Screenshots
Watch trailer on Steam ↗Billie Beetleneck -A detective tale-
Retroactive Fort · Published by Retroactive Fort
9 user reviews — 89% positive (9 reviews)
Last updated 3 Oct 2026
Every story ever written has an alternate world that coexists with ours. When a large number of parallel universes are suddenly destroyed, Billie Beetleneck sets off on his hardest case yet in this interactive visual novel.
Adventure, Indie, Free To Play, Casual · 2025 · More free games
Billie Beetleneck faces his most challenging case as you guide him through vanishing worlds in an interactive visual novel from Retroactive Fort.
About this game
Billie Beetleneck: A detective tale is a visual novel about a beetle trying to solve his hardest case yet. An unusual number of booklice and humans have escaped their worlds to seek refuge in Bugtown due to a large number of attacks from bookworms.
Bookworms feed on knowledge by eating up pages of various books and destroying the worlds within in the process. Characters inside the books must flee, or perish during such devastating attacks.
A detective story with some player choices
Colorful visuals and characters in anime style
A playtime of: 2-4 hours
System Requirements
Will my PC run this? →Minimum
- OS: Microsoft Windows 10 / 11
- Processor: 1.5Ghz Processor or better
- Memory: 1 GB RAM
- Storage: 1 GB available space
Supported Languages
*languages with full audio support
Latest news
AnnouncementsOfficial
Billie Beetleneck is out now
Hey detectives! Billie Beetleneck is now available. I wanted to try to make a visual novel and I'm happy to say I finally finished it. I decided to give it out for free and include a "Support the dev DLC" for those that wish to show some support. The DLC includes an artbook with sketches and character inspiration. As always, feedback and reviews are always appreciated. Hope you enjoy Billie's journey! ːReeneOKːRead full article on Community Announcements (Phantasmal Warlock)AnnouncementsOfficial
News on the story and future release
Hey detectives! It's been a long while since I posted any updates. Progress has admittedly been slow lately, but a lot happened recently. I am now working on the final act of the novel. I hope I will have Billie Beetleneck ready before this year is over. I may release it for free, but also offer a support the dev DLC, including behind the scenes stuff, sketches and stuff like that, for those that want to show their support and see how the novel came to life. Apart from that, the final art I needed is complete as well and it turned out great! ːReeneOKː Be sure to wishlist it if you haven't already. Thanks for reading!Read full article on Community Announcements (Phantasmal Warlock)Patch NotesOfficial
May update
Hey detectives! Billie Beetleneck has come far and has new art, including the final book character and a proper main menu. I'm still hopeful Billie Beetleneck will come out in the upcoming months. We'll see how things go. What's left now is Shyla's book and the conclusion of the story. The new character is Zadok, an insane character with two sides. Gone mad for reasons that will become clear later on. Here's Zadok's character art and the new main menu background: {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45344093/0f9e579085f778b7a5228a99c4026652138e8d07.jpg {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45344093/70fb89a3585ba343487882653592df79ba2178d2.png More updates later!Read full article on Community Announcements (Phantasmal Warlock)Patch NotesOfficial
Progress update, March
Hi detectives! I've worked on the story for the past weeks and have now finished the second book Billie visits, as well as several scenes after he returns. I'm now at a point where the stakes and antagonist have been presented and Billie had some bonding time with his detective partner. Now it's time to truly solve the case as he moves on to the third book world. Apart from progress with the story, several art pieces are being worked on, including a proper main menu background and a nice looking book cover for Shyla's book. More updates in the future! Stay tuned. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45344093/f26879c6dfa5a71d01045d7adcd5f4a656b03320.pngRead full article on Community Announcements (Phantasmal Warlock)AnnouncementsOfficial
New Characters
Hey everyone! I finally got more art for characters Billie will meet during his adventure. Meet Dylanie, Joey and Shyla. All three of them will appear in the novel in book two and forward. Commissioning these characters was easier to do thanks to the generous donations I received. Thanks again to everyone who donated! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45344093/7494ca28356e1bc5689c3f1bd92b5793d2012b79.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45344093/4be2d3e32acbc8b1fa43ec93d4ae974e4a656cad.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45344093/1c00208ee0342051c208464d900e156c81d2404e.pngRead full article on Community Announcements (Phantasmal Warlock)
