Happy Pride! Studio Élan Just Dropped Some ‘Dark Yuri’ For Us, Lesbians

Lesbians, we’re getting dark yuri today. More specifically, everyone’s favorite yuri-based Western visual novel studio Studio Élan has a new title out, and its premise is as serious as its art is beautiful. If you’re looking for a queer story that isn’t afraid to discuss difficult subject matters, you might want to keep reading. Especially if you’re already a fan of visual novel veteran Suriko, the writer behind Katawa Shoujo‘s Lilly Satou romance path.

‘Can love bloom aMiDst the remnants of grief?’

A Tithe in Blood from Studio Élan is a “dark atmospheric mystery yuri visual novel” that asks, “Can love bloom amidst the remnants of grief?” The story follows Honoka Asakawa, a university student who recently experienced a grave tragedy. Honoka becomes fascinated with blood magic, and she discovers a way to travel to a magically sealed-off version of Sapporo based around the Meiji era. There, she meets Lady Yasue, a mage with whom Honoka begins to build a romantic rapport.

“As their feelings for each other develop,” the game’s Steam page states, “the true repercussions of Honoka’s first steps into the secret world of magic and mages are only just starting to play out, eventually leading to catastrophic consequences.” Yes, A Tithe in Blood‘s narrative sounds enticingly painful, with the game exploring “themes around depression, a hidden magical art, and unexpected love from the depths of grief.”

‘A Tithe in Blood’ offers a lesbian story with Themes rarely discussed

There’s much about A Tithe in Blood that should excite yuri fans. For one, Studio Élan is a VN developer already on every girls’ love reader’s radar. The studio’s work is consistently high quality; Heart of the Woods is practically synonymous with Western yuri at this point.

But A Tithe in Blood also offers a lesbian visual novel discussing such complicated and difficult themes as self-harm, suicidal thoughts, coping with personal loss, and falling in love while navigating grief. Oftentimes, stories about queer women stray from these topics, which can leave lesbians feeling underrepresented as they navigate great pain and sorrow in their personal lives. The tendency to avoid serious subject matters in mainstream LGBT storytelling is why I’ve been drawn to more underground queer art in the first place. I suspect this is a shared sentiment; look no further than this month’s Toxic Yuri VN Jam, a game jam “for stories that really dig in to tackle trauma and problematic relationships” between women.

In other words, it’s great to see Suriko address loss and love alongside one another in A Tithe in Blood. Here’s hoping this dark yuri title inspires more GL developers to explore heartbreaking themes. After all, there’s a reason why Signalis is so memorable, years later.

With art by Kobuta, a soundtrack by Claire DeLuca, and full Japanese voice acting, A Tithe in Blood shouldn’t be missed this Pride Month. You can grab A Tithe in Blood on Steam, or if you prefer a DRM-free way to play, the VN is also available on itch.io. Note that the Steam version is on sale for $11.99 until June 23rd. A free demo lets players try the game before they buy.