The Abyss beckons you once more.
You're dead. But don't worry, the end has no end. Welcome to the ethereal realms of the afterlife. Sign your contract, manage this lonely bar on the Abyss for a year, and claim your limitless wish from the gods themselves.
Well, if you manage to finish that year.
༻ THE BAR ON THE ABYSS 3.0 IS FINALLY HERE
Play WIP at: Itch.io | CoGDemos
(Current demo: 410k words!!!)
What started as a 2.5 update two and a half years ago grew into something I could no longer call anything but a new version entirely.
✬ Almost 200,000 words of overhauled and brand-new content for the current 5 chapters of the game.
✬ Brand new, restructured main plot arc.
✬ New mechanics that will carry the whole game forward.
✬ Characters who are more alive (well, you know) and more complicated than they've ever been.
I won't pretend this one was easy to ship, but I'm so glad it's finally in your hands.
(And if you're willing to help this little game grow, here's how! 🖤)
✬ Leave a comment on the COG game thread!
✬ Reblog this post before you start!
✬ Talk about it on r/hostedgames!
✬ Add it to your collection on itch.io!
✬ And most importantly, please send me your thoughts via ask here, or on COG, during or after your playthrough. I genuinely want to read every single one!
It would mean the world and beyond. Truly.
And now, here's everything that's new. Grab a drink! We earned it:
༻ A WHOLE NEW MAIN PLOT
The story of your afterlife journey has changed.
From the moment you sign your new contract, presented to you by none other than the Grim Reaper, the main arc of TBOTA changes from the ground up.
Pick your limitless wish, learn about your new employer: the Council of Nine, and discover what truly lies beneath this contract: a binding to something… else.
And this time, you have far greater agency to act on your own behalf and for your staff.
Should you choose to share what you've learned with them, of course.
If you've played before, you'll recognise the bones. But the story has grown around them into something ready to carry the full weight of what TBOTA is building toward.
༻ YOUR SPIRIT GIFT
The Spirit Gift system has been completely reworked. Not as a shortcut or as a glorified stat check, but as a new lens through which you experience the entire story. Each gift opens unique scenes, unique ways to act, gather information, or stumble into something just effing strange. Think of them less as abilities and more as a personality trait that the bar decided you really needed.
Ring of Chronos: stolen from Itot, the glass-spider god of time. Click your fingers, stop the world, and what you do with those stolen seconds is yours to decide: help your staff, or punch a nightlife critic in the face.
Lens of Daezur: contraband from a mage who wanted to know too much. Point it at anything, and get your own secret encyclopedia. Learn how old the Raven is, who made the gates to Limbo, and what the bathroom fog is really made of.
Mask of Shapeless Visage: previously worn by the actors-assassins of Teatru Mischak. Wear the face of everyone around you. But will you remember how to be yourself?
The Necklace of Murmurs: hear the thoughts of inanimate objects around you, and more so, their opinions. Your bedroom table, the jukebox downstairs, a letter from Pyriphlegethon, or even your own cash register.
Voidcutter: a sword forged to kill gods, carrying the memories of the civilization destroyed for making it. Fight like a spirit-warrior when the opportunity presents itself. And who knows… maybe one day, you’ll kill a god too.
Navia's Earring: the mad prophet heard what the gods meant to keep hidden. Now you do too! Just remember: some things, once heard, are very hard to unknow.
༻ RANDOM PATRONS ENCOUNTERS
No two playthroughs of the game will be the same! Each run gives you two out of five possible patron encounters, one in Chapter 1, one in Chapter 4.
In the future, these encounters will be chosen from a pool of 20 patrons. So, who walks through your door tonight?
Meet Zilas, God of Revelry, and he is very good at his job.
Meet Perpetiel, an Ophanim Angel, drinking a mimosa from a straw. Be not afraid.
Meet Laura, an astronaut who died during a research mission into a black hole, with one terrifying tale.
Meet Xochitl, Trade Ambassador of Clan Roh'els of the Undead City of Necropolis. A vampiress in your humble abode, coming with an interesting offer for you.
Tomas, a mortal painter. Quiet, unassuming. That’s all.
༻ LOVE AFTER DEATH
Romance has been overhauled from scratch. Be flirtatious or be a complete disaster about it. Choose monogamy, polyamory, or an ace playthrough. Build something slow and tender, or burn bright and chaotic.
And if you want things a little spicier with a certain devilish friend of yours... well. The content is there. You'll find it, I’m sure.
And random patrons are fair game, too! if you're the type to shoot your shot with someone who walked through your door an hour ago, and might be a vampire or an angel.
No judgment here.
༻ WHO ARE YOU IN THIS AFTERLIFE?
Introducing a 30-trait personality system. Every choice you make, every option you pick, every response you give quietly builds a psychological profile of your MC.
Not to gate content or to judge you! Just to reflect who you are becoming in your ethereal form, one decision at a time.
New grief path content is also woven throughout the game. Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance, each path surfaces in new places, in new ways.
You'll also find tons of new career options throughout the game. Some of them can even replace certain skill checks!
The Abyss is watching, and it finds you fascinating.
༻ CHARACTER CUSTOMIZATION AND DEATH SCARS
Choose from a vastly expanded range of career backgrounds, add an honorific, and find a few other surprises waiting in the menu.
Your career also has a greater presence throughout the game now: more moments where who you were in life shapes who you're becoming in death.
And by popular demand, choose a death scar. After all, you died, and you probably have the marks to prove it.
During character customization, you can now choose your death scars, currently cosmic in nature. Full in-game integration is coming in future updates, but they're yours to wear now.
༻ EVERYTHING ELSE
Almost every scene in the existing game has been touched (gently, consensually): Prose, character voices, pacing, and choices.
If something felt off before, there's a good chance it doesn't anymore! (HOPING) And also, made an absolute thorough bugs & typos sweep. Some of them were present from day one! But I FINALLY SQUISHED THEM!
That's it, for now. I think! Might be others I forgot about, lol. After all, it’s been two and a half years of work just for this update. More love and labour than I can ever put into a release post, but alas.
Thank you for waiting. Thank you for asking after this game during the long silences.
Hey! New update day! The start of chapter 4 is here along with 27k new words of content. It's not as big as I was hoping it would be, but don't worry more is coming!
[Play it here.]
Features:
Talk with Morgan (finally).
Go to jail.
Have some fun with L 😉
Reach the first ending in the story. (Is it a good one? You'll have to find out.)
Other things:
Grammar and spelling fixes as always.
Re balanced personality stats so they don't progress as quickly or go over 100.
Fixed repeated paragraphs that could happen at the end of the fight with Morgan.
Our first over 100,000 word chapter is here!!! Take your first international trip as president to the country of Volaria! I'm sure nothing will go wrong.
Features:
🌺Meet other world leaders and make friends
🌺Or make enemies
🌺Discover more about Volaria, a country walking the tightrope between autocracy and democracy
🌺Go painting with Faustino, hiking with Nura, to the spa with Junius, the beach with Priyanshi, and enjoy a lazy evening with Michi
🌺Meet an Adrangan billionaire with an offer for Rezanii and Edria
🌺Ally with neighbor Estance or plot your invasion
🌺Attend a ball and have a clandestine meeting with the president of Wastoria
Total Word Count: 827,861 (721,092 w/o code)
Average Playthrough Length: 160,387
Read Here!
Let’s ring in the new year with my longest chapter yet of Shattered Eagle: Fall of an Empire! Much of this length will be reflected in variations of scenes or wholly new scenes that specific choices will allow entrance to, and as such it may not feel its length as much as the overall word count may suggest. Still, this chapter will represent payoff for important developments of the plot and of the characters, in addition to setting the stage for the rest of Act II.
Chapters I → VI Changelog:
I have made some minor adjustments, including but not limited to adding new variables that will be needed for Chapter VII and beyond. I have also added a means by which to start four of the five romances in either Chapter IV or Chapter VI, and means by which to gain some of the information an allied Darius would give even if he is not visited in Chapter VI.
Chapter VII Changelog:
Clocking in at over 200,000 words without code, this chapter was quite a lot for me to wrangle. As a result, I have no doubt I’ve missed typos, label errors, odd spacing, and incorrectly set variables. I would greatly appreciate feedback pointing these out and any other constructive criticism or suggestions which may help enhance the story and reading experience of Shattered Eagle.
Additionally, I would greatly appreciate those who read through the demo to post the stats listed at the end on this forum thread for the purposes of balancing content. If you would like not to post them publicly, feel free to message them to me personally on the Choice of Games Forum.
Future Updates:
The remaining four chapters of the story await for me to write, as the conflicts established boil over before the Prefect’s eyes. I hope you leave feedback and continue to enjoy the work-in-progress!
Open Day + Vampire route Update! (and more) 40k words
-New sub-Volery! The Spurred Sparrows: become a magical hunter
-More ROs POVs that reflect earlier choices!
-Meet the Heron RO: Amelia Fern, future journalist and a Stray thorn in the Divine Flock’s side
-Meet the king of european vampires [Raven Magician and afab Swan on Astors route]
-Die, become a vampire and witness the Phoenix fight for their Consort [this is for the afab Swan route on Astors route]
The open day:
-Go shopping, alone or with a companion
-As the Angels Consort, you are the center of attention: be judged
-Café-date with Droznik! (and a nosy café owner that will react to your chosen companion)
-Break up with Droznik, break his heart
-"...Mother?"
-Reign in a kelpie (and other fun volery-specific activities)
-Choose what to do afterwards: go hiking (alone or with someone, on a certain route you can visit the house of a certain Ceres, be he alive or not), or visit Kronschwinge (alone or with someone)
@interact-if
