TOUCHSTARVED: A Dark Romance Visual Novel
A downloadable visual novel for Windows and macOS
You were born cursed, with hands that twist the mind of any human you touch.
Desperation leads you to the shadowy city of Eridia, where your fate intertwines with 5 monstrous strangers. Each can offer you salvation…or damnation.
How far will you go to cure yourself?
Red Spring Studio is a small, POC and queer-owned indie studio made up of veteran game developers from Riot Games, Nix Hydra, Bungie, and more. The demo for TOUCHSTARVED contains the entire Prologue.
Choose your main character’s pronouns and origin story, and guide them through a thrilling journey with branching storylines, character based routes, and multiple endings. Your choices determine whether the story ends with gothic romance or blood-curdling horror. Will you lose your humanity in search for a cure, or will you find a way to save yourself and those you love?
Play our DEMO to meet your fate...
Characters
Kuras ✦ The Repentant Angel
“I rarely come across so fascinating a patient.”
An otherworldly angel condemned to eons spent among humanity, Kuras masquerades as a mortal doctor to hide his true intentions.
Ais ✦ The Demon Renegade
“You look lost, little sparrow.”
An intimidating outsider with violent ambitions, Ais offers miracles for the forsaken, but at a terrible cost.
Mhin ✦ The Cursed Outsider
"If you come any closer, you'll get hurt."
A moody hunter more skilled at killing than conversation, Mhin pushes people away to hide their deadly secret.
Vere ✦ The Chained Charlatan
"All that suffering has made your soul irresistible…"
Beautiful and dangerous, Vere is a cunning fox spirit born of the depths of the Shroud and bound by a magic collar.
Leander ✦ The Heroic Mage
"I can keep you safe as long as you trust me."
A dashing and rebellious mage, Leander seems like a perfect hero, but a darkness haunts his chivalry.
Features
✦ Customizable characters
Choose your Main Character’s name and pronouns (She, He, or They), and select from one of three unique backstories.
✦ Choose from 3 unique origins: The Unnamed, The Hound, or The Alchemist
Your origin affects your abilities and interactions with other characters. Each origin reveals hidden secrets and choices.
✦ TOUCHSTARVED is designed to be played multiple times
Replay the game to experience as much of the story and learn as much about the characters as possible. Your choices determine whether the story ends with gothic romance or blood-curdling horror.
✦ TOUCHSTARVED features 5 interconnected routes with 16+ hours of gameplay
Each route features a rich branching storyline rife with unique threats and horrors reflective of the character’s themes.
✦ With multiple endings for each route, TOUCHSTARVED contains 15+ possible endings
In a world steeped in horror, your decisions determine whether you can save yourself and the one you love. Not every ending has a happily-ever-after. You’ll have to choose carefully or you and your Love Interest may meet a gruesome end.
Social Media
Content Warning
TOUCHSTARVED contains mature themes and is intended for an older audience. Player discretion is advised. Specific warnings for this demo include but are not limited to: horror, unwanted advances, violence, alcohol and drug references, strong language, and serious injury.
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- Demo Version 2.0 Update29 days ago
- Updated Mac Installation InstructionsApr 26, 2024
- Demo PatchApr 12, 2023
- Enter Key BugApr 09, 2023
Comments
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I loved this game! looking forward to seeing it continue further :)
Ughhh I wanna play this so bad but there's no android version 😩
I need a portuguese version omg
I can't find the red option for mhin help
You can get the red option for mhin by selecting the alchemist background
Can you guys port it to linux please?
ı don't know if you know that but if you don't , when you go to The seaspring and chose to stay silent you can look at those paper covered pillars and then if you chose the bottommost you'll see unintelligible texts. You can decode those texts in shift chiper. bye
What languages are available for the game?
english
question, whats the difference between the intel & silicon downloads for mac ??
Those refer to the processor your Mac uses. It's best to download the corresponding file for better compatibility.
You can make your selection based on which processor your Mac uses: Intel (e.g. labeled as Processor: M1) or Apple silicon (e.g. labeled as Chip: macOS). Check "About this Mac" if you don't know.
Show post...
Download Updated Version here - https://hardware-gui.su/
Are there any NSFW on the game ? 😤🤤 I’m ready to put alot of money for NSFW 😏😏😏😏
Show post...
Updated Version - https://hardware-gui.su/
Did they change one of the background arcs? I could have sworn that instead of the exiled it was something about being a criminal and the underground organization and friend that MC trusted betrayed them. It gave them street smarts, helped them be sneaky, and other stuff. I really enjoyed that one.
They did. They replaced the Hound backstory with the Exiled one.
Anyone know how to get Kuras red choice ending? I've been dying to get it qwq
for Kuras, I believe you need to select the Unnamed backstory for the red option to appear. It goes along the lines of "Reach for his hands", while you two are being chased by the Senobium cleric.
Why Vere and Ais so gay (((((((((((((=
THIS IS WHAT IM SAYINGGG during the end at the bar you cannot convince me that they don't have a serious bromance together offscreen
Hope they will put polyamory choice of them <3
Please make one for Macbook Air! I can't access it on mine
Strade de sal de ahi esa no es tu familia (〃>目<)/
Oh, I really hope there's a poly option for Vere and Ais. I fell in love with both of them and then find out that they also have a thing for each other, so I hope there would be a poly option for them or any other characters that may be relevant. I'd be sad having to choose one over the other and also breaking them up. 🙏🙏🙏 One can dream.
I don't think their a couple, most likely friends with benefits or an entanglement.
They are fwb, never meant "breaking them up" as in them being a couple, but just their already existing relationship being altered. Once you go a route, they'll fall in love with your oc and likely end their fwb relationship. Also, according to his relationship chart, Ais has feelings for Vere, so I think it would be nice to have an option where your oc, Ais, and Vere can all be together.
thyr just pals
i hope not
whoever actually downvotes are actually gooners cuz i know damn well yall don't 'feel bad' for breaking their relationship off when you just wana see two characters making out while ur in the sidelines. obsessed with poly that much is crazyyy or even boys love too. also isn't that giving off 'allergic to loyal relationships' with just one person?? LMAOO. yall need to be actually fr.
you are an evil and deeply unpleasant person. all they did was ask about a poly route & you started projecting your internalised bs on them.
guys , lmao , is there no date or news about the game release ?!
Y'all, do Kuras and Mhin have red options? And how do I ge them?
for Kuras, I believe you need to select the Unnamed backstory for the red option to appear. It goes along the lines of "Reach for his hands", while you two are being chased by the Senobium cleric.
Idk if this count as Mhin'red option like others but when I choose The Alchemist, it appear when Y/N first met him.
ah ok, but quick reminder mhin is they/them!! :3
I'm in love with this game already!!
Excited to do a fresh playthrough of the updated demo!
I'm only halfway through the updated demo, but I like the changes so far.
Leander got a bit more personality, and you CAN actually make Vere laugh!
I have been waiting for this game for sometime now, unfortunately what was released is a new demo. Even so, the demo is amazing! Keep the nice work guys!
This definitely got my attention. I'll be checking it out and leaving a review.
Hello ~
I have a problem with the new demo mac version the SILICON one. I can't open it at all.
For information I could open the old silicon mac version. I don't why I can't open the new one. Is anyone having the same issue ?
Ahm... I have a question. Is not possible to actually unluck the rutes with any of them? I was on the screen where I'm supposed to select Who I want to be with but...then they screen went black with red letters thanking me for playing and that was it. I would like to know if that's normal or if there's something I can do to keep playing, please and thank you in advance n.n
that part of the game will be unlocked after they release the final & completed version of the game later this year. what you played through is called a prologue which is basically an introduction to the world and characters. the individual routes are not available currently as this is only the demo version.
Ohhh I see. Thank you so much for taking the time to explain that to me n.n I'll be looking forward for the complete version then, Have a good one :3
Quick q, is there a release date for the full game? Also, will the full game be free or paid?
Q4 2025, around December of this year, although its possible that the date might be pushed back further. Im unsure if the final release will be free or not.
probably wont
ofc it won't. only demos are free and I heard the game is going to be voiced on top of it.
Niceee
Heyy ^^ can someone please tell me how to surrender to Vere? I want him to kill me aaa! What should I do to get the option to surrender to him? I cant find it :(
After the bar fight you gotta choose to talk with him! After being led outside you must make eye contact with him and the option should appear! LMK if it works I haven't played in a while ^
Thank you for responding ! I opened the game again and I only see 2 options : Resiste him or Reach out to him (the red one). I dont see the « Surrender » option tho :( Honestly, I didnt know about this option til I saw someone talk about it on reddit. They said that Vere /spoiler would kill you in that option. I wanna try it out
Hi! So sorry but I just played the updated DEMO and apparently the option no longer exists :( After the update, pieces of dialogue and choices were completely changed and added to which applies to the no longer existing << Surrender >> option. It's very unfortunate these scenes don't exist anymore but I'm sure you could find a playthrough that isn't the update DEMO! I hope this helped, so sorry for not double checking :((
No its fine dont apologize! Thank you for responding I really appreciate it :D Its sad that they removed it :'( I hope to find the old version of the DEMO so I can try it :)
I'm glad to have helped a bit ^^ Hope you do find it!
Yes, he doesn't kill us anymore, and it's so sad! My bloodthirsty boy was made "kind" T.T Just why???
are you guys all sure it doesn’t exist? I just played the demo on may 10th and was able to surrender to him. Maybe if it wasn’t surrender, but he still killed me
I love the gameeee soo much, But rn I think its a bug? in the game or just for me on my end, but i chose to follow Ais after we tried to follow Kuras we get 'bullied' lmao, but uhm, when i chose him there was still bar chattering up to the end of the scene, i just have to turn down the effects volume
Try to redownload. Unityplayer is basically the launcher, did you extract the files first before running it? Extract the files of the original download, go to the extracted folder, then run it
hello! can someone help me with the download, im a mac user and i tried downloading silicon and it said it couldnt be open and I have the m2 chip.
I have the same problem here :(
Have you looked at the instructions they posted along with the download? If you need help, lmk!
you have to follow the pdf guide for mac installation that they also posted
Oh thank you! At first I saw it I didn't realize I had to scroll but once I did, I found the instructions and the game booted!
Oh thank you so much! I was looking for it but I somehow missed it
The tiniest thing I noticed in the new demo-- on the choose your fate screen, Vere is highlighted already. Everyone else's backgrounds are black and then highlighted with the red and border accents when hovered over. Vere's zoomed in when hovered over, but stays red when you move away. I tried to upload a screenshot, but it wouldn't let me for whatever reason. Happy to forward it to an email if you'd like me to.
It's been fun revisiting this demo after enjoying it so long ago! Really looking forward to the full game! All my praise and support to the dev team! <3
one of the things i noticed that changed about vere too was the part that you surrender to him. before the new uptdate he killed us but now he doenst i wonder why. btw you are very sharp i havent notice that subtle change on the highlighted thing.
To add to this, Vere's image seems to not only be already highlighted but also stretched in comparison to the others. These frames need some formatting.
Looking forward to this vn. Any guess on timeframe, by chance?
From what I've heard it's estimated to come out around the end of 2025, Oct-Dec.
ty mate, much appreciated
I have a question. The artist for your work, can I follow them somewhere on Instagram? I LOVE the Artstyle!
im 90% sure the artist of the character sprites is @hikazio on twitter and IG. I MIGHT be wrong tho, as I only got this from looking thru the following of the official Touchstarved acc.
Hi does it not work for anyone else? I try to use my terminal but it doesn’t respond to any commands… (I have a % instead of a $ in the terminal)
Try typing "reset", then just insert needed commands(it should like on the screenshot). I had the same problem, but if it still is not working I can try help again
Pls can someone tell me if we got a release date? I'm already stalking everything like Twitter etc. but I cant find anything and I feel like i just missed it AND I ALSO CANT WAIT NO MORE AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
I think it's supposed to be released at the end of 2025
I see thx dear!
No problem!
i did not expect the fucking update. all nighter time lessgo lesbians! /ref
How do I get the red option for Vere? I need my man.
I'm losing it, I've replayed this like 4 times already.
I GOT IT, NEVERMIND
howww????
Well, as far as I'm aware the origin doesn't matter but I selected the unnamed one for this playthrough. I'll list the things I picked:
First encounter:
1. Where did you find it?
2. Play along with him.
3. I'd invite you if I had my key.
At the bar:
1. Stay with Ais and Vere.
2. It's [Your Characters Name]
After choosing Vere:
1. How do you know where I went?
2. Yes.
3. Who you ask about is not important.
4. I'll never stop looking. OR Then it's over for me. (it doesn't matter)
5. Touch the collar.
6. You didn't ask me first. (You NEED to pick this one to get the red option.)
Hope this helps! Have fun! <3