Japanese indie visual novel 5omeday puts the power of life and death in your hands. The game recently surpassed 10,000 copies sold and is currently holding a 20% off sale on Steam to commemorate the milestone.
Created by Japanese developer Indigo Ingots and Starlit Chronicles Studio, 5omeday (also known as Itsuka no Yoru in Japanese) puts you in the shoes of a prison guard tasked with watching over a dragon girl named Mira for five days, whereupon she will be executed. If at any point you feel like Mira is trying something funny or attempting to harm you, you can choose to push the big red button in front of you and end her life ahead of schedule.
The catch with the red button is that you can press it literally at any time, even in the middle of a conversation. Not only is this extremely rude to Mira, but it also kills her off immediately.
Each playthrough lasts roughly five minutes. The choices you make, as well as when (and if) you choose to press the button, determine the course of the story and which of the 13 endings you get. You could play the bad guard by breaking Mira’s horns and making her remaining five days a living hell. You could be the good guard by patiently listening to her story and catering to her every whim. Or you could be reactive, and make good or bad decisions depending on the situation you are presented with.
The Steam version of 5omeday is a remake of the free Unityroom game released in October 2023, made by the same creators. This definitive edition includes new endings (complete with background music, still shots, and illustrations), a fully-voiced Mira (played by Japanese virtual voice actress Nako Natsuki), Steam achievements, a new Gallery feature, and English and Chinese (traditional and simplified) support. Despite its dark subject matter, the game does not include any depictions of blood, violence, or sexual content.
5omeday is available for Windows (Steam) and Nintendo Switch. A free demo is available on Steam.
