Night owls and fans of Kotoyama’s Call of the Night might want to keep Dance with the Moon on their radar. Developed by Japanese indie game dev circle Hummingway, the visual novel follows a human boy and vampire girl who are drawn together by the same “curse” of being able to come out only during the night.
Teru Hinomoto is a boy who suffers from a rare illness that prevents him from being exposed to sunlight. One night, he encounters Luna, the last surviving vampire who hopes to change humanity’s perception of her race. Though Luna spends her time helping others, rumors and misconceptions of vampires make it hard for her dream to come true. Eager to help, Teru joins Luna on her nightly escapades, with the two slowly falling in love with each other.
Teru and Luna’s adventures have them occasionally stealing blood packs, which Luna uses as a substitute for directly feeding on humans. Throughout several nights, they encounter people such as Mio Toriumi (Teru’s childhood friend who has a crush on him), Meguru Ichihoshi (a runaway idol who has grown tired of her lifestyle), Sui Morino (a girl with a missing right arm who asks for help in investigating her brother’s death), Sakuya Konohana (a bullying victim), and Heliodor (an enigmatic gothic lolita). Each person has their own troubles, which Teru and Luna listen to in hopes of solving them.
While Dance with the Moon is meant to be a lighthearted story, the devs note that it contains scenes of blood and violence, as well as themes related to suicide (there are also some kissing scenes and characters in swimwear). Though it looks like Teru and Luna are the endgame couple for the first run, succeeding playthroughs branch into different routes and endings with the other girls, extending the estimated playtime to around 10 hours.
Featuring a beautiful anime artstyle and partial Japanese voice acting (some lines are not voiced), Dance with the Moon is currently in development for Windows (Steam). You can find more information on the game on its official website.
