STARCULT Night: Twisted Age (AKA STARCULT) is a dark fantasy romantic visual novel set in a world on the brink of disaster. You must use an Emotion Palette to read others’ true emotions and intentions, influence relationships, and uncover the truth behind a brutal murder. This week, the game’s demo launched via Steam. In it, you use the Emotion Palette system and can unlock up to 15 different dialogue choices in a single conversation.
The story follows Silviya from the noble House Nebula, who is married to its young head, Hans. The marriage isn’t romantic; it was part of a deal. Shortly after the wedding, Hans is murdered, and Silviya searches for answers, only to find herself caught in a web of conspiracies, manipulation, romance, and supernatural forces lurking beneath the surface of her world.
STARCULT’s gameplay is built around the Emotion Palette, a system that allows you to choose emotions before selecting dialogue. Different emotions unlock different responses, which can reveal new information, change relationships, and influence how characters react. This system gives you better control over how Silviya develops through the story. Each emotion equates to a small change in personality.
Here are the demo’s key features, via Not A Cat Studios:
- Use the Emotion Palette to unlock up to 15 different dialogue options within a single conversation
- Uncover multiple story routes and demo endings shaped by your choices
- Investigate a murder mystery filled with secrets, manipulation and supernatural forces
- Can you discover who the murderer is? This is just the beginning of the story
- Shape Silviya’s personality and influence how others perceive her.
“While making this game, we’re trying to base it on empathy, where each character has their own motivation and goals,” says Liliia Sitailo, the artist and CEO of Not A Cat Studios, in a press release. “The better [Silviya] would understand them, the wider choice she would have of how to build relationships with them. I’m super excited to see players react to each dialogue choice with their natural curiosity and choose by themselves which person [Silviya] should be in their current walkthrough.”
Developed and published by Not A Cat Studios, STARCULT will be released for PC via Steam in Q4 2026.
Buy the hottest games with Amazon.
By purchasing from this link, you support DDNet.
Each sale earns us a small commission.
