Canticle
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android
Brother,
I extend to you an invitation to join the Lucent Priory as our newest scribe. The Cantor has selected you from many worthy souls. Here you will work with our skilled arcanists to create the next great Incantation—a powerful tome of magic crafted by many minds together.
You shall study various scholarly fields. Though challenging at first, take heart; other new Brothers will join you, helping each other adjust to priory life.
I enclose 10 silver coins for your journey to Starfall Isle. Please arrive before spring begins.
May the Sisters guide you,
Father Orson
Prior of the Lucent Priory
------
Canticle is a labor of love, and a game I've always wanted to play but can't find; a game where choices matter, where there is deep fantasy world-building and cool narrative-based RPG systems, LGBTQ+ themes, and (optionally hot!) romances.
At the beginning of the game, there is a character customization process, which lets you choose between three characters models:
You will also be able to customize your character's backstory, which will affect the skills your character has, and many of the dialog options in the game. In the screenshot below, the character has access to the Bravery skill, but not the Larceny or Pathfinding skills required for some of the dialog options.
The game features animated character sprites and backgrounds.
Download the demo below, and please consider supporting me on Patreon for access to later chapters. I appreciate your ratings and feedback. There is so much more I want to do to get this game to the next level, and I hope you'll be along for the ride. Thank you!
Download
Development log
- Chapter 3 Part 2 Out on Patreon!34 days ago
- Happy Halloween! (+ Patreon giveaway)36 days ago
- Update 0.3 on Patreon (First part of Chapter 3) + Patreon Month Gift69 days ago
- Update 0.2.9.2 on Patreon + Gifting Patreon Month83 days ago
- Content Update 0.281 + Android Optimizations97 days ago
- Issues in Some Android ModelsAug 24, 2025
- Canticle Demo on AndroidAug 04, 2025
- Free Story Update (v 0.280d)Aug 02, 2025
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
This game is brilliant. I completed the first day. Gerat art work, great story! Is this a demo version only? Will I receive full access when supporting you on Patreon?
I'm happy you're enjoying the game <3 Currently, this is a work-in-progress. So, I'm currently working on Chapter 3 (half of it is out now on Patreon), but basically, I do monthly updates to the game there. Full release is still a while off, but the progress has been good so far.
I can't seem to complete the first illumination assignment. I can't move and arrange the tiles fast enough. I am playing on an Android phone. Any help would be appreciated.
Just to make sure: you’re putting the color tiles over the black-and-white picture? There was a player before who was trying yo rearrange them next to the greyscale image, which is not what you need to do. So just drag and drop the color tiles on top of the appropriate part of the greyscale.
I am moving the tiles to the grayscale image. The problem is that there are alot of tiles to drag and drop in the time limit for success. Especially on an Android. Maybe either less tiles for the first assignment or a longer time limit for success would be better? After all, this is the first illumination assignment.
Can you bless the people on itch more?
I am trying, but if you've read my recent devlogs, the issue I'm having is that Itch sets a 1GB limit on game uploads, and my game has now far surpassed that (the current Patreon version is at 2GB). So, I've contacted Itch support to see how I could resolve this, but they generally take a really long time to respond to everything (like, a month or more) so... As soon as I can get that limit raised (and I think I can because I see other games here that are 2+ GB), I'll be posting an update. I am hoping to offer at least up to the end of chapter 2 for free here in the future.
Thank you so much, I'm really enjoying it so far
Thank you! I'd totally forgotten about that. honestly would love to support creators who have these skills but can't. Would love to do one of these as well but can only write the stories.
Pretty impressive game! I'll keep an eye on it, for sure.
I was shocked with just how well developed, thought-through and exciting this game is.
The dialogues, the mystery, the general athmosphere, it all work so well together and keeps you hooked.
I'm actually bummed knowing that we won't know the anwer to the mystery for god knows how many more months from now.
I signed up as a Patreon, and recommand everyone who can afford it to do the same!
Totally looking forward to the scenes with our character and the Prior. I want our character to be summoned a lot by him. TBH I want both top and bottom routes for the prior.
If that other twink interrupts again, I wish our character could just interject and ask the Prior if he can join the fun. Enough of him for two young men to be busy
This is such a a good story! https://youtu.be/sUx9PZgWcSU?si=9uH_vj7Jpq5FJ9ye
Fun playthrough <3
I just wanna say that you told us this is a work of love, and we can feel it. That's so fun, that I lost track of how many times I restarted the game to check different choices. Thank you for giving this master piece to play
This is a masterpiece, deffo going to buy the membership on patreon once I get my salary lol
is there a guide for this game? It feels like there’s so many routes possible
Not yet. And as the chapters progress, there are so many branches, and invisible variables that get you different dialogs, big and small, that I’m not sure how it will look if I do make one. Most likely, it would be a very general guide about specific character romances or mysteries/quests rather than a big guide for everything. And what’s more, I tend to revise a lot and change things/add variables (because that’s just how I write) so the guide would need to be updated with every new release. I’m really focused on producing content for my patrons monthly at the moment, so that kind of guide would likely only be released after v1.0, which is a while out. Till then, play through and experiment ❤️
Finally i can play the android version thank you so much...I like the minigame..And the intruder are so hot? He can keep interrupt me every single night i dont mind😜
I’m happy Android users get to play it now! Enjoy ❤️
The game is borderline unplayable on Android
Most dialogue choices appear off screen and the one that dose have the text on the background which makes it hard to read.
There is no button on the screen to open the menu which means you can't save your game or load an old save
I saw that the android port is still new so I hope these issues get fixed because I would really love to play this game but I physically can't
Thanks for the feedback.
Yeah, as I mention in the devlog, this was done very quickly so that Android could be playable for those who are willing to overlook the technical difficulties until the game is optimized. I recommend a bigger screen like a tablet or a large smartphone to play it. Apparently, it plays quite well on those. And of course, I recommend PC or Mac as the best way to play the game (and the platforms it was originally designed for).
I've already started optimizing it for the current Patreon content releases, but it might take a while until a truly optimized version comes to Itch. I'm a solo dev with a full-time job and no Android phone so I am just relying on emulators and whatever free time I can find to make it.
I do promise to look more into mobile optimizations for the game in the future.
Hi again! I've been trying to figure this out a little bit. It seems that the display issues you're seeing are happening on some Android phones but not all of them. The reason is most likely the way certain phone manufacturers deal with fonts and scaling. I'm trying to fine-tune exactly which manufacturers seem to be having this issue to maybe try and optimize stuff on a manufacturer-by-manufacturer basis (we'll see how viable this ends up being).
If you're comfortable, would you mind letting me know what phone model you use? For now, it seems Xiaomi phones might have this particular issue.
Hey! Not the OP, but I'm having this issue on my Google Pixel 8. Keep up the great work :)
I'm using a ZTE Blade A35
Did you give the new version a try?
Well, I think this is fantastic. Fantasy Name of the Rose and you can sleep with the monks. Good variety of things to do too. I'll be looking forward to buying it when it comes out. How many weeks long will the game be? Just one?
Thank you!
The game will be definitely more than one week. The first week in its entirety (minus some scenes at the very end of the last day) is already available on Patreon, and will be here for free at some point in the future (likely after Chapter 3 is out for patrons).
So, I'm hoping for it to be a week / chapter, and I haven't landed on exactly how many chapters there will be, but I know I want a big game that feels pretty rich. I'm approaching it almost as a season of a TV show, where each chapter is an episode.
Now, whether the full game will be available on Itch depends on what the situation for NSFW games is by then with the payment processors etc. Hopefully by the time the game is done, the situation is a bit more stable.
That's great. I thought maybe it would be 1 week because we are supposed to solve the murder by then. I don't really have a support artists on Patreon budget right now, but as I say I will definitely buy the full game when it's completed.
Going to buy a membership on Patreon, I need to follow the developpement of this masterpeice :D
I’m always cheering you on ❤️
Is there an option to save the game, in the android demo?
I like the overall concept and visuallisation of the game. Sad side is, that it's obvious where the KI said no and changes where done manually in Photoshop... These parts need some more editing to have a smooth look.
Unfortunately, for now, it's just autosaves for that version. I've added a quick menu and some other useful UI for later mobile scenes to the current Patreon release, but it's just a rough draft now, so I'm going to make it a bit prettier before the next Itch release.
I do see a lot of android players, and I'm interested to hear feedback. As I mentioned in the devlog, I only have access to Android emulators doing this, so I want to now what the actual experience of playing on a mobile screen is. Especially regarding the size of things / difficulty touching an icon, etc.
If there is an Autosafe it does not work at all. I can see the load function in the start menu, but there are just empty spaces...
The game idea and style is definitely what I love. The mini games with puzzles and stuff, thumbs up!
The flower guy looks a bit to modern I think, the black leather jacket is more "Spike" than a pagan guy from the forest... 😉
Would I need a patreon account for the full version, or will it be available on here too?
I do plan on publishing more on itch.io at some point. Currently, the only way to have NSFW games indexed is by turning off any sort of donation option. I'll see how the situation progresses.
OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR A VISUAL NOVEL LIKE THIS FOR AGES, BUT NEVER ABLE TO FIND ANY PEOPLE APPARENTLY MOST PEOPLE MOVE FURRY STUFF. ONCE AGAIN THANK YOU CREATOR FOR MAKING THIS MASTERPIECE. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!
I also want some cute gay stuff on here, not just furries!
I hope someday there will be a translation into my language, in Brazilian Portuguese there are so many incredible games like this that unfortunately the language barrier prevents me from playing 🥲
I know I could try to learn English, but it takes time. I already know some very basic things, but it would be so amazing if there was a single global language. 🫠
Yeah this would be a tough one to translate given that it has a minigame that very much is language focused.
Olá!! Espero que um dia o jogo tenha alcance suficiente para ser traduzido e muitos brasileiros possam conhecer Canticle. <3
Olá! Espero mesmo que sim! (Google Translate!)
Hey, would you release an Android version? 🥲
I’d love to. I’m a total noob and need to figure out how but if I do, I’ll post it!
Thank you so much for your consideration, because I'm not an apple user and nor have an access to laptop at all times, and I would like to play this game in my phone🥲. Hope you figure it out soon dear
Ask and you shall receive! Enjoy. I hope it works well. I could only test it on emulators since I don't own an Android phone.
Well we are listed again!
Praise the Sisters.
Hey, just wondering, will the chapters come out for free after a few weeks, or will it be patreon only?
Hi there! I am planning on releasing a little bit more of chapter 2 for free at some point in the future (likely after chapter 3 is out in its entirety to all my patrons, which is a while off yet). This is mostly because chapter 2 is when the more "Persona-like" aspects of the game, with the school weeks and choosing your activities/doing class assignments/socializing come into play, so I'd want everyone to experience them. But I don't really have any plans for after that at the moment.
The cheaper tier on Patreon is very cheap so if you cannot afford to support consistently, you can still pick it up for a month once there is more content.
It's still kinda crazy that there's other creators who put their stuff on here for free when they actually pay artists for their work or do all the work themselves, even if it is delayed by a few updates.
This VN is AI. And unlike others like Leather&Madness who both explicitly states it's made with AI and is free because it is made with AI, this person has the audacity to ask for patreon support when they themselves are stealing from artists.
Everyone's free to do what they want but just saying, there's a lot of other really good work out here that you can support who actually supports other people's art as well, instead of just stealing it for their own ends.
I appreciate your view on this. I do not share it.
First of all, it is explicitly stated that a lot of the graphical assets are partly or fully made with AI in the metadata of this game. In fact, there is no toggle for exactly how much is made with AI, so I just had to put it as entirely made with AI, which is not even remotely true.
Second, let me be transparent. When you say "this game is made with AI," it would imply a lot of things that I'm going to have to protest. I wrote this story myself with no AI. It's currently at 69,000 words. I designed the game mechanics of this game myself with no AI. I coded all the minigames present in chapter 2 and all the other narrative lanes myself (I used the integrated Copilot feature in my programming software to debug sometimes, so I suppose that's AI as well, but other than that, it was all me). I even composed some of the music myself with no AI.
And then even when it comes to visual art, I am actually pretty good (I think) and have years of experience in illustration and image editing, which I am using to transform and animate the vast, vast majority of all image assets present in the game. Working in Photoshop is about 50% of the development process for me. So while I do start with generated images in many cases, they are worked on extensively after the fact.
And finally, on just a human level: I work on this game 4-5 hours a day and have been for the last 6 months. I have a full-time, corporate, soul-sucking job in addition to that, which means most of my free time is dedicated to the game. Don't get me wrong: it's a passion project and I love doing it. The tools available to me allow me to make it. If I had the money to pay artists to make everything I want them to make, I would do it. I would shower artists and composers with whatever money I had. I don't have that money. Not even close. The truth is that, were it not for the help I am getting by using AI tools, I wouldn't be filling an artist's pockets; instead, the game just wouldn't exist. As it is, I am feeling creatively fulfilled, and I have a community of people who enjoy the game and allow me to make it.
I share your distaste for certain usages of AI. Generated images that are used commercially that haven't been improved upon or added to a larger artistic work and are just sold somehow or monetized without any real added value are what I too would consider slop. But that is not what the finished product of this game is. And I am 100% confident of that.
I'd still encourage you to try out the game. And if not, good luck somewhere else. <3
I also appreciate your viewpoint, and similarly I also do not share it. Like I said, everyone is free to do as they please. I don't and shouldn't have the right to tell you what to do, even though I deeply disagree with your position. However, I feel it is important to have transparent discussions about these issues.
My question for you is this: Why isn't your game free? Why are you paywalling further updates through your patreon, instead of sharing everything?
I've seen lots of popular VNs start with sparse art and placeholder backgrounds that became really successful, and afterwards had the funds to hire artists to flesh out their visuals. To this day, all of them remain free on itch and still provide free updates. Why isn't your game free for everyone?
Now, you're probably thinking it's insanely entitled of a stranger to ask you to put all your hard work, that you spent so much of your precious free time on, up for free on the internet. It's yours so you should get to decide what you do with it, right? You have a right to profit off your own work, right?
I agree. The people whose art got stolen for you to use, didn't get to profit off their own work though. If the idea of me demanding you give me and everyone on the internet all your hard work for free bothers you, I encourage you to ask yourself why it doesn't bother you that you're using the free, stolen, scraped art of millions of artists who, unlike you, never got a choice in getting paid or not. They just got their hard work ripped from their hands to watch someone else profit off it. Right now, that someone else is you.
You are supporting corporations who are getting rich off of art they thoughtlessly stole. You are using their product for free (or worse, paying them) to have free access to, essentially, the art of so many people like you, who got unceremoniously robbed of their own art. And, considering you are a writer and creative, and claim to also be a visual artist, I find it really sad that you would sink to this level because I feel like people who create things should have solidarity with each other.
That's all.
It is a problem. I have been intentionally not buying games that use AI assets. --But a lot of those games are low effort too. Like the dozens of AI pinball tables Zaccaria pinball has been spewing out over the last couple of months.
I can definitely see the effort put into your story and the gameplay and they really draw me in. I wish you didn't need art at all really, but though I personally have bought a number of interaction fiction games that have little or no art, I know most people expect that, and some of your minigames require art.
You seem to be quite good with photoshop. What do you think about starting with public domain pictures kind of like Four Last Things and The Procession to Calvary, which are very visually striking and fit the time period you're going for?
Do you feel better about yourself makispin after this uneducated comment? Go troll somewhere else or find another game.
I don't know why he's a troll. I think it's an important and interesting conversation to have, especially on itch where we support independent creators.
I have been tossing links to this game to all my queer gamer friends, because it truly is off to a great start. Mystery, fantasy and sexy guys are such a rare combination and Canticle takes all three makes them more than the sum of their already good parts.
This game has been such a joy to play. From the "dark academia" aesthetic, to the so polished writing that brings characters to life and allow us to deep dive into their personalities. You have my full support!
The level of excellence in this is incredible. The little UI/UX touches set this apart from other visual novels. The writing is incredibly well done and the visualizations are sublime. Excellent use of AI and evident skill in programming. Well done!
I just finished chapter one, and I loved this. The lore felt well put together, and I'm excited for Chapter 2!
Love this game so far, great work :) Was just wondering if there was a way to see previously unlocked/seen images? I know screenshots can be taken but just wondered if there would be a sort've 'unlocked' screen in the future?
There’s definitely a plan to have a gallery at some point in the future. I’m working on finishing up chapter 2 for my patrons right now, and once chapter 3 development starts, it’s on the list.
This looks really promising. Great work!
Wow this is amazing so far. It feels like I'm playing an Elder Scrolls game with all of the dialog option possibilities. The game is so beautiful. Everything looks and feels so high quality. One thing that I can think of to make it more enjoyable is an auto play option for the text so that I don't have to click so much lol. I can't wait for more updates!
Thanks! I like the idea. I'm going to add it to the next update.
Great lore setup and it’s fun to be able to customize the player’s backstory.
Is there a way to return to the main menu once we finish the chapter?
Also I wish there are more variety in body types. It seems like everyone has the same sculpted-model body besides Orson. Body hair would be a great addition too.
Other than that, keep up the good work!
Thanks for the feedback!
Right-clicking at any point during the game should bring you to the game menu. (I'm not sure on Mac actually. Probably Command+click).
Well, I really like it! Especially the monastic theme and the artstyle!
"No compatible downloads were found"
You need to download it from the website rather than the itch.io app
Thanks for bringing my attention to this! It should be fixed now.