Thistledown: A Tragedy of Blood

A personal tragedy forces Oni to push beyond the borders of her village, in search of an unspeakable horror. As she assembles the pieces of an ancient magical contract, Oni leaves a bloody trail behind her, careening towards darkness, death, and worse.

Pain

Thistledown is a small, personal story set in an epic fantasy world. It's a meditation on the pain and helplessness that we feel in the face of tragedy, and how we cope.

Story

Stories help us navigate our lives, stories move us, and make us better. Thistledown is a great story, told with deep respect.

World

We sought to make a world that felt real and bigger than the story itself, so we put in major work building the world of Thistledown, only 10% of which will be in the game. We made a world that feels like you are only glimpsing a bit of it, because you are.

Characters

You'll encounter sad, real stories as you explore the world. Characters are well-developed, varied, and real.

Story Only Mode

I believe everyone should be able to experience the story, so I've included a "Story Only" mode, which skips challenging platforming and all combat. Players of all skill levels can experience what Thistledown has to offer, without the need to reach a certain skill level.

GAMEPLAY

Thistledown is mechanically light, but I've worked to make the gameplay as satisfying as possible.

Fight

Oni carries an oversized thistle with her. You can make your way a little safer by killing things with it.

Jump

Oni is a Kouneli, a rabbit person. If nothing else works, she can always jump her way to safety.

Explore

What's going on? Explore the edges of this world. Figure out the backstory. Nothing's given to you, this game expects you to figure it out.
Best of luck.