Beneath the Bleeding Moon

[i]Beneath the Bleeding Moon[/i] is the tale of Haru and Kishou. A story of bravery, courage, love and destiny set in 19th century Japan. [h2][u]The Story & Gameplay[/u][/h2] Haru lives a comfortable and luxurious life but at a high cost. His mother, a dictating and stern woman, forces him to dress and behave like a girl, the reasons why are revealed later in the story. A day out shopping has him cross paths with the thief Kishou…a meeting that will bring the two of them together in a shared destiny. Full of danger, mystery and possibly love. This is a yaoi/love, kinetic story, no choices are made by the readers. 🌶️ Spice Level - without the patch it is medium, some spicy text, topless shots, some kissing and one of them in bed but not showing any bits. It goes without saying that applying the 18+ patch would make the game super spicy! [h2][u]Settings & Features [/u][/h2] Settings & features include; display options, transitions on or off, skip text options, text speed, auto forward speed, and audio controls. There are lots of save files as well. Extras include a cg gallery that unlocks as you play, credits, music, and a locked secret area available once the story is complete. You can hide the hud by pressing H to take screen captures. [h2][u]The Visuals & Audio[/u][/h2] The novel is illustrated beautifully with anime inspired characters against matching gorgeous backdrops. The novel is not voiced but has some ambient sounds such as swords swinging and clanging, beasts growling or crowds murmuring. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3502126750 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3502150191 [h2][u]Overall Experience[/u][/h2] The story is intriguing and well written, the artwork simply beautiful. I have enjoyed other novels by [i]ebi-hime[/i] and this one is no exception. The achievements are all easy to obtain just by reading the chapters as no decisions are made on the readers part. I love the bond that develops between Haru and Kishou, it is written in such a way that it feels like a natural progression. 💗 [hr][/hr] [quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/] Follow [b]IndieGems[/b] [/url] for more reviews like this one. [/quote] [quote]Please follow our curator page, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/4680120/]Otome Lovers[/url], if you'd like to see more reviews like this one! [/quote]

[i]Beneath the Bleeding Moon[/i] has been a highly anticipated release of mine since the demo was released a while back, and a fortuitously timed surgery meant that I was afforded the spare time to sit with it immediately. I absolutely FLEW through this VN - I adored Haru and Kishou's dynamic! I'm an absolute sucker for their opposites-attract thing going on: a haughty, somewhat cold and proper person like Haru thrown into a situation together with rough-around-the-edges but total sweetheart like Kishou? I'm there, 100%. (And the crossdressing is an extra treat on top for me LMAO.) Kishou in particular ended up being my favorite character for his distinct voice, his perpetual cheer, and the heart of gold he carries beneath his rough exterior. I can't blame you for falling for him, Haru... I did too just a bit, haha. The relationship/romance aspects were, clearly, my favorite part of the VN, but there's a lot else that it has to offer, too. Haru's other relationships are interesting and fleshed out: those with his mother, with his maid, Sakurako, and even with his grandparents (who are hilarious lol) making Haru a character who feels incredibly grounded, and also contrasts him further with Kishou's wandering nature and lack of stable relationships. And, outside of the romance entirely, there's the looming threat of monster attacks woven throughout the story. The action scenes are well-directed, featuring sounds and visual effects to portray them; and, speaking quite honestly, I love it when there is blood in a story lol (especially when it leads to bandaging and caretaking yaaaaaaaay >w<). These two storyline are balanced nicely, neither feeling over- or under-developed, and resolve together by the end of the game. I really appreciated the artist's work on this VN - the CGs in particular are beautiful and perfectly suited to the mood of each scene. I absolutely LOVE the CGs of Haru pinning Kishou, and of each of them while in battle: the tension and dynamism at play in these illustrations is great. And, on the other hand, more emotional CGs like Kishou washing Haru's hair (and another, not included in the store page screenshots but which is probably my favorite in the whole game) tend to look and feel softer and have a particular attention to the lighting of each piece that would have left me unable to stop staring if I weren't so absorbed in the writing. (For those interested, the same artist worked on ebi-hime's upcoming [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/3429340/Bittersweet_Blossoms/]Bittersweet Blossoms[/url], which currently has a demo out on Steam, and [url=https://ebihime.itch.io/unnatural-urges]Unnatural Urges[/url], which is only available on itch.io but is free and also easily ranks among my top five of ebi-hime's visual novels). I tend not to pay as close attention to music as I do to art, but I thoroughly enjoyed the OST and felt that it complemented the story and art quite well - I was particularly fond of the title track and of Kishou's theme (it stands out from the rest of the OST, which is perfect for him lol!) (For those interested, the composer, yuzuki, is also a frequent collaborator of ebi-hime's; it would take to long to list every project that his work appears in, but some notable ones are [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/716340/Blackberry_Honey/]Blackberry Honey[/url], which takes place before [i]Bittersweet Blossoms[/i] and is one of ebi-hime's most popular titles, and [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/2025720/All_Idleness_and_Ephemera/]All Idleness and Ephemera[/url], another of ebi's BL games and whose OST I have purchased on Bandcamp, haha.) Overall, reading the main storyline, including the scenes added into the main storyline by the r18 patch, took me around six hours; there are also several bonus post-epilogue r18 scenes which added another hour or so of playtime. I enjoyed the r18 content a lot; the scenarios were interesting and fresh, they were in-keeping with the story and characters, and on top of that, they were animated, which isn't something I see too frequently! I would definitely recommend installing the free patch if you are at all interested in NSFW BL content; that said, if you're looking for a purely SFW experience, these scenes do not make up the majority of the content (as I mentioned, over half take place after the main story) and thus the SFW version of the game is still a full and complete experience of the story for those who may prefer it. Either way, [i]Beneath the Bleeding Moon[/i] comes with a wholehearted recommendation from me for anyone even remotely interested in BL.

the music is really good and immersive for the story. the action focus reminds me of shonen manga, but more gay. i liked it.

As a seasoned fan of ebi-hime, I thought I knew what to expect from [i]Beneath the Bleeding Moon[/i], but she still managed to surprise me! [i]Beneath the Bleeding Moon[/i] is an adventure-driven BL kinetic novel set in pre-Bakumatsu Japan, though the story is generic enough to be set anywhere. Ebi-hime challenged herself to write a more action-oriented game and I think she pulled it off wonderfully! [i]Bleeding Moon[/i] has animation, more sound effects, chibi-art, and multiple bonus scenes. It felt fancy and I felt fancy playing it. I had one meaningful quibble and that’s the narrative got a bit bloated. Ebi-hime is a rather verbose writer, but some points in [i]Bleeding Moon[/i] dragged. For example, in the SFW version, Kishou and Haru argue over Kishou accompanying Haru three times in a row. The repetition made slightly more sense with the NSFW patch because something else happened between the arguments, but I really wanted to characters to Get On With It. Overall, however, the narrative was quite fun. I liked hanging out with Haru and Kishou, and watching them grow closer. The notion that cross-dressing is a [spoiler] legit tactic to deter demons [/spoiler] is rib-tickling delightful. I also wanted to give a shout out to Background TK for their extremely lovely art. Those backgrounds are astounding! So detailed! 10 out of 10 would frame them on my wall. If you’re searching for a more plot-forward BL romance, or an entry point to ebi-hime’s BL games, [i]Beneath the Bleeding Moon[/i] has all the bells, whistles, and foundational yaoi you could ask for. Make sure to download the r18 patch!

I liked a lot how Kishou and Haru kept bantering there across the Story. The Mcs Grandparents also were really lovely in the bit they appeared. I only wish, it had been a little longer tough...maybe there is hope for a part 2 with some more Mysteries perhaps? However i REALLY loved the Music here, reminded me of certain bits from one of my favorite Anime Mushi-Shi. Also would have loved if the story had more CGs and backgrounds as the artists work is amazing too! Definetly need more of this kind! Would be so happy to hear of a Bleeding Moon 2 or something. So the only real negative i see is the shortness, but otherwise its a really pleasant read as well as enough ear- and eye-candy for my taste. This is a 9,5 on my personal fun scala!

Not a bad story, though a bit preachy. Nice visuals and music. An interesting dynamic between main characters.