Thorned Gaze

A psychological visual novel where two observers entangle, trade places, and turn the gaze into a weapon. Switch perspectives, sift through evidence, and decide who walks away—and who gets rewritten by the story.

Overview
Thorned Gaze is a character-driven thriller about obsession, control, and identity. Two people fixate on each other until the roles of watcher and watched collapse. Chapters alternate viewpoints, reframing the same scenes with different motives and “truths.” Your choices leave traces—texts, photos, misplaced keys, doors left ajar, glances that linger—and those traces reshape later chapters.

The interface is diegetic: phone screens, notes, voice memos, and hidden cameras. No glowing waypoints—only what a person could reasonably see, hear, or piece together.

Key Features

• Dual-Perspective Routes – Play both sides of the fixation. Revisit scenes from the other viewpoint to discover contradictions and unlock new branches.

• Branching Choices, Persistent Traces – Dialogue, timing, and small behaviors set flags that surface as evidence later, altering confrontations and endings.

• Evidence Board – Tag images, messages, and audio; connect threads to unlock optional scenes, CGs, and route variations.

• Social Stealth Interludes – Light interactive sequences (hallways at impossible hours, apartment doors, hospital corridors) where observation timing matters.

• Trust / Risk Systems – Quiet meters track suspicion, credibility, and boundary-crossing; push too far and routes twist.

• Minimal, Diegetic UI – Phones, notes, and logs replace menus; immersion over HUD clutter.

• Multiple Endings – From clean breaks to mutual ruin; the game remembers what you looked at and what you ignored.

• Accessibility – Scalable text, full subtitles, input remapping, content filters for intense effects and strobing.

Content Warnings

Mature themes: stalking, harassment, psychological abuse, panic attacks, non-graphic violence, explicit language. Realistic sound cues (footsteps, locks, breathing).