
Garden of Bones

You, a mortal, awaken in an unfamiliar land of heat and sand, staring into the unfeeling mask of a spindly stranger who claims to rule the deathless kin of the air.
Beholden to an unremembered promise to assassinate their disgraced twin sibling, bound for an eldritch garden hidden somewhere in the arid plains, and compelled by an enchantment you do not understand, certain choices are beyond your control...
...yet even so, the power of life and death is forever fated to slip through immortal fingers. It lies within your hands, and yours alone.
Many questions plague you, but only one can you answer.
What will you do with it?
GARDEN OF BONES is a 17+ interactive work-in-progress with an emphasis on relationships, and includes some content that may be triggering; complete warnings will be included within the game and updated if necessary.
The Younger (M/F)
Weary of being disregarded and mocked for their aspirations, the Younger has their golden eyes set on not only their realm... but yours as well. Yet they need their disapproving sibling and crowned ruler out of the way, for good, and only a mortal can kill an immortal.
Will you be their weapon?
The Elder (M/F)
A banished ghost haunts a garden removed from the flow of time; they had not considered that their beloved twin would stab them in the back... and now they are doomed to rise and fall by your hand.
How far will you take this lie?
The Mortal (N/A)
A forgetful assassin, sent to dirty your hands on behalf of an immortal ruler from another realm. Cling to the past with bitterness or longing, or abandon it all if you wish. Forge a path built on vengeance or mercy.
What will you sacrifice?
Note: as the siblings are identical twins, both ROs must be set together, so you will have the opportunity to play the game with immortal sisters or immortal brothers as your romantic options and potential allies.
CURRENT FEATURES
⮞ first M/F romance option
⮞ character customization
⮞ shape your personality
⮞ first impressions
⮞ a desert palace
⮞ 30-45 minute playtime
⮞ curse(s)
⮞ decisions
PLANNED FEATURES
⮞ final M/F romance option
⮞ a ghostly encounter
⮞ a secret garden
⮞ multiple endings
⮞ bones
⮞ riddles
You can find me on my tumblr where I post regular informal "devlogs" and updates on my progress with future chapters! Let me know what you enjoy about the game and would like to see more of, or what bugs you find. You can also ask questions and I will most likely respond.
NOTE: Redistributing or re-uploading this game or its assets in whole or in part is strictly prohibited. DO NOT train AI with any content from Garden of Bones. This code is NOT free to use.
I find friendships to be equally as captivating and fulfilling as romantic affection (and also fully support your right to antagonism and arson if desired) so expect me to do my best to ensure that each route is as lovingly detailed as possible.
Thank you for playing Garden of Bones!
Updated | 1 day ago |
Status | In development |
Platforms | HTML5 |
Rating | Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars (40 total ratings) |
Author | Efflorescence |
Genre | Interactive Fiction |
Made with | Twine |
Tags | Amare, Character Customization, Fairy Tale, Fantasy, Meaningful Choices, Romance, Story Rich, Twine |
Average session | About an hour |
Languages | English |
Development log
- New Side-Blog + Mood Boards1 day ago
- Slow but Necessary Progress4 days ago
- Soon!24 days ago
- More Customization!25 days ago
- Headaches + Chapter 2 Progress!32 days ago
- Loading Error Resolved!45 days ago
- Update 0.1.146 days ago
- DEMO RELEASE DAY50 days ago
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
I adore this IF. From when I first saw the idea of your tumblr, I knew I would love it, plus I can now make my character have vision as blurry as mine.
I'm so happy it lived up to your expectations!
Not quite yet on the blurry vision, unfortunately - the update won't be out for a few more days, because I am currently adding an entirely new branch to one of the later scenes! But SOON!
You'll be able to choose from farsighted, nearsighted, or unable to see much of anything without vision aids of some sort.
⸜(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)⸝
Well, I'm sure it will be worth the wait. (●'◡'●)
I think it will be - especially in Chapter 2. (ˆᗜˆ˵ )⸝♡
Also holy moley this is so good?
Character descriptions are direct, the "are you sure" is hilarious, I am already incredibly hooked on the story.
Ah, thank you so much!
Would you believe I had to read that four times before I finally noticed the typo? No wonder I never caught it, lol. That will definitely be corrected in the next update. And it's great to hear that U was easily envisioned from the descriptions! If I'm thinking of the line you're referring to, the "are you sure" made me laugh too.
Thanks for giving this game a chance! I'm so glad it earned your attention and that you have plans to continue reading.
⸜(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)⸝
This was incredible. Speechless.
Thank you so much, RookLore! I'm really glad you found this IF somehow, and appreciate the comment. Here's hoping that future chapters live up to the expectations set by this one!
AFDSFDAFDSA the writing and premise are so deliciously written omg this is genuinely one of the most beautiful IF stories i've ever read as a long-time fan of the genre 😭🙏🏼 the interactions with umr had me *giggling*--you really did a wonderful job of making such a detailed character with so many different layers of his personality. i found myself conflicted on whether or not i should hate or trust // submit to or defy him, and i found that inner struggle incredibly enjoyable! it was really as if he was a living, breathing person instead of just a written character, someone i am curious in figuring out in later chapters.
one thing i will say though, is that some choices didn't really convey the emotion i was expecting from the wording. i can't name any specific examples but i remember picking one or two dialogue options and being like 'oh, my character's smirking. it was supposed to be said sarcastically??' but maybe that's just me and it was such a little part of my experience and didn't detract from the quality of the writing in any way.
so, so excited for more of this project and to read your later works in the future! much love 😊💖
Thank you so much! This is EXCELLENT feedback and I really appreciate the thoughts: they don't need to be specific examples to be helpful. Your MC's reactions are still a work-in-progress and I will definitely be editing / refining some of those choices in the next update, so I'll keep this comment in mind.
Hearing that Umr feels real to you is the greatest compliment, especially from a long-time fan of interactive fiction! I structured all of your conversations with the intent for it to flow as naturally as possible, but this is my first IF so it's very encouraging to hear that you found it entertaining.
Umr has layers, for sure, and you haven't seen half of them yet... so I'm glad you were conflicted, lol! Hopefully much more of that to follow.
Excited to share more this story with you!
~ Effie
Great so far. Not sure how it's not mobile friendly, seems to work fine for me.
I'm glad it's been readable for you, and that you've enjoyed the story so far! Some of the formatting is a bit off on mobile, and there was one error I resolved very early where the light mode tutorial was unreadable, but it's probably more of an aesthetics issue at this point than anything game-breaking. Thanks for the comment!
Your writing is stunning, both prose-wise and characterization-wise. The MC was such fun to get to know, and the interactions they can have with the Younger are so varied and vivid. I also love how you formatted the Journal by choosing to go for text descriptions instead of simple stat bars. That can't have been easy. Lastly, I don't normally like listening to audio while playing IFs, but I found the sounds chosen for this game to be quite agreeable with my finicky tastes. I often end up more distracted than immersed when IFs include audio, which is no fault of theirs — it's just how it is. But for some reason, this IF's audio immediately drew me into the ambience and world of the story, and it was a new experience that I enjoyed immensely. All in all, excellent work! The attention and detail put into each choice and route is outstanding. Even as someone whose MC has yet to choose a flirtatious choice and has only chosen a grand total of one (1) friendly choice, the tension, twists, and turns of MC's inner machinations and outer interactions with everyone and the world around them are more than enough to keep me wholly invested in my MC's journey and destination. Good luck with everything, and do give yourself a hefty pat on the back <3
Thank you so much for checking out the demo and for taking the time to leave such kind commentary!
One of my earliest aspirations for the game was to weave a rich story with you no matter your choices, whether you romance or befriend one, both, or neither of the twins. So even though we're only one chapter into this tale, your enjoyment of the MC's personality and the world is very encouraging. I plan to take your one (1) time friendly MC on a very
distressingentertaining journey!The text descriptions vs. stat bars decision worried me for a while, but hopefully others agree with your assessment and find a nice balance with the way it's formatted.
And your comments about the audio are so nice. I'm really glad this experience could be an agreeable first for you in the world of IFs. Definitely focused on choosing and editing sounds to be more immersive than disruptive, and changed things up a lot before settling on the soundscape that's present in the demo, so it's great to hear that the effort was worthwhile.
I appreciate the feedback! ♡
~ Effie
Hello! The story is so captivating already! You have a very vibrant writing style. Almost poetic. I also noted the attention to detail in portraying the emotions of both the main character and the Younger. I already love the main character for being relatable and intriguing at the same time, and that's a great thing and a sign of a strong writing, I think. And thank you for the 'flaw' choice option.
That aside, I was amazed by the audio part of this story—the sounds perfectly accentuate what's happening, creating a perfect melancholic ambient for the story. And for a first attempt, in my opinion, you coded everything excellently.

I encountered only one bug so far, in the 'but first, good morning!' choice, I think.
Good luck with the story!
Your thoughts are all very welcome and thanks for notifying me about the bug, Vesper! Will get that resolved and updated as soon as possible, along with a few other small changes.
Incredibly happy to hear that your MC made a good first impression, and that the soundscape improved your experience! I plan to continue improving and adding to the audio moving forward. To be honest, I was afraid the writing itself might have suffered because of all the effort that went into coding these past few months, so it's great to know that the style was enjoyable, too.
The next update will hopefully be much easier after everything I've learned so far, and your support is more appreciated than you know.
⸜(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)⸝
Thank you so much for the comment!
~ Effie