A downloadable visual novel for Windows, macOS, and Linux

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Arha lives a simple life as a shrine maiden at a long-forgotten temple finding joy in her worship, tending her small garden and occasional trips to the nearby village.


Then, one day, the sun does not rise…

It soon becomes apparent, though, that the now-erratic sun is the least of their problems. The wells and rivers are drying up and crops wither in the fields.

The villagers demand answers, but the gods, as ever, are silent. After a night of desperate prayer, Arha awakes – and she is not alone.

Three young men have appeared in the temple, finely dressed and impossibly beautiful, and, what is more, they claim to be gods. Powerless and confused, the four decide to travel to the First Temple to try to restore the balance of Heaven before it is too late.

Accompany three fallen deities on a journey across a dying world, where hope is all man has left. 
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Cast

Arha (name can be changed)
A foundling raised by the temple monks, she is generally kind, understanding and utterly devoted to her gods, though conversation options can allow for more rational, emotional or insolent personality traits. 


The Gods
Three of the seven Nakami, comprising of Tai - the commanding, but dependable Sun God, Suiza -  the tempestuous, vain God of Water and Kien - the gentle yet distant God of Nature.
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Full game features:

  • 191,000 words
  • 40+ atmospheric backgrounds
  • 30+ CGs
  • 3 romance options
  • 7 possible endings
  • +Steam key available for Windows copy

Price: £11.99 (approx $16)

***Please note: this game is set in an apocalypse scenario and thereby contains scenes of non-graphic, infrequent violence and the aftermath of natural disasters. It also contains non-graphic scenes of a romantic/sexual nature***

The Steam version can be found here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1132110/Heavens_Grave/

A walkthrough with minor spoilers can be found here: http://blackcross-taylor.com/

itch page background from www.vecteezy.com

StatusReleased
PlatformsWindows, macOS, Linux
Rating
Rated 4.6 out of 5 stars
(50 total ratings)
AuthorBlackcross & Taylor
GenreVisual Novel
TagsFantasy, Female Protagonist, Otome, Romance

Purchase

Get this visual novel and 2 more for $14.99 USD
View bundle
Buy Now
On Sale!
30% Off
$14.99 $10.49 USD or more

In order to download this visual novel you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $10.49 USD. Your purchase comes with a Steam key. You will get access to the following files:

Heaven's_Grave-1.3-linux.tar.bz2 375 MB
Heaven's_Grave-1.3-mac.zip 370 MB
Heaven's_Grave-1.3-win.zip 371 MB

Download demo

Download
Heavens_Grave-DEMO-1.5-linux.tar.bz2 261 MB
Download
Heavens_Grave-DEMO-1.5-mac.zip 256 MB
Download
Heavens_Grave-DEMO-1.5-win.zip 257 MB

Development log

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Comments

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What age rating would you give  your game?

(+1)

When I completed a survey to this effect on Steam, the game was given a rating of around a 12 to 14 years old across a few different rating agencies, so about there. 

Though the games is not graphic, it is set during an apoloclytic event and contains descriptions of scenes/circumstances that might be upsetting to some.

Many thanks for your interest

Thank you for answering! :)

(1 edit) (+8)

I got a review copy of the game, but all my thoughts are unbiased. My full review can be found here (it's long lol): https://sonicnancyfan.wordpress.com/2019/09/13/otome-review-heavens-graveblackcr...

I'll just copy pasta some highlights of the most important parts of my review, and add some more thoughts.

The game can be summarized really simply: walking>camping>catastrophe>repeat

All of the routes follow this format, which makes them feel very much the same. Now this has some downfalls and some benefits. The biggest benefit is that the player gets to see Arha and her guy interact almost constantly. This allows for character growth and for feelings to grow as well. The biggest downfall is that the same things keep on happening over and over again. Most of the game takes place on roads or in forests, so though there are a lot of backgrounds, they’re usually really similar (like multiple backgrounds of a forest), so we don’t even get a change in scenery that often. One town gets destroyed in one route, and in another route, a different town gets destroyed. But in the end, it's basically the same thing for the player since we have no connection to either town.

The characters sit at campfires so much, they actually have sprites for sitting down XD.

The endings are also all very similar. The good ends are similar to each other and the normal ends are similar to each other. Since there’s three guys, the events in the ends kind of triangulate among them, and even after only seeing one ending, I feared the others would be about the same, and yep, I was right

I didn’t really like any of the endings? XD I suppose it’s the nature of the game, but I wouldn’t consider any of the endings actually “good,” at least if I interpreted them right, and considering all the endings are basically the same, that made me not like any of the endings. I’m very much an “I want an absolute perfectly happy ending” person, so I went in knowing I probably wouldn’t like the endings that much, and the game is clearly not happy from the description, so I can’t fault it for its depressing endings.

Kien is the unspoken OTP. His route has the most romance, the most chemistry, the spiciest CG's, and sexual content. Tai and Suiza barely have any. Tai and Arha have some slight chemistry in their route, but Suiza and Arha really don't acknowledge their feelings until super far in. Kien's route feels the most like what you'd expect in an otome game route.

Arha has sass and doesn't take crap from people, which was great. I really enjoyed her as a character. All of the guys were fine. Tai's route felt the most boring to me since most of his drama was him feeling conflicted over not being able to take charge in such a terrible situation. Suiza's route was full of sass, which was nice, but it also wasn't very romantic. Kien's route sucked up all the romance and hoarded it, so I enjoyed his route the most, and I felt they had the most chemistry.

As for play order, I would recommend Tai>Suiza>Kien. This leaves Kien for last and starts you out with the most boring route. Plus, Tai and Kien’s routes share similarities in some parts, so breaking them up is nice.

If you enjoy apocalyptic stories or otome games that have a lot of plot (at the expense of romance), as well as don’t mind how sad it is, then this game would be great for you. For anyone who wants a light-fluffy game, first, the plot description should be enough to know it’s not lol. But I’ll confirm; it’s not. This game wouldn’t be for you. If you want your otome game to have happy endings (beyond the MC and her guy getting together), then this game also wouldn’t be for you. It is a great take on an apocalyptic story that isn't set in a future setting though. I don't see that very often. So if apocalyptic stories are your jam, then definitely check this out.

As someone who generally prefers my otome games to have a lot of plot (even at the expense of romance), but, also wants happy endings, there was only so much I could enjoy the game. All the guys were okay enough, the plot was fine, and some of the journey was fun, but much of the game was ruined by my dislike for all the endings.

So would I recommend the game? If you’re someone like me, then no. If you view a happy ending as needing more than just the MC and her guy getting together, then this game, and most depressing otome games, are not for you. But, if that doesn’t bother you, then there’s an interesting plot and fun characters set in an (eventual) apocalyptic world.

(1 edit) (+2)

Hello, sonic-nancy-fan

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy the game particularly. Thank you for taking the time to play it, though, and give feedback. 

All the best

(+4)

Despite my reservations about Heaven's Grave, I definitely plan on checking out more of your games. I really enjoyed the plot of Heaven's Grave, just not so much the execution, so I look forward to playing more games by you all as I'm sure the plots will be great <3.

(1 edit)

I enjoyed this game a lot and to show how much I enjoyed it I drew Suiza. I loved both Tai and Kien but Suiza's dialogue was always making me giggle so he won me over, but Tai is close behind I should draw one for him (and maybe Kien so he wont be left out). upsetting to know that Heaven's Grave isn't getting much attention as it is a great story. but ill gladly throw money at a kick starter for the next game. though hopefully your stuff will start to get some attention.  

Ah, thank you so much! I always say getting fanart is when you know you've 'made it'. ^_^

I love the picture, especially his vaguely unimpressed expression, like he's about to say something offhandedly mean - perfect Suiza.

Many thanks for you kind words and support 

I finally got around to write up my thoughts for this game. The short storyis that I loved it! It was well written with great characters and a compelling story. Arha was my favourite, so resourceful and strong despite all the crap that happens to her, and so refreshingly sassy sometimes:) Definitely one of the best main character of any game!

As for the gods they were all interesting and had a very realistic feel to them, their actons and reasoning seemed like how a god turned mortal would be like. But my favourite of the three after playing through every route is Kien. I always do my first playthrough in a similar way, picking the choices I myself would most likely do in that situation and I almost maxed Kien's points I learned after looking at the guide:). During their travels they really felt like a team, like two people working equally to succeed. Their romance was also nicely built up from the start, some of their interactions was so heartwarming:)

The plot and the writing hooked me at once, and I really liked the way it went with the quest and the gods. And despite it making sense in hindsight I did not see the twist coming by the end.  One thing I loved was that your choices in the game aren't always linked to romance points and when they are it's not always as strict as with other games. So that I could play Ahra as I wanted while still getting more than enough points was very relaxing and rewarding. All in all another great game from you and I'm looking forward to the upcoming games as well:D

(+3)

Thank you for the feedback - I'm very glad you enjoyed the game and the characterisations. 

Ah, and someone else who does their first playthrough blind! I always do that as well - I call it my 'canon playthrough'. 

Unfortunately for me and my less than stellar otome skills, most of the time my 'canon ending' tends to be 'No one likes you, and you die alone to be eaten by your cats'.  >_>

Which is why I guess I like to include plenty of conversation options that are just for role-play purposes. I find I can really get into role-playing the character when I don't have to worry that one 'wrong' answer is going to condemn me to a bad ending. 

Anyway, it was lovely to hear to what you enjoyed about the game and I hope you find BFF just as engaging.

Many thanks for playing.

Show post...

OMG I love Kien so much. So so so so much that I only want to play his route. Arha is also a good heroine.

Ah, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed his route and that you like Arha - I find liking the main character has more influence on me enjoying a game sometimes, that the romance interests, lol. ^_^

Many thanks for playing

mmm i can't find my steam key on the download page?

The Steam release isn't until 21st August. You should be able to find it from that date

I played the demo and it was great! I added Heaven's Grave to my Steam wishlist and I'm eagerly waiting for release!

Ah, thank you. Not long until the Steam release now - it will be out on the 21st August.

Thanks for playing

So quick question, I see everyone has a good/normal/bad end, but I only see 7 endings in the ending list.  Is that because every bad end is the same?

Yes, that's right. Every bad ending is the same. ^_^

Thank you!

(+2)

Sometimes you play a route that's so good you don't want to spoil it by playing another one. Kien was 110% that route. So many feelings. After this & loving all of TROS (secret ending killed me ngl) I think I might have to buy every visual novel you make now.  :)

Ah, thank you for the feedback. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed Kien's route that much and, of course, TROS as well.

I hope you can find as much to like in my future titles.

Many thanks for playing

(+1)

I don't know how far a long I am exactly, maybe half way?  AND I JUST LOVE THIS SO MUCH.  Initially I didn't really like any of the gods except Kien, but they've all grown on me.  It's such a fantastic and well plotted story I'm racing through it at a rapid pace.  I love how much customization I have personality wise too (though it's something I'm rapidly beginning to expect rom your games after DDBS and TROS and now this one) and I just love it so much!

Normally I play through with a guide to get the perfect end right from the start but this one I was compelled to do a blind play through and I'm just really enjoying the whole journey.  I like how it's a bit more mature too, I love TROS and DDBS, but I like the darkness that HG carries, most visual novel games I've played are either straight up horror fests/complete grim dark angst machines or pure light and fluffiness and HG is striking a wonderful balance between them.

Thank you so much for your hard work, I'll probably report back after I've finished the other routes at least once but I just needed to yell how much I'm enjoying it.

(+1)

Thanks for the feedback, NiKaWo - I'm glad to hear you've enjoyed the game so far. 

Providing the option to customise your personality as far as possible is something that is important to me. It's what I like most about otome/rpgs so I want other people who enjoy it to get that same experience, too - I happy to know you are one of them. 

Thank you for your support through the development process and, of course, thank you for playing. I look forward to hearing what you thought once you finished the game. 

I'm..SO IN LOVE WITH THIS GAME! My top concern when playing a game is being able to personalize my person and still have the characters accept me for who i am (unless I'm evil, muahahaha)

(+2)

Ah, thank you - I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the game so far.  I tried to write the choices to give players a bit of variation in how they can role-play their characters, though I wouldn't say it is without some consequence. ^_^

Many thanks for playing

I JUST HAD TO COME HERE AND SAY THAT I LOVE TAI MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THIS LIFE 

ugh, I didn't even finish the game (or his route!) but he's too much and my feels are too much and UGH

Ah, thank you. I'm glad to hear you're enjoying his route, though depending on where you are in it right now, I guess there could be time for you to change your mind, lol. ^_^

Many thanks for playing

(1 edit)

Did he break my hear from time to time? Definitely. I felt for MC so much (I still do lol, I'm playing still!) and MC is wonderful and she deserves all the happiness in the world and honestly this world doesn't deserve HER, but I DIGRESS. 

I still love Tai more than life even though sometimes I wanted to yell at him for certain reasons. Still, even if he hurts me ;;;; sometimes, I always understand his reasons or why he acts like he does. That's thanks to your writing<3 He's a well-rounded and logical character and even if his actions break my heart sometimes, I can see why he acts like the does! 

ANYWAY TAI FOR LIFE I SAID WHAT I SAID

hello, I hope it's ok to ask but will you also be adding this game to steam?

(+2)

Yes, it will be released on Steam in the next couple of months ^_^

I see, thank you! 

how many cg's are there for each route? love me some cg's! also how long is the game and each route?

(+1)

There are 36 CGs. 9 general ones and 9 each that are specific to the men's routes.

The game is 191,000 words long, and I would say that is split evenly enough between the three men (the first half of the game is spent travelling as a group, the latter half is spent with the individual love interests).  The first part of the game is about 71,000 words while the routes after the split are, on average, 40,000 each.

Awesome!! Will there be a chance for a walkthrough?

Sure. There's a link to a walkthrough at the bottom of the main itch page.  ^_^

(+1)

I finished Kien's route and I gotta say, job well done! The story line is impeccable and I can't wait to try out the other routes. The character developlment and the emotion drawn out from the writing is nothing short of incredible! Thank you for creating such a beautiful game!

Ah, thank you! I'm very glad to hear you enjoyed it and I hope you find the other two routes to your liking as well. ^_^

Thank you for playing

I don't usually bother to write reviews but I feel like doing so for this game. I just enjoyed it so much. I don't think I spoiled anything as I tried to keep it general as possible. Sorry that this ended up fairly lengthy.

The beginning before ending up on any guys routes was an interesting read. All minor characters were given distinct personalities despite their short appearances which made it easy to sympathize and gain some attachment with them. Being given a glimpse into the main character's life before she ends up surrounded by guys was refreshing. Usually, games like this jump right into being around the potential romantic partners without actually getting to see any part of their lives beforehand. Heaven's Grave is also one of the few visual novels I have played that actually gives opportunities to shape the main character’s personality as there are some choices that don’t have an effect on their relationships.

Arha, the main character, has a unique personality on her own. She is both rational and emotional, reasonable and unreasonable, selfless to a fault but still voices her frustrations, and overall just feels like an actual person. Throughout the story, depending on the romantic partner she ends up with, she grows in different ways. It is interesting to watch her be shaped without losing all of her original personality. She never ends up being a soft pushover that just lets the guys pull her around every which way. Arha, knows how to hold her ground. Honestly, she is my favorite main character out of any visual novel I have read so far.

Tai is like a big brother with a personality problem. He starts out arrogant but quickly becomes reliable, comforting and sweet, only to revert to his arrogance again. It’s a roller coaster ride. He and Arha have great chemistry as they are similar in that they both are caring and can lead others. They bounce off each other well, both making each other smile and laugh during the harder times. They are each other’s crutch when things become harder than hard. Tai’s romantic relationship with Arha feels the most natural and realistic out of the three routes because neither of them have to change much for it to work. They both still grew to be stronger and better versions of themselves in each other’s presence (Tai more than Arha).

Kien is a sweetheart with a lot of rough edges. He gives Arha the least hardest time of the three routes. He seems to develop feelings for Arha fairly quickly and treats her especially well from the beginning. Kien is a bit of a pessimist which sometimes clashes with Arha’s extreme optimism. That being said, he tends to ground Arha when she becomes a little unreasonable and she does the same for him. Together they go through a lot of hardships, more so than the other routes, but they both come out stronger and closer at the end. Kien can be fiercely protective when it comes to Arha, but she manages to keep him from overdoing it. Out of the three routes, Kien’s is the most romantic.

Suiza is self-centered with a soft side. Everything is about his comforts and his feelings for a good while. Since Arha is selfless to a fault, she and Suiza constantly butt heads. Suiza develops feelings for Arha first but can’t seem to get over himself enough to act like it. They have moments of peace that allow them to get to know each other and get closer but immediately go back to bickering. Both Suiza and Arha go through the most character development out of the three routes. Suiza softens up and Arha becomes harder. Suiza’s route has the least amount of romance of the three routes.

Personally, I enjoyed Kien and Tai’s routes the most. Kien is a lovable guy despite his faults and Tai seems to fit best with Arha overall. I can’t really pick a favorite out of the two as they were both equally good for different reasons. I still enjoyed Suiza’s route as well, I just wasn’t feeling the romance between him and Arha. It was obvious when Suiza started developing feelings for Arha but I never felt Arha really feeling the same. There were times when it felt like maybe she could start to develop those feelings but mostly it just felt like they were just good friends.I don’t expect tons of romance since there was a lot going on in Heaven’s Grave. I just feel that Arha and Suiza’s romance didn’t really develop while their friendship had a ton of development. I didn’t mind it that way but it made the ending of his route feel sort of rushed. It could just be me being weird. Overall, all of the story was a very enjoyable to read. The art was lovely too, especially the backgrounds.

Thank you very much for taking the time to leave feedback . It's always great to hear what players enjoyed and what they felt could have been done differently - it's the sort of thing that can only help me get better as a writer, so I appreciate it.

Thanks for playing

Are there any plans for a Linux version ?

(1 edit) (+2)

I'll have a demo and full game up in the next 24 hours ^_^

Awesome news ! Best of luck.

(+1)

Thank you. Actually, the upload has almost finished so both files should be available in another hour or so. I don't have Linux to test it with though, so please let me know if there are any problems. ^_^

love the demo and just purchased the full game; but I keep getting an error and the game won't continue past the demo. I'm on windows, am I doing something wrong?

Hello Mikko

I'm sorry to hear that. Please can you take a screenshot of the error and email it to me at support@blackcross-taylor.com and I will look at it this morning for you.

Thanks for playing

thank you! i just sent it, i dont know how to screen shot on this computer so i used my phone, i hope that's ok...

I've just replied to you from my personal email (so it may have gone into your junk folder - apologies). I'm in a hotel at the moment and the wifi does not seem to like my support email address etc. hence the change. Please let me know if you have any further problems

(1 edit)

My review (no specific spoilers, just general impressions):

I just finished getting the good ends for all the characters, and I have to say I really enjoyed the game. The setting is very novel, and the premise of this game is very exciting to me. I liked the post-apocalyptic aspects and the fact that the game did not shy away from showing both the good and the bad in that situation.

Arha is a great MC, she is earnest in her devotion without allowing others to walk all over her. It might easily have become annoying if she had been too deferential to the gods she spent her entire life honoring, but the game manages to avoid that. I enjoyed her responses to the obstacles put in her way throughout the story.

I played Tai first, and I found his route enjoyable. I liked the tension between him and Arha that would come up when their ideals clashed. I also found myself thinking about when to show deference and when to stand up to him. At some points I wanted to give him a good slap, and it was gratifying to see his development over the course of the game. The part where Tai and Arha spend some time traveling with others felt a little long to me at times, though. Still, I enjoyed seeing how that arc wrapped up in the end.

Suiza is definitely my favorite. His snarky banter with Arha was fantastic, and I feel like perhaps he grew the most throughout the game. The supporting characters in this route are also awesome, and it was a lot of fun to read their interactions. I also loved the hair CGs in this route. :)

I played Kien last because I was least interested in him. His route is well-written and the conflict in it was especially tense. I felt genuinely upset at some of the things that happened during their journey. Kien isn't quite my type so I wasn't as much into him as the others, but that is all down to personal preference and not to the route itself.

I felt the small cast worked well in this game. I'm a sucker for two characters getting stuck with each other/traveling together, and there was definitely plenty of that. It allowed for a lot of relationship development.

The ending felt slightly rushed, especially with the small time skip at the end. I feel that things might have flowed better if we'd been able to see some of the immediate fallout after the climax? It wasn't bad, it just made me go: oh, I guess this is the end already?

On the whole, I definitely recommend this game. It is super well-written and easy to get lost in, as evidenced by the fact that I just spent all day playing it so I could finish all the routes. I truly appreciate the fact that the setting of this otome is different from the standard high school stuff you mostly get, and that it is more serious in its tone. Thanks so much for the wonderful game!

Ah, my first review! Thank you very much for the feedback - I'm really happy to hear you enjoyed the game overall, and it's interesting to see what you thought about the three routes. 

Your comment about it not being a school setting did make me laugh though, since BFF is going to be the very next game I release >_<

Many thanks for playing

Hahaha, I admit I haven't been following that one very diligently for that very reason. But on the other hand, I've really enjoyed this game and The Rose of Segunda, so I might just step out of my comfort zone for it. ;)

I really enjoyed the demo! But I am a little sad that Aki won't be an option though. I can't wait for this and the Thorns of War to come out!

Thanks for the feedback - I'm glad you enjoyed the demo and I hope you enjoy the full game, too.

Thank you for playing

loved the demo! can't wait for more!

(+1)

Thank you for the feedback - I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the demo and there isn't long to wait now for the full release.

Thanks for playing

Will it be available on Steam?

(+2)

I am hoping to release it on Steam, but it will depend on if it sells well enough on itch first. I only tend to publish games on Steam that have already generated enough in sales to cover the costs associated with the platform. 

Deleted 3 years ago

Ah, thank you for the feedback. I'm glad you enjoyed the demo and are looking forward to the full game - it shouldn't be long now. ^_^

Thanks for playing

I hope you are doing well . :) loved what i played of the demo so far.

(+1)

Ah, thank you. Yes, I'm doing fine. Just slowly working on this and BFF. ^_^

Thanks for playing

How has everything been going?

(+1)

Hello, AnubisDaRa

Things have been going well enough, I believe. Work on Heaven's Grave slowed down a little in December since I was working on the Thorns of War demo, but I have a major update planned for the end of this month where I hope to give the word count for Kien's finished route and possibly reveal of one of the new sprites that I commissioned for Kien and Suiza's routes. 

Thanks for taking the time to drop me a line ^_^

Sweet, don't push yourself or anything, don't forget to take some good breaks ^u^

How's the game been coming along?

(1 edit) (+4)

Good question. I haven't put a progress report up for a while as I only like to announce when the larger goals have been reached, but here is where we are currently. 

I had written Kien's route first and it was okay - I wasn't 100% happy with it, but I couldn't put my finger on what I didn't like, and since I don't tend to like anything I do (which I'm told is pretty standard for anyone who writes, draws etc) I chalked it up to that. Then I started Suiza's route and I was having trouble - getting writer's block a lot and just generally not feeling it. Then something clicked and I realised what I'd been missing all along.  So I finished Suiza's route and began Tai's, but Kien's route was still not what I wanted. 

I looked it over again and realised what needed to change, so now I am now halfway through of doing a complete re-write of Kien's route. 

The word count is currently 117,000. I hope to finish Kien's route in the coming week or so and then return to Tai's. 

Also, I have commissioned the original artist to create sprites for the four NPCs that can be met in Suiza and Kien's routes (two Npc's in each). I was going to fill the roles with the 'extras' sprites I have commissioned but when their parts grew larger, I decided I would have them drawn as unique sprites. Once they are completed, I'll post them here for people to see.

So that is where we are! I know that it is taking much longer than I had anticipated or hoped and it is, in turn, delaying the other projects I am working on, which is frustrating  (not to mention financially crippling >_<), but I want to produce a game I can stand behind and  know it was the best I could make it with the resources I had at the time.  

Once I have a solid idea of when the game will be finished, I'll put out a release date.  Thanks for checking in! ^_^

That cliffhanger was very well placed. So far, the music, writing, sprites, backgrounds, and even the font worked well for me. It's also refreshing to see a VN that's not set in school or have gimmicky characters. (I've played a fair amount of VN's, not all VN's, but they still pop up a lot.) I want to save up for the full version of this!

Hello, OEblogs, and many thanks for the feedback - I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the demo and are looking forward to the full game.

Thanks for playing

(+1)

I am very excited for this game. I will have to wait a little while for my finances to allow me to get it, but I will definitely get it.

I do hope we get another mention of Aki. I know he is not a romance option, but since Chiyo managed to get away, I'd like to get a line later about his death.

(+1)

I'm happy to hear you are looking forward to it and I hope you enjoy it when you get the chance to play it.

Aki is certainly mentioned later, though I'll refrain from saying in what context ^_^

Thanks for playing

Amazing work so far! The backgrounds and character sprites look beautiful. I'm looking forward to the full release! And I'll definitely be checking out The Rose of Segunda in the meantime. ✦

Hello, Alstroemeria, thanks for the feedback; I'll be sure to let the artists know ^_^

It won't be long now before Heaven's Grave is released, but I hope you have a fun with The Rose of Segunda while you are waiting.

Thanks for playing 

(+2)

I enjoyed the demo a lot!  The sense of isolation for the MC was readily apparent, and I found the descriptions of the absurd crises exciting. The tension in the writing for both the scenes and characters really came through.  

One of my favorite things about your games is that they allow for the MC to respond in a variety of ways to give them a sense of personality, without it being a simple right/wrong choice for development of the narrative.  It helps me dig into a game and enjoy it to the fullest.

I'm looking forward to the completed game, and thanks again for getting it to work properly for Mac users!

Hello, Desrin, thank you for the feedback and I'm glad you enjoyed the demo. I'll be finishing and releasing Heaven's Grave once I am done with The Rose of Segunda, so it shouldn't be long to wait.

I'm playing on mac, and get this message when I try to open the zip file: "Unable to expand "Heaven's_Grave-1.0-mac.zip" into (folder I'm trying to open it into). 

(Error 2 - No such file or directory.)  Do you have any suggestions? I haven't had this problem with other downloads of your game demos.

Hmm, strange. Sorry to hear you are having trouble. 

I wonder if something has happened to the file behind the link.  Is this the first time you tried to download it, or is it a reoccurring   problem? 

I'll rebuild and re-upload the file - it should be available for you to test in the next hour.

Many thanks

Oh, sorry!  I should have mentioned I was having the same problem, after multiple attempts to re-download a new copy of the file from here.  Thanks for checking on it.

I wasn't sure an edit would give you a notification, but I'm still having the same issue with the zip file.  I also tried it on another Mac as well, but no luck.

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Hello   Desrin

Sorry, no, I wasn’t notified that there had been an edit to your previous post.   

Okay, can you send me some screenshots of the errors you are getting to support@blackcross-taylor.com please?   

Also, are any other mac users having a problem? There have been over 100 downloads for the mac version, so I hope this has not been an issue for everyone.  

In the meantime, I will try to find someone who has a mac who will let me use their computer to run some tests.

Sorry you are still having trouble

Hi, fellow mac user here :) I've also been having the same thing happen to me where it won't unzip the file. Thank you for looking into it!

I'm not good at giving constructive criticism or anything, so i'll just say this. I loved the demo, and i can't wait to see the full release. Keep up the good work!

Hello, G4m3rG1rl365, and thanks for taking the time to let us know you enjoyed the demo.  Full release will be this spring, so you won't have too long to wait. ^_^

That demo was way too short. I absolutely loved it. I was immediately drawn in by the story, and can`t wait for the full release. ^_^ Will all 7 gods be romance-able characters? Or only three that you first meet? I see that only three is listed above, but I was curious if you had plans to add more if the game is popular enough. 

Can I just point out two small spelling errors that I happened to notice? 

 When Mistress Aya is talking about Yumi when they are first introduced, she says "Yumi is healthy as an ox, the best of her village, and am blessed she made the journey..." I believe it should be "...and I am blessed..."

The second is when the three gods appear. The MC is saying "...I imagine the priests at Great Temple in Otani will know if it." I believe that it should be "...I imagine the priests at the Great Temple in Otani will know of it." 

Hello, Koryuu, and thank you for the feedback - I'll be sure to get those errors corrected, so thanks for letting me know. I did check the demo myself, of course, but I'm sure there are loads more mistakes, so I'll be getting a proofreader/beta tester to check the script closer to launch. ^_^

To answer your question, it will just be the three gods you meet in the demo who are the romance options. When I began this game, I wanted to see what I could do with a smaller cast of sprites (the other longer game I was working on at the time was BFF with ten romance routes >_<) and one of the themes of the story is supposed to be a sense of isolation, though that probably doesn't come across much in the demo. 

Well, I'm glad you enjoyed the game so far - sorry it was too short - and I hope you enjoy the full version on release.

I just finished it and what I love the most about this game so far that I've seen is the MC herself! Which is so rare for me to say since protagonists in this sort of games tend to go to bland, annoying and/or overly-Mary Sue-ish, but this game's MC is anything but! I just love that she's strong enough to withstand all of the gossip and ill-remarks from the villagers and yet be compassionate to still care for them! And also the fact that she is clever to immediately deduced that the three were gods. I really like her!

And for the three gods, I can't really say much about them. I must admit, they were a little unsympathetic to the MC and the villagers' problems, but then again, they are gods, so I can't really fault them for that. I just hope they develop more as the story progresses.

A little thing I noticed also, since the MC was (spoilers) thrown stones at by the villagers and it clearly said that she was wounded and bleeding, I find it strange that she was fine the day later and no mentions of it were further made??? Is it a continuity error or was I missing something?

To sum it all up, I really enjoyed this demo and I can't wait for the full game! I wish you the best of luck!

Hello Choe-chan. Thank you for the feedback and well wishes - I am glad to hear your like the MC.

As for her injury, well, it was a minor one and I guess it was all forgotten about in the wake of what came directly afterwards, but I will look at adding a line the next morning to tie up any loose ends, so thanks for spotting that. ^_^

I hope you enjoy the full game once it is released 

It has been a nice introduction to the MC and her background, it also gives a fair characteristic choices dispite her profession as a temple keeper who is often associate with "too pure for this world" traits; which tends to be Mary Sue problem in some otome ^^;

 Although, sometime it's a bit cringe-worthy when I can't look to the NPC while I talk to them, and there isn't enough distinct separator for the God's speech (If I didn't pay attention to the name and their slight different reaction while speaking, I would never know which one is Tai and which one is Kien ^^; )

Anyway, it's worth for me to keep it in my waiting list ^^

Thank you for the feedback. I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the introduction of the main character.

As for the other issues you raised, I do not believe there will be anything I can do about the sprite-less minor characters at this stage without dramatically increasing the game’s budget, but I will certainly pay close attention to the ‘voicing’ of the gods, when I do my next bout of proofing. ^_^

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THIS IS GOOD! It's nice to see side characters that give color to the story, it's those small details that makes  a story stand out. Keep the choices coming! I like that even if this is only the demo there's alot of things, us, the players can pick to slowly build the personality of our MC. JUST WHEN IT WAS GETTING GOOD YOU HAVE TO KEEP ME HANGING WITH A CLIFF HANGER ;;

Thanks for the feedback, namjean - I'm glad you enjoyed the demo. I wanted to include a lot of choices in the game which allow you to build your character, as it were, without having to worry about 'earning points' with whoever you might be pursuing romantically.  

And sorry for the cliff hanger >_<  I hope the wait won't seem too long before the full game is released (it already seems terrifyingly short to me. ^_^)

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It gives us players freedom if the choices are given that way which also lead to be more invested especially the MC without putting character development at risk in a way it feels forced. If that's how you put us building a relationship with the LIs, I think I would be readying myself to be emotionally invested to these three gods. Really, kudos to that! 

WELP IF YOU PUT IT LIKE THAT I'm already getting giddy for the full release! I just saw it will be  on Summer 2018, I'll be patiently waiting then! ^^