Snakeroot.
Snakeroot is a fantasy horror interactive fiction WIP about monsters, haunted forests, and surviving when the odds are stacked against you. It is set in the original modern fantasy world of Siressea, inspired by TTRPG formats D&D and MoTW.
In it, you play as a hunter in the employ of the Vanguard, an organisation of monster-hunters dedicated to combating a magical curse known as the Rot.
General content warnings: injury to major characters, gore, body horror. More specific content warnings will be provided at the start of each chapter.
THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG BEYOND THE TREES.
A strange magic infects these lands.
They call it the Rot, a curse that distorts the lands and creatures around it. For years, its tide has been stemmed by magical barriers, dutifully enforced by the Vanguard's hunters. For years, the strategy has worked... until now.
The barrier has cracked. Something slithers through.
Why now?
Why you?
Snakeroot contains...
- An original modern fantasy setting, for you to pick apart as an intrepid monster hunter. Explore a haunted forest, and uncover the secrets that lie behind your forgotten past and mysterious magic.
- Customisable protagonist — hone your skills, choose from four playable races (human, merfolk, chimaera, & shifter) and more!
- Friendly & not-so-friendly faces, including three fellow unfortunate souls with unique backstories and powers. Death is but an impermanent acquaintance, but there's many bad decisions to be made.
- 10+ original illustrations accompanying codex and companion entries, with plans for greater incorporation into the story.
- Adjustable UI design with a mobile-friendly format, toggeable light and dark themes, and font adjustments for readability.
LUX. Gender selectable (she/he/they). Merfolk (shark). As blunt and honest as their path is true, Lux's specific skillset makes them an indispensable asset on all mobile hunting teams.
RAINE. Gender selectable (she/he/they). Chimaera (aetheric). Polite but reserved, Raine possesses an unusual talent for magic and a sharp mind. They specialise in healing, but watches every battle with an unerringly keen eye.
MALLORY. Trans male (he/him). Chimaera (aetheric). Raine's younger brother is bright and disarmingly cheerful, with a reputation as a frighteningly effective hunter that precedes him.
Writing, coding, & original art (logo & portraits): Cerberus (Cer) - Tumblr
Development log
- minor fixes!Jun 23, 2021
Comments
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This game dead? Another IF seemingly abandoned with no explanation
Honestly, aside from Visual Novels pretty much ALL IF's on here are either dead or on year long breaks. Off the top of my head I can think of maybe four that are actively being worked on,
It's annoying that outside of Choice of Game's there's so few completed text-based IF's :(
not really, I personally have been keeping up with IFs that get updated pretty decently.
Hi there, I really enjoyed this game, a lovely kick-start to this chapter to what I hope pans out to be an action-filled storyline, that is if it gets updated. By browsing in the comments, I've learned the author is currently on hiatus? Seems they've been gone a while with no updates on their Tumblr, hope they are doing okay and taking care of themselves, and if ever they decide to continue this, when i get wind of an update, I'll be right here! :)
I hope the author is okay, and if they're ever up to it maybe they'll continue this lovely wip!!
Dear author,
Where are you?
I hope you are doing well.
would it be possible for the author to add an anserinae choice for the shifter? I'd love to be a swan 🦢
Is this going to get updated any time soon ;_;?
I really hope the author is safe and sound :(
damn got into it and and cliffhanger why it was just getting to the juicy part where there's yelling and laughing at the little drama
but I loved it please continue this whenever you want it is a fantastic storyline 😊😸
Its sad that there are no updates since a few years this game is really amazing I love the story and the characters
PLEASE UPDATE!!!:D
Such a shame that most good IF's aren't currently being updated. There hasn't been a sign of life from the author for quite a while, I hope they're okay.
Is this game dead? Please respond
What a great game, a pity it is no longer updated, now it eats my head off.
My heart is so terribly broken I never got to meet Mallory. In all seriousness, Snakeroot is beautifully written and very engaging right from the start. I am very very enthusiastic for any future updates; they'd be worth the wait no matter how long!! So enthusiatic, I almost wish I could help with the development myself lol
All the best, Cerberus :)
Sorry to make a complaint after having barely gotten anywhere in the game, but when I try to open the menu to save or even view the codex, I end up opening the settings instead, and even when I close it I still can't open the saves or codex. I'm playing on mobile, Google Chrome, and I was wondering if this is a problem for only mobile and if it can be fixed?
hello! i can't seem to replicate your issue when testing on mobile google chrome but i'm happy to look into it! would it be possible to provide any screenshots / a recording of the issue? feel free to message me on tumblr or upload it here, whichever's more convenient.
Thank you for the quick response. Not sure I can provide a recording, my tablet is pretty old and doesn't have that function. Still, I tried it again this morning. If you tap the menu button;
The Settings screen comes up. There are times when it doesn't come up, if you click slightly above the three bars the menu slides down normally.
If you click slightly below, the Codex appears instead.
excuse me, are you alive?
no <3
( honestly? i've been busy, so writing hasn't been my top priority lately. )
Hey there! Not sure if I ever commented on this story, if not, I swear I meant to. >_< I really love this story, thank you so much for making it! I wanted to let you know that we've mentioned your story in our list of recommended Twine stories. But if that's not okay just let me know. You can view it here, let us know if there are any other details we should add for your title --> https://itch.io/t/1763600/twine-games-with-character-customization-part-1
This was an absolutely amazing game! I love the story and characters- they feel so real. The images are beautiful as well! It's so intricate, really can't wait to see where this goes :D
amazing work :) completely fell in love with the writing. the UI creates such a fitting atmosphere with the story and the artworks are stunning! there are so many thoughtful details, i really enjoyed browsing through the codex and my character's profile.
really looking foward to future updates :)
also! after reading the codex, for instance, and returning to the game, if i wanted to go to the previous page of the story itself, i had to go through all the codex that i'd previously read to get to the part of the story that i wanted to read again. i don't know if it's done that way intentionally, but if you had gone through many pages of the codex then you have to go back several times to get to the section of the story you wanted to get to (and i'm gessing the same would happen if you'd been through the settings or profile).
it's a minor detail, but i thought you might want to know! (and i don't know if it's relevant information, but i was using a mobile format while playing).
hello, thank you for reading & your kind words! for the codex issue, there should be a "return to game" button that shows up in the upper right of the screen even on mobile that brings you directly back to the story instead of having to backtrack manually. if it's possible, what browser do you use & what are the dimensions of your device? i'll try to keep it in mind for my next update, it's probably a positioning type of issue haha
ohh yeah yeah that button does appear dw (and im pretty sure i used it) i was trying again to figure out what my problem could've been and now it does go back like i want it to?? i remember being confused between the two back buttons so im coming to the conclusion im just stupid and hadn't figured it out yet ._.
forgive me for the hassle my braincells increasingly decay with time
haha it's no worries! it might be a positioning issue on my end because i think i just have the return button layered directly on top of the other back button, so it's possible that you somehow managed to access the original back button instead of the return one. it's a shortcut i took that's apparently not as flawless as originally thought, so thank you for bringing it up regardless :)
Pretty interesting game,or rather interactive book,i played it while i listened dark ambient,it gives are great atmosphere to this game,i will wait continue,5\5
Not someone unliking all the positive comments :c come on iv´e seen this bs five times in different stories like {the following is directed to the unlike spammer} Mate? Hello? Get a life and stop down playing peoples hard work and go do something else >:0
dgkwbdn thanks for bringing it up, i honestly didn't notice it happened! truly fascinating the amt of free time ppl have to be petty, wish i had some of that time and energy so i could get more writing done lmaooo
So glad I stumbled upon this , it's really cool and I cant wait to meet the rest of the characters
This game was exactly what i needed in my life. 10/10 i hope you continue it
I like this game, the UI is so smooth and pretty, everything about this is pretty. The story got me hooked. I'm looking forward to it, keep it up! : D
I love this so much! It's so cool and well written. Can't wait for the update!
Aaaaaaaaaa!!i love everything about it!! I'm curious to see more of the story ^^
I like the ui alot it's so elegant just wow and the story has potential keep going!
Just the selection of options feels incredibly smooth, I love it.
Looking foward to see where it will go!
I'd call this stunning, to say the least. Highly customizable, wonderful features, and the UI- wow. Absolutely watching out for future updates x)
thank you so much!! i've tried to make it as customisable as possible while not cluttering up the stats too much, i'm glad to hear you're enjoying it !! :))
I haven't finished it yet but oh my god the UI made me drop my jaw, I LOVE IT.
...I.... NEED....MORE.... this seems right up my alley and I'm looking forward to see where this is heading, once again I LOVE IT
hehe i'm looking forward to getting the updates out too! thanks for the comment !!
Impressive work; I've added this to IFDB
ahh glad you enjoyed it! thank you for the add! :)
I've been really excited for the twine demo of this game ever since I ran into the demo on tumblr, and it didn't disappoint! The UI is so pretty, and so is the art! Though, I just have one question: How do I input custom pronouns? Edit: Oh wait, crap, nvm, I'm just a dumb dumb. Great game! :D
thank you for your comment, i'm glad it lived up to your expectations !! i've also edited the cc dialogs so that it's clearer to input custom answers (pronouns, some custom appearance colours), so hopefully this solves that little design input problem for people :))