vivid/stasis by Hajimeli (mystery vn/rhythm game, 2023, 2025)

[lb_lee]

submitted by Sploosh! Thank you, Sploosh!

"Lost in the labyrinth of your own heart, can you still hear the song of the cosmos?"

Blurb: A rhythm game/mystery vn hybrid about a girl named Saturday Tasogare looking for her lost sister.

Why is it worth your time?: It's a well written mystery game about moving past trauma and fighting to see the future. The plural stuff is unfortunately all spoilers, but notably the plural's healing process involves reuniting together while remaining their own persons, including the antagonists.

Plural/+1 Tags: abuse low focus, copies, teamwork, enmity, switching

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

The game has a detailed list of content warnings for each chapter that can be enabled in settings.

Access Notes: Free on steam. An itch.io release with more focus on story is also planned, and will be also be free. The game right now has several options for accessibility, including automatically unlocking all story nodes, increasing song rewards, and lowering boss song requirements. Game also has a playthrough up, though it's a bit outdated since the 5.0.0 update changed some things, they're mostly minor; you can still watch it and have a good experience. Unlocks for rhythm content can also be adjusted in the accessibility settings.

Comments

Content Warnings

[lb_lee]

Character Death (of past characters), Non-Permanent Character Death, heavy themes of unreality, themes of trauma, poor mental health, grieving, survivor's guilt, and mourning, one scene of past violence inflicted by a character's parent, a lot of discussion around a (separate) very flawed parent trying to help his daughter so much that he becomes neglectful