Anna MirabellaInto the Night is a visual novel in development by Circle Suzume. Follow Vinny on his adventure to solve a murder in this dark fantasy game.
Into the Night is on Kickstarter until June 19th.
In this visual novel you play as Vinny, a soldier who has just returned from war. Not much is known about Vinny or the war he was fighting, but we do know that it was ruthless and he ended up killing a lot of people. When Vinny returns, he meets up with his old friends, Charlotte and Elisaveta. The trio find themselves amidst a murder mystery when they stumble upon a dead maid in the castle.
As the story progresses, we learn that the world the characters inhabit has an expansive history and the demo only scratches the surface. There is political intrigue with royal knights, mages, and more. The story introduces the concept of abilities which seem to be the equivalent of superpowers, and we get a nice glimpse of this with Elisaveta, who is able to travel through the shadows.
Unfortunately, the demo doesn’t delve into the concepts of the supernatural and character abilities too much, but I’m interested in hearing more about them in the full version. The game’s emphasis on lore is really great, and I think that the developers have created an interesting and unique world.
The sprite art in Into the Night is detailed and shows a lot of care. The characters all have their own unique attributes, including scars, elaborate outfits, and magical accessories. Take Elisaveta, for example. She has long white hair, black nails, and heterochromia. This reflects her personality as a powerful, edgy, and mysterious person.
I’m a big fan of the outfits that each character wears, as they show off not only their personality but also their status within the game’s lore.
Into the Night is not perfect. A lot of its faults fall onto the shoulders of the engine that was used to develop it, TyranoBuilder. While beginner friendly, TyranoBuilder is severely limited in features compared to Ren’Py and other development tools. 
When you first start the game, you’re met with blaring music that can’t be lowered. It wasn’t until later on that I was able to find the menu, a small black box on the side of the textbox. There are no buttons that state how to save, load, or skip through text. Also, trying to go back and read what I missed was a bit difficult to maneuver as well.
It is important to remember that I played the demo of Into the Night. The game can change and improve in the full version.
The Verdict
Into the Night needs to work on some things, but you can tell it’s a labor of love with a lot to look forward to. It has an interesting premise with unique and engaging lore that’s worth checking out if you like mystery plots with political intrigue and magic.
You can play the Into the Night demo on itch.io and back it on Kickstarter until June 19th.
