Heart of the Woods

Heart of the Woods is a fantasy yuri visual novel about paranormal investigation, ancient mysteries, and a love between two girls that transcends life and death.Maddie Raines has had enough. After years of serving as manager, editor, and general business-handler for her best friend Tara's popular paranormal vlog channel, she's finally ready to move forward with her own life. But when she agrees to take one last trip with Tara to the mysterious village of Eysenfeld, she's suddenly swept up in a dangerous supernatural crisis that will change the course of both of their lives forever. A strange young woman named Morgan has promised them undeniable proof of real paranormal phenomena, and what she has to offer eclipses anything they’d ever seen before.However, out of all the strange occurrences the three of them bear witness to, one in particular captivates Maddie in a way she’s never been before: the ghost of a young woman. This woman is Abigail, the victim of a centuries-old injustice now bound eternally to the forest surrounding Eysenfeld. Drawn to Maddie in a way she can’t explain, Abigail reveals herself to another person for the first time in more than 200 years.While Tara and Morgan investigate the mysteries surrounding the village itself, Maddie begins to form a bond with Abigail that grows to be more intense than any bond she’s felt before. As she learns the truth about Abigail’s death and imprisonment, she realizes that it falls to her and her friends to break the curse that has ruled over Eysenfeld for centuries. But more importantly than that, it falls to her to finally free the woman she loves.

Characters:

Maddie: A part-time manager, part time video editor, and full-time babysitter, Maddie has the thankless job of handling the absolute whirlwind that is her best friend.She’s professional, meticulous and intellectual; the first person to turn to when a problem needs solving. But when their investigation entangles her in an ancient curse, she's forced to confront phenomena beyond her comprehension, and more importantly, her own self doubt.

Abigail: For the last two centuries, the ghost of a young woman has haunted the forests of Eysenfeld. That ghost is Abigail, a kind and playful soul forcibly bound to the forest as part of an ancient curse.Two hundred years of wishing for a life cruelly denied to her have led to a feeling of crushing loneliness and one overwhelming desire: to finally have someone to talk to.

Morgan: A loyal Taranormal viewer and the daughter of Eysenfeld’s mayor, Morgan is… different. When not running her small and mostly empty antique shop, she’s known to disappear into the woods for days at a time. That, combined with her resistance to traditional social standards, has caused her to develop a bit of a notorious reputation in the village.However, this resistance is not just an act of rebellion: Morgan knows that there’s something sinister deep within Eysenfeld, and she’s not going to stop until she tears it out at the roots.

Tara: One of the world’s most popular paranormal vloggers (according to her), Tara is unfailingly charismatic and bursting with limitless energy. She’s brash, intrepid, and always seeking something new. That often makes her a magnet for trouble: whether it’s from relentless flirting, minor criminal activities or just plain pig-headedness, things around Tara have a tendency to end in chaos.

Features:

Incredible character and CG art from Rosuuri

Fully original backgrounds and soundtrack

Approximately 130,000 words with multiple endings

Ending theme from In Love With A Ghost

Multiple accessibility options

Steam trading cards

Extra features including a music room, CG viewer, and guest art gallery

At least one really, really gay ghost

Changelog:

Heart of the Woods 2.1.5 has just been released, which fixes all known compatibility issues with the Steam Deck!

It also fixes a few minor issues that were either reported, or were found in testing.

As always, thank you for continuing to support Studio Élan!

〜 Karen/あけみ (akemin_dayo) and adirosa

Changelog for 2.1.5:

On PC, it targets Ren’Py SDK versions 8.1.3.23091805 〜 7.3.5.606.

Fixed all known UI layout issues that were affecting the Steam Deck when the game was run from the Steam client in SteamOS 3 / Holo.

Fixed an issue that could potentially cause videos to not play in certain very specific circumstances.

Made various other internal refactors and improvements.

Comments:

The game starts off slow but after the slow start it gets better, I enjoyed most my time with it and i like all the characters despite them being annoying at times. The voice acting is passable. The writing in the relationships can sometimes feel a bit to corny and unrealistic and like things are moving to quickly. By the end it was a little to cheesy for me to take the relationships as seriously cause i felt like things escalated to fast with not enough time to develop. But the main conflict is very good and i liked that. The story focuses more on the magical fantasy stuff than the gay and that’s fine.

back in 2019, the artist 'in love with a ghost' released a song quite dear to me - the ending theme for heart of the woods. i vaguely knew it was part of a visual novel, but i didn't know how much i'd love those just yet. it was exciting to finally experience such a lovely song as it was intended!heart of the woods is a fantasy, lesbian visual novel in which a youtuber, tara (who's trans!), and her manager, maddie, head to a remote village. they crash at a fan's cabin to film an episode based on local legends and the paranormal. as maddie is leaving the show, things are tense, and it's not relieved even by discovering they're very much in danger - although it all certainly doesn't stop maddie from falling in love with a woman who died 200 years prior.you'll get to make decisions only three times, and there are three possible endings. its narrative balances sugary sweet romance and soft visuals with surprisingly realistic dialogue, nuanced interpersonal conflicts, well written characters, and a willingness to stare grief in the face. it even has pretty solid voice acting and beautiful art! if you find anyone's personality abrasive, as you very well might, give them a chance. every character's anxiety comes through differently and no one is the same by the end.

 An amazing, though at times dark, Visual Novel with some interesting twists. The story pulls you in, and the characters feel very real in how they act. Though I usually don't like darker yuri Visual Novels, Heart of the Woods managed to tell such an intriguing story that I simply had to continue reading.This all is backed up by an absolutely amazing soundtrack. The soundtrack of Heart of the Woods pulls you even deeper into it's mysterious world, and forms a perfect backdrop for the story. I highly recommend giving this Visual Novel a try. This was the first yuri Visual Novel I have ever read, and to this day it still holds a special place in my Heart.

Summary:

Little does Maddie or Tara realize that within the woods lies a supernatural force that will change their lives forever. Maddie Raines has had enough. After years of serving as manager, editor, and general business-handler for her best friend Tara’s popular paranormal vlog channel, she’s finally ready to move forward with her own life. But when she agrees to take one last trip with Tara to the mysterious village of Eysenfeld, she’s suddenly swept up in a dangerous supernatural crisis that will change the course of both of their lives forever.