Horror visual novels Psychological horror Short horror

Amelie

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A lone manor, a girl who may not leave it, and a penpal who should not have come.

Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux, Android
Stores: Steam, itch.io
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (434 of 473 reviews positive); 4.7 of 5 from 113 ratings on itch.io
Length: 1 to 1.5 hours
Players: 1
Controls: Mouse: click to advance the text and to choose; the usual Ren'Py menu for saving, skipping and history
Made by: Two and a Half Studios
Released: 2021

Get it on Steam itch.io (Windows, Mac, Linux)Android APK on itch.io (English only)

What frightens Amelie is forbidden from leaving a lone manor in the countryside, and when her penpal Sofia comes to stay, to the dismay of Amelie's friend Lilika, secrets best kept buried start to surface and Sofia has to survive the night. The makers warn of jump scares, death, blood, bones and gore, stalking, obsession, suicide and flashing images.
Content: jumpscares, gore, flashing lights, suicide, stalking, obsession, brief domestic abuse.

Amelie is a short psychological horror yuri visual novel by Two and a Half Studios. Amelie lives in a lone manor she is forbidden to leave, and when her long-time penpal Sofia arrives, against the wishes of Amelie's friend Lilika, the secrets of the house begin to come out. You play as all three girls in turn, over about an hour to an hour and a half.

About Amelie

Amelie was made in two months for the Yuri Game Jam 2021 by Two and a Half Studios and released on Steam in December 2021, with illustrations by Alyssa Calderon and 瞬. It is sold on Steam for Windows and Mac, and on itch.io for Windows, Mac, Linux and as an Android APK.

In the middle of a field, far out in the countryside, sits a lone manor. Amelie lives there with her dear friend Lilika and is not allowed to leave. She has been writing to a penpal, Sofia, for a long time, and now Sofia is coming to visit, much to Lilika's dismay. The question the game asks from its first lines is why Sofia was let in, and whether she will survive the night.

It plays as a visual novel: you read dialogue over drawn characters and painted, slightly unsettling rooms of the manor. The story is told by three protagonists in turn, Amelie, Sofia and finally Lilika, and each part fills in what the others could not see, until the truth about the manor comes out. The makers describe it as a short and not so sweet story about two girls in love, and another who lost her love.

The horror grows out of the romance rather than beside it: obsession, stalking and a house that one girl is forbidden to leave, broken by sudden jump scares, blood and some gruesome images. It suits readers who like a gothic love story that turns dark, and who want a horror visual novel they can finish in one sitting.

How to play Amelie

Buy Amelie on Steam for Windows or Mac, or on itch.io for Windows, Mac, Linux or as an Android APK.
Start a new game and click to advance the text as Amelie waits for Sofia's arrival.
Read on as the story passes from Amelie to Sofia and then to Lilika; each part shows what the others missed.
Save often from the menu, and play to the end of Lilika's part to learn the truth about the manor.

Screenshots

Amelie title art: three girls lying with their heads together, one with red eyes, under the word Amelie

Amelie screenshot: two girls embrace in a dim, blurred scene as Amelie cries that this isn't fair

Amelie screenshot: two girls in a dark hall of pillars as Lilika tells Amelie to send her guest home

Amelie screenshot: two girls in a painted dining room with stains on the wall as Sofia asks if she is engaged

Amelie screenshot: Amelie in the manor kitchen among copper pans, wondering what her guest would prefer

Tips

Read the content warnings first: it deals with suicide, stalking and gore despite its soft colours.
Keep the sound up for the music, but expect a few sudden scares.