Pulsatio Cordis (FULL GAME)
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!)
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.
Download
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
- ENDING AND CG GUIDE (+ a new build)33 days ago
- Bug fix build released (PuCo ver 2.1)52 days ago
- FULL GAME RELEASED!!!65 days ago
- Progress report (11/08/24)Aug 11, 2024
- Side story from Liev's POV! (9k downloads celebration...?)Jun 19, 2023
- Progress report (08/03/23)Mar 08, 2023
- 7k milestone post (+ important question)Mar 04, 2023
- Update (17/05/22) - Updated character sprites!May 16, 2022
Comments
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This is wholesome! Genius! I can't believe I cried when I finally got the true ending ・゜(。┰ω┰。).・゜ Although I need to get 2 more endings to unlock but it'll be worth it.
I love how complex and well written they are, thank you for your hard work on this game. Please take care of yourself ♡ I'm looking forward to your next works!! >.<
I finally managed to get all the endings! Liev is such an interesting and fleshed out character, same goes for Quinn! Speaking of which, I'm ngl I almost fell out of my chair when i saw their mom saying 'anak' bc !!! my people!!
For more detailed rambling (SPOILERS AHEAD),
I honestly thought the True End wouldn't differ much from La Chance bc I was like,, how much better could it get? Liev and Quinn are both getting help and supporting e/o every step of the way! But then i actually got to the True Ending sequence and. holy cow. I was mega surprised when Liev started tweaking out since I was expecting same old - but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense for his character. And THEN I realized the implication that he wasn't being entirely genuine in the La Chance ending, and I really loved that detail - how Quinn's knowledge about Liev was sort of like a make or break, since as I see it, post-La Chance recovery would be a lot more rocky for him and may even fail. On the other side of the spectrum, the True End is so !! It really illustrates the difference between Quinn being unaware and Quinn seeing everything that Liev is and still living him in spite of it - choosing to stay and get help alongside him. And then him kissing their forehead after driving them home! It sort of contrasts his dialogue after the rollercoaster - he doesn't rush into things anymore, now that he knows Quinn is there to stay.
Maybe I'm reading too much into it ^^; but as a psychology student myself (which also made me fall out of my chair in the True End's epilogue LOL), I find these two characters and the way they react to different situations endlessly fascinating. So, huge kudos to you for being able to capture such multifaceted characterizations in a fictional form!
Overall, such an entertaining game! I love your idea for a sequel, but don't feel pressured to do it! Any future project you might pursue will be an amazing one. Thank you so much for making this!
Thank you so much for working hard on this game T_T It was so worth it waiting for the full game since the demo really dragged me to love Liev sm
The way you wrote ending La chance and the true ending ?? Chef kiss <3 Would replaying it again
Beuatiful. Just Beautiful! İt was worth waiting this whole year. Thank you Lucia Lily. You're awesome! İt was 10/10 (Especially the True Ending, İt made me tear up and cry. ) Also the character development and giving emotions were top tier! This game was your best I guess!?
I've been playing this game for hours (got all endings) and I gotta admit this is one of my most comforting games of all time. The plot, designs, artwork...everything is just so amazing!! Although this is 100% fiction, it feels so realistic at the same time. Not even cringe at all, with good writing, moments that make my heart drop / me smile / me feel heartwarming, etc. Y'all developers really did an absolute wonderful job. If I have a chance to play this game again without knowing anything about the plots and all, heck yeah I would. Once again, well done developers. ^^ <33
这不对吧?
Liev's backstory heavily reminds me of the Digimon Emperor from Digimon 02. A kid that was forced to be a perfectionist by his parents, and developed a dark side as a result. Overall, really enjoyed the game.
I LOVE THIS GAME SM
i HATE HATE HATE how much he reminds me of my friends toxic bf this is so freaky dude
This was such an amazing game! I got all the endings and the first one I got was the "His Happy Ending" because I'm just a sucker for these type of characters... This is lovely and if anyone wants to try it I encourage it very much!!
Hiii can you give a quick guide on how you got all the endings? Thank you so much
Sure! Ok so, this is what I did to get all endings! Maybe there's another way but here's my attempt at a guide
Unlock ending 1 "His Happy Ending"
General recommendations if you wanna try for yourself: Get and maintain his affection as high as possible
1. Hello how are you
2. Choose whatever for food
3. Insist of paying for the whole meal
4. Got any pets?
5. Haha, what a good kitty indeed
6. A cat
7. Ask about siblings, then distract him
8. Why did you pick me?
9. Are you okay?
10. Be honest with him
11. Take Liev's hand
12. Return the favour
13. Hug Him
14. Don't do anything
15. Accept his proposal
Unlock ending 2 "Till death do us part"
General recommendations if you wanna try for yourself: Just keep his affection high so he proposes at the end, but say no to the proposal.
1. Follow the steps for ending 1 up until Liev proposes
2. Reject his proposal
3. Dodge backwards
Ending 3A: "Cold Feet"
General recommendations if you want to try and get it yourself: You need high affection and not kill Liev at the proposal, else you'll get ending 2.
1. Follow steps for ending 1, up until Liev proposes.
2. Reject his proposal.
3. Dodge to the right.
4. I do.
Unlocks ending "3B: Disciplinary action"
General recommendations if you want to try for yourself: Try to get his affection as low as you can, reject him at any given chance OR you can learn more about Liev by maintaining his affection at -1/0/1. I personally suggest going for the latter, it's trickier but it pays off, I promise! The following options get his affection at the negatives.
1. Let timer run out or say "The sky."
2. Choose whatever for food
3. Insist of paying for your meal yourself
4. Do you have any siblings? Then drop the subject all together
5. Why did you pick me?
6. What's wrong with you?
7. Lie
8. Keep to yourself
9. Reject the plushie
10. Say no to the hug
11. Intervene
12. I do
Unlocks ending "4: In hindsight"
General recommendations: Just keep affection at -5 / -6. The scene with the bullies should be different, when prompted, select "Make a run for it", confronting him leads you to just a deviation of 3B, but then again, there's some lore and changes in dialogue so I recommend making a save and doing both.
Unlocks ending 5 "La Chance"
General recommendations: Keep his affection at 5 / 6.
Unlocks the true ending!
General recommendations if you wanna try yourself: So this is a little bit hard, but try to get all the instances of Liev talking about how he feels and his family, don't encourage any of his obsessive behaviors, if you miss something you'll probably get ending 5 or if you don't get enough affection you'll get 3A or 3B. At the train station you should have around 5 affection points.
1. The sky
2. Pick whatever for food
3. Let Liev pay.
4. Do you have any siblings? And distract him
5. Do you have any pets?
6. Haha what a good kitty
7. A cat
8. Don't know if this matters, but also ask him about food and where he's from.
9. What's wrong with you?
10. Be honest with him
11. Take his hand
12. Reject the plushie
13. Hug him
14. Let the timer run out.
After this, in the train station, there's no proposal, the dialogue is different, and you'll get 2 other CG's.
This GAME. Oh my god. gang. I cant begin to explain the amount of yandere visual novels i've played, and this one was the only with a unique lowkey realistic gameplay concept? its not about "oh the more affection points i gain the better" (SPOILERS AHEAD!!) Lievs character is so complex and highly intriguing, i was glued to my screen the entire time while having a chem final tomorrow. The more he likes you, the more insane he is, the more uncomfortable you get. But the more he dislikes you (negative affection points) the more he respects your boundaries and acts "normal" therefor the more you like him. Its a simple concept but so mind boggling to me how their love almost seems to be indirectly proportional?? Because of that you need to find a middle ground to get the true ending, its beautiful. Desperately need a sequel, I am enthralled by your writing style and the psychology behind the whole game. would love to see more!!
ps. One comment i'd have is to please include a walkthrough..still cant get ending 5 >_<
I like to think of the point system as "his amount of trust" in the player. Since when you get a very high level of APs he acts like you are sure to love him as he loves you. On the other hand, at negative APs, he realises that he'll need to do... "more" to keep you close to him.
while i agree when it comes to this vn, i wouldn't think so in other yandere games. I doubt insane obsessive Individuals would see love in the same pov as a more stable person, so they wouldn't associate trust with it automatically or they'd have the wrong idea of trust like they do of love :3
good point! :3
You probably already figured it out but fun fact the name means heartbeat yippeEe!!!
i remember playing this game before, nice to see it finished
This just fed my "i can fix him" mindset even more LMFAOOO
Spoiler (not really??)
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PLSS I'M SO INTRIGUED I WANNA READ SO BADLY HOW HE REALIZED HIS FEELINGS FOR US WHEN WE WERE KIDS. I just love characters that have only a soft spot for us so i was wondering how us ("Quinn") managed to melt Liev's heart hehe. Anyways, loved the true ending
i got all the endings and the true ending was soooo satisfying and beautiful i LOVED all of it. the game itself was amazing through and through amazing job. excited to see what other projects u have to come in the future!<33
Wow. What a beautiful, amazing, heartfelt game.
I started this game expecting it to be a fun and simple yandere game but quickly found myself pleasantly surprised by how it ended to be so much more. I was engrossed and gripped by the writing of the characters especially with how Lieve and our MC were portrayed. They're so nuanced and I honestly love their dynamic together. It made me want to replay the game again and again to find out all their other endings and of course, achieve the true ending.
And yes. The true ending. The true ending made me emotional and I love it. I just finished the game and just feel so soft and sentimental. It's very hopeful but also realistic :')
ALSO TEENY TINY SPOILERS
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But I really appreciate the theme change of the menu screen when you achieve the true ending. It's a really nice touch :'DD
Also yay, Filipino MC! ending four was very depressing but at least I get to hear mom say "anak" </3
got all the endings!!! that was so so fun. thank you for making this game <3
my gamers.. what mbti do yall guess he is
Spoiler!
I dont know why but I cant get ending 5😭😭😭
Here is my chose
-Insist on paying for your meal yourself
-(Do you have any siblings?)Drop the subject altogether
-(Got any pets?)Thats a little much
-What is wrong with you?
-Lie
-Keep to yourself
-Reject it
-Say no
-Dont do anything/dont chose
-Make a run for it
I can get -10/-13 but only get ending4,can somebody help me, please！！😭😭
i'm not sure if u had already reached it but for ending 5 try to maintain affection on 5, it worked that way for me! gl!
Thank you！！！！It is work！！
I'll have to come back to this because I will get ending seven even if it kills me! (maybe I shouldn't jinx that.....) I've gotten every other ending but even with a few short breaks my brain is not at proper capacity to try and figure out what else to dooooooo.
I'm not an og fan just someone who was like "oh my glob, he's cute" when I saw him on Espoir's channel and my friend sending the cgs lol. This is such a cool and interesting game thoughhhhhhh arghhhhhhhhh
Hi Lucia!! First off, thank you for such an incredible game! I had so much fun playing this and loved the writing.
I loved the backstory you gave to Liev and highlighted the suffering he had in his past that made him turn out this way. But most of all I loved how realistic your approach to his tendencies were. One thing I appreciated the most was in the true ending [SPOILERS AHEAD!]
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He wasn't just immediately fixed and had a happy ending but you emphasised that he needed love and patience to continue healing. I really liked that and thought it was a very respectful, realistic and understanding approach. Because mental health is never fixed overnight and it does take so much love.
I ended up doing a playthrough on my channel as well as sharing it with my community on TikTok! I hope it's okay to share the links here!
Thank you again for a wonderful experience. This was beautiful <3.
https://www.tiktok.com/@helloyinny/video/7443834659819113736
I RAN OVER HERE IMMEDIATELY AFTER ENDING FOUR CUZ WHAT?? HANDSOME YANDERE? WELL WRITTEN STORY?? MULTIPLE ENDINGS AND CGS?? A FILIPINO PROTAGANIST?? I am in love.
The second our mom called us anak (it means child in tagalog and is smth parents call their kids) I was like HOLD THE PHONE WHAAAAT. It'd be cool if we met the younger brother and he called us kuya or ate (older brother or sister depending on who you play as) lol. Overall incredible game and I was just so happy to see my culture involved in such a great game. Amazing work <33
Omg YAY I was waiting for someone to recognise that!!! Yep, canonically Quinn/MC is Filipino (as is yours truly)!!! You have no idea how happy this comment has made me :D
As for meeting the younger brother, unfortunately he is past the age of being respectful towards his elders (being a preteen and all)... The only time he would call us Ate or Kuya is if your mom forced him to XD (he's kinda based on my real life younger brother, who tbh hasn't called me Ate in years XDDD)
Thank you so much for playing!!! So glad you enjoyed it sm <333333
DUDE IM the one who's glad u added it lmao. All my siblings are still young enough to call me ate and lowkey I'm scared of them getting older and calling me by my real name (we've decided to gaslight the youngest into thinking my real name is ate lol) and its AWESOME to meet a fellow Filipino, especially a game creator!! Can't wait to see what you come out with next <333
OHHH! That's so coollllll. That's that question answered. I was gonna look it up after I finished my last run. I'm a little stumped on 7, though so I probably would've forgotten.
AHHHHHHHHH I CANT BELIEVE YOU MADE A PLAYTHROUGH ON IT!!!!! Thank you so much for playing <3
THIS IS SO GOOD Liev is such a well written character and i love how the dialogue is written and everything about this vn!!! It's got me so hooked and I love the art too!! Great job :D
i love this game a lot. am glad that its different from the other yandere games. I litterly cried while playing this game. Liev's story hit close to home. it's great game.
How is it different from other yandere games? I haven't played this but I love yandere VNs . They can be long af though so if I can get the vibe before I start one it always helps.
THIS GAMEEE HITTTSSSSS DUDE ITS SO AMAZING AND THE ART AND STORYY IS WONDERFUL!!!
but can someone please tell me how to get ending 5 im so dumb but i got all the other endings so yay BUT PLEASE SOMEONE TELL ME HOW TO GET ENDING 5
Get affection to be negative (like, very negative), then at the bully scene, choose to do nothing, after that, when the next choice menu pops up, choose to run away.
I JUST FINISHED THE GAME AND OMG. I LOVED IT SO MUCH. The backstory, the endings, and usually the yanderes in visual novels aren't really blunt about their behavior to the MC so seeing Leiv just bluntly showing MC how crazy and obsessed he is so unique and different from anything I've seen AND IN THE BEGIN TOO?! I'm in love with the true ending, Leiv and MC are recovering together finally having the peace they both deserved. I was screaming and jumping when I saw the CG for that ending. I hope you make more games and/or make a continuation DLC (not forcing ofc). LOVE YOUR WORK!!!
Hello, excuse me, could you tell me how to get the true ending, which is number 6 if I remember correctly, please
Honestly as long as u have 6-7 affection points it should trigger the event (this is after achieving ending 5) hope that helps!!
oki oki thanks!!!!! i love u
<333
ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS GAME!!! got all the endings except the true end idk where you get those points </3 But AHHHHH I absolutely love Leiv he's such a compelling character i need to dissect him NEOWWWW!!! I love a yandere game that's extra scary and bro was FREAKING ME OUT THE WHOLE TIME AHHHH This game is so well done the writing is so good AND THE ART ATRATHAYAGGFJUIEONEW. also i love how in the preferences menu it's still the first title screen and then you go back to the creepy one after you first play the game IT'S SUCH A NICE TOUCHHHH ARARARARAGGAAGHH PEAK YANDERE GAME 10/10 WAS SCARED SHITLESS 💗💗💗
I find myself struggling to get ending 3B, ending 4, and ending 5 :( any assistance would be very welcome!!!!
For me this worked. For ending 5, get affection points as negative as possible, then at the bully scene, chose "Do nothing" or actually do nothing at all, after that, you get another pair of choices, here chose "Run away".
how do I get the 3B ending?
And as for my review, this, was perfect just- when I got updated on the full release of this game I had been keeping my eye on when it was still in development months ago, oh man the excitement was indescribable and was I glad to finally remember (after forgetting to in the occupied few weeks on my mind) and got to play it! I think the fifth end was the true end; la chance or something like it just gave that hopeful, not too much unrealistic to future that things maybe could work out with each characters' baggage carried and supported on together, I really loved it:D
The social anxiety simulator, his dropping and switching behaviours and taking into consideration the backgrounds of the amusement park that reminded me of some places I have visited in my own country... It kinda hit home and really did a good job stressing me out in that unnerving sense of blurred control mingling with the setting! Really glad that the game didn't seem to 'punish' the player's anxiety (as far as I remember). Lived up to both the romance and horror aspect! Exceeded my expectations, plus his expressions and poses matched like those top notch yandere's spiraling blend of manic, desperation, madness (I digged it hard), cherry on top of everything. Took up to like 23 screenshots proved how much I liked it (like any other game of my favs that propelled the urge to keep the memorable or adorable scenes).
Besides that, there's just some overlapping texts when seen back in log like these sentences, thought I should let you know as notice if you haven't...
Aw, it was so nice to play this game again after all these years. Immediately I was reminded of how much I loved it when it was first a demo!
Loved Liev but Quinn was such a standout omg. So well-written and I loved how we got to explore their conflicts and character development in nuance way within every ending we received.
Seriously, great job! So glad to have played to its fullest!
Light spoiler!
I don't know who needs to hear this, but there is a scene where Liev plays with the plush you win at the arcade.
I don't remember how I got it, but it was such a cute scene!
i remember when i first commented on the demo 2 yrs ago!! i can't believe i got to see the full product this game was amazing and worth the wait! i'm still trying to get the last two endings but this game is just mua perfect. this game just pours of your hard work and dedication! thank you for the yummy food and i love liev smsm hes such a cutie thank u again for such a great game!! <3 edit: i got the true ending this game is full of so much love i cant aaghh
Hello! Can't figure out how to get ending 2, could someone help me:(
The "Till death do us part"?
When Liev proposes, say No, then dodge to the left.
Oo~ so strange! For me, I had to go backwards.
Huh, oh well! How did you like the ending?
Gotta warn you, it'll be very sad.
YAYYY I KNEW IT IM SO HAPPY
I was finally able to complete all the endings, and oh my gosh! The true ending nearly made me cry!!
I remember playing this game when it was recently first released, and I remember how much I loved the game that I used to constantly check the website for updates! [This game actually kickstarted my love for horror VNs], and I just can't believe how the full game is already here! I'm very happy to say that the years waiting for this game were definitely worth it!! I loved seeing how your art improved over the years. I love how the story is realistically written and feels so genuine!
A sequel would be a nice addition, but considering how life can get in the way of things, this game itself is already enough for me. I hope you feel proud of your hard work and the fans you gathered, and I hope you gain nothing but happiness in life! aaah! MWAH MWAH MWAH ILY AND THIS GAME SO MUCH AAAAAGHHH
This was so fun I got every ending in one sitting! I came for over-the-top yandere shenanigans and stayed for nuanced portrayals of mental illness. Liev is the star of the show obviously, but Quinn still had a unique personality even as a self-insert MC which made for a lot of great interactions between the two. I also played as the male MC and appreciated how it wasn’t a simple pronoun switch and the writing actually addressed issues unique to two boys dating. Overall, I really enjoyed playing, and I’m excited to see what comes next!! ^^
(Also you wouldn’t believe how happy I was when I saw Liev that reacts to you trying to name yourself after him! I love little easter eggs like that)
AHHHHHHH thank you so much nihomi, I'm so happy you were finally able to play the full version!! And I'm even happier that you liked it so much :)
I'll write about it in more detail in the postmortem/dev notes but yeah, that was the general aim of the game hehe, I've always wanted to delve deeper into the psychology of yanderes.
I'm glad Quinn/MC's personality stood out to you! Yes, their interactions with Liev were incredibly fun to write - I got to channel my inner yandere and imagine standing up to one at the same time!! (weird flex but ok)
Also omg!! I never expected someone to play as both versions of Quinn/MC!! Ahhh I'm so glad you noticed all those things.
(HEHEHEHE yay you noticed the easter egg as well!)
Thank you so much for your support!
helppppp I've been playing for 2 hours but I still cant get endings 4,5 and 6. does anyone know how to get them?
hello! I don't know if you got ending 4 already, but to get it, you need to have low affection points with him! from 0 to the negative numbers. When Liev is attacking the boys, you wait for the timer to run out. You'll receive an option to either "Make a run for it or "Stay and face him" if you pick "Make a run for it" you'll receive ending 4!
awhh i share my user with one of your ocs thats so cool!