oh my God. I dont even know if I can put every incredible moment I just read into words. I can't help but just sit here, astounded.
chapter 2 spoilers/////
It's so difficult to even start with anything specific because there's just so many scenes that really just have everything going for them. Scenes where the music manages to not only set the mood for the moment, but also heightens those really intense emotions. I tell you, when Riley got into Graham's car, I was just like, "Oh, he must be giving him a ride home or something. Clearly. Obviously." and then the music kicked in and my jaw Dropped. The music made the scene feel electric, visceral almost. Another scene that really uses the music to it's full potential is absolutely Eliza's intro. The pure dread of seeing that red-cloaked figure at the top of the stairs with this almost chase-like music slowly fading in. Boy, That Makes You Feel Things. Finally seeing this character, who you've only seen as a kid or mentioned in conversation before this scene, be such an incredibly imposing figure is such an intense moment. Honestly, just such an unparalleled character intro. When she threatens to take off the rest of Riley's hand and leaves the reader wondering what she means, only for Riley to later show off exactly that when he gets angry at Ranzo, such a good reveal honestly. After that happened, the speed of which I went searching through every earlier cg or any character portraits with Riley's left hand in it before this scene was so fast. That entire thing is just such a good reveal. To get back to the music, anytime that the Keles track (I hope whatever happened at Keles Rock was worth the fireworks and fingers.) comes on makes that scene about 10x more powerful. That absolutely haunting choir or the spine-chilling gurdy makes whatever scene it's on feel like it's life or death, and whenever core/inner Riley talks during these moments, man, that's when I really get chills. God, I haven't even talked about how much I love ward, exile, and scorn yet (Another quick mention is when you finish reading Ranzo's Dad's journal and Riley has to quickly cover his tracks with Ranzo right outside the door, that music makes you Tense).
One of my favorite games is Disco Elysium, easily one of the best written games that I've played Ever, and the Riley Mind Kids just scream DE with every line. You can never have enough DE in your writing, I say. The addition of these specialized inner thoughts elevates the writing by so much. That might just be my bias speaking, but I love whenever a piece of media really lets you see into the protagonist's mind, giving you front row seats to every little conflicting thought they have. Exile showing off Riley's yearning to keep in contact and stay close with his friends, that want to just have fun and be happy, pulls at my heartstrings so badly. Ward being this kind of protective thought, the part of your mind that warns you to stay out of trouble as well as the reassuring thoughts, the calm moments where you say to yourself that you know you can get through this. A kind of self-preservative logic. Scorn being this voice of scrutinization, always second guessing the intents of other people and criticizing Riley's own actions. what a dickhead. Then there's core, man, do I love core. Core reminds me the most of DE, specifically those short, bone-chilling, quick statements from the emotions like Inland Empire or Shivers. These small, cryptic, foreboding ideas that leave you wondering what the Hell they mean. A favorite moment of mine is when, right before Riley blacks out, it says, "Too close." like it's recalling something, an all too familiar memory. Probably the most memorable line from it being during the argument near the end, where it practically screams "Don't talk to me like that!". Christ. That entire scene is just, so, so good. This is already so long, but I can't help myself from mentioning the scene where you essentially choose your route. The way Scorn tells you to make a connection right here, right now, or it's essentially over, leading into Ward asking you who you're gonna choose, feels absolutely gut-wrenching. It's like Riley is reaching out to one last person, trying in a last-ditch effort to keep somebody, anybody, at least one person, close to him, like he's at the end of his line and needs a life raft. I'm already writing my own novel here, so I'll keep the next bits short and get to my main point here.
The art's pretty! Really pretty! Every background feels like a place I've been to before and somewhere I'd love to visit again. The character portraits are mythical almost, like they're the way Riley envisions a person's face in his mind's eye. The sprites are expressive and lively, the drunk sprites being a really cool addition that really makes all the scenes they're in pop and makes them memorable.
The characters feel like real people! It's obvious they have years of memories together just from the way they talk and banter with each other. They clearly have more to them than just what they show to their friends as well, like Ranzo's bad feeling he gets that makes him feel like he's causing all these terrible things to happen (Is this an actual, real, kind of psychic feeling or is it just Ranzo looking back at traumatic moments and feeling like he should've done something? I dunno! And that's fun!) or his abundance of family problems, red riding hood included. Basically, can't wait to see all the little intricacies and problems all the characters have. Lovely stuff!
Riley is an artist who doesn't see any value in his creations. He says they're nothing special, rubbish, even. I think the point I'm trying to get at here is that Dawntide is like... really good art. Incredible, even. Not even two updates in and this game's writing, art, and music has blown my mind every step of the way. I haven't even talked about how much I love the incredibly vivid, poetry-like observations of the surroundings or the setting, that of which feels like it's in the middle of collapse, with countless shops going out of business, yet still feels like home. I already have to zoom out to see my entire post, so I won't go on any further. Really good game. keep up the good work <3
I think this has set the bar too high for my introduction to visual novels, it's simply captivating and I can't wait to see the rest of the routes! Thank you for bringing this beautiful project to the world!
I love the artwork and the vibes that this VN gives off and as someone that lives in the southwest a lot of the themes really resonate with me (though I'm sure that mostly my own biases). The writing, story and relationships all feel well fleshed out and believable so yeah I'd put this right up at the top of my list.
It's really nice to find something thats a bit different but absolutely excellent.
I'm pretty new to VNs as a genre, but this has such a clarity of purpose and direction (in story, in visuals, etc) that it's immediately rocketed up to the top of my list — I was consistently impressed the whole way through.
Love everything that's happening here, excited for more.
It's up to you! His presence is meant to bring up a lot of mixed emotions for Riley, so it's really down to the reader's personal thoughts about the situation.
A number of people have asked about the soundtrack. Once the rest of Chapter Two is complete, there are plans to release something along the lines of a "Vol. 1" OST featuring extended cuts of the tracks so far.
i played lots of vns but this one sky rocketed in my top faves of all time! totally obsessing over it and looking forward to more! p.s. love Ranzo a lot <3
I know I've left a review of this game before, but I just...needed to say my thoughts to literally anyone who would listen, so enjoy my nonsense!
Beginning the newest update has certainly been a treat! I remember playing the first update only a few days after it came out, with the art-style being the obvious draw from the get-go, but I'm definitely loving the way the story is going so far! I imagine some of the charm that comes from the foreign lands typically un-represented in Furry VN's (unless I've somehow missed them) is amplified on me, due to being born in the middle of nowhere, USA.
I think my favorite part of this story so far has to be Griff. Something about this pure white fox (?) wandering back into Riley's life makes it seem almost ghostly. I love my boy Ranzo, but Griff's character design is probably my favorite character design of ANY VN character ever. He just looks so pure, but the black hands make me feel like he's done something in his past that betrays his perfect facade. Or maybe it's just a random character design thing to add flavor. Who knows! I just know I can't wait to see more of this as time goes on. I also like how other characters are getting the special treatment of the faces-next-to-the-text-box (not sure if that has a name). Agnes' is quite beautiful haha
Anyways! I hope anyone reading this without having given the game a shot does so, and I hope that I get to see more as time goes on! Good Luck to Choob!
Hello seems to be problem with the android version not sure if it's my end that's causing the issue or yours but I can begin the download but not finish it as Google play protect stops me due to unknown developer and therefore considers this file dangerous
UPDATE: I managed to get past it but it's still pretty annoying as the install anyway option is hidden so some might not see it
I've recently made a change to mark the file itself as a Mac app. Could you retry downloading this and let me know if the problem persists? Are you using the Itch app or a direct download?
It's an issue I've encountered with the Desktop Itch app. If the build cannot be identified as Windows/Linux, Mac, or Android (signified by the little Windows/Linux, etc. logo you usually see next to the .zip file names on the game page), then the Itch app won't let you download the build because it can't identify the operating system that the files belong to. Usually this gets fixed with time or if the developer assigns the OS type. I don't for sure which one fixes the issue, but please remain patient.
ive had my eye on this game for a while and i cant wait to play chap 1 and 2 at the same time, thank u for all your hard work!!! (also ur artstyle is really cool and you should start a discord!!!)
I've been asked a few times about making a Discord, but it's a platform I personally don't enjoy using very much and feel that the attention needed to run/moderate a server would eat into the already limited time I have to use on development.
you have no idea how hard ive been stalking this page for like. the last 2 months. i love the characters, the setting, the art, oughhhh it's all just so pretty. keep up the good work <3
It is being worked on, though it's had to return to the status of 'hobby project' due to some major life changes. I'm currently aiming for August as the next chapter release and have a couple people helping me achieve this.
Absolutely beautiful! I love the art style, the music, the characters, and the writing! The cast have real lives with believable anxieties, which is a must for me (I hate when writers go too into the "ùwú my head hurts uggh i have a bad life!!!" and "im scawed, grrr silence brain!" style). Since you represented the setting so vivdly, it made me want to do research into the West Country and southern England. I also appreciate the little mini-sprites that indicate who's talking (a nice feature that I wish more VNs used.)
Absolutely in love with Ranzo! Cannot wait to see this visual novel develop!
The same thing happened to me as to you with several video games that exclusively have women protagonist, such as Night in the Woods or The Pirate's Fate (both furry games starring women), both are available on Steam. There are also the first two Mass Effect games that only had female gay romances. I think the girls win in this, so leave these visual novels to the men :3
just discovered this gem while searching for VNs worth the time on a whim, can't describe the amount of joy this brought me. holy shit. you've woven together such a charming story along with its characters; every moment is filled to the brim with authenticity, comfort and hard-hitting relatability. can't wait to see where this leads to in the future. sending best of luck on progress :)
That meeting with the guy at the end...that was one of the fastest times I've fallen for someone, holy shit. Words cannot describe how I felt. He was beautiful. The music was perfect, I really felt like he was the one. Old burning love that isn't exactly out yet and got rekindled just from seeing him. He looks like an angel and I'm so scared after some lines Riley's said. I can only hope he doesn't shatter hearts, his everything is just...so hard to describe other than divine. I love his clothes, his demeanor, though as I write this I guess we really don't know too much about the mysterious man beyond there being a past that Riley might not be entirely over.
I have hopes for a route considering the careful wording I've seen, but I could also see him just being important for the plot and not dateable considering you seem to need to hangout with him and how Riley's feelings seem complicated and like something that'll probably be addressed in other routes.
i love it, everything about this just feels so cozy, the art style, music choices all intertwine just to make it all give off a comforting vibe, i'm definitely gonna look forward to all future developments with excitement! <3
Beautiful game so far! The artwork is stunning, I especially love the stylized character portraits that appear next to the dialogue box. The story definitely seems like something that'd hit home for anyone who feels lost while transitioning into adulthood. Really looking forward to more chapters, great job!
Sal my skrunkly... I love her... I love Riley too and the pronouns section on his profile has me curious TBH I love all of these characters, I love their designs and I'm excited to see where this project goes <3333
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oh my God. I dont even know if I can put every incredible moment I just read into words. I can't help but just sit here, astounded.
chapter 2 spoilers/////
It's so difficult to even start with anything specific because there's just so many scenes that really just have everything going for them. Scenes where the music manages to not only set the mood for the moment, but also heightens those really intense emotions. I tell you, when Riley got into Graham's car, I was just like, "Oh, he must be giving him a ride home or something. Clearly. Obviously." and then the music kicked in and my jaw Dropped. The music made the scene feel electric, visceral almost. Another scene that really uses the music to it's full potential is absolutely Eliza's intro. The pure dread of seeing that red-cloaked figure at the top of the stairs with this almost chase-like music slowly fading in. Boy, That Makes You Feel Things. Finally seeing this character, who you've only seen as a kid or mentioned in conversation before this scene, be such an incredibly imposing figure is such an intense moment. Honestly, just such an unparalleled character intro. When she threatens to take off the rest of Riley's hand and leaves the reader wondering what she means, only for Riley to later show off exactly that when he gets angry at Ranzo, such a good reveal honestly. After that happened, the speed of which I went searching through every earlier cg or any character portraits with Riley's left hand in it before this scene was so fast. That entire thing is just such a good reveal. To get back to the music, anytime that the Keles track (I hope whatever happened at Keles Rock was worth the fireworks and fingers.) comes on makes that scene about 10x more powerful. That absolutely haunting choir or the spine-chilling gurdy makes whatever scene it's on feel like it's life or death, and whenever core/inner Riley talks during these moments, man, that's when I really get chills. God, I haven't even talked about how much I love ward, exile, and scorn yet (Another quick mention is when you finish reading Ranzo's Dad's journal and Riley has to quickly cover his tracks with Ranzo right outside the door, that music makes you Tense).
One of my favorite games is Disco Elysium, easily one of the best written games that I've played Ever, and the Riley Mind Kids just scream DE with every line. You can never have enough DE in your writing, I say. The addition of these specialized inner thoughts elevates the writing by so much. That might just be my bias speaking, but I love whenever a piece of media really lets you see into the protagonist's mind, giving you front row seats to every little conflicting thought they have. Exile showing off Riley's yearning to keep in contact and stay close with his friends, that want to just have fun and be happy, pulls at my heartstrings so badly. Ward being this kind of protective thought, the part of your mind that warns you to stay out of trouble as well as the reassuring thoughts, the calm moments where you say to yourself that you know you can get through this. A kind of self-preservative logic. Scorn being this voice of scrutinization, always second guessing the intents of other people and criticizing Riley's own actions. what a dickhead. Then there's core, man, do I love core. Core reminds me the most of DE, specifically those short, bone-chilling, quick statements from the emotions like Inland Empire or Shivers. These small, cryptic, foreboding ideas that leave you wondering what the Hell they mean. A favorite moment of mine is when, right before Riley blacks out, it says, "Too close." like it's recalling something, an all too familiar memory. Probably the most memorable line from it being during the argument near the end, where it practically screams "Don't talk to me like that!". Christ. That entire scene is just, so, so good. This is already so long, but I can't help myself from mentioning the scene where you essentially choose your route. The way Scorn tells you to make a connection right here, right now, or it's essentially over, leading into Ward asking you who you're gonna choose, feels absolutely gut-wrenching. It's like Riley is reaching out to one last person, trying in a last-ditch effort to keep somebody, anybody, at least one person, close to him, like he's at the end of his line and needs a life raft. I'm already writing my own novel here, so I'll keep the next bits short and get to my main point here.
The art's pretty! Really pretty! Every background feels like a place I've been to before and somewhere I'd love to visit again. The character portraits are mythical almost, like they're the way Riley envisions a person's face in his mind's eye. The sprites are expressive and lively, the drunk sprites being a really cool addition that really makes all the scenes they're in pop and makes them memorable.
The characters feel like real people! It's obvious they have years of memories together just from the way they talk and banter with each other. They clearly have more to them than just what they show to their friends as well, like Ranzo's bad feeling he gets that makes him feel like he's causing all these terrible things to happen (Is this an actual, real, kind of psychic feeling or is it just Ranzo looking back at traumatic moments and feeling like he should've done something? I dunno! And that's fun!) or his abundance of family problems, red riding hood included. Basically, can't wait to see all the little intricacies and problems all the characters have. Lovely stuff!
Riley is an artist who doesn't see any value in his creations. He says they're nothing special, rubbish, even. I think the point I'm trying to get at here is that Dawntide is like... really good art. Incredible, even. Not even two updates in and this game's writing, art, and music has blown my mind every step of the way. I haven't even talked about how much I love the incredibly vivid, poetry-like observations of the surroundings or the setting, that of which feels like it's in the middle of collapse, with countless shops going out of business, yet still feels like home. I already have to zoom out to see my entire post, so I won't go on any further. Really good game. keep up the good work <3
I think this has set the bar too high for my introduction to visual novels, it's simply captivating and I can't wait to see the rest of the routes! Thank you for bringing this beautiful project to the world!
It very fantastic vn and THE SOUNDTRACK IT F AWESOME
I hope they make album ost on youtube or something
ps. renzo so f cute tho
This project is so amazing, I wish Cornwall was real
why is this shit actually perfect bruh.
I love the artwork and the vibes that this VN gives off and as someone that lives in the southwest a lot of the themes really resonate with me (though I'm sure that mostly my own biases). The writing, story and relationships all feel well fleshed out and believable so yeah I'd put this right up at the top of my list.
It's really nice to find something thats a bit different but absolutely excellent.
I just find it kinda funny everytime I play this VN with Griff first 2-3 interactions Weird Al - One More Minute plays in my VN playlist
I'm pretty new to VNs as a genre, but this has such a clarity of purpose and direction (in story, in visuals, etc) that it's immediately rocketed up to the top of my list — I was consistently impressed the whole way through.
Love everything that's happening here, excited for more.
Spoilers (kinda)
Should I dislike Griff because he's Riley's ex or something? I mean... his song and personality are nice
Anyway, I love everything about this VN and I'm looking forward to the next update!
It's up to you! His presence is meant to bring up a lot of mixed emotions for Riley, so it's really down to the reader's personal thoughts about the situation.
the music is so good.
PLEASE I need to know whats the name of the song in Ranzo's chapter 2. I NEED IT i want to listen to them sing on spotify
A number of people have asked about the soundtrack. Once the rest of Chapter Two is complete, there are plans to release something along the lines of a "Vol. 1" OST featuring extended cuts of the tracks so far.
Were they original songs or could I find it on something like spotify?
Im too in love with the song XD
I just finished Cap'n Ranzo's chapter two route, I'm so ekscited for the rest!!
Let's keep the good boy winning!! Let's go, CAP'N RANZOOOOO!!!!
Enchanting presentation through writing, art and music. There's something really special here, and I'm excited to see what's next!
i played lots of vns but this one sky rocketed in my top faves of all time! totally obsessing over it and looking forward to more! p.s. love Ranzo a lot <3
I know I've left a review of this game before, but I just...needed to say my thoughts to literally anyone who would listen, so enjoy my nonsense!
Beginning the newest update has certainly been a treat! I remember playing the first update only a few days after it came out, with the art-style being the obvious draw from the get-go, but I'm definitely loving the way the story is going so far! I imagine some of the charm that comes from the foreign lands typically un-represented in Furry VN's (unless I've somehow missed them) is amplified on me, due to being born in the middle of nowhere, USA.
I think my favorite part of this story so far has to be Griff. Something about this pure white fox (?) wandering back into Riley's life makes it seem almost ghostly. I love my boy Ranzo, but Griff's character design is probably my favorite character design of ANY VN character ever. He just looks so pure, but the black hands make me feel like he's done something in his past that betrays his perfect facade. Or maybe it's just a random character design thing to add flavor. Who knows! I just know I can't wait to see more of this as time goes on. I also like how other characters are getting the special treatment of the faces-next-to-the-text-box (not sure if that has a name). Agnes' is quite beautiful haha
Anyways! I hope anyone reading this without having given the game a shot does so, and I hope that I get to see more as time goes on! Good Luck to Choob!
Hello seems to be problem with the android version not sure if it's my end that's causing the issue or yours but I can begin the download but not finish it as Google play protect stops me due to unknown developer and therefore considers this file dangerous
UPDATE: I managed to get past it but it's still pretty annoying as the install anyway option is hidden so some might not see it
Hi! Very strange issue on Mac, I can't expand it? It says "Unable to expand "Dawntide_v1.05-mac.zip" into "Downloads". (Error -1 No such process.)"
I've recently made a change to mark the file itself as a Mac app. Could you retry downloading this and let me know if the problem persists? Are you using the Itch app or a direct download?
Direct download
Could you try it now? Just re-uploaded and test-downloaded it on my end and seems to be working.
Everything seems to work now! Thanks!
Glad to hear! Thanks for bringing this up.
Have just tried it on my end and got an 'archive corrupt' error. Doesn't happen with the version pre-upload. I'm going to re-upload the file to Itch.
Weird; can't seem to download it on the pc itch app. Gives the cannot read property build of undefined error.
It's an issue I've encountered with the Desktop Itch app. If the build cannot be identified as Windows/Linux, Mac, or Android (signified by the little Windows/Linux, etc. logo you usually see next to the .zip file names on the game page), then the Itch app won't let you download the build because it can't identify the operating system that the files belong to. Usually this gets fixed with time or if the developer assigns the OS type. I don't for sure which one fixes the issue, but please remain patient.
Thanks for bringing this up. I've re-ticked the OS specification in the project page for each version. Let me know if it's still not working.
Please also select Linux for the 'pc' build.
(It already includes a .sh, so it'll work.)
Done!
YYYEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH IVE BEEN WAITING A YEAR FOR THIS
IT'S HEREEEE
DAWNTIDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE RETURN OF THE KING,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Thank you for the FEAST Choob
Damn what a shame the mobile version has been removed
I'm just putting it back now; I had an error in the first upload.
Oh, apologies about my earlier message
ive had my eye on this game for a while and i cant wait to play chap 1 and 2 at the same time, thank u for all your hard work!!! (also ur artstyle is really cool and you should start a discord!!!)
Thank you! Hope you enjoy it.
I've been asked a few times about making a Discord, but it's a platform I personally don't enjoy using very much and feel that the attention needed to run/moderate a server would eat into the already limited time I have to use on development.
you have no idea how hard ive been stalking this page for like. the last 2 months. i love the characters, the setting, the art, oughhhh it's all just so pretty. keep up the good work <3
I keep coming back to this comment, hoping that I'll have good news to share, and now I do! The next release is scheduled for August 26th
Hype!!!!
When are you going to post the next update of this VN?
It is being worked on, though it's had to return to the status of 'hobby project' due to some major life changes. I'm currently aiming for August as the next chapter release and have a couple people helping me achieve this.
I'll be more than happy to resume my coverage when it comes out!
Can now confirm the next build IS coming towards the end of August!
Fantastic work! the first chapter was extremely entertaining
Absolutely beautiful! I love the art style, the music, the characters, and the writing! The cast have real lives with believable anxieties, which is a must for me (I hate when writers go too into the "ùwú my head hurts uggh i have a bad life!!!" and "im scawed, grrr silence brain!" style). Since you represented the setting so vivdly, it made me want to do research into the West Country and southern England. I also appreciate the little mini-sprites that indicate who's talking (a nice feature that I wish more VNs used.)
Absolutely in love with Ranzo! Cannot wait to see this visual novel develop!
Does the protag have a gender?
Male
Okay
"Okay"
XD
Nothin else to say ;-; lol, i would wanna be a female protag
The same thing happened to me as to you with several video games that exclusively have women protagonist, such as Night in the Woods or The Pirate's Fate (both furry games starring women), both are available on Steam. There are also the first two Mass Effect games that only had female gay romances.
I think the girls win in this, so leave these visual novels to the men :3
just discovered this gem while searching for VNs worth the time on a whim, can't describe the amount of joy this brought me. holy shit. you've woven together such a charming story along with its characters; every moment is filled to the brim with authenticity, comfort and hard-hitting relatability. can't wait to see where this leads to in the future. sending best of luck on progress :)
Wait is there more builds on the patreon or is everything still WIP?
That meeting with the guy at the end...that was one of the fastest times I've fallen for someone, holy shit. Words cannot describe how I felt. He was beautiful. The music was perfect, I really felt like he was the one. Old burning love that isn't exactly out yet and got rekindled just from seeing him. He looks like an angel and I'm so scared after some lines Riley's said. I can only hope he doesn't shatter hearts, his everything is just...so hard to describe other than divine. I love his clothes, his demeanor, though as I write this I guess we really don't know too much about the mysterious man beyond there being a past that Riley might not be entirely over.
I have hopes for a route considering the careful wording I've seen, but I could also see him just being important for the plot and not dateable considering you seem to need to hangout with him and how Riley's feelings seem complicated and like something that'll probably be addressed in other routes.
i love it, everything about this just feels so cozy, the art style, music choices all intertwine just to make it all give off a comforting vibe, i'm definitely gonna look forward to all future developments with excitement! <3
already in love with this game!! super excited to see more
Beautiful game so far! The artwork is stunning, I especially love the stylized character portraits that appear next to the dialogue box. The story definitely seems like something that'd hit home for anyone who feels lost while transitioning into adulthood. Really looking forward to more chapters, great job!
That final scene when Riley meets him has left me so... conflicted. The writing there was simply superb. Here's hoping this project take flight! 🥰
Will we be able to choose different characters to romance? And this is still in development right?
Let see how's this VN...
Amazing art and I almost want some of those characters' icons as stamps
I can imagine that as real merch tbh.
It's not out of the question in future!
Sal my skrunkly... I love her... I love Riley too and the pronouns section on his profile has me curious TBH I love all of these characters, I love their designs and I'm excited to see where this project goes <3333
Ranzo my beloved.💕