“Dear Substance of Kin” by Deconstructeam (Jordi de Paco, Marina González & Fingerspit) & Ivan Papiol.
“Dear substance of kin, [forsake] the mortal hex. Abandon flesh, abandon sinew; Thou are now my magic, [thou] are no more sin.”
What would you give up to get your deepest desire granted? And what would you give, if you do not necessarily have to give up something that you own yourself? In “Dear Substance of Kin”, you play as the Coppersmith, a mysterious and myth-enshrouded figure, who is told to be capable to look right into the soul of a human. You arrive in a gloomy village, whose inhabitants are still struggling with the outcome of a war.
You are capable of using a wonderous ability, which is to grant a person any wish they might have. But just like most things in life, nothing comes without a price. The people will have to give you something: Some flesh, or to be more precise, viscera. So you go from door to door to ask the villagers what they want. For example, a hunter wants to transform into a gigantic crow, as he craves for power and strength. With just a little blood ritual and either the heart of his youngest daughter, the bowels of his oldest son or the pancreas of his wife, you can make all that happen in “Dear Substance of Kin”, but what exactly you want from them is your choice. Afterwards, you will knock on even more doors, as many more of the village’s people are waiting for your special service.
This gruesome tale gets told amazingly well, supported by the magnificent pixel art and background music. In the ordinary jam version of “Dear Substance of Kin”, you will find just one answer to the reasons of the Coppersmith’s behaviour. However, you might find some more answers when you play the post-compo version, which is available for download on itch.io. >>PLAY
