RPG Maker horror 2D horror Short horror Horror Mystery and detective horror

Silver Thread : Episode I

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An exorcist who does not believe in ghosts takes a routine case.

Platforms: Browser, PC
Stores: itch.io
Price: Pay what you want
Rated: 4.8/5 from 1,010 ratings on itch.io
Length: about half an hour (maker's estimate)
Players: 1
Controls: Arrow keys to move, Z or Space to act, X for the menu, Shift to dash, Page Down to fast-forward text.
Made by: Spica (spicaze)
Released: 2021

What frightens An exorcist who doubts ghosts exist takes what looks like a routine case in a client's home, and the evening turns into a possession, a knife and blood, told in grainy black-and-white scenes against the warm pixel rooms.
Content: cartoon blood, violence.

Silver Thread : Episode I is a short, free RPG Maker horror mystery by Spica. Alicia Wilkershire, an exorcist who doubts that ghosts exist, greets her latest client with her usual pessimism, and the case turns out to be anything but routine. It plays in the browser in about half an hour, with two endings.

About Silver Thread : Episode I

Silver Thread : Episode I is the first case in Spica's Silver Thread series, made for the Spooktober Visual Novel Jam in 2021 and remade in 2026 with new portraits, rewritten scenes and a deduction sequence inspired by Ace Attorney. It is made with RPG Maker MV, plays in the browser on itch.io, and can be downloaded for Windows at a price you choose, including nothing.

Alicia Wilkershire is an exorcist who doubts ghosts exist, which she sees as the best way to get closer to the truth. Her new job sounds like any other, so she greets her client with her usual pessimism. You walk her around the house in top-down pixel art, look into rooms, talk and gather clues, and the light, bickering conversations slowly give way to something less ordinary.

It is more mystery than shock. The horror comes in when the case turns: grainy black-and-white scenes, a possession and a knife, with what the maker calls cartoon blood and violence. The remake keeps it ambiguous whether anything supernatural happened at all, which suits a heroine who will not believe in ghosts.

The maker estimates about half an hour of play and lists two endings. The web version can be a little rough, and the maker recommends the download. It suits players who like short RPG Maker mysteries with strong characters and a dark edge, and it leads straight into Silver Thread : Deux.

How to play Silver Thread : Episode I

Press Run game on the itch.io page to play in the browser, or download the Windows version.
Move Alicia with the arrow keys and press Z or Space to examine things and talk.
Explore the client's home and collect clues; X opens the menu.
Answer the deduction questions when Alicia puts the case together.
Play again and act differently to see the other ending.

Screenshots

Beaford, a dark-haired young man in a red sweater vest, stands in a doorway to a pixel-art bedroom

A grainy black-and-white silhouette tinged with red stands by an arched window under a red bar

Alicia stands with eyes closed in front of an elevator door, drawn in grey halftone

Tips

The maker recommends the download over the web version, which can be a little janky.
Hold Shift to dash around the house.
Examine everything; most of the story is in what Alicia notices.
Page Down fast-forwards text you have already read.