Heartstrings by Alien Cat Games

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Live a story of youth, desire, and self-discovery in Heartstrings, an erotic visual novel with the soul of a sandbox and the heart of a dating sim.

In Heartstrings, you play as a young man who moves to a new town after a difficult family period. Determined to start over, you set your sights on studying hard and earning a scholarship that will secure your future. But soon, you'll realize that life in your new school is full of nuance, complex relationships, and moral dilemmas that will challenge your emotions, your integrity, and your identity.

Set in a fictional small town in the early 2000s, Heartstrings captures the nostalgia of a time when the world was starting to change: the arrival of mobile phones, CDs, the first steps of the Internet, and a new generation beginning to emerge and redefine culture in its own way.

Relive that blurred transition into adulthood; a time when emotions run high, every decision feels final, and everything you experience carries a unique intensity. A stage of discoveries, first loves, still-intact dreams, and goodbyes that hurt more than expected.

In Heartstrings, your choices shape both the protagonist and everyone around him. You can build honest, meaningful relationships; or let yourself be guided by manipulation, selfishness, and unrestrained desire. There's no single right path: the game allows you to explore both light and darkness through a realistic, human lens. Your actions carry emotional consequences, and every bond you form, or break, leaves its mark.

The world of Heartstrings is alive and constantly changing. You can move freely between different locations in the school and the town (WIP), with a full day-night cycle, seasonal variations that transform the scenery, and diegetic ambient sounds that make everything feel real: the chatter of hallways, cicadas on summer afternoons, or a distant dog barking at night…

Throughout the game, you'll be able to join school clubs with activities and minigames naturally woven into the narrative. You'll need to balance your academic performance, energy, and mood to unlock new opportunities, access unique scenes, and discover alternate story paths.

Visually, Heartstrings combines 3D animation with rendered 2D art, creating a coherent, colorful, and lively universe. Its semi-realistic style, with stylized forms and vibrant tones, gives the game a unique visual identity. Recently, I've been improving the game's lighting and shadows, enhancing the depth and atmosphere of each scene and adding greater realism to both environments and characters.

The sex scenes are fully animated, narrated, and meticulously detailed, blending naturally into the story. They are moments of intimacy that express desire, vulnerability, and connection between characters; far more than simple mechanical rewards.

Heartstrings goes beyond a story of romance, eroticism, and sexuality; it's an emotional portrait of that fleeting moment in life when you're trying to figure out who you are, while the world around you is also changing. It's an experience about growing up, making mistakes, loving and facing the consequences.

Available in English and Spanish, you can download Heartstrings for free on Itch.io, or access the latest updated version on Patreon, SubscribeStar, or Oppaiman.

Enjoy!

Itch.io | Patreon | SubscribeStar | Oppaiman | Discord | Bluesky