The Chrono Jotter

About The Chrono Jotter

The Chrono Jotter is a visual novel by the Chinese studio Orca Layout, published with 2P Games on Steam in 2021. It mixes a murder mystery, a time loop and psychological horror with a love story at its heart.

Years ago, Ann Sakura, the girlfriend of high school student Ran Ibuki, vanished without a trace. Now Ran is trapped in a derelict school in the forest where her classmates are being brutally murdered. To get out and find Ann, she has to unmask the killer, and she has a desperate new power: after every death she can rewind time to before it happened, keeping the clues she has found.

Each loop is a chance to change events and save someone. You question suspects, look for inconsistencies in what they say and connect clues across timelines in Ran's notebook. Anyone could be the psychopath, from the sweetest friend to the class idol. Ran suffers hallucinations under heavy pressure, and vanishing rooms, footsteps in empty halls and silkworm cocoons that trap her keep you asking whether what you see is real.

Your choices shape the story and lead to multiple endings, and the full truth only comes together over several replays. The store recommends it for mature players because of its scenes of mental illness, suicide and murder. Players who liked Raging Loop or Higurashi will know the shape of it.

How to play The Chrono Jotter

1. Read the story and explore the school by choosing where Ran goes next.
2. Interrogate suspects and note what they say in Ran's notebook.
3. When someone dies, rewind time to before the murder with your clues intact.
4. Change your choices in the next loop to prevent the death and spot the killer.
5. Replay with new choices to reach the other endings and the full truth.

Tips

• Check the notebook often; clues carry over between loops and the answers are in the inconsistencies.
• Treat every classmate as a suspect, including the friendly ones.
• Expect to replay: some truths only come out after you have seen other branches.

Questions