Grimtaste Studios and DreadXP have a demo out for their visual novel with RUNT.

In RUNT, players step into the shoes of Runt Strayer, the 19-year-old youngest of five brothers, the last surviving sons of a dead cult leader who once called himself the Mouth of God. On the fifth anniversary of their father’s death, the brothers discover a horrific message written in blood across their boarded-up church pulpit: 5 Days. With the town of Skipclaw sealed behind protective walls and humanity no longer the apex predator, Runt must investigate the omen before the fifth day arrives, and choose who to accuse.

Skipclaw is a town in isolation. After a mysterious apocalyptic event cloaked the world in darkness, horrific creatures emerged and replaced humans as the dominant predators. To survive, the townspeople must stay in the light, cover their skin, and hide their faces behind masks. Inside the walls, safety is precarious, suspicion is constant, and the Strayer family, architects of the town’s defenses, sit at the center of it all. Dialogue choices build hidden stats that influence how characters respond to you and which clues reveal themselves. The kind of person you become will determine which truths you’re able to uncover, and which ones you’ll never know.

Sporting a branching narrative experience, you’ll gather clues by speaking to townspeople, interrogating your brothers, and navigating the politics of survival. The order of conversations, the questions asked, and the conclusions drawn will all shape the outcome at the end. Over five days, you will investigate every brother and their secrets, build or fracture relationships with masked townsfolk, survive in a world haunted by otherworldly creatures, and decide who is responsible. On the final day, after choosing a culprit, you’ll see one of the game’s dozen endings.