Fare Thee Well
A downloadable visual novel for Windows, macOS, and Linux
In the winter of 1967, a young man enters out of the snowy night into a bar in the sleepy town of Cedar on the northern frontier of Maine. He takes off his gloves and rubs his hands together. He slips out a golden pocket watch from inside his coat, checks the time, and gently places it back. Closing his tired eyes, he stops to think.
He is a wanderer cursed with eternal youth, sent out by fate forever to roam the world, never to find a home.
The bartender approaches him when he takes a seat and he pays for a drink so he can stay. The liquid in the glass shines slick like oil under the dim lights of the bar. Warmth fills the wanderer as he downs it in one gulp. After that he sits awhile to rest but knows he can't stay. Just as he gets up to leave, he notices something happening in the corner of the room.
A girl in a green dress is about to sing.
This short, kinetic visual novel inspired by traditional folk music was created within the course of 2 weeks for the NaNoRenO 2016 visual novel development festival. It is a character-driven story focusing on the theme of the beauty and tragedy of the passage of time.
Updates:
-New UI
-Edited/Revamped Script
-New Music
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- Fare Thee Well Updates!Aug 27, 2017
Comments
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Any possibility of an Android release? Even if it's just an APK here? I've really enjoyed it and wish I could take it with me to read on the go.
Hello! I really enjoyed your game, it has a beautiful way with words and the story itself is very engrossing. But I would't say it's short in any fashion as it took me two hours to finish and some parts became a little long winded and too repetitive. But those are only minor gripes with the game, aside from that it's very well done. I made a let's play of your game here with another part coming out later~
That was a beautiful story. Definitely not the kind of love story I had expected when I first read the description, but this is even better. I couldn't help feeling sad at the end though. To have to leave those ties and wander a new yet familiar world again, left with only the memories of bonds to guide you... I don't think I'd ever be able to do it. I can only imagine the mental strain he'd have to endure time and time again.
Only, how do I say this? It felt like, when he left that last time, he wouldn't be burdened with the painful memories anymore. It felt like he would no longer be haunted by his past, but supported by those experiences and those memories instead. Perhaps that wasn't your intention in writing this, but I hope that it was. I hope that the wanderer you've imagined has learned to enjoy the gift he has for the opportunities it has granted to him.
Anyways, thank you for the read. It was truly an experience worth having.
Thank you so much for reading it :) it truly was a labor of love from us. We'll be releasing it on Steam eventually with updated assets, so there's that! Thanks again for reading it, it means so much to us!
~Wolf, Watercress Studio Director
In case you guys at Watercress don't remember me, I composed some of the tracks for this VN. Guys, it's almost been a year and you haven't uploaded the updated version of the game where the music doesn't start from the loop. Are you ever planning on doing it? I want you to keep in mind that starting the music from the loop instead the beginning, completely ruins the feel of the particular scene. You're supposed to build up the emotion, not start from the part where there is the most tension in the song.
Heya Fox! Yeah, we remember you :) we haven't uploaded any updates so far because we've been really busy with other projects, including the Steam version of Fare Thee Well. All of the current bugs will be fixed in time, if they aren't already fixed internally.
It's also important to note that much of the music is being replaced, particularly the music that's currently copyrighted, in order to avoid any potential issues in the future. Thank you for keeping up with us and making sure that this was brought to our attention!
~Wolf, Studio Director
Even though this game is short, the story is so good that it took me down to tears. T.T
Thank you for playing it :')
Haha, hey. Since this isn't really getting any comments I just wanted to drop by and say that this game is really awesome and sad! Thank you for this.
Thank you, it means a lot to us!
Jesus Christ , I'm crying like a baby, very beautiful but sad story
i'd like to say that i'm crying my eyes out
Thanks for the comment, kushi! Comments and critiques on the game are always welcome!