A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android

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Content warning This VN is mostly light-hearted and silly, and doesn't contain any explicit gore or violence. It does contain some content which might upset people, however, including:

- brief depictions of violence with some blood splatter effects
- depictions of stalking, kidnapping, and drugging in one bad ending
- some lightly suggestive dialogue/vaguely sexual humour
- jokes about common BL/yuri tropes
- some cruel/mean-spirited humour

Reader discretion is advised.

Note: This VN was made in one month for 2023's Spooktober VN Jam!
If you spot any typos or bugs, or just want to leave some feedback, feel free to leave a comment, send me an email at ebihimes@gmail.com, or join my developer Discord server here!

While the Android build is functional, there are some issues with inputting a custom name for the main character. It would be easier to play with the default name if you want to play the Android build.

Have you ever wanted to turn an eldritch abomination into an adorable idol? Then this is the game for you! Play as You (name changeable), our airheaded protagonist who's down on their luck. After being fired from their friend's idol agency, You wonders the beach at night, unsure of what to do with their life...

When they have a fateful encounter which could very well alter the world as we know it.

You stumbles upon a cute young girl with big, big dreams. She introduces herself as Cthulhu (aka Kuku), a Great Old One from the underwater ruins of R'lyeh. For many years, Kuku has whiled away her long, long life dreaming...

But, during this time, her dedicated following has dwindled down to almost nothing!

Determined to revitalize her cult and regain a brand new slew of worshippers, Kuku comes up with a masterful plan: namely, that she'll become an adorable idol and conquer the world through her singing, her dancing, and her charm! Work with Kuku as her producer to manage her schedule, raise her stats, and make decisions that will shape the trajectory of her career. Don't let her get too stressed, though: otherwise, the world might come to a watery end.



- Around 60k worth of text
- A customizable main character
- Simple stat raising gameplay
- 28 different endings to unlock
- A quick, simple gameplay loop to keep you entertained
- Quick gameplay sessions which should last around 10-60 minutes
- Cute character artwork
- One adorable eldritch idol
- Tentacles (that can kill you)!!!


Story/Programming: ebi-hime
Character art: Konayachi
Background art:
HumbertTheHorse, Minikle
GUI: 
Elduator
Dating sim framework: Andrea Landaker
Character customization code: Saa
Music: Amachamusic, Dova Syndrome
SFX: 
Freesound, Pond5
Proofreading/Testing: feuillage, Hamadyne, Zelan

StatusReleased
PlatformsWindows, macOS, Linux, Android
Rating
Rated 4.6 out of 5 stars
(48 total ratings)
Authorebi-hime
GenreVisual Novel
TagsAnime, Character Customization, Comedy, Cute, Dating Sim, Lovecraftian Horror, Romance, stat-raiser, yandere
Average sessionAbout an hour
LanguagesEnglish

Download

Download NowName your own price

Click download now to get access to the following files:

EldritchIdol-1.0-pc.zip 365 MB
EldritchIdol-1.0-mac.zip 332 MB
com.ebihime.eldritchidol-release.apk 354 MB

Development log

Comments

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Random Scuffed Games #110

https://twitch.tv/DitoMido


Vorgeschlagen von: Beatdown_TV (wem sonst)


Die Musik ist wirklich gut, die Geschichte wirkt nett, der Conflip hat leider gegen weitere 30 Minuten entschieden, aber da es wohl sogar mehrere Tracks gibt sollte man definitiv mal reingucken. Was Mechaniken und Interaktion angeht, habe ich jedoch nichts innovatives oder Einzigartiges entdeckt.


Rating:

Dito: 3.9/5

Chat: 4.13/5

Gesamt: 4.02/5

Sadly, this does not work on XP.:(

So cute and funny. Kuku fhtagn!

Is there an ending where both kuku and the producer can both become idols?

There isn't an ending like that, but it's a cute idea!
The artist for Eldritch Idol did draw one of the producers in an idol inspired outfit, though! You can see it here!

Its really impressive you made a game with his many endings during a game jam! But I'm finding it really impossible to get any of them. I can never seen to raise her affection enough to avoid the bad end and whenever I try and romance the other girl instead Kuku just murders me, even if I never did anything to hint to her I was interested so it makes no sense she's acting like I'm cheating when we're just friends. Would it be possible to post a guide or maybe hints on what the requirements are for each ending?

Also confused what to do to get the other two cat type endings cos whatever I do after she adopts the cat I always seem to just get cat cafe.

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It's not possible to date Karen after you've met Kuku, and attempting it will always get you a bad ending.
Karen does have a romance ending, but you can only access it before the stat raising part of the game starts.

As for raising Kuku's affection, just spam taking her to the cafe, then the date option when it unlocks, and you should be good to go!

Oh awesome thank you! I assumed there was no way to win the dialogue with Karen at the beginning cos it seemed like one of those obligatory game starting cutscenes that always goes the same way haha. That's a neat way to hide an ending!

And oh that's how you unlock dates! I was having trouble figuring out which places unlock which other places. I got the anime and the cat ones so now thanks to your help I have them all phew! Gonna try and play some more and hope I can get a better ending!

You can get a couple of random endings in the beginning depending on what you pick haha, the choices there do have some impact on the story.

I hope you have fun! ♡

Is it in Spanish?

No, it's only in English.

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For my first time playing a stat-raiser, the gameplay loop was quite addicting, and I got pulled into the charm of the interactions, and the fun secret interactions/events to uncover! Once I learned how to overcome my stress wall, that is, eheh.... Once I did, though, it started to click!

I honestly might try and work through and try to get the other endings down the line!
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Ooh, thank you for checking out Eldritch Idol and making a video on it! It's appreciated!

I'm glad that you had fun with it, and I'm sorry if Kuku kept getting stressed haha 💦

aaaaaaa super cute! The story and the interactions are so enganging, the game structure is very cool and everything is so polished, I didn't see every ending but I keep coming for more, fantastic work!

Thank you very much! I'm glad you liked it! <3

Got an early bad end, and still feel immensely charmed and ready for more. Simply delightful--great work!

Super late reply but thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it! >_<;;

This is great! Though I am struggling quite a bit in figuring out how to get Kuku to idol status, despite my best efforts it keeps not turning out well. I am trying my best, though might need a few tips if there are any, or walkthroughs. She keeps killing us all. However, it's a really cute, well done, polished game, and it's amazing it was made in such a short time.

Thank you for checking out Eldritch Idol! I'm glad you're enjoying it!

If you want some advice: it's not possible to raise all three of her main stats (singing, dancing, and charisma) in one playthrough. I tried to balance the game so you can't max them all. Instead, you should focus only on raising two of these stats, while trying to keep her affection high. That should make things a bit easier!
I hope this helps!

That DOES help! Thank you! Also I kept losing first thing because I was being too gay with Karen lmao. Can't believe that occurred. I appreciate the reply!

(1 edit) (+1)

Super cute art! The way the writing sort of lovingly pokes fun at a lot of anime and manga tropes is very entertaining too. I love the premise too. I definitely had fun playing this!

I of course ended up with the BL ending first because idols are ephemeral but BL is indeed eternal. Time to make some boys sticky.

(+1)

Konayachi's art is adorable! I was so happy I was able to work with them; I think their art suits this project perfectly!

And haha, the BL ending is pretty easy to stumble on... I think I managed to get this ending a bunch myself when I was testing it hahaha to nobody's surprise I suppose lol

Thank you for checking Eldritch Idol out; it's appreciated!

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Considering I kind of hate stat-raiser games, I absolutely found myself having fun with this :3

The whole thing is so incredibly polished it pretty much blew my mind xD Kuku is ridiculously adorable, but I also really empathise with MC, and with the customisation options, it was a pleasure to play the character!

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I'm glad to hear it! Thank you for checking out Eldritch Idol, even if statsims aren't your cup of tea!

I'm glad it was fun to play as MC-kun! I'm quite fond of them myself hehe >w<

(+1)

This VN is crack at its best! The premise is of course a riot. I love how meta it can sometimes get, including when the characters are talking about the metrics that affect the flow of the game, the outcomes that can be triggered, and the endings to be earned.

Kuku shines as the star of the game, of course. But I also appreciate the MC, who is both likable and relatable, given that not everybody can be an overachiever at work. They persist despite all the setbacks and challenges they face, which is super commendable of them! It's so refreshing how they take everything in stride and just let Kuku be who she is regardless of their skepticism.

I already expected the story to be solid since every other VN I've read from this developer was high-quality and polished, but I was still impressed by how readable and witty the writing was here. Numerous moments made me laugh out loud, including the MC's doodled flyer and the line "It's cute when fictional boys kiss."

I love how clean and clear the interface is. But my favorite part of the game has to be its replayability and its level of interactiveness. The stats-raising gameplay is consistently engaging. I've reached 10 endings so far, and I may pick up the game again at some point to see if I can unlock others! I really want to get the ending that seems to involve cats!

Thank you so much for making this game! I had loads of fun. This is definitely an experience I'd recommend to players looking to have a good time! 

(Note: Copy-pasting this comment from the Spooktober VN Jam 2023 page.)
(+1)

Aaa thank you very much! ;a;
I took a while to reply to this since this is such a lovely comment; it must have taken a while to write aaa...
I feel very flattered you wrote so many words for my VN ;a;

I'm glad you enjoyed the experience! I think the UI looks very clean myself; I'm very happy with how it turned out! The colour scheme is really cute...

And I'm glad the writing works well! I really tried to streamline my usual style to make it a quicker/breezier read, so I'm glad it paid off!

Thank you so much!!! ♡♡♡

(Copied from my Spooktober rating page review to help this game within itch.io's algorithm!)

I need to continue raising Kuku-chan... I have to make her the ultimate idol! It's my destiny!!!

(+1)

Super late reply ahaha but thank you so much! I hope you'll be able to make Kuku into the best idol she can be in due course! >_<

I'm super impressed that you made all of this in a month! The writing & character development are holding their ground well and the visual flair is really solid - I liked the little knick-knacks like the stat system with the ability to influence Kuku's trajectory a lot, I feel like it added a lot to the game. Really well done!

(+1)

Thank you very much! ♡
I had a lot of fun working on it, so I'm glad it's equally fun to play through!

(+1)

lmao... aww... Kuku is so precious, the protagonist is adorable and the dialogue is a riot. I just want to make her dreams come true... what are a few dark proclivities in the scheme of things?

I was daunted at the stat raising because I'm not very good at them, but managed to get ending 23 on the first playthrough. The art and music perfectly fits the mood and plays off the funny and unexpected writing perfectly. It made me laugh (and sometimes cackle) the whole time~

(+2)

Aa thank you! I'm glad that you like Kuku; I think she's a lot of fun too. I was trying to write her as more of a 'normal cute girl', but then she became a bit deranged lol...
But I figured writing her like that was more fun ;w;

And yea, the number of endings is maybe a bit imposing... I originally intended for there to be 20 endings, but I kept getting ideas as I was writing so I kept adding new things haha...... I couldn't help myself >_<;;

This game really impressed me with its writing and the amount of unique scenes! Plus the characterization of Kuku is very adorable at times, especially when she lets her facade slip - It's the contrast that makes her so interesting ^u^
So far I got 3 out of the many endings, but I certainly see myself coming back to unlock more. It's surprisingly addictive! Everyone who contributed to this project should be really proud <3

(+1)

Aaa thank you very much for checking out my VN! It's appreciated! >_<
Haha, I actually intended to write Kuku as a more straightforward uwu moe genki girl. That, uh, didn't quite work out the way I intended, though, and she wound up becoming a bit deranged instead...
That was more fun to write than pure uwu fluff, so I decided to go all-in on this characterisation lmao

I'm glad you had fun with it! I had a lot of fun putting it together too! ♡

It's been a long while since I played a visual novel, but I was in the mood this weekend, and happened to stumble on this one that was newly released.

The game was very cute. Would romance Cthullu again. It's super impressive that you made this in a month! I'm currently having fun trying to find all of the endings. It's making me nostalgic for when I first encountered your work on the Lemma soft forums and spent hours upon hours hunting down all the endings for The Way We All Go (crazy to think that was almost a decade ago).

Thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I think I made it in 3 weeks, so a little less than a month haha ;;
The writing style is a lot simpler than my other stories, so it wasn't too hard to vomit out a lot of words for all of these misc scenes...

And I guess this does have The Way We All Go vibes, in that it has so many endings. There's a bit more story attached to all the ends in The Way We All Go though.
I'm surprised to find somebody mentioning that VN since it's so old haha ;; Time really does fly...

(+1)

...... 10/10. No further context required.

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it! ♡

Played through the game for several hours trying to get all the endings, but I couldn't figure out how to manage that stress level properly, so I kinda gave up on going for 100 percent completion. (haha)

Still an interesting experience, nonetheless.

(+1)

Some of the endings are pretty obscure and you have to do some very specific things to reach them haha ;;
I think her stress stat shouldn't be too hard to manage if you focus on getting in down in the first couple of days! It should be easier to deal with then!

I see. The problem I had was that it started off higher than the other stats, so I couldn't figure out a way to properly manage it, or even get any of the other stats to 100 before the two weeks ended.

Thanks for the tip

(+1)

If you sleep and take her to the cafe during the first couple of days, it should make managing her stats easier for the rest of the game. I hope this helps!

Alrighty, thanks.

Managed to get all the endings now!

Deleted post
(+1)

Thank you very much! I'm glad you're having fun with it!
I had a lot of fun creating it haha; it was too tempting to add a bunch of random scenes, so it wound up being pretty long haha ;;;
I enjoyed playtesting it a lot too!

(1 edit)

I did a stream of this tonight and managed a couple endings! Took me so long to even hit those two cuz reading out loud takes me so much longer to play VNs OOPS hahah. But I really enjoyed it I love Kuku so much 🥺 Desperate to see the other endings hahah,,,

Aaa thank you so much for streaming it! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
There's a lot of endings to see, so have fun with it o'3'o

(+1)

Might need a guide. I have like 6 endings out of 28 lol.

I haven't made a guide (yet... I might later), but I did post some tips/tricks to get various endings on my Discord server when people asked!

now this is wild, i'll try it later

(+1)

I've just started and i am remembering why I followed you after I played your games. They're always so good

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Thank you very much! I hope you enjoy it! ☆

I can definitely tell this is gonna be good!!