The Knife of the Traitor
Download Link
Walkthrough (scroll down a lot, it's there I promise)
The Knife of the Traitor is a visual novel by Clua, made for the NaNoRenO challenge in 2012. I thought the premise was really interesting, and if anything I wish that the game was longer so that it could be developed more. If this were turned into a commercial game, exploring the adventures of Lady Os as she tried to repent for her past and turn Ulla into a beautiful kingdom, I would buy the fuck out of it. As it is, the game is pretty short, but still well executed and worth playing. Because of how short the game is, the relationships don't develop much, but that's honestly for the best. Given how much everyone but Corvus hates Lady Os, it would feel forced and unrealistic if they were suddenly completely devoted to her. Coding, spelling, and grammar are all superb in this game, and I didn't notice a single error.
The premise of the game is that Lady Os, ruler of the kingdom of Ulla, has woken up after a long cursed slumber. A knife through her neck seems to have taken both her voice and her memory. In the game, she and her servant Corvus search the tower and talk to the prisoners there. The game is in conventional visual novel format, with text that you click through and occasional choices that you select from a given list.
Vosges: Shota Type
Vosges is a shota type solely because of his appearance. The mushroom hat is a part of his torture devised by Lady Os, forcing him to keep the body of a thirteen year old boy no matter how old he becomes. His attitude, however, betrays his age and situation. He despises Lady Os for her horrible treatment of him, so his attitude is far from the cheery and excitable persona that most shota types possess. Likewise, Vosges is very knowledgeable and has spent much of his time in the tower researching, rather than being naive as is common among shota types. Lady Os repeatedly calls him "kid," but he staunchly asserts that he isn't a child.
Gervase: Jerk Type
Although all the prisoners hate Lady Os, Gervase is the most confrontational. He calls her a "bitch" to her face, and repeatedly tells her to "fuck off." Gervase has a tragic back story like most jerk types, although all the characters in the game have experienced one horror or another and Gervase's (known) story sort of pales in comparison. Gervase is unquestionably the most vulgar character in the game, as well.
Lilja: Eccentric Type
Well I mean, just look at him. Lilja is absurd in practically every way, from his attitude to his appearance to his actions. I thought it was rather interesting that Lilja is supposed to be a god, given the typical image of gods as poised and refined beings. I guess there's no rule that says gods can't be completely ridiculous, especially when they've been effectively held prisoner on earth for years. Although Lilja was really too comedic for me to take seriously as a love interest, I still thought he was an interesting addition to the cast.
Corvus: Best Friend Type; Protective Type
Corvus does have a human form, but for almost the entire game he is physically a crow. He has been Lady Os' servant ever since she was a baby, so to call them "best friends" does seem like a bit of a stretch since their relative positions of power were so unequal. However, he is as close to a friend as Lady Os has, since he's literally the only character who does not hate her and tries to treat her well. Corvus is also very protective of Lady Os. He tries to keep her from hearing the insults of the prisoners, is wary of possible attacks by residents of the tower, and even tries to hide facts from Os that he is afraid will pain her. Seriously, though, Corvus is actually adorable and his ending CG is my favorite. Please overlook the fact that he is literally a bird and play his route.
