Love, lies and a corpse on the wedding night. Starcult: Night Twisted Age is not interested in fairy-tale endings, at least not at first glance. Indie developer Not a Cat Studios has unveiled a public demo for its dark fantasy visual novel on Steam, giving players an early taste of a world where emotions are as powerful as swords.
Players step into the shoes of Silviya Nebula, a noblewoman whose happily-ever-after is cut brutally short when her husband is murdered on their wedding night. What follows is a twisting descent into conspiracies, supernatural intrigue and dangerous relationships, where every conversation can become a battlefield.
The game’s standout feature is its emotion palette system, a mechanic that flips traditional visual novel storytelling on its head. Instead of simply selecting dialogue, players first choose an emotional state, which then unlocks unique responses and alters how conversations unfold. The result? Up to 15 dialogue options can emerge from a single exchange, far more than the genre’s usual handful of choices.
That means every emotional decision leaves a mark. Pick empathy, suspicion, anger or curiosity, and Silviya’s personality evolves accordingly. Relationships shift, secrets surface and characters react differently, making repeat playthroughs less of a replay and more of a reinvention. Not a Cat Studios is betting big on emotional intelligence rather than simple good-versus-evil choices.
“While making this game, we’re trying to base it on empathy, where each character have their own motivation and goals. The better MC 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 MC should be in their current walkthrough,” shared Not A Cat Studios artist and CEO Liliia Sitailo.
The demo offers multiple story paths and endings, a supernatural murder mystery packed with manipulation and hidden agendas, and an early opportunity to test whether players can uncover the killer before the full story arrives. The studio has also teased that what is available now is merely the opening chapter of a much larger narrative.
With Steam next fest on the horizon, Not a Cat Studios plans to launch the full game in the fourth quarter of 2026. Until then, players can dive into the demo, experiment with Silviya’s emotional arsenal and see just how many ways a single conversation can change fate.
After all, in Starcult, the sharpest weapon is not a blade, it’s knowing exactly how to feel.
