Zenocel Project
After meeting each other for the first time, six young adults learn they were all invited for the same reason: their families' involvement on an experiment that left four of them with animal mutations. With seemingly no way to reverse the effects, all there is to do now is... live an average college life with new friends.
Highlights:
- Introverted female protagonist with backstory
- 4 very cute animal boys and a cute girl to befriend (below)
- Lots of choices; various unlocks and hidden scenes for replayability
- "Advice" option if you're nervous about picking the best choice
- About 40k+ words (for all branches combined)
For optimal viewing, please consider downloading the game!
Characters
Our protagonist. A self-proclaimed background character who enjoys spending time away from others, she's frequently thrown into social interactions for the foreseeable future. This new school gives her the opportunity to toss out her old reputation and build a new one, perhaps one less shameful than "hopeless gaming addict."
An extroverted aspiring journalist, she's Evelyn's beautiful roommate and her opposite. Though her loving smile lights up the space around her, she keeps her struggles and the past incident that brought her here to herself. Almost exclusively wears dresses and skirts.
A flirt, seemingly only here to socialize and party. Though he's abruptly rejected by our girls, he's always looking for dates with others. A terrible student who hopes there's a dream he can pursue that doesn't involve so much studying. Likes running for exercise.
Victor can barely look others in the eye, let alone talk to others. Initially distrusting of anyone and terrified of strangers, he's slowly able to relax with the support of his new friends. He hopes he'll be strong enough to pass on that support some day. Might've been a shut-in.
Incredibly patient and easy to talk to, whether you're shy or social. Lukas's most used skill is his ability to cook, and he's most at ease sharing a meal with the people he loves. Seemingly any other time, he's hard at work, whether it be in his classes, tutoring others, or at his job. His neverending effort is bound to backfire on him. Terrible at asking for help.
Here because his friends convinced him to see why in the hell he was given a scholarship. He has little to no desire to graduate, but he'll make the most of it studying music and writing for his friends' band back home. Perpetually cold, but only physically.
Credits
They're listed in detail in the in-game credits section, but anyway... I made the art assets, characters, and script. Music and SFX are gathered from multiple free-to-use sources.
Download
Development log
- Version 1.0.0 available!1 day ago
- Aaand we're done...?6 days ago
- More CG art = more better43 days ago
- New chapter added!! and hints88 days ago
- A not-so-secret beta somewhereJun 19, 2025
- A little clearerJun 03, 2025
- Hey, we got profiles nowMar 27, 2025
- First Novel ProblemsFeb 27, 2025
Comments
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This is an interesting and romantic story that includes a mystery hook - I really like it!
I’d like to go through different aspects of the game and share my thoughts:
Art: It’s simple but eye-catching. The game definitely has its own style, and it suits it well. The art reminded me of cartoons on Jetix, which gave me a nostalgic feeling 😊. There’s surprisingly a lot of art! During the game, I noticed scene changes and many CGs, which is not very common in indie visual novels and that's nice!
Story and Characters: The story is in the slice-of-life genre, which is classic for visual novels. But I like that there’s conflict and a mystery involving mutations. This mix of everyday life and monsters strongly reminded me of Coffee Talk. Perhaps this game inspired the visual novel?
Regarding the characters - all four monsters are unique and have their own traits. It’s great when each character represents a different archetype, as it allows players to have varied experiences during playthroughs. I really liked the character Celia - she’s an active and engaging companion to spend time with. I’m not an extrovert myself, but extroverted characters add liveliness to the story and push the main character forward.
Speaking of the monsters, I liked Victor. He has a great design and personality. Overall, I appreciate how the character designs match their personalities. For example, Victor is dark and gray, a quiet introvert; Ravi is represented as a peacock, an extrovert who craves attention - and so on. This is a fantastic detail!
Sound: The music isn’t outstanding, but it perfectly fits the mood and it's good. There’s enough variety in tracks so that the music doesn’t get repetitive. There are also plenty of sound effects accompanying various game actions, which adds to the game’s immersion.
Overall, I can say the project is interesting! It definitely has a compelling concept.
Thank you so much for this first, lovely comment. 🥹
The art has been such a roadblock in finishing the game. 😆 I've had to cut CGs down, since I really want to get to the ending. I think making a few images good will be better than making a lot of images poorly. 😅 But the main sprites already went through a massive overhaul since I started.
I've heard of Coffee Talk, but I never found time to play it. I'm kind of flattered it makes someone think of a big game like that. 🥰 I think Nekopara ~Catboys Paradise~ was largrly what prompted the character designs and the otome-friendship, slice of life spirit. I definitely want to credit Pokemon Masters (Trainer Lodge) and Persona for a lot of the inspiration, too.
At least, for the gameplay. For the story, I wanted to tell something similar to how my friends got me out of my comfort zone, and how I never could've imagined the amazing experiences I would later have after the lowest points in my life. 😅 Meeting someone with a tail wouldn't even surprise me anymore.
I'm glad you liked the characters! I think I know somebody better when they describe their favorite characters (which is why this is the correct choice in Ravi's route 😆). I'm glad they all seem unique. Celia was someone I struggled writing because she's intentionally not like me, and I'm happy that there are people who appreciate how friendly she is. Victor was one of the first character designs, and he went through a big redesign so more of his character traits would be reflected.
It would not hurt my feelings if the player muted the music. 😆 I think, as a developer, I've heard these songs too many times from testing, and I do worry that I should gather a few more songs. Music is where I have to leave it up to people with years of experience, because I have none. 😵 But I'm testing the ending, and once I'm able to update, I promise that that song in the last scene will be worth unmuting. It's another (currently unused) Keys of Moon song that makes me emotional even without the art. 🥲
Thanks for playing!! I hope you have time to try it again once the game is finished. Either way, I'm happy you already found so much to say about it. 🥰 It makes me hopeful that somebody else will like it.