Paperweight's Curse (Time Travel Romance Visual Novel)
"Paperweight's Curse" is a charming romantic comedy visual novel inspired by Théophile Gautier's gothic tale "The Mummy's Foot."
The game follows the misadventures of Jacques Lamartine, a bookish but well-meaning intellectual who impulsively purchases the mummified foot of an ancient Egyptian princess named Hermonthis to use as an eccentric paperweight.
His jovial friend Alfred initially distracts Jacques from his peculiar acquisition with wild antics. However, that very night, Jacques is visited by Hermonthis's ethereal apparition, her beauty as captivating as it is otherworldly. The princess demands the return of her sacred foot, offering a mystical statuette in exchange.
To Jacques's disbelief, the statuette transports them across the sands of time to the opulent courts of ancient Egypt during Hermonthis's era. He finds himself face-to-face with her imposing yet skeptical father, Pharaoh Xixouthros...
Can the socially-awkward academic win the pharaoh's approval and Hermonthis's hand? Or will the ancient man entomb his chances at love forever?
Packed with charm, humor, and a dash of the supernatural, "Paperweight's Curse" takes players on a romantic comedy journey like no other!
| Game Feature | Deluxe Version |
|---|---|
| 🧺Total Word Count of the Game | 10,900+ |
| 🧺Original story by Theophile Gautier with 1 Canon Ending | ✅ |
| 🧺Stunning Character, Background and Interface Art | ✅ |
| 🧺Egyptian soundtrack with occasional French Piano | ✅ |
| 💬 2 Friendship Scenes with Alfred and Hermonthis | ✅ |
| 💬 4 Non-Romantic Options with Princess Hermonthis, Pharaoh, Seller and Alfred | ✅ Options affect the endings |
| 🐍 In-game Cobra Quiz with 15 Questions about Ancient Egypt | ✅ |
| 🤎 Possibility to Romance Alfred as an alternative Dating Option | ✅ |
| 🤎 5 Extra Romantic Choices to spice things up | ✅ Choices unlock special events and affect the endings |
| 🤎 3 Extra Romantic Scenes to unlock if you are committed to particular character routes (2 for Hermonthis, 1 for Alfred) | ✅ |
| 🤎 3 Alternative Romantic Happy Endings (2 for Hermonthis, 1 for Alfred) and 1 Non-Romance Ending | ✅ |
| 🗝️Walkthrough file including quiz answers, choice outcomes, instructions how to obtain endings, etc. | ✅ |
| 💎More Music, Backgrounds, and even 2 Alternative Character Outfits! | ✅ |
| 💬 Easy-Reading Version (for those that find the original font bothersome to read) | ✅ |
Disclaimer: This game was made with AI-made resources - but still with much love and effort.
The game is controlled by mouse and keyboard. Beyond you can find information about keyboard shortcuts:
- Esc - Return to title screen
- Space - Progress the game
- A - Auto mode
- B - Backlog
- F - Fast forward
- L - Load Screen
- M - Menu Screen
- S - Save Screen
Hasalynx Games is an indie game gig that doesn't have any external funding and mostly relies on founder's funds and private effort to create the games. If they spark your curiosity, please buy them (they're so cheap!), comment, and spread positive word. Also, don't forget to add this game to your collections and follow Hasalynx Games on itch.io, so as to receive updates when a new game is up!
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If you've had the pleasure of playing and relishing this game, we kindly invite you to share your feedback by leaving a review in the comments section! Your valuable comments not only aid our studio in gaining traction but also contribute to boosting game sales, serving as a vital form of support for us!
Purchase
In order to download this masterpiece you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $5.99 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Comments
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Love the knowledge quiz idea! Cute game, entertaining and intelligent.
Dear Silvannise,
Thank you so much for your comment! We appreciate it a lot. *^-^*
Kindest Regards,
-Maxine
Hi again Maxine! Finally finished all the endings :)!
I really enjoyed this VN, I liked the little world created where he lives, quaint and pretty, as well as how it all changes when in Egypt. The premise was really fun and I liked both of the romance routes/options. I did end up using the walkthrough for quiz help - I know a bit about Egypt but certainly not as much as I needed to haha.
Thank you again for being so accommodating with the font ^_^ I hope to see more works in the future! x
Dear MissPengywin,
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with the visual novel! We are truly delighted to hear that you enjoyed the story and its various elements.*^-^* We also completely understand needing a little help with the quiz - Egyptian history can be quite complex!
Your kind words mean a great deal, and they inspire us to continue creating and improving. Thank you for your support and encouragement. We are hoping to release more otome games with multiple endings, in August. Hopefully you will enjoy them too!
Kindest Regards,
-Maxine
Hey - I've just bought the deluxe version, and I can't find a preferences/settings screen anywhere to amend volume or key shortcuts etc. I was wondering if I'm missing something obvious on the main screen? The font is the main thing I'd tweak if I can, even on my larger monitor it's quite small and the font itself is difficult to read being italicised and styled as it is.
I'm excited to get into it! But do want to check if there is a settings section first to make reading it any easier :)
Dear MissPengywin,
Thank you so much for your feedback! This game was made with the Tyranobuilder engine, not RenPy, so it doesn't have this type of screen. It only has a save/load menu which is accessible with the "M" key. You fill find the complete list of key shortcuts in the "Controls" section of the game's description, right beneath the screenshots. Aside those, this game doesn't have any other key shortcuts, it's operated by those and the mouse.
About the volume, this game features only music, without sound effects / voices. If you notice that music is too loud in certain scenes, you can let us know and we will tweak it in the game's code. I'm afraid that there's no way for the player to adjust it by themselves but I will do my best to research it.
About the font, I have re-uploaded the Deluxe version with the Imperator font, it should be easier to read. I hope it helps!
Kindest Regards,
-Maxine
Morning Maxine,
Thank you for explaining, that all makes sense - I'm clearly far too used to one builder and as a user, I don't know the intricacies of the setup etc. I'll check out the controls as you mentioned on the main page for sure. The volume is less of an issue knowing it's only music, you probably had that stated somewhere but when I'm excited my brain does like to skip important info, so sorry.
You're an absolute gem - I just downloaded the easy-read version to have a glance at how it looks, and it's ideal! Totally devourable at my usual pace now when I have time to get stuck in later. I really, really appreciate you doing that!
I'll come back and leave a further reply when I'm knee-deep in the story :)
Thank you so much!
MissPengywin
Dear MissPengywin,
Thank you so much for your response. We are happy that the easy-read version meets your requirements! Happy playing, and we will be looking forward to your feedback!
Kindest Regards,
-Maxine
Dear MissPengywin,
We were wondering, would you be interested in playing any of our games for free, in exchange for a review here on itch.io? I'd be happy to send you free download links.
Kindest Regards,
Maxine
Hi Maxine, im very flattered! I would enjoy that. Are they all of similar download size etc? Would there be a deadline to complete the review after download?
That's great! Thank you so much. Most of our games have around 100 Mb. You can check the exact size on the files' list right that's located right above the comment section of every project. As for the deadline, I haven't really thought of it. A month after I send you the link to the particular game, would be ok? What titles would you be interested in?
-Maxine