Chapter Text
Test, test.
You work as an assistant in the archives of the Magnus Institute, London, an organisation dedicated to academic research into the esoteric and the paranormal.
It's not a bad job. Weird, as are your coworkers each in their own ways, but you wouldn't be here if you didn't have a bit of a taste for that.
Your name is…
HOW TO PLAY
- Choose how to spend your time to build up and increase your relationships and affinities with characters or Entities.
- Events and more options will be progressively unlocked (or locked out). Unlocking criteria may include:
- making a specific choice,
- fulfilling certain activities,
- reaching certain relationship or affinity milestones (building up stats),
- or simply progressing through the story.
- Many events have small or big variations (generally 3-5). Some are randomised, some are based on your previous choices. Some are not, and will always return the same results (but might still build up a stat towards something).
- On special occasions, you will be given the chance to describe your character's actions by inputting text. Complete the sentence as you wish, using 2nd person present tense for best cosmetic result in the game. There is no wrong answer and it won't cause a failure or anything.
- There are lots of different endings, some of which cut the game short sooner than others, but no particular "true" or "correct" route to figure out and try to stick to. I wrote this game intending for all consequences to be a satisfying reward for your decisions; I hope you enjoy the game just the way you wish.
- Note the presence of buttons leading you to your stats and achievements pages, which may give you some hints. There are also settings allowing you to customise the size and colour of text and interface and a save function.
- Achievements are not preserved if you refresh or close the window. Save files generally are, and also survive my updates to the game, but may be lost if you refresh your cookies.
This is version 1.02 of the game, last updated on 14 June 2021. (see chapter 2 for changelog) On 19 January 2025, uploaded the game to itch.io and changed the main link to redirect to that new hosting, due to Dashingdon closing its CoG hosting service (F for respects to an MVP), meaning the original link will be defunct soon.
This game is complete as-is, but I intend to continue updating it with improvements and additional content.
Currently available routes: Jon, Martin, Tim, Sasha, Elias, Melanie, Basira, Daisy, Jane Prentiss, and all the Entities. Tiny bits of other characters already appear or are referenced, but do not have full routes nor specific endings.
The game currently contains over 45k words of text and about 25 separate unlockable endings or epilogues (but a lot more variation on the way to get there). A single "full" run averages ~30k words of text and about an hour of play.
DETAILS ON SFW/NSFW VERSIONS
The first question asked in the game refers strictly to explicitly depicted sexual events and has no bearing on the horror content.
The SFW version:
- contains no reference to sexual activity, desires, or sexy stuff at all;
- still contains (individually optional) cuddling, kissing and/or romance;
- does not state whether or not your character might be having any particular activity off-screen, feel free to let your imagination fill in the gaps if desired.
The NSFW version:
- contains occasional, individually optional sexy or sex scenes, sometimes very light, sometimes more explicit;
- contains oral, manual, penetrative, kinky, and sometimes potentially disturbing sex, performed by or to the player character;
- always provides a warning and a possibility to avoid new sexual scenes or relationships. It is perfectly possible to play the game on NSFW and avoid all NSFW content;
- never makes any reference to specific genitalia, except in some occurrences of… supernatural additions.
Please note that even though it's optional, this counts as a link to NSFW content and is not appropriate to be linked directly in the official Rusty Quill community Discord server, as per the server community rules to keep content PG-13 and family-friendly.
DISCLAIMERS AND CONTENT WARNINGS
This game is a dating sim, and also horror.
Although you can play it however you like, this game was created with the intent to allow & encourage self-insertion and agency. It never makes any reference to the player character's gender or physical appearance/configuration (except, as stated above, in some occurrences of… supernatural additions). I have tried my best to not break immersion by never forcing the player through lifestyle specificities such as dietary requirements or consumption of alcohol, but I may have slipped; please do point out such occurrences if you notice any.
I also strongly value consent, agency and control. As a consequence, all the NSFW content is strictly opt-in and, in general, very little will happen to you in this game that is not incited by your own decisions, with the occasional exceptions of:
- a few random gruesome deaths (which can still be predicted with a knowledge of the source canon plot);
- some awkward flirting (which you can always turn down with no unpleasant consequences);
- the end of the world.
On the romancing: For the purpose of this game, everyone is depicted as casually pan and polyamorous in potentia, and not an active practitioner of any religion (notably, Basira is not depicted as being a practicing Muslim). No one will ever have a negative or uncomfortable reaction to your approaches, rejections, or relationship with another character. It is possible to establish non-romantic and/or non-sexual relationships with all characters so far (though some routes and scenes are "locked" for romantic or typically-romantic-looking relationships). Furthermore, a lot of the acts or declarations of affection are ambiguous on the nature of that affection and can be interpreted as romantic or (queer)platonic. The player character will never express explicitly romantic feelings without your prompting.
On the horror: This game does contain a lot of gruesome, scary, triggering and/or depressing stuff, on par with the source canon. Depending on your choices, you(r character) may or may not encounter notably:
- violence, blood, gore, body horror, …,
- death, murder, suicide, self-harm, …,
- physical illness (including vomiting, …) and disability (including blindness),
- mental illness (including hallucinations, …),
- dehumanisation and general preying on the vulnerable (which you may notably find yourself on either side of),
- gaslighting, manipulation, codependency, potentially unhealthy and/or toxic relationships, …,
- generally a lot of all Entities-typical stuff (notably including worms),
- … and, strictly in the NSFW version of the game, some very non-canon-typical sex scenes and sexual kink.
Some content of mild, canon-typical levels of horror is unavoidable in every run of the game. Some heavier stuff comes up as consequences of certain choices, and may be unavoidable once that first choice has been made.
This game is a dating sim, and also horror.
It does not contain non-consensual sex or sexual violence… with a caveat.
- Even in the NSFW version, all new sexual relationships and a lot of the instances of sexual content are still always avoidable on an individual basis, and while characters might spontaneously offer, none will ever actually initiate sexual situations without your having clicked yes first. (It is possible to instigate sex with the Archivist, in which case it is explicitly consensual.)
- But some of the possible routes DO get very dark, and while all sex scenes always depict all characters involved as willing, not all of it is always Safe&Sane (or sober). There are available options for some toxic, unhealthy or manipulative relationships (even in the SFW version), and in some of the avatar routes, there IS some dubious consent, abuse, and general horror and violence in sexual contexts, including things like enthusiastic-but-scary gangbang, mind control and impregnation.
This game is meant to be escapist fanservice, but for that very same reason and because this is a fan game for a horror show, not all parts of it are necessarily safe for everyone. The achievements are intended as Easter Eggs and do not in any way imply that everyone should attempt 100% completion. I have put in as many safeguards as I could: please heed them.
In conclusion, it’s all on you, but take care, bud.
Hope you enjoy!
FAQ (some spoilers!)
Can I romance [character]?
As of now, you can only befriend or romance Jon, Martin, Tim, Sasha, Elias, Melanie, Basira, Daisy, and Jane Prentiss. There are bits and hints to Michael, Peter, Gerry, Georgie, etc., but they do not currently have a route.
Can you add [character]?
I'm working on it ;-) I am very aware of the huge demand for Michael Distortion Yaoi Hands McMike, yes.
Can I romance multiple characters in one route? Will my other partner(s) get mad about it?
Yes, no. Polyamory is free and fine with everyone in this game.
Will the other characters get mad that I'm dating/etc. Elias or an Entity?
Nah. Let's assume they don't know.
I'm having trouble getting close to [character]!
All characters function slightly differently, and some options may lock you out of a route. Some characters unlock options for smooches or banging after hanging out with them for a while (building up that stat). Tim, Sasha and Martin can be smooched as friends, and Tim and Martin can be romanced after being first befriended, but Jon cannot (you must ask him out from the start if you intend to ever smooch him — if you tell him you want to be his friend, you will become his friend). Basira and Melanie both have only 1 opportunity with the chance to be befriended or smooched or banged and that's it, and a 4th option that cuts them off completely. Elias and Daisy each have two separate routes depending on the point in time; Elias has an early-game route that must be unlocked first by getting a little marked by the Beholding, and his other route must be started between week 38 and week 50.
How do I punch/dom Elias?
Visit him between week 38 and week 50.
Can I save Sasha/Tim?
Yes. Sasha strictly depends on your actions in week 15; Tim requires bonding with him (in any way).
Can I see Michael/Peter again after getting the achievement? Can I become Elias's replacement archivist? Can I pull Martin back from the Lonely? Can I save Daisy in week 98? Can I separate Martin and Jon? Can I prevent or stop the ending?
No.
How do I get [achievement]?
(spoilers!)
Most of the hidden achievements pertain to the ending. Each character has at least one achievement related to picking them at the end (except Jane, whose route automatically has an early ending and achievement), some requiring being an avatar of a certain Entity. Martin and Melanie have two each, and Melanie also has a separate early ending with an additional hidden achievement. "Victim" and one more hidden achievement are also obtainable at the end, but they're mostly just consolation prizes. (I have also given more specific hints for particular achievements in the comments.)
How do I become an avatar?
Get "marked" by a power enough and it will come to you. For some powers this is easy to do through the plot, for others it requires going to the library or Artefact Storage a lot and getting lucky. (Save-scumming may come in handy, but also it's normal if it takes time.)
Can I become an avatar of the Extinction?
Yes.
What's up with [weird line]?
It's probably a joking reference to either canon or a fandom meme.
Can you add pronouns/gender/sexuality/body parts / polycule scenes / [other very specific customisation]?
I have decided not to, for reasons ranging from "that would require either making assumptions that may be uncomfortable or bombarding all players with 10 invasive questions every time they play" to "yes this is technically feasible but oh my god the coding nightmare". The vagueness is by design for purposes of full inclusivity and player comfort.
It's been months since the original release, are you still planning to update this?
Yes.
Can I make my own dating sim/game? What software did you use?
Yes, of course! (I think I legally couldn't say no anyway because, as you may know, The Magnus Archives is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Sharealike 4.0 etc.) I wasn't the only one nor even the first to have this idea by far, and there are at least 2 other TMA dating sims floating around right now and more people talking about thinking of making their own too. I made The Archives Sim with ChoiceScript and do recommend it for writers without much coding experience, but there's a bunch more free softwares good for that purpose, like Ren'Py or these.