Text Adventure Game ‘Chronicles of Refugia’ Announced for PC

Medium has announced Chronicles of Refugia. This is the newly established company’s first game, but this joseimuke adventure title features renowned figures from the visual novel industry such as Yone Kazuki, Takako Kano, Nikai Ninomae, and ZIZZ Studio. The title will be released on Steam in an episodic format and launch is expected for 2022 with both Japanese and English text options.

Chronicles of Refugia takes place in the Asian setting of Hourei Island after global warming aftereffects led to a catastrophic scenario of near-extinction. To make matters worse, violent conflicts using android soldiers and drones caused even more destruction. Now, in the year 23XX, what remains of humanity lives in designated shelters.

This is the story of three Alices, each of which has their own agenda. First of all, we have the Iron-Willed Proprietess of Casino Club, also known as Werewolf Alice. Her efforts developed Hourei Island over the years, but she’s seen as a tyrant by the locals.

The second one is the Human Alice, Arisu. He used to work as a doctor on an archipelago far away. He has unremarkable looks, he’s considered the rare type of ordinary human. Arisu’s mindset is pessimistic and he avoids conflicts with others.

The third one is the mysterious Airei. Coming from Tokyo, she’s a cheerful person who’s very sociable but maybe she’s hiding something behind that smile. She goes to Hourei Island during her summer break. There are rumors that she used to be a pop star.

The recently-named Hourei Island is only one square mile in size, but it features various popular locales. The first of which is Alice’s Casino Club, a nigh spot for wealthy patrons filled with vintage furniture. For those looking for a cheaper time, the island has a restaurant called Millenium Kitchen. Casino workers can eat there for free but everyone enjoys their daily specials. The chef Míng is also respected deeply by everyone.

One of the island’s known stores is Boutique Хревников, which is run by the eccentric Graea. Though people love to gossip about him, everyone enjoys the quality products from his store. There’s also the relaxing Mad Hat Teahouse, whose enigmatic owner Noah is almost never around, and the Wildcat Theater which offers a variety of spectacles in the casino’s basement.

Chronicles of Refugia‘s story was created and planned by Takako Kano (Ken ga Kimi, Galtia) and co-written by Nikai Ninomae (Norn9 Last Era, Galtia, Les Grandes Odalisques). The character designs are by Yone Kazuki (Hakuoki, Hiiro no Kakera, Kamigami no Asobi).

The soundtrack is composed and performed by ZIZZ Studio (Mary Skelter series, Full Metal Daemon Muramasa, The Song of Saya) with Itou Kanako, Watanabe Kazuhiro and Stella Lee Jones performing the vocals for the game’s main themes. The English translation is handled by Molly Lee, who previously worked on Taisho x Alice, You and Me and Her: A Love Story, Sweet Pool and other titles.

Check out the first trailer below with the main theme of the game, ‘Refugia’: