Ebon Light

Holy shit, this was SO good. Where do I even start?!

1. AMAZING character creator. Yall -- being able to create characters with a diverse range of skin tones, hair colors, and eye colors was a DREAM COME TRUE. I never get to play VNs with this level of detail, and it made all the difference for my playthroughs T___T

2. Really fantastic worldbuilding! I'm a huge fantasy fan, so it was easy to get lost in this world. The world felt large and vast, with a diverse range of races, species, threats, and mysteries. 

3. CHOICES MATTER! Whoooo. This story took twists and turns I never expected, which has made replaying all the more enjoyable! Also, the creator ain't lying -- there are a lot of ways to die in this game, some of which I knew to steer clear of from context, but others I totally stumbled into. Also, I keep discovering new routes I never anticipated, or new areas of the world I hadn't gotten to explore before, or entirely new sets of side characters I never met the first time around. I can FULLY say I intend to play every single route. 

4. Swoon-worthy romances. Each LI is enticing in their own way, and has a lot of depth to them. So far, I've only completed Lacey's (my fave, perhaps because of the thematic way MC begins and ends the tale with him), and Ernol (who is HAWT and intense, but also awkward but adorkable, and did I mention intense, but in the best possible way???). IDK fam, I can see myself enjoying all the other routes and absolutely getting lost in replaying this game for the LIs over and over again. *heart eyes*

5. Meaningful choices, which is especially powerful given heavy themes in the story. I keep thinking back to a moment in the story where Ernol does something intense, bordering on frightening, and my MC actually got to *bring it up* with him -- I'd seen him do the same thing while I was romancing a different LI, so it was SO amazing to see how context and LI routes change when you're on them; it really feels like you're getting unique content all around.

6. A system of fucking character traits that actually matter + an inventory system (that MATTERS, depending on the situation you get your MC into!!) + OUTFITSSSSSSS. *screeches* Being able to collect and change the outfits and eye makeup of my MC at will was fucking AMAZING, and I'm pretty fucking sure how you wear it affects some of the LI routes? The fact that they all comment on the clothing depending on what you choose, just ;LDAKJF;ALDSKJ. The depths of this game. THE DEPTHS.

I'm already too wordy, but basically play this game, and PAY for this game if you can. Goddamn, it's great, and I can't wait to see what else this creator puts out! 

WOW this game was incredible and so much fun to play through, amazing job! 

I've said it once and I'll say it a hundred times: I am willing to wait as long as it takes for a game as great as this.

With all the amazing indie games that have been promoted through itch.io lately, this is a must play, not only for those who enjoy visual novels, but for anyone who loves mystery, romance, drama, and one of the most delightfully fleshed out MCs I've ever encountered. God. I just... love her so much. I can't even adequately explain my love for this game and the story it tells.

Ebon Light makes my top ten for games of all time, and I probably won't ever be over it. :')

Hey great game, absolutely loved it!

I was using the script files to help me figure out how to get specific stats, hope that's ok, and I noticed what might be a few mistakes. 

I'm pretty sure that there are some places where the < and > are swapped, like where there's an opportunity to make a smarter action but it checks if you have lower cunning instead of higher. I might be misunderstanding but just in case I wanted to let you know.

There might be more but the ones I noticed are in the second script file on lines 6428,6442,6449,6451, and 6456.

This game is absolutely amazing!!! I loved every single route, which is really rare in a visual novel. 

Currently I'm trying to get all character and place entries and trying to hunt down hidden content. Any chance there is a walkthrough for this? 

Alright, I can't string together enough words to explain how absolutely stunning this game is but I'm gonna try! 

First: the art! It's incredible! The gothic-esque feel to the color scheme and overall clothing style was stupendous, and the characters were all so lovely and diverse! While the color palate is similar with the elves (which is not at all a negative remark to be clear!), you've still captured unique and individual facial features and expressions for each one and it's incredible. To create so many characters and not have them with the same face-base is just wonderful! I fell in love with each and every one of them! Though I must admit that Haron, Ernol, and Vadeyn are my favorites. <3 

Second: the story! The story didn't go where I expected- although I've only finished once through with Haron so I need to explore more- but I LOVED it! There were twists and turns I had no idea would be coming and it was so plentiful in details that I never felt a moment of boredom. 

I know someone else mentioned this but I felt that I had to let you know that I agree with them and it's another favorite aspect of the game- I adore that I felt free to make the choices I'd naturally make without fear of getting negative reactions from the characters; same for flirting with them because, let's be honest, they're all love worthy! 

I've already shared the game with a few of my close friends who are also into visual novels and I hope to spread it more! I seriously feel everyone should give this at least one play through for the rich experience it provides. 

Thank you for creating such an immersive world that I can get lost for hours upon hours in! 

This game is amazing! I loved all the routes I've played so far because of the personality of the characters and their interactions with the MC. It's well written and there was never a dull moment. Beautifully illustrated, too!

This game is incredible and I highly recommend it. I find it difficult to find well done and fleshed out dating sims because really, they aren't a super popular genre. The indie dating sim scene is full of skilled and talented creators such as this one. Well written, well drawn, and a variety of interesting and engaging characters. Go for Laceaga. He's a babe.

***Mild Duliae Route Spoilers in the Last Couple Paragraphs (Below the Cut)***

Absolutely amazing game! There are so many great things I could say about it, but I know that if I wait until I have the time to write all those things out, I'll never actually get around to doing it. 

First off, I loved the world you created. Very cool to see a militant, elven society!  And all those dialogue choices!!!! I was drooling over them all. Being able to dictate the MC's personality and make decisions are a couple of the things that I look for in an interactive fiction game, and I loved that who we could pursue/whether or not we were on a romance route were not dependent on these decisions. I felt like I was free to make my character be the way I wanted without being punished for it. (A lot of otome games like to put you on the bad end route if you don't choose the actively flirty options, and I'm not a fan of that.)

Also, I loved all of the characters! I thought Laceaga was going to be my obvious favorite because I love the whole "enemies to lovers" trope...but then came along Vadeyn and he just had the prettiest eyes? And was super nice to the MC? And I was just like "okay, this is it, mmhm." 

But then there was Duliae??? And he's not my type, at all, but he was just very interesting. Always very pragmatic. He clearly has his own agenda, and I was intrigued by how his romance would go. So, I was eventually so curious that I stopped playing Vadeyn's route in the middle (forgive me, Vadeyn!) and switched over to Duliae's. And I love him? He ended up being my favorite route and my favorite romance. I think you handled their dynamic very well, and while there was some, let's say, "suspicious happenings" occurring during his route, their relationship never felt unhealthy or manipulative, which I was initially a little worried about with him. I even came to like the pet name he called the MC. (I forget what it was...darling?) And I usually hate being called that... I don't what happened here, but I liked it.

Also, I spent way too much time constantly changing outfits. Very addictive. XD 

P.S. I stole the ring and made it back into bed for the first time during Duliae's route, and I loved all the scenes associated with those choices. I think that's really what made me start to fall for his character.

This story went NOWHERE i expected it too and i loved it! The protag design and the outfits were incredible and the game itself had such a unique atmosphere and style. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous and Haron has my entire heart. Fantastic job!!!

I don't even know where to start this. Usually, I don't make comments about the visual games that I play, but that one hold a special place in my heart. I have been following the development of this game since the middle of 2019, and I was way too happy when I saw that he was launched, took me no time to download it and start a new adventure. The history is amazing, captivating and once you start it, it is very hard to stop before you reach the end. I loved the atmosphere of the game, the music suit it very well and the CG's (even if not 100% realistic) didn't disappointed me in the least. The protagonist is adorable and the possible choices you can make are very satisfatory, mainly because you can see a strong MC here that think for herself and have her own opinions, aside from all the laughs some choices can give to you. Your actions have consequences, and at some times it may be wise to think twice before just taking a decision. The characters that you can romance are amazing, each and every one of them being different and having a certain grace to their history, even if, for me, Laceaga was one that shined the most (personal taste, it is). Briefly, I loved each piece of this game and would, with no doubt, recommend it to every person that is interested in the genre :)

Absolutely in love with this game. It has a really dark atmosphere, fantastic music, incredible story line and different variety of choices. 

Sir Haron really made a really good first and last impression on me) I feel like we would match in real life as I'm a shy and not really talkative person and he's like the opposite. The dark atmosphere of the game required some additional light which was brought by this lovely fella. He is indeed a really good companion to have even though you would question his intentions in the beginning. Plus, the madralee word that he uses is by far the most wonderful thing anyone has ever called me :D

After finishing the game I've waited for a couple of days before entering the world of Gha'alia one more time in order to know other personas better.  For now I'm trying to choose between Lacey, Ernol and Vadeyn. I like them all and they are all so different. Lacey is really sarcastic and I enjoy having sassy conversations with him. Vadeyn probably has some interesting stories to share. Ernol is Haron's brother so I would really like to know how he's coping with it xD Let's see how it goes.

I totally recommend this game for everyone. You will not regret it. 

Ty for creating it <3 You rock. 

And here is lil drawing of Haron I made because he stole my heart first.

Anyone else unable to play the game and hasn't played the demo? I'm starting the demo now and it loads perfectly fine while the full game is unplayable for me as in it takes forever to load and then crashes. Hopefully it'll work after the demo or something.

Does any of you guys have this weird bug, where you can't save your game? Whenever I try to click on the save slot, nothing happens. And also, I can literally move the save slots on my screen, as if it's one picture. Never happened to me with any of the VNs I played. 

I logged back in after 4 months to see this beautiful gem waiting to be played. Can't wait to dive back in! Thank you SO much, without a doubt i can tell this game is worth the wait. I'm definitely ready dive back in to this wonderful world <3

AHH! I finally logged back on after 3 months and I've gotta say, after waiting 2 years I'm so so SO excited to get to play this game in all its glory. Phenomenal work, and I'm so proud of everything you've done. Thank you so so so so so SO much!!!! 

I cannot wait to get totally lost within the beauty of this game again!

This made my year. So happy to see it done can not wait to dive into all routes and get enraptured in the story. Thank you so much for completing this beautiful work of art.

Just wanted to drop by and say that I love love love this game. I played it so many times already, and still plan to play some more.

I'm totally in love with this game! The plot, the ART, the characters, all of it is so well made! The relations feel real, and so do the conflicts. Its rare to find a game who sucefully develop so many characters with different personalitys WITHOUT falling in genre conventions. And I have to say, the plot twists really got me from time to time XD

Truly well made, congratulations to all involved! You are amazing!

Hi! I've only just started the game, and the plot is very interesting, and the art is wonderful. My only critic at the moment is I wish there was a bit more variety with the romanceable characters, they look very similar to each other in all aspects (pale skin, haircuts, etc), i'm guessing it's because of the plot, but I wish there was a bit of differences still. Im really loving the game so far though!

I was so very delighted with my first playthrough, love love love it <3 Will keep playing over and over again! So well written and such pretty art 

I. Love. This. Game. Thank you so much for being a rock star and making something so unique and well written. ^_^

omg i checked your tumblr to see if it's ready and i'm so so excited! expect a long review after i'm finished haha! congratulations, i'm so happy you finished it. it's amazing that you're giving it us for free after all your hard work

yesss!!! Finally and btw happy holidays Underbliss

OMG!!! Is it complete?!?! I can't wait to start playing it again!!! I'm sure it's amazing already though! So well done for yor persistance to complete your art and THANK YOUUU for creating something so splendid!!!

I'm also one of the people that made an account just to leave a (lengthy) comment.

===My comment will possibly have SPOILERS, please avoid reading if you dislike them===

So I want to start off with just saying that unlike almost everyone else here, I came into this game completely blind. I never knew about your project and just happened to stumble across it from englishotomegames.com on the 17th of November. The concept seemed interesting and the art looked good. (I'm one of those shallow players that even if the story is good I can't really enjoy the VN if the art is bad.)

Hoo boy was I in for a treat. Like I said, I went in 100% blind so I had NO idea who was supposed to be the "bad guy", who were the love interests, how many love interests there were, what type of choices (or the fact that there would be choices at all), NOTHING. On my initial play through I thought Lacey was going to be the throw away lackey character, Rylen was going to be a LI, Ernol I suspected to be a villian, Haron the guy who betrays you (but regrets it later and comes back to the light side), and Duliae the supportive but still underhanded background character. The only one I actually managed to get right was Vadeyn as the noble sacrifice guy.

I think because of my misconceptions about most of the cast I was really able to enjoy Ebon Light as a unique experience that was much different from other visual novels or otome games. There was a lot of stuff I wasn't expecting - Haron "rescuing" the MC (is this guy serious...?), the "flirting" between Lacey and MC (attempting to agitate him and failing, multiple times, only for him to believe I'm flirting with him and being ok(?) with it), Vadeyn's sisters and (possibly Cali) shipping the MC with him and him getting embarrassed, were some things on my first play through that jumped out.

There's actually a lot of other stuff I wanted to point out that I really enjoyed but I fear my post was way too long and just rambled. I had to go back and delete it just so I could try to remain more focused. I have to say that it's very impressive you did this all on your own, and I think it really shows in the world of Ebon Light that you as a dev had a lot of limitations and worked with them. It's a shame because I think honestly, your world building is superb and with more resources you would have a really immersive world right up there with some of the bigger gaming companies. 

I know you said you are done with EL for now and are eager to move on to other projects since you've worked on this one for so long, but I hope in the future you will revisit this game and expand on it a little further. There is a lot that was teased or briefly mentioned and I found myself wondering about it. I do wish there was an dictionary of some sort for all the elven language we come across in the game. I thought Lacey's pet name for the MC was him being mean/teasing the same way he called her rabbit. I tried googling it to see what it meant but I didn't get any results. It wasn't until I saw Haron and Ernol use it on their routes that I saw it was actually affectionate. There was some other questions about characters back stories or general lore I also had questions about that I wish were expanded upon. There's actually a lot of details I found about EL outside of the game from looking at old comments and posts from a few years back. Not sure if it the case of things changing to fit a better narrative for the story or if things got cut in order to control the scope of the game.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised and wasn't expecting myself to become this addicted to an indy game. For two weeks now I've been playing this game for hours every day and googling whatever I can trying to learn more. Really, it's too generous of you to have this game for free and I hope anyone that says they are a fan will support you with a donation. Between your storytelling and your art, I think its easy to say you have a gift. If you do decide to make anymore games, I'm sure they will just as good or better than EL, and I'm sure there are plenty of people that would really enjoy the games you make. You did a great job.

After so much time waiting for the full game to be released after being left beyond intrigued and wanting more from the demo - you cannot possibly imagine my reaction when I saw your post announcing that the game was finally out. 

I have spent hours and hours playing through different choices and different love interest's paths, every time finding something new leaving me so happy and appreciative of the work and time you have put into the details, offering variety so a new play through doesn't become repetitive after we finish the game. (I think getting to call Laceaga ''Lacey'' was the best possible choice we could possibly make in the game.)

The art style is very unique. It's beyond beautiful and atmospheric, really drawing us into its setting, pulling us right into it as if we were there ourselves. I absolutely loved the design. The music and sounds were also very well-chosen for whatever situation and setting we have found ourselves in, and honestly I was absolutely charmed and compelled by it myself.

I cannot express my gratitude for the Compendium. It is so useful and thoughtful of you to have put it in there because we learn more about the lore from it, gaining more insight on the world Ebon Light takes place in. Instead of forcing all of this information onto the player, you have simply provided them with it if they wish to see it. The interface itself is gorgeous and intuitive, I loved the details. Plus, we got a dressing game with the perk of our wardrobe never erasing itself. What more can I say?

The story line was fantastic. I fell in love with the slow progression from being a nobody to somebody feared, powerful, dependable on. The entire journey of Ebon Light's progression was magical. It is by far one of my favourite visual novels out there, and will continue to be for a long, long time.

I only wish Calipoa was a romance-able option as not everybody playing the game is going to be romantically attracted to males, plus, going dragon hunting with her beats what every other love interest has to offer, by far. 

The game is free (that's mind-blowing!), has hours of rich game play to offer as well as multiple different endings and different romance interests that all are unique to themselves. If any of you haven't played it yet, I highly suggest you do. 

Thank you so much for creating this game. I know it has taken you a lot of time, and a lot of effort outta you, but oh boy, was it worth it. :) 

I am so excited!!! I have been waiting on the edge of my seat for this update. Thank you so much for the work you have put into this.

oh my god it's finally here ;;; i'll definitely play this now