Anyone can be saved, but not everyone can be.
Kikka and Bemelle are assigned with a mission to help the people living in a village on the other side of the lake Sinnlos, where monsters referred to as 'Nixi' live, waiting for prey to come by and taking joy in drowning travelers. The maze-like bridge connecting the shores appears only at night and disappears at the first signs of dawn, although the two-day journey across is the shortest one. The only person that can help them navigate the dark with his light is the mysterious Guide...
Lake of Voices is a free horror visual novel released by GB Patch in 2018 on Steam
and itch.io. It features a branching narrative with many tough and impactful choices to make. The player, who is in control of Kikka's decisions, gets to determine, whom to sacrifice and what to do in order to survive. Certain choices are timed, so it's important to think and react fast, although staying silent is also an option that forwards the plot further.
This visual novel contains the following tropes:
- Anyone Can Die: The game is not afraid of killing its characters, even you.
- Always Chaotic Evil: The Nixi are an aversion.
- Big Heroic Run: Happens on certain routes. For example, Kikka and Bemelle can be seen carrying the injured Guide together while running for their lives before the bridge sinks or Kikka and Lu do one if they are left alone on the bridge.
- Battle Couple: Kikka and Bemelle, if you pursue him.
- Bittersweet Ending: The better endings are mostly this to a certain extent, as there's always some sort of a sacrifice taking place: it's impossible to save everyone. At least one person from the party will die before reaching the other shore.
- Crush Blush: There's a blushing sprite for Margret and Bemelle.
- The Darkness Gazes Back: The Nixi do this.
- Fingore: Happens on Lu's romance route, in which he loses one of his fingers.
- First Guy Wins: If you pursue Bemelle since he is the one Kikka has known for some time prior to the game.
- Foreshadowing: Done in a particularly unique/hilarious way. The first bonus scene a player is likely to unlock before the other two involves Kikka going for a romantic stroll on the bridges with a Nix. This might seem like utter crack, but if you pursue the Guide or Lu for romance, that's exactly what you end up doing.
- Gay Option: Margret is one for Kikka.
- Glowing Eyes of Doom: The Nixi have glowing eyes, which is a prominent part of their design.
- Hazardous Water: The lake Sinnlos.
- Headbutt of Love: The CG shows Margret and Kikka do this if the two manage to survive and Margret is the love interest.
- He Knows Too Much: The reason why Kikka dies on Lu's route if you choose not to stay with the Nixi.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Kikka can perform one at the beginning of the second night if she chooses to scare away the Nixi with her light. There's also Lu, who is implied to have jumped to protect Kikka on his romance route.
- Interspecies Romance: If you pursue either Lu or the Guide.
- The Idealist Was Right: Both Kikka and Bemelle aren't willing to leave anyone behind due to their noble ideals, despite the selfish option being the most sensible one. Happens if you choose to be more selfless and still manage to survive. One of the examples can be Lu's survival. Saving him is the more idealistic option, however, it unlocks some of the better endings, too.
- Kryptonite Factor: The Nixi are frighteningly strong, but have a few debilitating weaknesses, such as a fear of light and difficultly traversing the land. Even though the above stated weaknesses are lies, the trope still applies to them: Nixi are born from the inherent magic of Lake Sinnlos, but that magic is easy to disrupt. The pollution of a single human warcamp by the lake was enough to wreck the balance that allows Nixi to come into existence, and since they're not immortal, seriously threaten them with extinction.
- Last Guy Wins: If you pursue Lu, as he is the last to join the party.
- The Maze: The bridge across the lake can be seen as an unconventional one.
- Nice Day, Deadly Night: The Nixi attack their prey only during the night.
- Ominous Fog: Can be seen in the background.
- Relationship Values: There's a possibility to gain affection points with other characters, which later determine whom Kikka can romance, for instance.
- Rescue Hug: Kikka and Margret share one in Margret's good romance ending.
- Shapeshifting: The Nixi are capable of this to a different degree. Some are more skilled at it than others. Lu can take human form, while the Guide is even able to conceal the real color of his blood.
- Story Branching: The game has this, as it's a multiple choice visual novel.
- Tragic Keepsake: In the endings where he dies after being romanced, a shell that Lu gave Kikka as a reminder of him.
- Unlockable Content: There's a bonus mode featuring scenes that can be unlocked under certain conditions. Post-End Game Content also applies in this case.
- Wham Line: "Nixi aren't afraid of light. They use it to track who's on their lake."
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: Each ending in which Kikka manages to safely get to the other side features a short epilogue that describes what happened to the main five and the future of your romance if you pursued any.
- Willfully Weak: The Nixi. They're not actually afraid of fire, and are much more capable of moving on land than they seem. But when humans try to cross Sinnlos, they essentially follow a script, limiting themselves so that small groups of humans might survive if they obey the guide. They're trying to strike a balance between being frightening enough that humans avoid Sinnlos, while not being so threatening as to provoke a human invasion.
