Demo offers sneak peek into Reflection Link

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Full version of visual novel-styled sci-fi mystery coming soon to Steam and itch.io for Windows PC

To some extent we all need to block out the worst experiences of our lives from our minds so we can carry on unburdened by them. But what if we could remove them entirely? Would that even be a good thing? Perhaps it would depend on just what sort of memories we're trying to forget, and why. It's a question explored in indie developer Secretive Sheep Games' upcoming Reflection Link, a visual novel-styled sci-fi mystery in which its protagonists discover that only the truth does set you free – literally. 

A company named Moirae has developed a scientific technology known as the "Mind Lock," in which conscious memories less than five months old are compartmentalized and locked away. What they haven't yet been able to achieve is memory retrieval for those who may want the process reversed. Against this backdrop, seven "sinners" awaken to find themselves trapped inside Moirae, chained to their chairs in separate rooms with no memory of how they got there. Before long they're informed by a mysterious man that "the path to freedom will only open if they confess to their sins." But what are they guilty of, and how can they honestly confess them if they have no memory of ever committing them? And how are these seven seemingly unrelated captives connected? To find answers and hopefully a way out of this place, players must search the facility for items and clues, solve puzzle and make choices on behalf of the captives to "uncover the secrets they desperately wish to hide."

Much of Reflection Link plays out like a traditional visual novel, with partially voiced, click-through conversations between character portraits overlaid on the screen. Dialogue is crucial in exposing the reasons behind the protagonists' predicament, as are the choices you'll make that branch the story and timeline as you begin unlocking key memories from their shared past. At times you'll enter an "investigation" mode, which works like a traditional first-person, point-and-click slideshow adventure, with directional arrows to navigate the building's various rooms and hallways. During these sections there are items to collect, combine and disassemble as needed in inventory, and sometimes the group must work together cooperatively to progress, sharing objects and information between them that isn't available to each person individually, such as piecing together disparate clues of symbols, shapes, numbers and colours in separate locations to deduce correct passwords. A notepad and "info library" will help you keep track of discussions you've had and insights revealed so far. 

There's no target release date for the full game just yet, but a playable demo of Reflection Link is available now on Steam and itch.io for Windows PC. The downloadable version is much longer than its browser-based counterpart on itch, introducing Noah and Camellia, two of the game's protagonists, as they assist each other in freeing themselves from their shackles before venturing out further into the Moirae facility. 

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