A downloadable visual novel for Windows, macOS, and Linux

Pulsatio Cordis 

The popular guy meets a random nobody and inexplicably develops a crush on them. Sound familiar? It’s only the premise of 90% of the teen fiction genre. But dream no more. Your love letter, once a wishful Hail Mary, has been accepted by the one and only Liev Latané!

Liev seems unattainable 一 how can any sane eighteen-year old juggle being head student with being leader of the debate team and  the school athletics team, on top of being a UN Youth Ambassador? But somehow, out of 150 students, he chose to go on a date with you!

Follow the story of the lucky student Quinn Jones (name changeable) on their date as they do their best to impress him with their comparably mediocre credentials. Your every choice matters here… you don't want to ruin your chances with him, do you?

Though Liev appears the epitome of a model student, your date gives you the opportunity to find out more about him. What is he like outside of a school setting? What does he like to do in his free time?

The truth may not be as kind as you expect.

Features:

  • Protagonist has a customizable name and gender (male/female)
  • Social anxiety simulator™
  • An affection points system that determines your ending.
  • 7 endings.
  • 15 CGs
  • And most importantly, a cute , sweet boy with no issues whatsoever! ♡ 


Credits:

(NB: Links to all sources are included in the 'About' section of the menu.)

  • Sprite art, CGs, and UI by me.
  • Background art by Noraneko Games, Potat0Master, LisadiKaprio, blueberry Maki, Samu-kun, Unsplash+, Ferdinand Stöhr, Tim Mossholder, Aerial001, Mike Benna, Free VN Assets, and Picdrome Public Domain Pictures.
  • Phone template by Nadia Nova (itch.io page)
  • Music by Eric Matyas, Vivek Abhishek, Tim Kulig, Ontama-M, Imaban, Yuli, Roland Horvers, and Addpico.

Warnings pertaining to the demo:

  • Mentions of animal death .
  • Depictions of mental instability.
Warnings pertaining to the full game (may contain spoilers):

(For more information on Content Warnings, please click here -- note that this document contains spoilers!)

  • Discussions of child abuse.
  • Depictions and extensive discussion of drugging.
  • Depictions of kidnapping.
  • Depictions/graphic descriptions of death and murder.
  • Suicidal ideation.
  • Graphic depiction of broken limb.
  • Homophobia.
  • Notes:

    • I have only ever been familiar with how high school in New Zealand works, so  some concepts may be unfamiliar to people who are used to different systems. It's not a huge part of the story, but I thought it would be worth mentioning.

    Links:

    StatusReleased
    PlatformsWindows, macOS, Linux
    Rating
    Rated 4.8 out of 5 stars
    (566 total ratings)
    AuthorLucia Lily
    GenreVisual Novel
    Tags2D, Anime, Dating Sim, First-Person, Psychological Horror, relationship, Romance, suspense, yandere
    Average sessionAbout an hour
    LanguagesEnglish

    Download

    Download
    pulsatio-cordis-win.zip 361 MB
    Version 8 Dec 10, 2024
    Download
    pulsatio-cordis-osx.zip 353 MB
    Version 4 Dec 10, 2024
    Download
    PulsatioCordis-2.1-linux.tar.bz2 349 MB
    Version 4 Dec 10, 2024
    Download
    liev vday2025crazy.png 11 MB
    Download
    liev vday2025dere.png 11 MB
    Download
    liev vday2025yan.png 11 MB

    Install instructions

    Unzip/Extract the file. Opening the game may cause a pop-up to appear asking if you trust the file. 

    On Windows, click 'More information' and then 'Run anyway'.

    On Mac,  go to Settings and click ‘Open anyway’ in the privacy settings for trusted apps. 

    Development log

    View all posts

    Comments

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    Viewing most recent comments 1 to 40 of 263 · Next page · Last page

    That was beautiful

    yay

    This is my first time commenting on Itch.io but I just had to after playing all of the endings and getting all the CGs!! I just have to say that this game is really underrated. The writing in the game is pretty good and does not feel too cliche or corny to me. I usually have a super low attention span when it comes to reading but I enjoyed reading every dialogue option  and not skimming through it. I also love the fact that you don't immediately get to know his full past but have to make certain choices for Liev to open up to you.

    I also enjoyed the fact that the MC/Quinn is given the option not to shy away and actually call out Liev's disturbing behaviour. And despite his disturbing behaviour he actually respects MC/Quinn's boundaries a lot and actually asks for consent for hugs or kisses :D.

    (Spoiler Alert!!) I'm happy that there is  the True Ending where you actually get a chance to help each other. This is also the Ending I enjoyed the most. It's unrealistic if it was the real world but I like the fact that Liev is given the option to redeem himself and actually is aware of his behaviour and admits to it. I like me some redemption arcs.

    I hope to see more of your projects if there will ever be another game you make. I would definitely be excited if that were that case. My guilty pleasure of liking Yanderes was definitely fulfilled with this game!! :) It definitely has a special spot in my heart. 

    #dia 7 pidiendo una traducción a español

    (-6)

    was gonna hate because of the gacha life bgs but this game is actual heat and liev is lowk fine asf

    (+4)

    I love stuff like this! Before Liev revealed his true nature, I was already in love with him cuz I thought he was so kind and understanding. Then he revealed he was crazy, and I fell even more in love with the game cuz I love dark stuff like that (but I fell out of love with Liev, obviously, lmao). I think it's fair to say the game is an anxiety simulator. I played it all the way through the night it was released and had adrenaline pumping until I could fall asleep. The game's setting, the music, the moments when Liev gets angry and the screen turns red—it's all VERY well-produced, in my opinion. I don't think Liev being standard is a bad thing; I think "classic" is the right word. The game inverted the idea of Yandere Simulator (you control the yandere and kill the girls who like your senpai), which I'd never seen before. It's precisely Liev being crazy that makes the gameplay more exciting, and I, at least, had a hard time realizing that being nice made him worse. Liev's background is a bit basic and vague, but I find it captivating in the context of the game—where he can't/won't talk about his past and the protagonist wants to help him overcome the bad things he ignores. The last ending I played was the one where he kills and tears off a piece of a bully's arm. I finished the game traumatized, but I loved the CG of him spying on the protagonist 😓

    (+1)

    #dia 8 pidiendo una traducción a español

    (+1)

    Dale pocoyo, yo confio en ti.

    (+1)

    #dia 7 pidiendo una traducción a español

    (+1)

    #dia 6 pidiendo una traducción a español

    (+2)(-1)

    #dia 5 pidiendo una traducción a español

    (+2)

    Sigue bro, yo te animo también.

    (+1)(-1)

    #dia 4 pidiendo una traducción a español

    (+6)(-1)

    WHEN WAS THIS RELEASED???? WHY DIDN'T ITCHIO TELL MEEEE???
    I was there when the demo was first put out and then after the style was changed. I had been checking it hoping it would be finished but never got anything until now. I'm so happy!!

    (+2)(-1)

    #Dia 3 pidiendo que alguien lo traduzca a español 

    (+2)

    I LOVE THIS GAME!!! if theres any vn that made it to my top 3 its this one deadass

    thank you :D I’m so happy that it’s one of your favourites!!

    (+2)

    #Dia 2 pidiendo que alguien lo traduzca a español 

    (+2)

    Holy shit this game was amazing. From the storyline, art and music was just fantastic i loved it! 

    ABSOLUTE CINEMA I loved the true ending!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

    (+2)

    #Dia 1 pidiendo que alguien lo traduzca a español 

    (+1)

    loved

    (+2)

    SPOILERS BELOW~!!!

    OH MY GOD! I finally sat my butt down after a hectic week and decided to treat myself into playing VNs. The first VN on my mind was Pulsatio Cordis (or PuCo as I see it shortened) and I decided, to heck why not?? It's already been a year since the full game was released and my comment was about 2-3 years maybe? 

    It felt so surreal to come back and actually finish the game, I still have that load file with the old art and it was like really nostalgic seeing it and remembering how much fun I had in the demo with Liev and how unstable he was in just those few moments of gameplay. I genuinely do love MC, like they're so realistic and brave to be in that scenario and I also love Liev's background on why he is a yandere and just how those factors influenced his life. It's a bit cliche what happened to him on a story level but the way you wrote it felt a lot more natural and not just character exposition dumped. 

    I will not lie, I had a hard time keeping the affection level at a certain range because I either scored a too low or I scored way too high (I did the latter WAY too often lmao, I can't help it, I wanna suffocate Liev with all the hugs he deserves!) but it was so worth it to get the true ending and seeing actual honest to gods hope in living a "normal" life with your yandere!

    I legitimately couldn't put myself through Ending 4  so I had to just leave it be. Maybe one day I could handle breaking Liev's heart but sadly today is not the day. But seriously, you made Liev's backstory HELLA sad like my gosh. I love how you sprinkle in new information throughout the dialogues in different choices, it made skipping parts difficult but you know what, I'm inhaling those scraps.

    Another thing is that I love how Liev's backstory was actually depressing as hell. So not only was he a product of an affair his father (Pierre I think) but that he had to be raised by Vera (was that his mom or sister?) and the fact that he had to be drugged up through questionable medicine to appear "normal" when nobody was talking or loving him, had been abused by his "mother" and was treated even more severely after his sister ran away and cut off all contact all while his father just ignored the problem HE caused was sinister and awful. No wonder Liev is who he is today, practically a psychopath with violent tendencies and latched on to the only person who stubbornly reached out to him.

    I have to say, I love how even with there being minimal blood or gore, the real horror comes from how Liev could somehow be normal in one scene and practically go psychotic in the next. How easy he can sneak in subtle threats of how he could overpower MC and the extents he would go for them without it sounding corny or overused. His psyche is like, goddamn.

    I appreciate how MC came with the mindset to "fix" Liev and ended up going with a "let's help one another" mindset since they recognize that they have to be by Liev's side to assure him someone cares about him, I genuinely believe only MC could do this as Liev doesn't even consider other people human or even real. It was so surreal to even see that and fascinating in a way.

    I love the story, endings, creepy yandere, and everything in between! It was so worth the wait and I'm intensely glad I was there from the beginning and able to see this come to fruition! Amazing job and I would love to see what comes next in the works whether it be a sequel or a new project, hope things go well in the real life and take care!!

    (+1)

    This game is so cute.

    I drew a picture for Liev

    But this website can only handle files up to 3MB in size(╥╯^╰╥).....

    (+1)

    I LOVE LIEV HES SO BABYGIRL

    It was soo good omg!!! Liev is soo cute I alredy miss him lollol

    I love the game a lot but warnings are vague, I wish it was a bit more telling. I understand why it was vague but I didn't know until the end of the demo that it included something else to use drugs. other than the vague warnings, I loved the game a lot, it was really fun to play. the art was amazing and I loved how the story progressed. amazing work :)

    I finally got to play the full version and I LOVE THIS GAMEEE, it's really evident that a lot of work and love went into it (3+ years of work.... congrats on finally finishing it...). I really enjoyed every second playing it!

    [Spoilers below!]










    I think Liev is such a wonderfully written character! I love that Lucia doesn't shy away from showing that he can be terrible and actually does reprimand him in the story! I think it's also neat that he "can be fixed". While some would argue that it's giving wattpad or unrealistic romance, I would argue that it gives the reader hope that even "irredeemable" people can be redeemable if they truly want to change and be better. It's going to be a tough road, but one that CAN be taken.

    Aside from that, I also really dig Liev's scary moments! I absolutely adore his yandere sprites! When it shows up out of nowhere, it sends chills up my spine lol

    I'm defintely looking forward to the sequel or anything else from Lucia! No rush though! Good luck with it!!

    I loved this game so much!!! It’s been a while since I’ve been attached to a yandere character I love Liev. I was actually caught off guard when he switched from having a sweet conversation with the MC to being rude to a service worker. It was probably the character sprites too. When Liev had a manic expression it was so different I thought my game was glitching. Which was surprising too, always left chills down my spine! I play these kinds of games a lot so I knew to expect a switch in the ML, but usually there’s normally signs something’s not quite right, but the date seemed so normal at first. I also liked how in the true ending there’s hope for Liev to get help, you don’t see that a lot with yanderes especially since the appeal is that they’re obsessed. But I’m really glad he has a chance of alleviating his paranoia

    played the demo (all the way back when I didn't know I was bi), can't wait to play the full version

    Wow! I remember literally years ago when the demo came out and I loved it immediately upon playing it. Liev is so cute and Quinn's actions/dialogue are so relatable and honestly kind of realistic to how I might act in their situation. I'm so glad the full game is done and that I get to play it <3  it might be one of my favorite pieces of yandere media ever. Ty for all your work!!

    (+1)

    This just became one of my fav vs by far, the story was so good and interesting, the art was so good i LOVE IT. I'm excited to try all the endings but im lowk already hoping for a part 2 of this game. AND AGAIN THIS WAS SO GOOD, AMAZING WORK 💗

    (+3)

    AOTEAROA MENTIONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿

    also i like the vn. good job

    You have described my exact feelings on the matter lol. It was awesome to see NZ mentioned pwrwbniorebwr

    I would love if there was a Android version (◍•ᴗ•◍)

    (+2)

    omgg our mom called us anak😭😭 reminds me of my filipino mom

    Is it alright to get an option to change fonts? The font is cute but it's a bit hard for me to read.

    Me againnn, think you'll do anything for his birthday?

    AHHHHHH I CAN'T BELIEVE I FORGOT OMFG thank you so much for reminding me T-T

    I shall post the first oneshot on AO3, just gotta get it beta read...

    OMG YAY

    (1 edit) (+2)

    Going through all the endings was so worth it 💗 I got the true one as the last one coincidentally, and it was best

    i love liev more than myself i SWEAR.

    (1 edit)

    Hey! I have to say, your game is AMAZING. It took me a few hours to get all the endings (Thank God you made a guide, it was very useful XD) 

    But I loved seeing how everything unfolded, noticing the differences between the dialogues depending on what you were doing. The cgs are also very well done and I love how Liev is very expressive! Seriously, I wanted to beat him up for kidnapping me but when he died I was SO SAD! I just wanted to be okay with him and he didn't make it easy for me lol 

    By the way, as I was doing the endings in order when I got to 5 I loved pakas but then came 6 and I thought it was SO CUTE! And that final cg? <3 

    I would definitely play other games you release or watch more content like this one!

    words cannot express how much i love this game. liev latane is my pookie wookie schnookums bear [/j] and i LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE his characterisation in this game! i appreciate MC's gender options [laughs in gay] and the realistic depictions of anxiety and panic attacks! the point system is a complete throwback to oldschool otome games that manages to be relevant in the game's context. liev's characterisation is, as i said earlier, one of the highlights in this game, and it's astounding how almost every choice you make can change his dialogue [much like reality]. this is genuinely one of my favourite visual novels ever, and i really hope to see more projects from you!


    TL;DR- this is peak yandere fiction.  143/10

    Heyyy!! Do you think you'll ever do something like a question wall or a place to ask questions about the game? 

    (+1)

    Heya! Ever since CuriousCat got taken down I haven’t really thought about it tbh… if you have any suggestions of good q&a sites I’d be happy to open one up!!

    I think tumblr can do the job

    (+1)

    I accidentally got ending 6 instead of 5 and i didn't even follow the guide i remember the options they weren't like the guide's O.0 ANYWAYS ENJOYED SM THIS IS ONE OF THE FEW GAMES I ACTUALLY LIKE SO SO SO SO MUCH AND I DON'T THINK IT DESERVED TO BE FREE tyyy :D

    Viewing most recent comments 1 to 40 of 263 · Next page · Last page