STARCULT is a dark fantasy mystery visual novel where emotions unlock new dialogue options, influence relationships, and reveal hidden intentions
Aarhus, Denmark – July 27, 2026 – Indie developer Not a Cat Studios has released the public demo for STARCULT: Night Twisted Age, a dark fantasy mystery visual novel where players uncover secrets, build relationships, and shape their personality through a unique Emotion Palette system. The demo is now available on Steam.
Download STARCULT demo on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4517570/STARCULT_Night_Twisted_Age/
In STARCULT: Night Twisted Age, players step into the role of Silviya Nebula, a noblewoman whose husband is murdered on their wedding night. As she searches for answers, she becomes entangled in a web of conspiracies, manipulation, romance, and supernatural forces lurking beneath the surface of her world.
At the heart of the experience is the Emotion Palette, a gameplay system that allows players to choose emotions before selecting dialogue. Different emotional states unlock different responses, revealing new information, changing relationships, and influencing how characters react.
Unlike traditional visual novels that offer only a handful of dialogue options, STARCULT’s system can unlock up to 15 dialogue choices within a single conversation, giving players greater control over how Silviya develops throughout the story. Every emotion picked nudges Silviya’s personality and her standing with the people around her, so the same conversation rarely plays out the same way twice.
“While making this game, we’re trying to base it on empathy, where each character have their own motivation and goals. The better MC would understand them, the wider choice she would have of how to build relationships with them. I’m super excited to see players react to each dialogue choice with their natural curiosity and choose by themselves which person MC should be in their current walkthrough,” says Liliia Sitailo, the artist and CEO of Not A Cat Studios.
Key DEMO Features
- Use the Emotion Palette to unlock up to 15 different dialogue options within a single conversation
- Uncover multiple story routes and demo endings shaped by your choices
- Investigate a murder mystery filled with secrets, manipulation and supernatural forces
- Can you discover who the murderer is? This is just the beginning of the story 🙂
- Shape Silviya’s personality and influence how others perceive her.
Download the demo and wishlist STARCULT: Night Twisted Age on Steam today. The full game is planned to release on Steam in Q4 2026, following Steam Next Fest.
NOT A CAT STUDIOS
NOT A CAT STUDIOS is an indie developer driven by a love for things that have a double meaning. As the team puts it, “we love cats, but we also love horror.” This contrast is reflected in their mascot, the tentacle cat, capturing their approach to creating experiences that reveal a deeper, darker meaning the closer you look.
The team creates games they would want to play themselves, combining elements of eldritch horror with vivid, realistic characters and richly developed worlds. Stories unfold gradually with the horror emerging as the full picture becomes clear. With STARCULT, they explore emotions through an artist’s palette and the challenges of empathy in an inherently unequal society.
