Yuri Game Studio Élan Hosts Online Festival; Announce New LGBT+ Games and Updates

On Saturday, Yuri visual novel studio and publisher Studio Élan hosted an online live stream, Élan Festival 2022, where it announced new LGBT+ games, updates, and merchandise. The stream, presented by the studio’s VTuber Mascot, Melanie (Kalyn McCabe) is available to view on the studio’s YouTube page.

Studio Élan announced that it would be publishing three new games from other studios under its publishing arm, Bellhouse:

Who is the Red Queen?

Who is the Red Queen is a Yuri horror game initially released as part of the Spooktober 3rd Annual Visual Novel Jam. Bellhouse will be helping release an expanded version on Steam this year. The creators describe the game:

Alice falls down the rabbit hole into a Wonderland not quite right. Meeting an eclectic collection of people, animals, and some things in between, she sets out on an adventure in this odd new place to find the missing Red Queen. Or, more specifically, to find the pieces of the dismembered queen whose body has been strewn across the land.

Love in a Bottle

Love in a Bottle is a point-and-click adventure romance game by solo developer lovelandisle with music by Hazel. The game follows a love demon trying to love in an undersea town. It features a texting system, four different romance options, and over 30 CGs. An optional R18 patch will also be available. The creator describes the game:

Ankora the Love Demon is tired of living underground in the shadows of her successful siblings, so she’s decided to move up in the world and get an apartment in the Coral Sea Vivariums, an underwater series of domes populated by creatures of all kinds. She has a limited amount of time to prove she’s able to make it on her own, but more importantly, there are HOT SINGLE WOMEN all over town and she wants to make her presence (and availability) known to them. Can she adjust to a new place and find love before time is up?!

Love in a Bottle has a tentative release date of Winter 2022.

Twofold

The follow-up to another Bellhouse release, First Snow, Twofold, by Salty Salty Studios and Studio Coattails, takes place one year after the original. It follows new and returning characters. Newcomer Olive, an outsider, works to fully understand the situation threatening to undo a close-knit group of friends. The creators describe the game:

Olive’s situation is dire. They’re on the verge of being thrown out of college unless they can salvage their GPA, and their only chance rests on classes they know next to nothing about.

Their lifeline: two club leaders who are more than willing to help them succeed. However, no solution is that easy. Olive soon finds themself in the middle of a conflict between these two friends that threatens to undo their long-standing love for each other.

Twofoldwill be released in 2022.

Studio Élan also announced new merchandise for their celebrated 2019 fantasy Yuri visual novel Heart of the Woods. The studio will be collaborating with Limited Run Games to release physical editions of the visual novel for PS4 and Nintendo Switch. The physical releases will feature reversible cover art by Satchel (Doki Doki Literature Club). A collectors edition with a box case, soundtrack, artbook, and “extra goodies” will also be released.

Additionally, both of the game’s soundtracks Moonlight and Snowfall, are being released on vinyl from Very Ok Vinyl, with new artwork by Adirosa.

The Studio also announced updates to its own games:

Please Be Happy

ThePlease be Happy demo was released last year. Although the game was stated to have a release date of 2021, it missed that goal. The stream addressed this, with Melanie saying, “this game ended up being as long as our two released games (Highway Blossoms andHeart of the Woods) combined. The studio is on track to release the game later this year but does not have an official date as of yet.

Born as a fox in the forest of Korea, Miho carries with her the memory of a traveler who showed her kindness and spoke of home. Now more human than fox, Miho has spent a long, long time searching for her person. She arrives by airship to Wellington Skyport, one of the jewels of the floating island of New Zealand.

Despite her years spent observing humans, she still has a lot to learn about their culture and society. She’s made a living so far as a thief, her heightened senses allowing her to easily take advantage of people. She’s also seen a lot of the worst of what mankind has to offer.

It’s only after meeting Juliet, the owner of a small library, and Aspen, an aspiring novelist, that Miho starts to understand what kindness is, and that there’s more than just the bad stuff when it comes to people.

Lock and Key: A Magical Girl Mystery

The studio announced that a demo for Lock and Key which it renamed to Lock and Key: A Magical Girl Mystery, will be released soon on Steam and itch.io.

What does it mean to be a magical girl?

This is the question at the heart of Lock and Key, a magical mystery set in a world shaped by your interpretation of the magical girl genre. 

Sherri and Kealey Cohen, now a married couple in their late 20s, left the title of magical girls behind them over a decade ago. Now on the verge of losing their powers and entering a life of true normalcy, a string of unexplainable murders forces them to come out of retirement for one last adventure. Together with Nina, their old friend, and Ruby, a new protege, Sherri and Kealey will have to face a mystery connected both to their past and future. In the world of Lock and Key, the player shapes their path…and more importantly, determines where that path will end.

Summer at the Edge of the Universe

Élan had relatively little to announce about solarpunk game Summer at the Edge of the Universe. The studio clarified that the game was not canceled but that most members of the team for it are busy working on Please Be Happy. They then apologized for announcing the game too early but reassured everyone that they are still very excited about it.

The studio also announced a new game, Our Home, My Keeper, which you can read more about here.

Yuri Visual Novel ‘Our Home, My Keeper’ Announced

On Saturday, Studio Élan that it is collaborating with ebihime for its newest visual novel, Our Home, My Keeper. The game was announced as part of the studio’s online Élan Festival, where it announced new games and updates to its upcoming visual novels.

The studio describes the game:

When Paige purchases an old house out in the English countryside, she thinks it’ll be the perfect opportunity for her to focus on her next novel. Deadlines are hanging over her head, and she needs all the help she can get. What she isn’t expecting is for excitement and inspiration to come in the form of Fay, a friendly fairy who’s occupied the house far longer than Paige has.

Our Home, My Keeper is written by ebihime and features character art by Madi “weeniedesu” and soundtrack by Singto Conley.

Ebihime is a visual novel creator known for her romance and Yuri games. She has created and released over 20 titles, including Rituals in the Dark, The Fairy’s Song, Strawberry Vinegar, and Salome’s Kiss. Her most well-knowntitle,Blackberry Honey, is available on PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

Élan is a small yuri game development studio, formed by one of the creators of the visual novel Highway Blossoms. Élan was created with a specific vision of telling yuri love stories combined with magic and fantasy. Their previous releases include Highway Blossoms andHeart of the Woods.

Yuri Game Studio to Host LGBT+ Visual Novel Celebration Livestream

On April 30, Yuri game studio and publisher Studio Élan (Heart of the Woods, Highway Blossoms) announced that it will be hosting a live stream festival celebrating LGBT+ games.

The live stream, entitled Élan Festival, will be held on Saturday, May 14th at 4 PM Pacific /7 PM Eastern on the studio’s YouTube page.

The Livestream will feature updates on upcoming games from Studio Élan, announcements about new titles coming to the studio’s publishing wing, Bellhouse, and new merchandise.

Studio Élan is small yuri game development studio, formed by one of the creators of the visual novel Highway Blossoms. Élan was created with a specific vision of telling yuri love stories combined with magic and fantasy.

The studio’s latest full game, Heart of the Woods is available on PC, Nintendo Switch, and PS4/5. The game was celebrated by audiences and critics for its story and presentation. YuriMother gave the game a 9/10 score on a guest review on Okazu.

The studio has three major upcoming projects:

Lock and Key, a magical girl adventure:

Sherri and Kealey Cohen, now a married couple in their late 20s, left the title of magical girls behind them over a decade ago. Now on the verge of losing their powers and entering a life of true normalcy, a string of unexplainable murders forces them to come out of retirement for one last adventure. Together with Nina, their old friend, and Ruby, a new protege, Sherri and Kealey will have to face a mystery connected both to their past and future. In the world of Lock and Key, the player shapes their path…and more importantly, determines where that path will end.

Summer at the Edge of the Universe, a science fiction romance:

After drifting apart for several years, a chance encounter brings four best friends back together for the journey of a lifetime. For Summer Nansen (CV: Hikaru Station), this trip is not only a chance to rekindle old friendships, but also to discover what it is she wants out of life. Alongside a new robot friend named Curiosity, the four girls travel from planet to planet, exploring the natural wonders and diverse alien cultures that they come across. Their journey culminates at the borderline of existence itself: the very edge of the universe.

The game features three routes, each centered around one of Summer’s friends. Every route contains both romantic and platonic endings. More fantasy than sci-fi, Summer aims to be a positive and uplifting experience, with one of the core tenets for the game being “good vibes only.”

Please Be Happy, a slice of life game:

Born as a fox in the forest of Korea, Miho carries with her the memory of a traveler who showed her kindness and spoke of home. Now more human than fox, Miho has spent a long, long time searching for her person. She arrives by airship to Wellington Skyport, one of the jewels of the floating island of New Zealand.

Despite her years spent observing humans, she still has a lot to learn about their culture and society. She’s made a living so far as a thief, her heightened senses allowing her to easily take advantage of people. She’s also seen a lot of the worst of what mankind has to offer.

It’s only after meeting Juliet, the owner of a small library, and Aspen, an aspiring novelist, that Miho starts to understand what kindness is, and that there’s more than just the bad stuff when it comes to people.

A demo of Please Be Happy is now available on Steam and itch.io.

The studio has also published free visual novel projects from other developers under its publishing wing, Bellhouse. Bellhouse titles include First Snow by Salty Salty Studios and Without a Voice by L³.

Source: Press Release