itch.io

Not a silly question at all! Yes, that's safe. Once the save folder is in the new version, start the game and check that Continue loads your save. If it does, you can uninstall and delete the old version.

To be extra safe, keep a copy of the save folder somewhere else too, like your Desktop. It's tiny, and then nothing can go wrong. ^^

Thank you, that's really kind! Testers like you are exactly what a small project needs, and your feedback has already made the game better for everyone. Whenever you get further in, I'd love to hear how it went, good or bad. And if anything breaks, a save from the "save" folder next to Game.exe is always welcome.

Ezekiel playtest v0.1.1 is up. Thanks to everyone who played and filled in the form. Most of this update comes straight from your feedback.

Fixes from playtester feedback

• Amberley, the search for Tilly: after each lead, the objective now lists the leads you still haven't found. One easy-to-miss clue now has a soft sparkle so it's visible.
• Opening: the prologue now shows "Enter — faster" as well as "Esc — skip", for anyone who wants to read it quicker.

Polish

• Item pickups hidden in dark places now sparkle, and the sparkle goes away once you've taken the item.
• The camp scene north of Amberley: the objective now tells you what to do (rest until morning), a line that didn't match the time of day is fixed, and the campfire crackles at night.
• Mountain weather: a wind-driven snowstorm, lighter snowfall lower down, footprints that fill in behind you, and new stormy skies.
• Some new optional things to find and read, for anyone who likes poking around.
• Credits for every resource pack are in the README.

Bug fixes

• A door where leaving a building put you inside the wall and left you stuck.
• One mountain path is now a rope climb, with the rope drawn on the cliff and climbable both ways.

Updating: download the new zip and extract it to a new folder. To keep your progress, copy the save folder from your old copy into the new one, next to Game.exe.

@XenonStorm25 thanks again for playing! If you're still looking for Tilly, the new hints should help, and your save carries over as above.

As before, the feedback form is on the game page: https://slebbeshotmailcom.itch.io/ezekiel-beta-v1. Bug reports in this thread are welcome too.

Ezekiel is a dark-fantasy narrative RPG made in RPG Maker MZ. The first playtest build is out, free, for Windows.

Elara is dead. The Church buried her on the fourteenth of Harvestfall, and her brother Ezekiel was there. So why does a parish record say she was transferred eight days later?

You play the grieving brother who won't stop asking questions. He follows a paper trail the Church would rather keep buried, out of his rain-soaked town and into places that shouldn't exist on any map.

• Story-driven, about 5–7 hours (estimate)
• Exploration, investigation and dialogue, with turn-based battles that reward reading your enemy
• A slow-burn mystery with a bleak, quiet tone, and more than one ending

It's a playtest, so expect rough edges. I'm looking for players who'll tell me honestly what works and what doesn't. There's a short, optional feedback form linked on the page (3–5 minutes).

Play it here: https://slebbeshotmailcom.itch.io/ezekiel-beta-v1

Uses RPG Maker MZ and official resource packs; some art was made with PixelLab and edited by me. Content note: death, grief, violence, illness and disturbing imagery.

Thank you, that means a lot, especially "hooked". That's exactly what I was hoping the mystery would do. 🙂

And thanks for the specs! It's really reassuring to know it runs smoothly on a Ryzen 3 with Vega graphics. I'll keep that in mind so future updates stay light enough for laptops like yours.

Enjoy the rest of it, and I'd love to hear where you land when you get further in.

That's really useful, thank you! Good to know it runs cool on a Vega 3, I hadn't been able to test low-end hardware myself.

And it wasn't an oversight on your part: the Tilly search really was unclear. One of the leads is at the well, while everyone talks about the fountain. Your feedback got it fixed: in the next update, the objective tells you exactly which leads are still missing.

Thanks for sticking with it, and I'd love to hear what you think of the later parts.

Thanks for giving it a go! Saw your comment on the game page too. Really happy you're enjoying it, and I'm looking forward to hearing how far you get.

Thank you so much, that genuinely made my day! Really glad it runs well on your laptop.

When you get a moment, I'd love to know two things: what's grabbed you so far, and was there any point you weren't sure where to go or what to do? The short form on the page covers it, or just reply here. And if anything breaks, a save file from the "save" folder next to Game.exe helps a lot.

Update: the page now opens with a gameplay GIF and in-game screenshots, so you can see what it actually looks like before downloading.

Still looking for a few players, and you don't need to finish it. Even the first 30 minutes helps. What I'd most like to know: was the opening clear, and was there a moment you weren't sure what to do next?

Optional 3-minute form on the page, or just reply here: https://slebbeshotmailcom.itch.io/ezekiel-beta-v1

Hi all! I've opened the first playtest of Ezekiel, a story-driven dark-fantasy RPG made in RPG Maker MZ.

The Church says Ezekiel's sister is dead. Her records say she was moved eight days after her burial. It's a slow-burn mystery about grief and a paper trail that shouldn't exist.

Page: https://slebbeshotmailcom.itch.io/ezekiel-beta-v1
Windows, free, about 5–7 hours (estimate). You don't need to finish it, and any amount of play helps.

What I'd most like feedback on:

• Pacing: where it drags or feels repetitive.
• Clarity: whether you always knew where to go and what to do next.
• Combat: whether the turn-based battles make sense without a big tutorial.
• Bugs: anything that crashed, got you stuck or looked wrong.

There's a short, optional feedback form (3–5 minutes) linked on the page, or you can just reply here.

Content note: death, grief, violence, illness.

I'm happy to return the favour and play your project too.