Black Heaven: a Necromantic Dating Sim
A downloadable game for Windows and macOS
Black Heaven:
A Necromantic Dating Sim
In Black Heaven, you’re a former scholar and one of the last survivors of a plague that’s destroyed the world you used to know.
After nearly succumbing to the disease, your life is saved by a mysterious necromancer named No-Eyes, who offers you the chance to escape death forever and relive your past. All he asks are the souls of your former classmates:
- Ru, your shy but brilliant tutor
- Lyse, the fiery, sharp-witted debutante
- Izagi, the idealistic and stoic martial artist
As you return to the ruined academy where you spent your happiest days, you’re haunted by the pleasant memories of your old friends, and the line between memory and madness becomes dangerously blurred.
Note: this game is in Early Access.
Credits:
Character Art: Linnea Kataja
Background Art: Lim Chin Yang
Music: Marek Domagala, LazerWülf, The Embalmer
GUI: BaiYu
NSFW Artwork: Motto
Download
Install instructions
This is the Extended demo of the game. The full game is still under development.
Contact us at occulttrianglelab [at] gmail [dot] com if you need to get in touch with the dev team!
Development log
- "Black Heaven" Is Live on Steam!Oct 28, 2023
- The Game Is Finished and Fulfilling to Kickstarter Backers!Jun 25, 2023
- The Kickstarter Is 329% Funded, All Stretch Goals Unlocked and More!Jun 25, 2023
- The Kickstarter Has Passed 55% Funding!May 03, 2021
- The Kickstarter for "Black Heaven" is LIVE!Apr 30, 2021
- The Kickstarter for "Black Heaven" Launches Tomorrow!Apr 29, 2021
- Kickstarter Preview Page Is Live - Follow the Game!Mar 08, 2021
Comments
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Hello. I have been enjoying this game on Steam. I was just wondering how many endings does it have? I want to be sure that I see everything before I move on to another game.
Hi Alexfang! There are 4 main endings (including one for Ru, one for Izagi, one for Lyse). There may also be a secret ending...
Thank you
I just finished the game yesterday. I found the secret ending by complete accident. This was an enjoyable VN to read through.
I've been playing the game on Steam, and while the story and characters are very interesting so far, the madness mechanic is a bit unreliable. I'm used to playing in short sessions, like half an hour short, and I'm also a slow reader that likes going back to re-read some of the text by scrolling up, and I've found myself with madness seemingly before even getting the reload ability in the story. A log would be helpful.
I had to actually wipe my saves and force myself to play differently, and I don't think I've even picked different choices at any point. I'm actually considering just letting the game run in the background so I don't have to save and load.
Also, when No-Eyes shot the MC, the MC immediately avoided the shot despite me never seeing that moment before. I found out it's supposed to work differently after wiping my saves and replaying up to that point.
EDIT: I now see that the Steam download contains a save file, so maybe that's what messing things up.
I'm finally done with the story, and I enjoyed it! I really liked Uzo as a character, and I wish there were some write-up about his mindset throughout the events of the story specifically. I definitely recommend the visual novel, especially if you are a vulnerable narcissistic asshole.
One thing I'll say is that I was a bit sad there was no ARG content in the game. Some things in the script were seemingly scrapped, and that's a shame. I've read the Medium article, but I think figuring out the Nokizi beyond just the hex stuff would have been a lot more fun on your own compared to how it's handled in the story.
Thanks for the kind words! So glad you enjoyed the story!
I just want to clarify that the ARG content was limited to Kickstarter backers, so that's why it's not present in the public, Steam version.
It's much easier for one person to manage the ARG side of things when the audience is smaller, but if you're interested in learning more about the Nokizi and ARG content, send me an email at occulttrianglelab@gmail.com!
Oh, that makes sense. I wish I knew about the game sooner, but I get the concerns with the ARG stuff. I guess it's a shame I'm not a chronomancer!
Thank you for your answer.
Alright, so I streamed this game last night on my Twitch channel and I gotta say, though I enjoyed the story and progression, I'm a bit confused as to when the "dating sim" starts.
I've never really played a dating sim before, but I definitely wasn't expecting this. To me this was more of a narrative story than a dating simulator. I mean, I liked the game, it just wasn't what I expected. I played the entire demo waiting for the "dating sim" to start, waiting for something that lead to the premise of the game which is explained by No-Eyes when you meet him (no spoilers).
I love the dialogue, the graphics (especially the carefully placed lighting/shadows), the animated expressions on the characters, the attention to descriptive detail, and will absolutely play this again when it's fully released.
I just think that maybe instead of titling it "A Necromantic Dating Sim", you may want to change it or just let go of that extra altogether.. to even label it as such is really a detriment to the story itself. Other than that.. if you're into VN's this is heavy on the "Novel" part and very beautifully written.
Wow, this is an impressive demo! It was hard to finish it in one night, but I didn't want to ruin the pacing by picking it back up the next day. I have a few questions though.
1) Aside from the tutorial segment with No-Eyes, is the fractal madness mechanic implemented in the demo? I tried loading a couple of saves, and nothing seemed to change, but it could be that those were unrelated scenes. It's okay if it isn't! I just want to know if I can test it out.
2) When Ru "clenches her fists and shakes them excitedly up and down", is she stimming? I ask as someone who has stims myself; mine are pacing and hand-flapping, for reference.
I'm really excited for Black Heaven! Thank you all for making this wonderful game!
Hi Eleri!
So glad you enjoyed the demo! To answer your questions:
1) Right now, there's no Fractal Madness at work in the demo--the scene with No-Eyes is used solely to explain why the protagonist can go back in time to undo things!
2) Interesting! Ru shaking her fists up and down in excitement wasn't intended to be stimming behavior, but I can see how it's similar!
Thanks so much for your encouragement and support! It means a lot to us!
- Chris Mahon, Creative Lead
But like...we can date No-Eyes right? o3o
I can neither confirm nor deny whether you can date Daddy No-Eyes.
Maybe it will be hidden in a secret route...
This demo is very interesting! I especially love those horrific scenes in the library. I'm definitely looking forward to the full game. :D
Hey, thanks! Glad you enjoyed the more...disturbing parts.
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Really like the character & settings that this visual novel covers, there are so few visual novels that cover necromancy, or a character that's dedicated to martial arts like Izagi. ^o^
This was absolutely a delight to play for a demo! I can't wait for a full release!
Thanks so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed the demo. We'll be working on an extended demo soon, so stay tuned!