The hit historical visual novel The Hungry Lamb, which has sold over 1 million units since its release in 2024, recently got a standalone sequel titled The Weeping Swan: Ten Days of the City’s Fall. Releasing on April 3 on Steam, the new title is already off to a strong start, with over 95k units sold during the first week. However, when it comes to reception, the game currently sits at a “Mixed” rating, which prompted developer ZerocreationGame to address players in a new message of “gratitude and apology.”
The Weeping Swan is a fantasy visual novel set in the mid-17th century, during the final years of China’s Ming Dynasty. The protagonist, a scholar and aspiring novelist called Fang Zhiyou, suffers emotional trauma from the sudden death of his childhood love, causing him to lose some of his memories and suffer from a strange affliction that causes him to see people as beasts. One day, after drinking heavily, he finds himself trapped in The Lion Camel Kingdom, a macabre story he’d been writing based on the Journey to the West.
The kingdom is being attacked by armies of demon soldiers, and amidst the horrific violence and pillaging (inspired by the real-life tragedy of the Yangzhou Massacre), Fang Zhiyou encounters a young girl resembling his childhood friend. He vows to keep her alive, and from there, the game follows a dual-timeline story as the protagonist uncovers the truth behind his lost memories while navigating numerous life-or-death situations. The title comes with warnings for depictions of violence, phycological horror and suicide, among other mature themes.
However, some parts of The Weeping Swan’s dark story seem to have been too much for its audience, leading to dissatisfaction among a portion of reviewers. In their recent message to players, the developers say that after reflecting the feedback, they’ve realized they “failed to fully account for the player experience” in their pursuit of a creator-driven narrative. “Certain explicit depictions and tragic elements caused discomfort, distress, and even offense for some players. We are truly sorry for not providing an appropriate emotional outlet.”
In response, the developers plan to add an additional route to The Sweeping Swan. It will be a short, biographical-style “what if” route that will presumably offer some kind of emotional relief against the game’s tragic themes. ZerocreationGame plans to release the new route within the first month of the game’s launch, alongside two interactive CGs and a new music track.
On a separate note, The Sweeping Swan is also set to get a full voiceover for an additional language within the year. While the game is currently voiced only in Simplified and Traditional Chinese, it supports English, Japanese and Russian text.
The Weeping Swan: Ten Days of the City’s Fall is out now for PC via Steam. Its predecessor, The Hungry Lamb, is available on PC (Steam) and Nintendo Switch.
Related: Nintendo Switch store brings back dark Chinese visual novel The Hungry Lamb after 3-month suspension
The Weeping Swan: Ten Days of the City’s Fall
