Last Thursday, on September 29th, milk+ visual released a remastered edition of their kinetic denpa visual novel Soundless – A MODERN SALEM IN REMOTE AREA. It’s now available on Itchio for free!
For more updates, follow milk+ visual on Twitter or join their Discord server!
A review of the base game by our Discord Admin Zakamutt can be found here.
milk+ visual is a two-person doujin visual novel studio focused around
developing yuri visual novels in a wide range of genres and atmospheres.
Their motto is “Milk for better bones” and their mascot is Magenta Milk, a nurse fanatic who likes to collect medical equipment.
The game also got an update on October of last year, changing its name to soundless – A MODERN SALEM IN REMOTE AREA – Final Verse.
This was released for its 5th anniversary, and it includes the following changes:
- A new post-game epilogue
- Opening cutscene
- Corrects typos, terminology, and other various tweaks to the text
- Upscales the resolution to 1280×960
- A violent images toggle
- Better accessibility features, including improved image descriptions, audio cues, screenshake deactivation, photosensitive mode and font options
- A translation with ruby text to “Doon Po Sa Amin”
Story
—Despite all the singing around her, her world was soundless. A small village cut off from the rest of the world, Phada, spends its days slowly, idling away time by speaking with one another, eating with one another, and dedicating all their attention to studying scripture. With a population of only 145, the governing body of the town is the Group, the name of the miniscule clergy that inhabits the church at the top of the hill. They worship a protective God comprised of two halves: the "Barrier" defensive energy and the "Expulsive" offensive energy. In a town where all you can do is socialize, young Mercy is denied this. Since birth, she has seen the unseen, and was taken in by the Group after losing her parents. Upon turning 10 her vision seemingly became corrupt, causing panic among the villagers. It was decided by the Head Priest and the Holy Woman that the only way to deal with this curse is to aggressively apply the "antibiotics." In other words, isolate Mercy until she stops seeing things. Now an empty shell of who she once was, 15 year old Mercy attends school and is constantly bullied by her classmates, some truly afraid of her, but most seeing her as an easy target. The sudden death of the 25th Holy Woman startles the village, causing many to believe Mercy's curse is spreading and for her abuse to become more aggressive. Then, one day, the Head Priest reveals God has given them two young Holy Women rather than one. When classes end the next day, one calls out to Mercy. "I can see it, too."
History
Soundless is milk+ visual’s first game, released in 2017 back when milk+
visual was known as only milk+. It was described as a denpa horror even
then, inspired by titles such as Subarashiki Hibi, Tsui no Sora, Sayonara wo
Oshiete and Jisatsu no Tame no 101 no Houhou. Its development was first
publicly announced in 2016 on the LemmaSoft Forums, and persevered to
completion, even in the face of health issues and homelessness.
Version 2.0
For the game’s first anniversary, an updated version with major story
changes and grammar fixes was uploaded to itch.io. The original 1.0 version
was subsequently archived on the website for posterity.
Final Verse
In August 2022, a definitive version called soundless – A MODERN SALEM
IN REMOTE AREA – final verse (Soundless FV or Final Verse for short) was
announced for the 5th Anniversary Celebration and released on October 6th,
2022.
This version ports soundless to the latest version of the Ren’Py
engine, raises the resolution, adds accessibility features, adds the ability to
toggle extremely violent images off, adds an opening cutscene, and most
importantly, comes with an additional after story scenario, “adiaphoron”. The
celebration will also include the long-awaited Android port and artbook, to
be released at a later time. An art update was released on September 29th,
2023.
Art Update
The Soundless art update is now available for Windows, Linux, and Mac. This update permits players to choose between the original artwork and new, updated artwork. It also contains a small collection of quality-of-life features, such as security updates and the ability to use auto-forward and self-voicing at the same time.
Devlog
Complete Changelog:
- Updated versions of all main story artwork (sprites, CGs, original backgrounds) have been added to the game, along with an updated version of the opening cutscene. Players can switch between old and new versions of the artwork as they like.
- The gallery has been split into three sections: Old, New, and Adiaphoron. The Adiaphoron gallery is only unlocked after completing Adiaphoron.
- A new Controls screen has been added to the game menu so players can quickly view game controls.
- Ren’Py has been updated to version 8.1. This update adds security features and permits players to use auto-forward and self-voicing at the same time.
For more details, please check the devlog page.
Characters
Mercy
Her parents died when she was eight, and she was taken in by the Group and now lives in the church. In order to cope with her poor treatment, she’s cut herself off from any emotions. She believes it is her solemn duty to continue to endure the abuse, as she knows no other way of living.
Auma
The New Holy Woman of the Barrier energy. Representing safety, tranquility, and a protective force, she’s notably kind to Mercy, but that’s only due to her God-given nature, or so it seems.
Nyn
The New Holy Woman of the Expulsive energy. She represents aggressive defense, the removal of toxins, and the force of annihilation. While she herself doesn’t constantly abuse Mercy, she can get hostile with her words and prefers to stay away from her.
Delilah
The top student at the school in both academic and religious studies. She is aloof and dutiful. Her rigidness and above and beyond grades come from the fact that she is the only daughter of the Expulsive family, one of the two clergy families.
Clara
A timid girl that’s often seen clinging to Delilah. She will do anything Delilah asks of her. Because of a certain grudge, she treats Mercy cruelly when Delilah is not around.
Faust
A boy who enjoys tormenting Mercy. He sees the village-wide abuse as an opportunity to vent his frustrations with the world around him. Known for being particularly disobedient compared to his peers.
Head Priest
A nameless man who runs the Group and village with an iron fist. He is seemingly benevolent and once treated Mercy like his own daughter, but now stays distant.
Yiea
The 25th Holy Woman. Like the Holy Women before her, she takes on both halves of the God and acts as a channel for the energy and Its words.
If you’re a fan of denpa, this is for you! You can now get it on Itchio for free!
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