Screenshots
Watch trailer on Steam ↗Talewarden: Riders of the New Day
Bucket Hat Cat · Published by Bucket Hat Cat
Content notice: Talewarden DEMO includes: flashing images (limited to an occasional single flashes of lights), mention of a C-section and the death of a woman during childbirth, inappropriate language, mention of a character shooting another and alcohol use, depictions of blood and a character smoking a cigar. Talewarden FULL GAME ONLY includes: flashing images, inappropriate language, depictions of blood, minor descriptions of harm and death, implications about suicide and toxic relationships and mentions of partial nudity. Conversations about negative self-image, loss, and severe emotional distress.
Last updated 30 Sept 2026
In this adventure visual novel, you travel across an alien planet stuck in an endless sunset. Shape the fates of 7 companions from different worlds. Uncover the truth about anomalous locations, hidden corridors, and a child who aged in a day. See what remains of a world abandoned by its creators.
Adventure, Indie · 2027 · More free games
Explore Talewarden: Riders of the New Day and shape the destinies of diverse characters across a world forever in twilight. Unravel mysteries and forge bonds in this indie adventure from Bucket Hat Cat, released in 2027.
About this game
You’ve answered our call. Now, you must find us. The journey awaits, Talewarden...
We know you've always wanted to escape your world. That's why you turned on a game, to escape again. Soon, you were no longer in your room but in the desert of a desolate planet called Notoria.
A home for wild Storms, giant creatures, gods, and voices from below and within your mind. A home for you and others who have fallen from other worlds.
You will venture to discover why the sun never sets and to find the source of the eerie voice in your mind. In the end... You will have to choose between restoring time and finding a way to return.
Join 7 forgotten artists, the Riders of the Night, who all came from different worlds. Gather around 10 campfires to talk, share hobbies, and influence their relationships. Their fate, love, and unfulfilled goals all lie in your hands.
Find true love. Choose one of the three potential love interests, a loyal yet jealous soulmate. Each of them has their own unique story arc.
Use a point-and-click mechanic to collect resources and interact with more than 30 queer-friendly side characters. Investigate locations and interview lone wanderers to solve the mysteries you encounter in the desert.
Key features
A branching, character-focused narrative – Bond with your companions and shape their relationships to unlock multiple story events. The choices you make and the affection you establish can lead to four distinct endings and over 30 epilogue variations.
A rich story – You have many mysteries to uncover. Why does the voice in your mind urge you to follow the roots? Why were you and your companions brought here from different worlds? What lies far to the west? And why does Daydra eat paper?
LGBTQ+ friendly cast - Talk with your companions around 10 campfires about art, escapism, and loneliness, to discover their unique backstories, and complete their loyalty quests. Give them gifts to boost or lower their affection level.
Romance – Choose one of three love interests: A sulky Sheriff, a blunt Storm Sailor, and an alien Librarian. Win their hearts, lead them away from destructive paths, and beware of their jealousy.
Inspect, Interview, Investigate - Use a point-and-click elements to inspect various locations and gather items. Interview characters to gain valuable information and investigate mysteries to reach a good or bad conclusion.
Over 65 backgrounds - Including 30 explorable locations that you can visit, as well as over 60 CGs.
Shape your character - Choose your pronouns and pick one of six hobbies. Each hobby matches one of your companion's interests and unlocks extra scenes.
Trailer music: Confronting The Man In Black - Harvey Carman (CC BY 4.0)
System Requirements
Will my PC run this? →Minimum
- OS *: Windows 7 or higher
- Processor: 2.0 Ghz 64-bit Intel-compatible
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Graphics: OpenGL 3.0 or DirectX 11
Supported Languages
Latest news
Patch NotesOfficial
Major demo update!
Hello, Talewardens and fellow cowfolks!We're excited to announce our second major demo update!After much consideration, we've decided to add some new features to our game. So we did! To make it cohesive with the demo, we added the features there, too.Here's what you can expect from the update:Character customization: You can now customize your Talewarden in a western-style wanted poster.Player page in the journal: Your new, customized character will always appear when you open the journal.Objectives: To avoid confusion, we added a section to the player page that lists the current objectives.The pink-haired merchant from Cradletown finally has a name! They didn't have a name because players can't reveal that they don't know each other in the game. It bothered us for some time, so there it is! Meet Bunmi!Trigger warnings: We also added a section in the settings on the Steam page that lists trigger warnings in depth.Kitties in the credits! We changed our credits a bit and added our lovely kitties. But they appear to be wanted...More grammar fixesWe updated our feedback form to include questions about the new features. That's all! Thank you and take care!Read full article on Community Announcements (Bucket Hat Cat)AnnouncementsOfficial
Talewarden Devlog #4🐎
Hello Talewardens, solivagants, and cowfolks alike! It's Yelonnek the game's lead artist and scripter, with another devlog 🧡If you would like to read previous devlogs, you can find them here: Devlog #1, Devlog #2, Devlog #3 From now on, all future ones will be on Steam._______________________________________Work on Talewarden: Riders of the New Day is going smoothly, though a bit slowly, since we only have around 4–5 hours a day to develop it. Bummer, I know! Still, we're doing the best we can to bring you a world full of wonder, danger, and unforgettable characters to meet.Lately, we've been editing the script for Act III (which is by far the biggest of the game's four acts). Soon we'll implementing it into Ren'Py.Besides that, we've been giving our full attention to designing future characters. Talewarden will feature over 30 characters to meet, and we love to create unique and intriging designs and coming up with stories from their worlds. Here are a few of the new faces you'll stumble upon during your journey. Some may become loyal friends, some may meet tragic fates, and others might lend you a helping hand. Which path they take... well, that depends on you. 👉_______________________________________We've also finished a few new backgrounds and CGs! Here's a little sneak peek at some of them. Sorry for the blur, we don't want to spoil where your travels will take you, do we? Where's the fun in that?One of Talewarden's biggest strengths isn't just its character designs, but also the amount of detail the backgrounds have. The game is all about exploring the unknown, so we always want each location to feel captivating, mysterious, and full of little details that encourage you to come up with your own theories._______________________________________You may have already noticed that we've updated our key art! We've been thinking about making this change for quite a while, and we feel this new illustration represents the game much better. It puts the focus on the chara...Read full article on Community Announcements (Bucket Hat Cat)AnnouncementsOfficial
Talewarden at Nonbinary Coded Games! 💛🤍💜🖤
The Nonbinary Coded Games event!Hi! We're thrilled that the Nonbinary Coded Games Festival has begun, along with many wonderful, fun, and exciting games created by nonbinary and genderqueer developers!Festival's pageAs two nonbinary people who work at our studio, we're excited to share that our adventure visual novel, Talewarden: Riders of the New Day, is participating in the event!Talewarden features numerous nonbinary characters, including our paper-eating, 3 meter tall (9'10") adolescent Daydra, who is in the center of the key art.Thank you so much, nomnomnami and npckc, for creating and hosting it! We truly needed a Steam festival like this!💛🤍💜🖤Bluesky | X | TikTok | InstagramRead full article on Community Announcements (Bucket Hat Cat)Community & EventsOfficial
Talewarden at The Storyteller's Festival!
The Storyteller's Festival!All the narrative games with compelling stories and complex characters in one place, and Talewarden with its demo, is one of them.Thank you to Two and a Half Studios for organising the event and selecting us from among all the other wonderful games!Go and check them out now, and don't forget to try the Talewarden: Riders of the New Day demo, which offers 1–1.5 hours of gameplay and an introduction to the mysteries of Notoria and the characters who will accompany you throughout the game!Festival's page(Psst! We've also improved Ghost's sprites, so he can now truly embody his confident and edgy disposition as the sheriff of Cradletown.)Bluesky | X | TikTok | InstagramRead full article on Community Announcements (Bucket Hat Cat)Patch NotesOfficial
Major demo update and Women's Day Sale!!
Hello, Cowfolks and Talewardens!Our demo has reached version 2.0 (they grow up so fast!). We have added new content, as well as tweaking the gameplay and adjusting the script. So get ready to discover some new goodies!New features in the demo:You can now talk to all 7 companions who will be available in the full game (previously only 5 were accessible).We added a gift system! You can give companions items you’ve found. Each has unique reactions that can raise or lower their affection.We added more artwork for each item you receive, as well as items you already had (like your hoodie!We also added a scene that plays when you wander around the town too much. (Try not to upset the sheriff's subordinates!)A little sneak peak of a mysterious characterPlus various dialogue and visual tweaks and gameplay hotfixes. We're thrilled to announce that Talewarden: Riders of the New Day is taking part in the Women's Day Sale here on Steam! Thank you, so much!Now go and check out the many wonderful games from women and gender marginalized-led teams out there! See ya!Read full article on Community Announcements (Bucket Hat Cat)
