks and crannies.

  • The Herald is a microcosm of 19th century society. The crew and passengers all have their own dark secrets and often use sly coercion to convince Devan to help them. But who can you trust?

  • Herald's diverse cast of characters is brought to life by beautifully animated portraits, and the performances of thirteen talented voice actors.

  • Herald is set during an alternate 1857 in which the West has been united as a single global superpower: the Protectorate. Governed not by kings but by an elected 'Lord Protector', the Protectorians believe they are morally superior. But are they?

  • A gripping tale about finding your place in a world divided by race, class and culture.


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StatusReleased
PlatformsWindows, macOS, Linux
Release date Feb 21, 2017
Rating
Rated 4.8 out of 5 stars
(9 total ratings)
AuthorWispfire
GenreVisual Novel, Adventure
Made withIndieCade, Unity
Tags3D, Alternate History, Meaningful Choices, Point & Click, Story Rich, Voice Acting
Average sessionA few hours
LanguagesEnglish
InputsKeyboard, Mouse
AccessibilitySubtitles
LinksSteam, Homepage

Purchase

Buy Now$9.99 USD or more

In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $9.99 USD. Your purchase comes with a Steam key. You will get access to the following files:

herald-win64.zip 1 GB
Version 1.2.1
herald-linux64.zip 1 GB
Version 1.2.1
herald-osx64.zip 1 GB
Version 1.2.1

Development log

Comments

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(+1)

Hi there. Are  books III and IV still in development? 

(+2)

Yep! But they are practically done right now and about to be handed off to our publisher for porting. Once we have a clear release timeline for the complete edition we'll make some announcements :)

(+1)

Oh, that's great news! Congrats!

(+1)

I just played books I and II and now i can not wait for III and IV! ^_^

What i really loved of it was the attention to details that you have put into everything, specially the visuals, both the 3D scenes and the character’s portraits. They are stunning.

Very well done!

Thank you for your sweet comment, we are happy you enjoyed the game! 

We're currently working on book III and IV, they'll release in the near future.

Choice-driven games are a tricky aspiration. I'm always curious about what the underlying system in the Design is. Is this something you wish to share with the Public, or is it to remain esoteric? I have to ask because I want to know how other Developers view Choices as a Mechanic.

Regards.

Lin Ji.

[({S.M.G.)}]

(+1)

Hey Lin Ji,

The system tracks a large number of variables. For instance, your reputation with other characters; whether you found a certain weapon; or even just what you picked for dinner. In Book III & IV we're taking some steps to highlight a number of your choices that had a big impact on the story.
These can influence how people react to you and which turns the story takes.
We also have a Discord server if you'd like to talk more with us and other players: https://discord.io/wispfire

Will you be releasing any more content like a development book? I'm intrigued! 

(+1)

We are releasing the sequels, Book III and IV, in the near future.  While we do not plan on creating merchandise, there are some exclusive backer rewards being produced that could potentially be released outside of the Kickstarter rewards in an adapted format. But currently there are no plans for that yet.

Hi! I just discovered your game thanks to the Steam demo, I'm very excited to see more of Herald!

Spine2D or Live2d for those gorge animations?!?

(+1)

Live2D Cubism was used to create the 2D portraits and animations yes :) Thank you!

Which engine you're used in development? Have you got some plans to add controller support?

(1 edit)

We used Unity to create Herald! We're currently looking into controller support but we can not make any promises yet on if or when we'll patch it in. We'll be sure to let people know once we do! :)

We do have keyboard support for going through the dialogues.

That's just a great news :) How to contact you by email? I think I got an interesting offer for you!

You can contact us at info@wispfire.com.