Cinders (video game)

Last updated
Cinders
Cinders cover.png
Developer(s) MoaCube
Publisher(s) MoaCube [lower-alpha 1]
Designer(s) Tom Grochowiak
Artist(s) Gracjana Zielinska
Writer(s) Agnieszka Mulak
Hubert Sobecki
Ayu Sakata
Composer(s) Rob Westwood
Engine Game Maker
Platform(s) Windows, Mac OS X, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release
  • Windows, Mac OS X
  • June 20, 2012
  • Nintendo Switch
  • February 14, 2019
  • PlayStation 4
  • August 25, 2020
  • Xbox One
  • August 26, 2020
Genre(s) Visual novel
Mode(s) Single-player

Cinders is a visual novel video game based on the Cinderella story that was developed and published by Polish indie studio MoaCube for Windows and Mac OS X in 2012, Nintendo Switch in 2019, and PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2020. The game was developed and published by MoaCube.

Contents

Gameplay

As it is a visual novel, the player reads through the story and makes choices at crucial points to change the outcome, leading to one out of four different endings. The player has the ability to watch the endings including the variations again. There are eight trophies the player can collect during the game.

Plot

Characters

Development and release

The game was created with the GameMaker engine. The development time took about one year. Cinders was originally released on June 20, 2012 for Windows and Mac OS X. [1] On May 1, 2014, the game was released on Steam. [2] Developed and published by Crunching Koalas, ports for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One were released on February 14, 2019, [3] August 25, 2020, and August 26, 2020, respectively. [4]

Soundtrack

The official soundtrack by Rob Westwood was released on December 24, 2012. It includes 18 tracks at a total length of 59:17. Cinders OST includes extended versions of all the game's tracks. [5] It won the yearly award for the "Best Original Score" in 2012 by VNs Now! [6]

  1. Fairy Tales [02:15]
  2. The Curious One (Theme of Cinders) [03:02]
  3. What Lies Behind the Page [02:20]
  4. Buttered Water [03:04]
  5. Born from Decision [04:47]
  6. Pompous Wisdom [03:38]
  7. Living Upward [02:18]
  8. Tragic Double Standards [02:31]
  9. Swept Away [02:24]
  10. Voodoo Matriarch [02:34]
  11. A Friendly Face [04:08]
  12. Seedy, Greedy and Downright Sleazy [04:02]
  13. Weary of War [03:00]
  14. Certainly No Knight [04:11]
  15. A Fork in the Road [01:09]
  16. Dance With Me Noble Stranger [04:42]
  17. Romantic Interlude (Unused Title Theme) [02:12]
  18. Melodies and Blurbs (Medley of Themes) [06:51]

Reception

Cinders received 5/5 stars on GameZebo with reviewer Neilie Johnson writing: "If you've never experienced an interactive novel, Cinders is an exceptional example of the genre, and the perfect title with which to start." [7] IndieGame" wrote about the game: "Asides from being delightfully well-written, highly replayable and filled with complex, convoluted characters, Cinders is also beautiful." [8]

The game was also featured on Rock, Paper, Shotgun [9] and Kotaku. [10] Cinders won the 2012 VNs Now! award for the Best Artist (Gracjana Zielinska). [11]

Notes

  1. ↑ Console ports developed and published by Crunching Koalas.

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References

  1. ↑ TeeGee (June 20, 2012). "Cinders is Out!". MoaCube. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Cinders" . Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  3. ↑ Deogracias, Elisha (February 14, 2019). "Find your happy ending or burn it to the ground with Cinders on Nintendo Switch". Gaming Trend. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  4. ↑ "New Releases for Tuesday August 25, 2020". Rock 101 . August 24, 2020. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Cinders: Original Soundtrack". Bandcamp . Retrieved 2013-01-07.
  6. ↑ "Best Original Score". Twitter . Retrieved 2013-01-07.
  7. ↑ Neilie Johnson (2012-06-25). "Review of Cinders". GameZebo . Archived from the original on 2012-06-28. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  8. ↑ Cassandra Khaw (2012-06-26). "Review: Cinders (MoaCube)". IndieGames. Archived from the original on 2012-06-30. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  9. ↑ Jim Rossignol (2012-06-21). "Novel Visuals: Cinders Is A "Complex" Fairy Tale". Rock Paper Shotgun . Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  10. ↑ Patricia Hernandez (2012-06-21). "Move Over, Cinderella". Kotaku . Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  11. ↑ "Best Artist". Twitter . Retrieved 2013-01-07.
  12. ↑ "Cinders for Switch Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Cinders for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Cinders Switch review - "A classic fairy tale made better" | Aces high". Pocket Gamer . 19 September 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
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