Trail of the Wretched
A downloadable game
A land of danger and decay.
You hop off the boat and step onto the dirt of the New World. The wind is suffocating. The people are suspicious. Outlaws roam free and corruption is an everyday fact of life. Between the small towns littered across the continent is a vast wilderness where no sane person would dare to venture.
You are entirely out of your element, but there's no turning back now. Take those pictures like you were told to do, and try not to say anything stupid.
About the game...
Trail of the Wretched is a bleak visual novel set on a fictional continent inspired by the old west. You play as a photographer sent across the ocean to capture the New World in all its untamed and horrible beauty.
You'll argue with the voices in your head, witness unspeakable acts, cross rivers, acquire a fancy new coat, put your head in a noose, and maybe, just maybe, you'll say something profound.
Length: 1-2 Hours.
Content Warning: Strong violence and language.
Made by...
Xavier Bell - Creative Director, Writer, Programmer, UI, Audio and 3D Art.
Jason Reagen - 3D Modelling.
Khoa Ho - Character Art.
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- The Super Final UpdateDec 10, 2023
- Polish and Optimisation UpdateNov 15, 2023
- Settings UpdateNov 09, 2023
Comments
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Excellent work on this
You can see my reaction to it at the link below, @ 29:45, and if you want extra thoughts / feedback lmk
Great job
This is excellent! Lots of atmosphere, which turns creepy after a certain character shows up. The art is perfect, and the map is fitting as well as creative. Characters are top-notch, and the writing is good. Quality VN that was clearly made with imagination and care. Thank you!
One question though: Are there different endings? I feel I may have made some poor choices along the way... lol.
Thanks for playing!
As for the endings,
(spoilers incoming ahhhhh)
There's just one. I won't give a detailed answer as to why since that would ruin some of the fun, so I'll just say it's... thematic!
The art design and writing make for such a rich world, it feels like theres nothing im not seeing. I could spend hours moving wooden figurines across a burlap map with cardboard buildings. So delighted to have stumbled upon this gem ✨
Finally getting around to sitting down and writing a little something after playing this in full—I played it like, a day before the QoL update lmao, will have to give it another go—it’s fantastic work.
The writing in this manages to pull off a sensible mix of melancholy in a desolate setting while also being genuinely funny, which is an absolute treat.
The presentation is perfect, the camera angles, the clever little details in the UI down to how the portraits stack on top of each other, hell even the sepia tones just work so well, it’s so good.
The latter half absolutely drips with really, really fun and interesting situations, characters and implied worldbuilding. It just rocks.
Found myself wanting more when I reached the end, which is the sign of a really good game in book!
Looking forward to seeing more of your work.