she who longs to return to the water
(It's been so long since I've been awake, I've forgotten what it was like not to be dreaming.)
It's winter, and one little bird doesn't like it. Shivering, awake when she wants to be asleep, above when she wants to be below - what troubles will befall our hero next? Where did her family go? And why does she keep seeing antlers out of the corner of her eye?
❄️ About the game ❄️
she who longs to return to the water is a short visual novel where the choices you make will change the fate of one girl forever. Replay to get all the endings and uncover the secrets of the deep, to reach the true ending. There are six endings in total!
This was made as part of the Winter Visual Novel Jam 2022.
❄️ Controls ❄️
Use the Left Mouse Button or Spacebar to advance the dialogue, holding down the Skip Button will fast forward until the next choice. The audio can be adjusted in the setting by hitting the Esc button or Right Mouse Button. We recommend playing in fullscreen mode for the best experience!
❄️ Credits ❄️
Starling - writing, music and sfx, narrative design Twitter
Tenkain - character art, background art, narrative design Twitter
pke1029 - programming Twitter
Sounds from freesound.org: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
❄️ Reviews ❄️
"It's just like Hatoful Boyfriend, without the Japanese names!" - Pigeon Chen
"This is... very nicely written" - Winged Souls
"Not everyone is a bird in this...or on this itch.io page..." - Starling
Download
Install instructions
If you are experiencing performance issues or the game failed to load in the browser, you may try using an alternative browser or download the game to play locally. To play locally, download the zip and extract the file according to your operating system and run the executable. We currently don't have builds for macOS.
Comments
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Amazingly written! The way the story unfolds and you learn more and more as each time you replay is very cool <3
The music was just breathtaking too, it fit perfectly :D
Now I really want to download/buy the music...!
Great job, and well done to everyone involved! ✨✨✨
Thanks so much for the kind comment!! So happy you enjoyed the game <3 We all worked hard!
I've uploaded the music as a single track here if you're interested:
This is beautifully written and drawn the music was perfect. You and your team did amazing with this story, keep up the great work
Thanks so much! Everyone worked hard, so the kind words matter a lot to us. Thank you!
Oh my, this was gorgeous!
The programming effects made it really vividly, and the art was superb. The music was incredible, and I say it as a fellow musician! It really accompanied the vibe smoothly and setted the moods for the scenes perfectly. And the last song was so on point for the ending A (Which I asume is the true one).
As for the plot and idea, I loved it! Very much like an old folk fairy tale! Really nicely written.
Thanks so much for the lovely comments, we really appreciate it! So happy also to hear you liked the music and found it effective, it means a lot coming from a fellow musician <3
This is so beautiful!! The music is gorgeous!!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for playing :)
Absolutely gorgeous art, the characters and backgrounds are such a feast for the eyes. They all stand out and paint a beautiful picture of the game's universe. The OST was great, especially the final song in the true ending, I spent time at the end just listening to it. It's a very nice, short game to play, I just wish it was longer and there was more time spent with the sparrow. Definitely recommend to play!
Thank you for the kind words!