Grotesque Beauty - Demo
A downloadable game for Windows and macOS
Grotesque Beauty is a horror visual novel inspired by the works of Junji Ito and Nakayama Masaaki.
Anita has been experiencing bad dreams each night, it hasn't helped that her parents are often working through the night, leaving her home alone. Her friend, Rachel, agrees to come over to keep her company and allay her dark premonition. However, their night gets a whole lot bizarre from there, when Rachel discovers a haunting painting that adorns her friend's living room.
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- Grotesque Beauty Released!!Oct 03, 2019
- Grotesque Beauty is Complete! New Trailer and Release Date!Sep 17, 2019
- Grotesque Beauty Coming This OctoberAug 09, 2019
- New TrailerApr 09, 2019
- Steam StoreApr 05, 2019
- New ReleaseMar 31, 2018
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
The demo was great! I'll be wishlisting the full game on steam and getting it soon.
Hey dev! I'm not sure if you know thia but the backlog UI isn't working. it goes to tyrano builder's default UI instead of the one u had in the demo.
also when u decide to go back to the main screen the UI for the small box that asks that is also in the default UI of the program.
Hi MariCore, thanks for bringing this to my attention. As far as I know, I don't have much control over the look of the UI for the box you are referring to. I will take a look at the backlog UI as well.
Loved the the demo, waiting for the full game.
Well done so far - hope you continue with this. I'm a big fan of Junji Ito so it'll be interesting to see what you do with this :)
Loved the first half! Is there a tentative idea of when the rest might be complete?
Gave it a go...
Finally got around to playing this and I loved it. The atmosphere is palpable, the music and art style are both great and the whole thing really feels like a Junji Ito comic in visual novel form. You really captured how subtly unsettling his comics can be. Looking forward to a full release.
Thank you for the nice comment :D Glad you liked it. I'm plugging away at the full thing, the frustrating thing is having to find the time outside of this thing called work :p Comments like yours gives me a little more fuel to push this out and I cant wait to show everyone the finished thing
I really want to play this but the Mac version won't open for some reason.
It seems that the Mac exports dont' work for some reason. I think its an issue with the software I use. I'll try a new export when they release an updated version
Thanks for the response! Looking forward to the fix.
I had forgotten it was a demo at first and became super sad when it came to the end! The atmosphere was perfectly spooky and the art was charming in an eerie sort of way. I look forward to the final product!! ♡♡
Brilliant!
Just watched GG Gab play this. I love the art style. Very Junji Ito. I'm definitely going to play the full vers. when it's released. Keep up the good work!
I ALWAYS wanted a Junji Ito inspired game that would fit perfectly like puzzle pieces and yours does! So glad I found it, keep up the good content!
The art was fantastic and the story was good, weaving in elements of Tomie and Uzumaki with an more modernized style. I've always liked playing VNs on the channel since it lets me make some interesting voices, and the Stranger led to some weird Jonathan Waters/William Shatner mix. Thanks for the game, and I look forward to the full release!
I LOVE things that can genuinely creep me out without relying on jumpscares as a crutch- and this game definitely did that! It steadily builds up an eerie atmosphere and sense of dread. It's unnerving in a way that's definitely reminiscent of the mangakas who inspired it. Like them, you know how to make situations and characters seem just not quite right and subtly unnatural in a way that freaks out my lizard brain lol
The art's great- it's very expressive, and adds to the mood of the game. Rachel and Anita are endearing and easy to empathize with, which I think is good for games like this. The stakes are higher if you actually care what happens to the characters.
I look forward to playing the complete game!!
This game is absolutely wonderful! I cannot wait for the full release! The world is very atmospheric, and the stranger's eyes get me every time..
Been on the hunt for some horror visual novels and finally found a real good one. Also the Junji Ito influence really shows, with the mention Fuan No Tane's creator I pretty much had to check this out. Hoping to see some horrifying visuals in the full version.
I really loved this demo, the atmosphere is spot on. When can a full version be expected?
Hiya, I'm so pleased to hear you enjoyed it. I'm going to try not to keep you waiting for a year. Right now I'm taking a little break after churning this out. I'd expect it to take a few months to complete :D
I really loved this game, the ambience and background was keeping me tense and creeped out all the time. I can't wait for more of it. BTW i've looked up later after the recording who were the guys you were inspired by and i have to say i really like their artstyle/artwork.
Awesome! I really enjoyed your playthrough :D
Thanks, glad you liked it :)
korean language update pls...ㅠㅠ
I think you managed it perfectly to create an atmosphere in the spirit of your mangaka inspirations. And by that I don't just mean the artwork itself, but also the kind of storytelling. The painting gets more and more important in the game, and I admire your skill to focus on one object so much. I'm looking forward to the full version of that, but even the state of the game right now is pretty great! :) I wrote a little article about it and also created a gameplay video for everyone who is interested - may more people play your game. <3
Best wishes,
Sebastian
Awesome! Thanks for the article, I enjoyed reading it. Now I feel nervous to live up to expectations, but I'm sure you'll enjoy what's being cooked up.
Don't worry too much or be nervous, seriously. :) After all, it's the passion for the whole jam and indie culture that brings us together, that's what's important. Looking forward to your future projects anyway! Thanks for your game. <3
Cool playthrough! Thanks for playing XD
Thanks for making the game. I would like to see what it's like when it's finished!
Very interesting way of showing the fog, was very surprised to see it animated. (And with how it was done, give off an unsettling vibe.)
The lip syncing was a nice touch as well. Although I am unsure if it's supposed to happen all the time, or only sometimes.
A nice start to setting up the story for things to come. I was saddened once I reached the end. I'm quite curious as to where you'll take the story, considering that it IS Junji Ito inspired. (The Enigma of Amigara Fault's ending still haunts me.)
I'm looking forward to seeing this completed. =3
Heya, good to see you on here. I'm looking forward for people to see the rest of the story XD The lip syncing isn't meant to be on all the time, but sometimes I did notice it didn't trigger when it should have for some reason. I'll have a look at what's causing this though.
"....inspired by the works of Junji Ito and Nakayama Masaaki."
Just from reading and realizing that, I've expected this vn would be likely : a noir-style terrifyingly twisted narration.
From the choose of graphic type you use with already eerie background sound plus similar style of storytelling in the writing : this vn is heading to a promisng "light" (or I have to say as "darkness" one for it is a horror anyway :'D ).
Glad you enjoyed it. I'm suddenly fearful the conclusion doesn't live up to the build up, but I think its just me feeling a bit of impostor syndrome. I hope the conclusion will excite you.
Very intriguing and I love the the art style, take your time with this. I really enjoyed playing it.
Thanks GDFE! I cant wait for people to play the full thing, the positive response makes me want to get it out sooner, either way I'll release it only when its ready :D
I loved the art and atmosphere, I'm really looking forward to seeing more of it. Any estimates for the release date?
Hey Jaydeb! Hmmm... tough to say... I'd say for sure this year, within the next few months hopefully.
Hope you like the game so far. I'm curious as to where you think the story will go from here. What do you think will happen next?