Refuge of Ember

Immerse yourself in hand-illustrated fantasy world that draws you deeper into the story. Refuge of Embers follows the renamable main character Harth as the world he knows gives way to change that causes him to discover a deeper purpose. Harth lives a simple life with his friends in a remote frontier village. Events eventually lead him to Pyre, the enormous capital city where he encounters unusual new situations. How will Harth and his friends react to the strange new world they find themselves in?Meet and romance a large cast of characters, each with their own distinct personalities, backgrounds, and motives. Forge deep connections with them as you navigate the complexities of their relationships. What will the characters you meet think of the choices you make, and how will that change your relationship with them?With an intricate web of choices and consequences, unlock various endings that reflect the impact of your decisions. The decisions that you make may even lead to different flavors of endings with the same characters depending on how you choose to act around them. Replay the game to experience alternative storylines and unlock all possible outcomes.Unravel the many mysteries and secrets scattered throughout the story to unveil more about the lore and background of the game. Character accessories, hidden messages, and even entire bonus scenes will await you as you find objects hidden throughout the game and explore menus. How many secrets will you find?

Features:

Captivating storyline: "Refuge of Embers" takes you on a thrilling adventure, following Biorn as he embarks on a journey filled with twists and turns, discovering a deeper purpose in a world undergoing transformation.

Unveiling new depths: As the story unfolds, expect to witness personal growth, emotional depth, and profound revelations that will leave you eager for more.

Inclusive community: Join Biorn and his friends in a remote frontier town, where you'll experience the camaraderie and friendship that will shape their reactions to the strange new world they encounter.

Immersive setting: Explore the edge of the known world, an impassable ring of dense forest teeming with deadly beasts. Prepare to be enthralled by the lush descriptions and vivid landscapes that will stimulate your imagination.

Enigmatic characters: Venture to the enormous capital city of Faruwine, where Biorn will cross paths with intriguing characters. Uncover their secrets, forge alliances, and navigate complex relationships in this mysterious new world.

Engaging gameplay: Get ready to participate in dynamic and thought-provoking situations. Tackle challenging quests, solve puzzles, and make impactful decisions that will shape the outcome of Biorn's journey.

Highlights:

Character Interaction and Relationship Building: The game focuses heavily on the relationships you forge with a diverse cast of characters, each with their own intricate backstories, motivations, and goals. As you spend more time with them, your decisions and actions will shape your interactions, allowing you to build friendships or spark romances. How well you understand and navigate these relationships will have a significant impact on the direction of your story.

Exploration and Discovery: Journey through a rich, hand-drawn world, from the quiet village where Harth's journey begins to the bustling, enigmatic capital city of Pyre. Every location holds secrets to be discovered, from hidden quests to mysterious lore that can provide vital clues to understanding the broader conflict at play.

Choice-Driven Narrative: Every action you take in Refuge of Embers carries weight, from the dialogue choices you make to the decisions about how you act in pivotal moments. Your choices influence how other characters perceive you, what opportunities arise, and how the story ultimately unfolds, offering a deeply personalized experience.

Engaging Character Depth: Every character you meet in Refuge of Embers is more than just a companion or quest-giver—they have rich personalities and complex motivations. With numerous romance options and varying friendship dynamics, the game offers a wide range of possibilities for building meaningful relationships that can affect the course of the adventure.

Expansive World to Explore: The hand-illustrated world of Refuge of Embers is vast and filled with lush environments, intricate architecture, and various hidden areas to discover. From forests and mountain ranges to the grand city of Pyre, the world is brimming with life and mystery for you to uncover.

Multiple Story Paths and Endings: The choices you make lead to multiple story paths and endings, providing high replay value. With different routes for romance, conflict resolution, and character outcomes, no two playthroughs are the same. The weight of your decisions is felt throughout the entire journey.

Tips for Users:

Explore Every Corner: Refuge of Embers is filled with hidden treasures and secrets waiting to be discovered. Make sure to explore every nook and cranny of the game's intricate world. Investigate every corner, talk to NPCs, and complete side quests to uncover valuable rewards and untold stories.

Master Combos and Abilities: To overcome the toughest challenges, it's crucial to master the combat system and Biorn's abilities. Experiment with different combat techniques and learn powerful combos to defeat enemies effectively. Upgrade Biorn's skills strategically to unlock devastating attacks and improve his overall performance in battles.

Interact with the Characters: The world of Faruwine is populated by intriguing characters with unique personalities and backgrounds. Engage in meaningful conversations and interact with NPCs to deepen your understanding of the game's lore and unravel hidden narratives. Building relationships with characters may unlock additional quests and rewards.

Changelog:

Version 0.18 is finally finished and ready for early access play testers. The script is now up to 34,729 words and we have about 145 mins of total game play across the different paths. This time around we added to the main story, including adding a pretty spicy new scene with Evana in her private bathhouse.

For Evana's scene we made some really cool looking animated fog effects that add a lot to the sequence, and we also played around with animating the water behind everything. Having the extra movement in the background really made everything feel a lot more alive. All in all I think we captured a really cool vibe with it and will be adding similar effects into everything else from now on.

We also added in another temple location, but it won't be making an appearance until a later version. The other major additions were to the early story. We significantly revised what happened with Remi in the prologue by adding in some new scenes, and baked in a few setups that will have payoffs in later versions as we went.

Adding to the early story has always been tricky to manage with existing saves, so I've added in a new way to streamline how that works. Now if there are early story additions, at the end of a play through you'll have the option to play through any new scenes that have been added with a brief explanation of how they fit into the story, or have a short synopsis instead. It's pretty simple but should make it a lot less annoying. Let us know if you find any bugs. Version 0.19 which is a Lucine update is well underway at this point and is set for release within the next few weeks.

Conclusion:

Refuge of Embers - another very attractive project in terms of visual style, which, among other things, gives not only explicit content, but also a lot of exciting adventures from the life of the main character and the characters around him. Until the last moment, he lived peacefully in a provincial, but rather dangerous wilderness. A small village surrounded by a forest, where a lot of predators live. And it so happened that there was an urgent need to visit the capital. The protagonist volunteered to work as an envoy. To help the settlement and see the big city. Other young people who had been sitting in one place for too long joined him. After which they set off on their way.