Essence Hunt

Gender ambiguous person facing a large snake in a mountain range. Dialogue reads 'I don't have a lot of options, but there is a narrow gap between some nearby rocks.'
Sometimes, in order to meet the love of your life, you just have to wander into a forest, murder a deer, and anger a nature spirit. It’s a classic tale.
Gender ambiguous person facing a large snake in a mountain range. Dialogue reads 'I don't have a lot of options, but there is a narrow gap between some nearby rocks.'.

Especially when that nature spirit then sentences you to death unless you reunite the deer’s soul with its body within three days, and to make that happen, you need someone to guide you. Someone like another spirit, who also happens to be a cute fox boy. Unsurprisingly, this life or death quest brings the two closer together, and no matter which of the six endings you end up with, they’re bonded forever. While the outcomes are largely similar overall, there are some nice little differences that reflect the choices you make throughout, and I wasn’t disappointed by any of them. That said, while it was a cute little romance, I was more interested in the overarching narrative that explored the various powers of the forest spirits – there was definitely something cool here that I want to see more of.

You should play this if…

You like visual novels about two awkward boys falling in love while undertaking a dangerous quest. Plus, the endings are just different enough that there’s a bit of replayability in this otherwise short game, so that’s a nice bonus.