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 Thank you so much for such extraordinary patience.

A human woman finds herself caught in the middle of elven secrets. She is torn from her home and taken to their stormy island, where she must contend with the bizarre poison in her body before it consumes her.

Ebon Light is a dark fantasy visual novel, inspired by RPG style storytelling. There are optional romantic subplots, and many, many choices that influence the main character's personality as well as how the story is told.


Feel free to get in contact over at Discord, Twitter or Tumblr.

Or, of course...

www.underbliss.com


Music:

"This House", "Teller of the Tales", "Suonatore di Liuto", "Prelude to Action", "Past the Edge", "Night of Chaos", "Moorland", "Interloper", "Heavy Heart", "Drums of the Deep", "Pippin the Hunchback", "Angevin B", "Thunderbird", "Soaring"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0


Sounds:

'early morning village all 110417am' by klankbeeld
'rainfrog loop 1' by sithjawa
'Thump' and 'Thumps, Clangs, and Booms - in space!' by bareform
'creaking sailing boat' by jimsim     

From freesound.org                                 

 Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0


And a special thanks to the many who helped test and edit!

StatusReleased
PlatformsWindows, macOS, Linux
Release date Nov 09, 2019
Rating
Rated 4.8 out of 5 stars
(1,538 total ratings)
AuthorUnderbliss
GenreVisual Novel
Made withRen'Py
TagsCharacter Customization, Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Female Protagonist, Otome, Romance, Story Rich
Average sessionA few hours
LanguagesEnglish

Download

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Click download now to get access to the following files:

ebon-light-win.zip 757 MB
Version 2.23
EbonLight-2.23-linux.tar.bz2 743 MB
Version 2.23
ebon-light-osx.zip 751 MB
Version 2.23

Comments

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I loved the game, the style is cool and the storylines are interesting. I'll give a friendly feedback!
Despite really enjoying the game, I wish there was more on the cuthintal and the person "attached" to it, maybe a route where the main character chooses to sympathize with it and both of them develop a closer relationship?
Also, once you pick your "lover", they immediately become super in love with you and end up losing a part of their personalities initially like with "Lacey", I imagine he would have been more reserved about having feelings towards the "rabbit" instead of being too direct and demanding to get her to feel the same. Or "Vadeiyn" (I can't remember the spelling) feeling so attached to her that it's almost unbearable for him to think of losing her, making him irrational at times. It'd be cool to see him as this skillful guy who is able to fight when it's needed, despite preferring peace. He was my favorite person in the game, but in terms of story, the best route was with Ernol. He kinda kept acting the same, even after falling in love with her and you could actually get an ending where he was also happy with instead of them giving you the power to decide what they would do with their lives too. 
But other than that, this was a great work! I was waiting for a long time to play it because I saw the quality and the thought put into the story and characters, congrats on such a cool project and, hopefully, it isn't your last!!! 

I love this game! I've become so immersed in the game because of the amazing and complex writing! I really can't wait for more! This game really inspired me a lot.

SPOILERS BELOW!!





Anyways, I don't know if I missed this detail or if it was said sometime in the story, it's been mentioned a lot of times that MC is half-human, is she half-human because of the cuthintal, if not what is her other half? It seems even MC doesn't mention it herself or cares about it too much. Maybe it's not that relevant to the story?

It was a really interesting game ! I really liked it, so thank you. ^^

The truth is that I didn't think I'd like EL as much as I did, and boy, I was wrong! This game is so amazing that I played it several times to test almost all the routes and even understand more about the story and the characters - and the art is so different and unique, I like it. (Also I collect CGs for life lol) 

So I've decided to leave a review of the routes I've played, it's been 3 days focusing only on this game so obviously I'm going to write it!

Duliae: My favorite man so far, he has a charm that can't be escaped, he's simply a captivating character, even sarcastic. I was focused on wanting Lacey until I was drawn like a moth to the flame when I saw Duliae. He's a fun guy to talk to, I just loved every dialogue and although I was a bit wary of him at first, he won me over easily. I recommend EVERYONE take the route of this mischievous and charming elf.

Laceaga: Our dear grumpy Lacey! He has that mysterious and dangerous aura that makes you want to know where it's going, try to deal with him, get close to him, and seeing him open up to the MC is the best thing ever. He starts off so closed off and full of rude answers, but it's such a fun dynamic and he's so HANDSOME, I can't handle him I swear. I think the ending I had with Lacey was the one I liked the most, (spoileeeeeeers) the way the proposal went and even the conversation about having children, it was so cute <3

Haron: So... this one left me in doubt. I doubted Haron's feelings A LOT, I thought he was so taken by the MC cuz of the "ghost" inside us, our new ability and all. BUT he only proved to me in the end to be a very obsessive guy lmaooo Haron has that yandere vibes, but not so much? Maybe he's just extremely caring and passionate and I'm being crazy about it, but dunno. And the way in the end he says he's loved the MC for so long makes it so weird, I keep thinking HOW LONG HARON FOR FUCK'S SAKE (but I like him hehe)

Ernol: Ernol is the famous slow burn and I kind of liked it even though I'm not the type who likes to take things so fast or so slow, but it just felt right when it came to him. That slow approach and the chemistry is clearly there, he starts by defending you to being in love on the level of being possessive, even paranoid, and threatening to kill anyone who threatens you and that's soooo attractive! Besides being a breath of fresh air, what a guy... 

Anyway, I loved playing Ebon Light and I'm going to dream of a sequel cuz I feel there's still so much to be explored, and I've also become attached to so many characters that it's sad to say goodbye... But it was a great game, good work!

Best visual novel on itch.io . I really hope that author will make comeback with new game, i would even pay for it.

Anyone else have trouble with the file opening properly when trying to download and access via Steam Deck? Any help would be appreciated. 

I will support any future projects you make. I love your art and the story is just chef's kiss. Thank you for making such a great game

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I WILL write a proper review when I finished all routes but I just wanted to gush in advance how much I'm in awe of this game!! I just literally finished my first route: Ernol, and my god I'm in love. I LOVE the writing in this game, the WORLDBUILDING, THE ATMOSPHERE, THE INTRIGUE, THE CHARACTERS, THE MUSIC, THE DIALOGUE-- Like all the other reviewers' have already pointed out, but I love how you can really shape our MC's personality to what we want, and it's so naturally written in the story and dialogues. Have I mentioned I loved the way this story was written? the dialogues? especially between MC and the leads?? chef's kiss love it!! 

This game was so successful in dragging me into this world of theirs and being fully immersed. The tension, the high stakes, the overall danger-- so very gripping, and of course the romance is nothing to scoff at (granted I still only have Ernol as a reference point STILL he has stolen my heart).

Anyway, I'm glad I played this game. Now I'm off to rest and will continue the rest of the routes later v-v

Honestly this game is one in a million. You really can NOT find another game like this I mean if you can please do send me some recs my way. The way there is so many choices and you can change how you look. This game really gives off monochrome vibes and im here for it. I eat up this game every single time I come back and play it. This game continues to be my favorite on itchio and trust me I've been here for a year played probably 100 games off this site and still nothing continues to beat this game. I've only ever ran into one bug but where I had a hard time playing it because I could not save. But even then, the quality of the game that bug is and can be EASILY excused. PLEASE play this game.

10000/10

Just like everybody else here, i keep coming back because this game has a special place in my heart. Among other things, the ability to TRULY SHAPED MC's personality is always a big win for me, no question or doubt. I emphasize once more: to truly shaped. I love that the personality is really depending on the player's choice. The way you write feel very, for the lack of word, freeing to the player.

I try to find something close to this, but nothing ever compared to it. Even until now or before this existed.

The Art is also gorgeous! (Though, it'll be helpful if there's a Gallery Menu to see the CGs we collected). And The BGM choice for every scene is well-placed, too.

Anyway, i loved how protective Haron and Vadeyn could be. I also loved how affectionate and fussy over MC's well-being they are :). And then there's Duliae. He gave off this Dangerous and Alluring vibes that i couldn't resist 😂

Just replayed the game because I can't find many otome that surpass this one. I just want to thank the devs for making this little treasure!

I loved that I was able to shape the personality of the protagonist and self-insert, that is so rare in a VN. And also, omg I loved Duliae! I loved how manipuative and dangerous he is but despite that, he seems to slowly fall in love with the MC for real! *sighs* I wish I could find more romance stories like this.

So thanks again! Everything about the game was perfect--although I'd love some more lenient death checks here and there. During a certain adventure at the sea, I had to tweak the code a bit to survive using the choices I liked lol. I don't mind the dangerous atmosphere at all, but it's a bit stressful to think that my MC could die so easily.

This game exceeded my expectations. Every time I play it, there is another scenario or event I hadn't seen before. I fell in love with Vadeyn's story direction. He is such a cinnamon roll. I highly recommend. 10/10.

Just wanted to say I absolutely love this game. I come back to it time and time again!! 

This is one of the best visual novels I ever played. I loved all the characters and their stories. The mechanics of personality and choices for the protagonist are great and I appreciate it so much, since most games don't have something like that. I played it so many times that I even lost count. It's a perfect game with amazing story and choices, beautiful art and incredible characters.

(My favorite was Laceaga <3)

I love the art in this game and also the story is very interesting!

This game holds a very special place in my heart. I keep coming back to it, over and over. It creates such a tangible world with unique characters, I never want it to end.

I can't say how much I have loved this game. I really enjoyed the characters and I must admit, I never got addicted to a game such as this. This is the first visual novel game that I focused my time on because of how well this game was. Other than the characters, I really enjoyed how the story was set up and how each background is. My favorite character is Ernol.

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Really can't say enough how great this game is.  I started playing otome games recently and this is basically the best one to be honest.  It's actually sad that this game essentially is free.  It should be on platforms like Nintendo Switch which apparently is very popular with otome fans.  Hope someday the creators can get on that app maybe and featured.  They deserve it.

Anyways, I just downloaded the game yesterday and I played through it once now.  It really makes you feel like you're actually in a fantasy adventure--that you're getting to really dive directly into a book and really be a character in a story.  Which is always something I wanted to see--I love fantasy adventure stories and always wanted to actually get to play truly like being in a novel.  Most otome games don't really do that.  And yes, I think maybe this is kind of similar to D&D games--a similar type of concept.  

A lot of games are not really about the story--not in this way where you're really roleplaying like being actually in a novel.  I don't know how to explain that.  

I know D&D must be kind of like this but honestly I just don't have any acquaintances to play that and I think it's still not exactly what I wanted.  I really wanted to be inserted into a story and play just like this game.  And so, again thanks so much for creating this!  

One thing that made this game great too is basically it allows you to play as your own personality.  I'm honestly not aggressive in actions, very calm and passive.  But, I like to joke and throw out quips.  Basically I like to use cunning I think more. 

And essentially no other game I've ever played allowed me to use my kind of personality--basically all other games were one-dimensional.  And essentially no other games would allow you to be a mix of deep down scared but hiding it under calmness (passive means but also never giving in to any demand) and cunning (using humor).  And it was so satisfying to be allowed to roleplay in that complexity.

I guess I will add which route I ended up choosing in my first play through and it was Haron!  I honestly really didn't decide until the party event that occurred right before the shopping outing.  Haron finally partly won me over when talking to him during the party.  Even though it was my first playthrough I honestly think he's my favorite--which I didn't expect.  Although, I do find it amusing that I ended up with the guy known as a mask which essentially was the exact same as me when I was roleplaying.  I wore a mask of calmness at all times in the game even though I was actually afraid as the character--and I also was outwardly friendly and used humor too.  It was really satisfying--I felt like I really understood his character. (But then again, maybe I'm wrong.  I enjoyed the route though and got a happy ending with Haron!  :D)

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I think about this game often, all the passion put into this game, how fleshed are the characters. I really loved the universe and the art of the game, it is really both original and beautiful. It has its own identity and I never find the atmosphere of this game again. I find myself lucky I found this gem on itch.io and can only recommend to everyone to play it asap. 

1,000,000/10.Super love this game! I love all the routes.

This was beautifully done and tonnes of fun, thank you!!

I so enjoyed this game, thank you!  The story, writing and choices are captivating and I'll definitely play it again to play the other routes.

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Haven't completed the game yet, Loving it greatly though. Wish I could Fight our friendly neighborhood 'Poison'

-----

Finished one (1) route, immediately went to play some others. It's enjoyable.

I know the routes are easy to figure out but depending on how your character is you are limited in the choices you can make\some choices are locked. I would like a guide that explains what choices to make to unlock all locked options in each/all routes. Please and thank you.

think there's a route guide on their tumblr

I can't find it but I appreciate the suggestion. I would still like more suggestions if you or anyone else can think of anymore.

hiya! just finished 3/5 routes and I am obsessed! I was just wondering, SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT











During Duliae's route, there were several choices that were locked due to Insufficient Cunning, and later on in the game, Ecarae offers a piece of information in exchange for something, but I didn't have it (I assume it's the parchment in the bedside drawer) . Are there any routes that are influenced as highly as his due to the predominant personality trait + choices we select to influence that trait, or objects we picked up?

Heyyy, I have 160 hours in the game so I might be able to help.

As far as I remember, no other routes have as many choices that are determined by stats. Duliae's is unique in that way. 

There is a choice you can make in Vadeyn's route that actually kills your chances of romance with him, and some hidden options in routes that require a certain stat level (like the high charm needed for a certain option when going to the boutique with Laceaga) but as far as I can remember, Duliae's is the only route where so many options are locked behind stat raising. Maybe he just has high standards lol.

Just finished Ernol's route and... wow, just... wow. I'm not really sure what else to say! That ending CG was *chef's kiss*! I feel like his route will be my favorite out of all the men.

I have yet to play the other routes, but I will be trying Lacey's next! I will comment more then.

Also, am I the only one who noticed Ernol's name is a reverse of Lonre's? :)

I don't think I will ever get over his version of a proposal. That is, not bothering to propose because you just assuming marriage is the obvious next step XD

MC: When did we get engaged? I don't remember any discussions of marriage.

Ernol: Oh. Was that something I was supposed to ask you about first?

I didn't realize. Lonre, that is so unimaginative ;n; How could you name your kid your own name backwards?

I NEED MOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE

So I played this game for days on end and I am in love with it and the characters! They are absolutely captivating and the oil painting style art is breathtaking. It gives an extra layer of realism and immersiveness to this wonderful game. The lore is just great. The setting is amazing. It just transports you into Gha'alia and there you want to remain! Here are my thoughts on the love interests. 

Lacey: He is tough and smug but you just gotta love him. He is the handsy sort but I found that charming. He does not seem as protective as some of the others but he believes you can handle yourself. I like that. I really enjoyed his route and his personality is awesome. Lacey is my second favourite.

Vadeyn is my absolute favourite. I was totally in love with his character and his looks as well. lol. He was so different from the other elves and that made him stand out in a great way. He was so caring and always put you first. He wasn't selfish and I love that he always asked you how you were feeling. Such a sensitive and kind man. He just exudes warmth and love and I really appreciated that especially since you are kind of thrown into a harsh and uncaring world. Even in other romance routes, Vadeyn did a lot to calm the nerves and made the Mc feel safe. I love his ending scene. What more can you want but a peaceful life in the woods with him. It was like a fairytale. I adore him.  

Haron at first sight, I thought I would love his route but I did not enjoy it as much as I expected. He was not as chivalrous as I thought he would be. Overall his route was good but I did not like the living arrangements at the end of it. I wasn't drawn to his personality as much as some of the others. 

Ernol 's romance route was something unexpected. At one point I thought I was getting a bad ending with him on the deck scene because he was not admitting his feelings, that had me scared. Luckily I learned that there are no bad romance endings. Thank God. I thoroughly enjoyed Ernol's route, more than I thought I would. I feel like you really have to be patient though and let him take his time to come to terms with his feelings, but when he finally does, BOY it did NOT disappoint!! He was a strong, protective, slightly possessive type.  His route was intense. lol. He is just intense overall but I really enjoyed it none the less. 


I highly recommend this Visual Novel. It was just what I needed. An escape into a fantastic world. It really lifted my mood for the many days I spent playing it. Well done to the developers! 

I just started playing (reading? I'm never sure what the correct term is for visual novels) and I'm happy I came across your review because I was a tad bit skeptical. You gave just the right amount of detail to convince me to continue on. I actually just made it to the part where we first meet Vadeyn and something about him definitely does draw me in, as well as how easy it is to fuck with Lacey. You have my appreciation.

I'm so glad my review convinced you to continue playing. You wont regret it! I promise. :) After this game, I felt so sad not to be in Ghaália anymore, so I went on Archive of our own and indulged in some Ebon Light fan fics. I highly recommend checking those out too, after you've completed the game. 

I'm sure I will be doing this. Thank you so much.

you mean like... all seven of them? *sobs*

(Given, its been a while since I've checked AO3 for any new ones)

I think there are more than 7 now lol. I am also writing one about Vadeyn on AO3. I am nearly done, So will post on there once completed. :) 

I posted it btw. Just thought I should let you know. Just search my PrincessSaoriel on AO3 and it should come up! 

thank!!! i will check it out

I probably have like ten fics buried in google docs that I started. o_o ADHD is- a problem...

Fucking with Lacey gives me life.

It's so fun 😭 

I love your review especially since it gives a breakdown of characters.  I wanted to ask though what do you mean by living arrangements in Haron’s route?  I played once so far and ended up with Haron—and admittedly I loved it—and what I got was she lived in the elf town together and she kept her power and together they overcame any obstacles that they encountered—that they brought back peace and prosperity to the town.  It was so picture perfect—maybe even too perfect.  

I wonder if each LI might have different endings though.  But, the ending I got was amazing.

Really? This was not the living arrangements I got. I don't want to spoil it, but lets just say you'd be getting to know your inlaws a lot more >_> 

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Huh, I don’t remember that.  But it could be I missed it.  But yeah, I remember it said in the ending I got that she was an expert diplomat and traveled the world sometimes mediating and also helped the elf nation too internally.  Oh and I remember too it mentioned she did go back to meet her aunt again with Haron, and he wanted to meet her family and to see where she came from.  It said her aunt was really proud of her.  Something too about essentially hinting he was inviting her to meet his family (including his sister for the first time) to obviously propose.  It was a ridiculously good ending.  I loved it.  XD  Haha, bring on the cheese I say.

I still need to complete other routes.  It’s difficult for me because I loved my man Haron.  Lol.  

I hope the creator is aware of all the love EL is getting and how good of a job they did with it. I played Laceaga's route AGAIN (he's my favorite meanie ever) last night and ugh 😞 I just love it so much... I'm glad this was one of the first ever VNs I played since making my itch account

I just started playing this game and I'm already hooked. I only just got to the part where I woke up in the strange bedroom and I'm just wondering who are the romancable characters in the game? Since it wasn't stated in the description, can someone please list them for me? Thanks! Looking forward to completing this game multiple times! 😊 It seems so interesting.

Ernol, Lacy, Haron, Vadeyn, and Duliae are the love interests.

Thank you! I just finished Laceaga's route. It was great! Doing Vadeyn now and I'm enamoured!

I expected to do Laceaga on my first playthrough but then i saw Ernol a few times and apparently I'm a sucker for emotionally challenged pessimists.

Ernol's route was surprisingly amazing in my opinion. I really enjoyed it, though he really made us work for it, didn't he? lol

Yes! I felt his eventual late night confession gave very Mr. Darcy vibes. He struggles for weeks longer than all the other LIs to accept and interpret his feelings for the MC. He was already going against a lot of his ingrained values by helping a Human commit treason, therefore his brain took a lot longer to process his affection for said human. Then its like his panic over MCs safety finally hit him with the realization brick. Since he can also have zero chill sometimes, he needed to talk to MC Immediately about those feelings.

I would give Vadeyn the world, dear GOD. Boy, am I simping hard for this cinnamon roll gentleman. I really enjoyed the game and the story was amazing! (Honestly, I really wanted to say, "flip this!" and go live in a cottage in the woods with Vadeyn when things started to get....frustratingly annoying)

Gonna play Haron's route next because I'm a sucker for any and all cinnamon roll, golden retriever, warm and fuzzy ball of sunshine~

I agree! Vadeyn was amazing and my favourite route! <3

ı realy like this game it pleasantly surprised me wish there were more games like that

I have played through every single route (and Haron's twice lol) and I am absolutely in love with this game. The world is so interesting, and the characters are so unique and likable. Highly recommend!!!

I really wish it had a CG gallery or walkthrough so I know when I have collected all the CGs for specific characters. :(

This has become one of my comfort games over the years. Nothing has even come close to how much I adore this game and its story, characters and world <3

I just have to agree with you 

same <3 nothing quite hits like this game and it's bumming me out tbh 

Try Ballads at Midnight! Another free game, only one love interest, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and found that it satiated my voracious appetite for another Ebon Light game just a bit. 

Ooh I loved that game! I thought it was great, just not quite as LONG and immersive as EL.  but it was lovely! 

Have you tried The Hero's Journey? It's pretty long and the story is great. If you like Ebon light, there is a high chance that you'd like the hero's journey too.

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I have...55 hours in this game...Ernol best husband.


Edit: Hours count has become 164

I saw an emo elf with the emotional intelligence of a paperclip and immediately said, "I want that one."

i have 1096 hours....i think i might be obsessed lol

I'd literally die foy Vadeyn.

one of my favorite fantasy visual novels that i've played..i still have to finish it but it feels like playing through an epic fantasy saga, it's well written and i love the romance options.

I just got through my first playthough of it and I have to say it was beautiful. The plot was surprisingly eventful with a lot of turns, and even if I got confused at some points the game made it easy enough to understand. I am also grateful for how many save slots there were LOL. 

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