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When a traitor dies, touched souls will give birth to a new world, while the old one drowns in despair, disease, wrath, lust, and madness.
Hidden Sanctum is an enchanting 360,000-word interactive modern fantasy game by Dariel Ivalyen. It's entirely text-based—without graphics or sound effects—and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination. The story is set in a magical place known as the Hidden Sanctum, where unique people—just like you—are taken to learn the truth about the world and discover their true potential.
When your old neighbor calls you late in the evening and asks you to watch over her daughter, you have no idea your whole life is about to be turned upside down. The girl arrives at your door, but so does a legion of mechanical soldiers. You don’t know why, but they seem to be after you.
Under fire, you leave your home and start running. But where can you go? Will this be your last journey, or will it be the beginning of your new life?
Play as male, female, or nonbinary; gay, straight, bisexual, or asexual.
Romance or befriend one of six unique characters. Will you get close to one of your fellow students, or will your heart draw you to an ancient Oracle?
Influence how your friends change throughout the game. Will you be kind to them and help them with their problems, or will you push them over the edge?
Choose one of five unique soul paths and reach your true potential!
Shape your personality and views. Each choice will define who you are!
Keep a diary and decide how you feel about certain events!
Speak with ancient gods and mythical creatures, or throw some punches. Will you try to punch a mummy?
Explore the Hidden Sanctum and uncover its secrets.
Save your new home from a threat that might destroy it from within.
Are you ready to become a touched soul and protect the Hidden Sanctum from danger? Are you ready to stand against the dark forces from a different universe and fulfill an ancient prophecy? Are you willing to do whatever it takes?
This is one of my favorite hosted games I have ever played. The story and characters are engaging, the worldbuilding is beautifully done, and my favorite part personally? The way the ace route is handled!
I'm aroace, and personally romancing characters in games makes me uncomfortable. But since I don't speak romance, it's sometimes hard for me to understand what the romantic choices are since I'm pretty affectionate with my friends. But thanks to the author's foresight I can simply hide the romantic options, so I don't end up putting my PC in an unwanted situation.
But something that I like even more than being able to disable romance is that it doesn't stop me from making connections. Being able to have a route with a character I like, but having a platonic route instead of a romantic one is something I did not know I needed until it was presented as an option, and I think Hidden Sanctum handles this phenomenally. I can be close with a character in a platonic way without the game unintentionally (or at least I hope it's unintentionally) making it feel less valuable or fulfilling than the romantic route. Games where you have to romance a character to save them/get the best ending, anyone?
I just realized I haven't really talked about the story, whoops. I love the way the magic system works: being chosen by a certain supernatural entity based on the person you are and gaining powers from that. The author does a wonderful job of making you feel the magic of the powers, and the Sanctum location. And all the characters are pretty fleshed out as far as I can tell, and very well written. (Spoiler - click to show)My only complaint is that the "plot twist" of who the bad guy is isn't really a twist at all, so much so that I'm not even sure if it was intended to be a plot twist, or even a reveal.