A downloadable visual novel for Windows and macOS

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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.

Updated 23 days ago
StatusIn development
PlatformsWindows, macOS
Release date Mar 21, 2023
Rating
Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars
(1,282 total ratings)
AuthorRed Spring Studio
GenreVisual Novel, Survival
Made withUnity
TagsDating Sim, Fantasy, Horror, Indie, Monsters, Narrative, Romance, Singleplayer
Average sessionA few hours
LanguagesEnglish
InputsMouse
LinksSteam

Download

Download NowName your own price

Click download now to get access to the following files:

TOUCHSTARVED-WINDOWS.2.zip 527 MB
TOUCHSTARVED-INTEL.2.app.zip 525 MB
TOUCHSTARVED-SILICON.2.app.zip 523 MB
Mac instructions.pdf 425 kB

Development log

Comments

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Viewing most recent comments 1 to 40 of 299 · Next page · Last page

Each character is so interesting!! When the full game comes out I can't wait to play through everyone's route and get close to them (except Leander, he will be last).

I'm so bloody obsessed. Can't wait for more to be released. I'm completely infatuated with this game. (✿◕‿◕✿)

(+1)

Leander is giving Brendon Fraser "The Mummy" vibes and I love it!!

(1 edit) (+3)

Okay so the order in which the characters appears in the cover of "Everytime we touch" may be random, but I couldn't help but think it wasn't, so here's my interpretation of the different routes of Touchstarved, based on what lyrics play when the characters are on screen :


Ais :


"I still hear your voice when you sleep next to me

I still feel your touch in my dreams

Forgive me my weakness, but I don't know why

Without you, it's hard to survive"


Ais may keep secrets from MC about him, fearing of hurting them (?) Secrets concerning the friend that lives in his head/about his powers/his origin as a Monster. But keeping MC at arms length to keep them safe make him miss the proximity they could have, and he might feel weak to not be able to do anything about it.


Vere :


"'Cause every time we touch

I get this feeling

And every time we kiss

I swear I could fly

Can't you feel my heart beat fast

I want this to last

Need you by my side"


Vere was always depicted as this sly, malicious, horny and extremly powerful being. I don't remember who (maybe Mhin ?), but I know someone said that he sleep around with people just for the fun of it. We know he and Ais are friends with benefits, so maybe MC and Vere might develop a similar kind of relationship (I don't know if Vere only sleeps with Monsters or also humans, so tell me if I'm wrong.) With all that, Vere is very familliar with being intimate with a lot of people, and might not consider these kind of interactions as as intimate as other people. The fact that he doesn't like a lot of people & and isn't used to love someone may make him desperate for love, so if he falls in love with MC, he may become really clingy and posessive with them, wanting to never let them go.


Kuras :


"'Cause every time we touch

I feel this static

And every time we kiss

I reach for the sky

Can't you hear my heart beat so

I can't let you go

Want you in my life"


I suspect Kuras to have worked in the Senobium. He is one of the most reserved characters at this time, not letting much out about him. This reservation might make him, too, touch starved, so falling in love with MC will be a very big deal for him as he, contrary to Vere, isn't used to being intimate.


Mhin :


"Your arms are my castle

Your heart is my sky

They wipe away tears that I cry

The good and the bad times

We've been through them all

You make me rise when I fall"


Mhin seems to also be cursed, by some sort of bird demon. This is why they want so much to go to the Senobium (to find a cure like MC). My guess is that they went through a lot of things, but never really came to term with them, as they raise barriers between them and everyone. So, falling in love with MC, would be the first time they allow themselves to be vulnerable. They & MC will support each other through the good and the bad.


Leander :


"'Cause every time we touch

I get this feeling

And every time we kiss

I swear I can fly

Can't you feel my heart beat fast

I want this to last

Need you by my side


'Cause every time we touch

I feel this static

And every time we kiss

I reach for the sky

Can't you hear my heart beat so

I can't let you go

Want you in my life


'Cause every time we touch

I get this feeling

And every time we kiss

I swear I could fly

Can't you feel my heart beat fast

I want this to last

Need you by my side."


Leander's part of the song is by far the more intense and desperate. We know that, while some parts may be honest, his good guy side is an act, and he hides something. His catch phrase in the trailer is "I can keep you safe, as long as you trust me.", implying he is powerful. My guess is that in his route he will become really projective of MC, which might indicate that he lost someone he loved and is now desperate to keep the ones he love safe.

I desperately need to play the full game!!! This is just the demo and it's already so story-rich and fun. The lore is crazy??? The characters are all so interesting, too! I audibly gasped and laughed many times while reading their dialogue. I've already recommended this game to several of my friends!! (Ais and Leander by the way???)

(+7)

I keep coming back every so often to check on the comments of more people becoming obsessed with this, the comments don't disappoint :3

(+2)

After swearing at every single character I've met, they're actually not that bad! Not saying the game or concept of it is bad (THIS IS AMAZING), that's just how I am in romance visual novel games :3 (They're my favorite!!)

why would you do that ☹️

I get moody when I haven't slept for more than 20 hours ( ・3・) The ones I sweared at did turn out to be my favorite ones, though! :DD

(+2)

ive done the instructions on Mac on terminal but it genuinely just won't open I dunno what to do 🥲🥲

(+2)

LOVED THE GAME, I will not care if the final game is paid because this is awesome!!

(+2)

help i just realized i played the demo and i-

(+1)

This is probably one of my new favorites! i cant wait for more

(+4)

Does this game have a fandom? If so, I need to join it right now! I have been doing drawings of my character named Seraphina. 10/10 game!

(+1)

i absolutely need more! this game is sooo good!!

(+1)

The new updated version cannot open on Mac. I have a Mac Intel and I keep getting an error saying that the application cannot be opened

(+1)

Yeah same here but with silicon.  Even tried to open it via Terminal like it says in the pdf but that didn't work either.  It should be 1-download 2-unzip 3-play but they had to make it incredibly complicated for no reason.

Wait wdym updated version??

It was just updated 15 days ago. I played the game previously using the Mac Intel file, but now with the new update it doesn't open.

So they're still working on the game? I heard about this game a year ago but got scared when I saw that there hasn't (seemingly) been much progress made since then.

(+1)

lol, i followed them on Instagram so ik when the full ver is out! 

so far it's supposed to be in 2025 but the wait is so worth imo !!

that’s so much time to wait ajwnqjnsuwns 😭😭😭😭

(1 edit)

You'll need to change your terminal from zsh to bash, you can look it up and its pretty simple, you just paste something in

(+14)(-2)

this game is so good i forgot it had romance routes i just wanted to make them all sit in a circle and play duck duck goose. im invested now + i will die for mhin's little gay ass

i cant wait for more!

(+3)

oh wow.. i am absolutely obsessed and in need of more!! how are all the characters so hot
i have fallen deeply for leander

ME TOO!!

(+2)

someone knows if that game will be free? i really wants to play the full game

(1 edit) (+3)

Unfortunately I don't think it is :c

(+1)

ohhh i'm so sad :(

(+3)

omfg this game is amazing!! even if it's just the demo, everything about it is so well done, the mix of horror and romance is just chef kiss, and the art style??! stunning!!!  love everything about this game!! can't wait for it to be realeased.

(+8)

Anyone know if anything was added to the updated files?

(+2)

let me know lol or i might even go play it again at this point

(+1)

So am I! Plz kick me if there is new info

(+2)(-4)

will there be any lesbian routes or is this a purely male x male game?

(+9)

there's currently no female romance options the mc is gender selectable and one of the current ros is nonbinary

(1 edit) (+7)

I could be wrong but I think a woman RO was unlocked in the bonus goals of the Kickstarter? but the bonus ROs are not in the current demo to my knowledge. also as someone else said, the PC is gender-selectable and one of the main ROs is nonbinary.

(+11)

Ooc, what was in the latest update?

(+1)

good personality and i like it of the story

(+2)

I am a bit disappointed that i played this and there has been no updates. Will it be fully released? It is a beautiful game but i need to know when they are actually going to finish it

(+7)

This was a game launched on kickstarter so development updates are sent to KS backers. Although i think if you sign up to their mailing list, you can get updates that way as well ^_^

I don't think there's a release date yet but if i'm to guess based on when KS rewards are going to start rolling out, i'd say 2026-ish at the earliest

(+3)

Well, when they first announced the game, they were saying that it was supposed to come out next year (2025), and they are pretty active on Twitter, so I want to believe they will actually finish it <-<

Show post...

Vielen Dank für Spiel

Show post...

Game was so good

(1 edit) (+2)

Blown away. Definitely feels like a game made by veteran developers.  Unbelievably good, well written, beautiful graphics, the story flows easily.  Such a tremendous joy to read something so polished, and it is only a demo.

Blown away by what i read so far.  There will be many, many hours going through each route.

I am absolutely in love with this. the mix of romance and horror send a chill down my spine, and i love it! can't wait to see the finished result!

It kept crashing my PC which can usually handle most games, and has a large amounts of space. It's about the 5th time I've restarted it.

(2 edits)

40 mins that I've been at this. It keeps crashing no matter what I adjust: the resolution, text speed & quality. This is pretty depressing. I just wanna play the game. I thought "hey, maybe Steam will stop my game from crashing?" WRONG.

(1 edit)

I wish I could actually play this game without it crashing :(

Delete the game and reinstall it maybe???

(+2)

to help the developers, maybe list your pc specifications. I.e. Mobo, cpu, ram, gpu. Every bit of info can help them mate.

(+1)

thank you for the tips

(1 edit) (+2)

Hi! I find your game amazing and as a lover of bishonen and visual novels, I'm sold!
I was wondering, if you ever want to translate it in Italian, I would be more than happy to offer my services :) 
If interested, please contact me!

does anyone know when the full game releases?

(+4)

In 2025 !

(+1)

Hey, why did y'all have to make the music go so hard? Now it is living in my head. Can't wait for the full release! 

(+1)(-1)

When is the release window for this 2028 or something..?

(+2)

2025

I CANT WAIT FOR THE FULL GAME OMG

I NEED THE FULL GAME RIGHT NOWWW THIS IS SO GOO

(+7)

This game is going to be my whole personality when it'll come out. Its so good that im genuinely becoming obsessed by it-


(+1)

This game looks super interesting but I can't play it due to some confusion with the macbook guide and terminal. My terminal settings aren't working and I want to know if this is a problem with me or if anyone else is having this problem too. With any luck, I'll be able to figure it out soon because I really wanna try out this game!

(-4)

I'm thinking about getting this but I just need to know, is this horror p0rN? I just don't want to get unwanted gameplay like Boyfriend to Death and things like that

(+1)

Not sure what you mean by that but I dont think so, it starts with getting attacked and then you meet the LI's one by one with a little disturbing imagery/text

(2 edits) (+4)

just finished the demo rn... I can't I'm still mentally attached to thiss ahhh I can't put into words the amount of admiration I have for Ais. like oh my gosh. the writing in the story, the art, all a masterpiece. normally I don't like story?? immersed fantasy games cause I have a bad imagination and tend to not understand the plot but this one was so clear and well-written! I'll patiently wait till the full game comes out! although it would be a little selfish to ask for a game to be free, it would be so cool! but I guess I won't mind to pay for this masterpiece of a game, I'm too attached! , OH and one more thing, maybe I suggest fixing the title page in the demo, I was completely mind blown with the transition of quality from the starting page to the actual game, I mean it in a good way

(1 edit) (+3)

I finished the demo and I love Ais and Leander !!

  • Interesting characters, interesting dialogues (Ais <3)
  • Possibility to choose MC's background
  • CGs with character look good


But there is ONE downside :


  • The art background... I don't know if it will be improved later, or if it's a choice to have a plain background but it's really a letdown because the content is good, the characters and places look interesting, but as a player, when you see background art that lack shadow, contrasts, colors, lifeless... It does not highlight the game.
    • We don't even need to have detailed background, some otome (like Obscura that only has a demo too) have sometimes kinda blurred art, but dark colors, dark themes, and it creates so much atmosphere. It creates an identity. That are the words I was looking for.

Exemple below : don't get me wrong, it's good art, it's good BG CG, but it can be improved ? it lacks of relief, depth in the colors ? It's colored perfectly but something's missing. If someone understands what I mean, please help haha




I was astonished by the trailer, couldn't wait to try the demo, and I feel a tad disapointed by that. Of course, I'm just expressing my opinion, maybe it's just a question of taste afterall, and if the style was made on purpose, a choice of the makers, I understand and I fully accept it. If it was not, then take it as something that can definitly be improved because the backgrounds will give your game more life.


Also, I will definitely buy the game when it will be out ! 

(+1)

I think the backgrounds are bitmaps, made with the idea of being infinitely zoomable, however because of this it is much harder to make them detailed. I personally think the backgrounds are amazing, and from a creative standpoint the art real fits the style of the game imo. 

thanks for the explanation ! I found some of their background really beautiful (like the sanatorium) tho, but then there are some others in the city that lack layer of colors... anyways x)

Viewing most recent comments 1 to 40 of 299 · Next page · Last page