Screenshots
Watch trailer on Steam ↗Stiff Neck
伤官制作组 Team Uranian · Published by Tailtone Games
Content notice: This game contains mature content, including depictions of alcohol use, extreme violence, immoral and criminal behavior, and suicide.
Very Positive — 82% positive (1,168 reviews) · 10 achievements
Last updated 28 Sept 2026
A story about the self—and about others. A toy factory, several cursed dolls, and a horror novel… This quiet seaside town throws Noele's love life into chaos and dredges up the old wounds she has tried for years to forget.
£5.89
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Price history
Adventure, Indie, RPG · 2026 · More £5 - £15 games
Explore the mysterious connections between love, loss, and cursed toys in Stiff Neck. Follow Noele through a horror novel-inspired adventure set in a quaint seaside town where each doll holds secrets from her past.
About this game
Game Overview
This is a first-person psychological narrative game. Your choices shape the story, reveal the heroine's past, and open a path toward the people around her.
Story
Noele is a police officer whose biggest monthly expense is treating her chronic neck pain at a massage parlor.
Late in the fall, a strike erupts at a toy factory. Cursed dolls begin appearing in an abandoned tower…
And a reunion with her ex-girlfriend completely upends her life.
A lecturer from a no-name college.
A blind massage therapist.
A glamorous entrepreneur.
Which one of them is The Flayer?
Main Characters
Noele *First-Person POV*
The heroine. A small-town police officer—practical, analytical, and not great at reading people.
Her day-to-day work ranges from mediating neighbor disputes to dealing with murders, arson, and even AI dogs getting stuck in trees.
Nil
Lecturer in experimental art, Noele's current boyfriend. Gentle and easygoing.
His biggest worries are publishing, getting promoted... and navigating his relationship with Noele.
Will
Massage therapist at AAA Massage Parlor. Visually impaired.
Thinks in odd, unpredictable ways.
Seems to have nothing more than a straightforward client-therapist relationship with Noele.
Grace
Works in new media. Noele's ex—and a mother.
Confident, smart, ambitious.
Claims she calculated Noele's misfortune this year using her birth chart, and she seems interested in getting back together.
Flint *Unavailable Route
Freelance writer. Noele's college friend—though that changed later.
Dog *Loyal Companion
Noele's partner at the station. A personalized AI canine who has a knack for picking up on the strangest things people say.
Key Features
Over 100,000+ words of story and 2–5 hours of gameplay.
Three romanceable characters, four branching routes, and seven endings.
A unique, colorful paper-craft visual style blending nostalgic retro textures with modern tech aesthetics.
100+ expressive CG illustrations and 30+ original character portraits.
A modern soundtrack created by two artists, each bringing a distinct musical style to deepen the emotional experience.
Interact with the map to trigger special story events.
Make choices that influence Noele’s attitude, shape the narrative, and lead to different endings.
After completing your first playthrough, additional story content will appear at the beginning of the game.
Player Advisory
Neck Stiffness is not a lighthearted AVG. It includes the following content, which may be uncomfortable for some players. Please review before playing:
The story is set in an oppressive survival environment. These depictions are intended to trigger psychological conflicts within the characters through extreme scenarios; they serve a specific narrative purpose and do not represent normative social values.
This work has no intention of exploring grand narratives, nor does it purport to represent any specific group or collective.
Flawed Characters: Every major character carries emotional burdens and personal biases. Their choices may be irrational or deviate from typical expectations.
LGBTQ+ Themes: The story includes diverse expressions of gender identity, sexuality, and relationships.
Character Views ≠ Developer Views: All dialogue, behavior, and worldviews depicted in the game represent the characters—not the development team.
Mental Health Depictions: Includes portrayals of anxiety, depression, trauma, and emotional distress, which may trigger PTSD.
No Traditional “Happy Ending”: Relationships tend to be complex, ambiguous, and difficult to define.
Religious Elements: Contains references to religious beliefs and practices.
Fictional Setting: This work is purely fictional and bears no connection to any real person, group, or organization.
If any of the above may cause discomfort, please consider carefully before continuing the game.
System Requirements
Will my PC run this? →Minimum
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: win7/win10/win11
- Processor: Intel Core i5/6400 or AMD FX 8320
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVDIA GTX 960
- Storage: 1 GB available space
Recommended
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
Supported Languages
Latest news
Patch NotesOfficial
Update Log V1.0.2
Optimizations & AdjustmentsImproved and refined various in-game text and wording.Thank you for all your enthusiastic feedback! If you encounter any issues or have suggestions for improvements, please click \here] to fill out the survey. We carefully review every piece of feedback. If you enjoy the game, you’re also welcome to leave a review and support us.Read full article on Community Announcements (Stellar Artificer)Community & EventsOfficial
"Her Choices" Bundle Now Available | The Storyteller's Festival Preview
Hello everyone,We’re excited to share some good news with you:Stiff Neck and No Case Should Remain Unsolved are now available together in a special bundle titled "Her Choices".Purchase the bundle to receive a 10% discount. Players who already own one of the titles can also complete the bundle at a discounted price.● About No Case Should Remain UnsolvedA detective game where players uncover and piece together memoryfragments to solve a long-forgotten case. Follow former police detective Jeon Gyeong as she acquires clues and testimony relating to the case of a missing girl.Twelve years after Senior Inspector Jeon Gyeong's retirement, she is visited by a young police officer: a woman who pleads with her to reexamine Seowon's case. But with each uncovered memory, only one thing becomes clear: everyone in Seowon's vicinity was lying.Although Jeon Gyeong and Noele are both female police officers, they each have very different personalities and life experiences. Players will experience two completely different life paths and witness the choices they make.If you’re interested in these two stories, don’t miss this bundle!In addition, Stiff Neck will participate in The Storyteller's Festival 2026 from May 11, 2026 10:00 to May 18, 2026 10:00 (GMT-7). During the event, Stiff Neck will also be available at a 10% discount.The Storyteller's Festival is an event focused on narrative and visual novel games, featuring hundreds of excellent titles.Thank you again for your continued support and love for Stiff Neck.For more updates, please follow our social media channels below.Read full article on Community Announcements (马流士)AnnouncementsOfficial
Stiff Neck Artbook & Bundles Now Live
Hello, everyone!The official artbook for the psychological suspense narrative game Stiff Neck is now available for purchase!Priced at RMB 18, the artbook is currently available with a 10% launch discount. Purchasing through the bundle will grant you an additional stacked discount.Join us in taking a closer look into Noele’s life and uncover even more behind-the-scenes details!✨ Artbook Contents The artbook includes the complete collection of the game’s original artwork, environment concepts, character designs, previously unreleased sketches, and commentary from the creators about the development process.✨ Installation Guide You can access it by right-clicking the game name in your Steam library, selecting \ > \ > \, or selecting \ > \ to open the directory. ※Please note: only the Simplified Chinese version is currently available at this time.※ If you are unsure whether the DLC has been installed, right-click Stiff Neck in your Steam Library and select \ → \ to check.New Bundle LineupStiff Neck × Stiff Neck – ArtbookStiff Neck × Stiff Neck – Artbook × Stiff Neck – SoundtrackOnce again, thank you all for your support and love for Stiff Neck.Feel free to add the game and the artbook to your Steam wishlist and follow the game for future updates. If you enjoy the game and its related content, we’d also greatly appreciate it if you recommend it to your friends!Read full article on Community Announcements (Stellar Artificer)Patch NotesOfficial
Update Log V1.0.1
Optimizations & AdjustmentsOptimized some key bindings: Fast-forward is now set to Q, Auto-play is now set to AAdded page number display for the Save/Load interfaceAdded resolution settings (720P, 1080P, 1440P supported)Improved Save/Load performanceAdded sound effects to Save/Load buttonsImproved display quality of some CGsEnhanced certain sound effectsFixesFixed an issue where screenshots could not be taken on the Mac versionThank you for all your enthusiastic feedback! If you encounter any issues or have suggestions for improvements, please click \here] to fill out the survey. We carefully review every piece of feedback. If you enjoy the game, you’re also welcome to leave a review and support us.Read full article on Community Announcements (Stellar Artificer)AnnouncementsOfficial
Game Launch Issues: Fixes & Feedback Collection
We have noticed that some players are experiencing issues where the game fails to launch properly. Our team is currently investigating this urgently.If you encounter crashes or a black screen, please try the following steps first:Please select the “OpenGL3” option in the launch options. If the issue persists after using this option, please try the methods below.If the problem still occurs, please try the following:Outdated graphics drivers are a common cause of crashes or performance issues. We recommend updating your drivers first:NVIDIA users: Update via GeForce Experience, or download the latest drivers from the NVIDIA websiteAMD users: Use Adrenalin software, or download the latest drivers from the AMD websiteIntel users: Use Intel Driver & Support Assistant to check for updatesMake sure your system has enough available memory. If not, please free up memory and try again.Run the game as administrator: Locate the game installation folder, right-click the .exe file, and select Run as administrator.Disable Windows Smart App Control: Go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Windows Security → App & Browser Control → Smart App Control, then switch it from On to Off (do not select Evaluation mode). Restart your computer and launch the game again.Verify the integrity of game files: In your Steam Library, right-click the game → Properties → Installed Files → Verify integrity of game files.Disable your display adapter (temporary test): Go to Device Manager → Display adapters, then right-click your device and select Disable device.Read full article on Community Announcements (Stellar Artificer)
