When the only world you've ever known is in danger, what would you do to save it?

HYADES is an in-development RPG about a group of friends exploring a vast urban city in order to save everything they've ever known. Align yourself with celestial signs as you explore the city of Hyades and uncover the secrets lurking below!

Play the HYADES demo today with the download below for Windows/Mac/Linux, or play in your browser! We'd love to know what you think!

FEATURES

  • Meet all sorts of out-of-this-world animal folk!
  • Explore a vast metropolis set in the modern age of 200X!
  • Adapt to the constant ebb-and-flow of battle by changing your stats and abilities using SIGNS!
  • Utilize interstellar cosmic powers gifted from beyond!
  • Uncover a massive city-wide conspiracy littered with secrets and corruption, leading to the forever shifted balance of society with consequences you have no hope of understanding until too late!
  • Grab an ice cream at Shifty's! If you ask nicely, he'll even make it look like you!

HYADES IS NOW AVAILABLE TO PLAY ON MOBILE!

If you can't download the game, you can still play the HYADES demo in browser on both desktop and mobile!  It works best in portrait orientation!

Touch/Mouse Controls:

  • Tap with one finger/Left Click: Movement/Selection
  • Tap with two fingers/Right Click: Open Menu/Cancel
  • Tap by the top left of party members in battle to select them!

WARNING FOR iOS USERS: HYADES on a device running iOS is only compatible with iOS 14.2 and above. Previous version of iOS have been known to cause HYADES to have gameplay errors and strobe effects."

If you are NOT on iOS 14.2 or above, please update your device before playing.


HEY, COME SEE OUR VISUAL NOVEL SPINOFF!

Join Ruth and Anise on a sleepover with Marsh at HYADES: Celestial Buddies Volume 1!

https://majimjam.itch.io/hyadescelestialbuddiesvol1

DEMO TROUBLESHOOTING

WARNING: IF YOU CAN'T SAVE, AND ARE PLAYING ON MAC...

Fellow Mac users! If you encounter a message that looks something like this...

Move your HYADES folder to the desktop, or somewhere OUT OF YOUR DOWNLOADS FOLDER! The Applications folder works as well!

The reason why this happens is that the Mac has a failsafe to make sure downloaded files can't automatically write potentially malicious things onto your computer! So the Mac likes to make downloaded files have "Read-Only" permissions. Since HYADES is trying to write new information (your save data), the game gets confused! As far as some players have reported, simply moving the game out of the downloads folder or manually changing the permissions allows the game to save. In my experience, moving the game directly out of the folder it came in into the Application folder works. Of course, if this DOESN't work, please feel free to contact me!

WARNING: "I CAN'T SELECT ANOTHER ENEMY IN BATTLE, IT'S STUCK ON ONE!"

Don't worry, there's a very simple fix - just move your mouse! HYADES is actually playable with a mouse as well, and the mouse takes priority over keyboard in battle when selecting an enemy! All you need to do is move your mouse past where an enemy is and control from the keyboard should take priority again.


NOTE: THIS GAME IS STILL IN DEVELOPMENT!

As a small team of volunteers, it takes a slow and steady pace in order to make the best game for you all to enjoy. I just wanted to say thank you all for your patience, and that the game will be continuously updated as development continues. Characters, the world, game mechanics and more may all get changed, updated, or even removed as time and development goes on. This is currently only the game's PROLOGUE, but more chapters to the story are in development. Thank you for your patience and support!

PRESS KIT:

In case you wanted high quality images, screenshots, and information about the development of HYADES, check out our press kit at:

https://majimjam.itch.io/hyades-press-kit

CONTACT

Thanks for visiting this little game's page, and remember:
Despite your circumstances, do your best. It is all you can do.

StatusIn development
PlatformsWindows, macOS, Linux, HTML5
Rating
Rated 4.8 out of 5 stars
(23 total ratings)
Authormajimjam
GenreRole Playing
Made withRPG Maker
TagsCute, Furry, JRPG, Pixel Art, RPG Maker, Space, Story Rich, Turn-Based Combat
Average sessionA few hours
LanguagesEnglish

Download

Download
HYADES DEMO 1.2 (WINDOWS).zip 164 MB
Download
HYADES DEMO 1.2 (MAC).zip 297 MB
Download
HYADES DEMO 1.2 (LINUX).zip 172 MB

Install instructions

WARNING: HYADES does feature some flashing colors and repeating moving images.

Individuals with photosensitivity and epilepsy may experience a seizure when exposed to certain visual images, and may experience symptoms like dizziness, altered vision, lightheadedness, and disorientation.

If you experience any of these symptoms when playing HYADES, immediately quit playing and consult a physician before resuming gameplay.

Development log

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Comments

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(+1)

Fun

(+1)

great game, looking forward to it !

(+2)

Art is really great, animations in combat are smooth and satisfying and has a shockingly complex yet simple battle system. Characters are well written and i cant wait to see more from this game.

(+2)

Mercilessly beating dust monsters with a hockey stick is the best👍

(+2)

Hello! Checked out the demo after hearing your interview on RPG Maker Cola. Really sweet game. Love the early 2000s aesthetics (the era I feel most nostalgia for). Love the art, the charm of the characters, dialogue, music, really just everything. Combat is also straightforward and fun. Can't wait to see the full version released!

(1 edit) (+2)

Hey, this is the guy who emailed you, just adding a comment here. Again, a really great game, I'm very intrigued by the characters, I wanna see where the plot ends up going from here, and the gameplay is shaping up to be really fun and interesting.

One thing I do want to know: Will this game be released episodically, or are you waiting until the whole thing is complete before you put it down?

(+1)

Hi! Tentatively, I'm planning on releasing the game once the whole thing is complete since I think the game's story is best told all at once!

(+4)

Just played the demo and oh my god Marsh and his brother already break my heart these characters are great, really great and cool game already, cant wait to see the rest

(+6)

This game was great, the story, characters, mechanics, visuals, and sound were all top tier, and I advise you to play it, even if it's just the demo! I liked it so much, I made an animation.

(+2)

The HYADES Demo Experience.
Alright, to get this off already: this is not an NSFW Furry game (even if it has the Furry tag), the game simply contains Animal Protagonists living in an Animal World.
Now that I got that off the way, what is Hyades?
Hyades is a 2.5D turn-based RPG where you (currently) control 4 Characters: Marsh, Ruth, Anise, and Charles.
Now, I won't get into the story because of spoilers and things.
COMBAT
As you probably figured out, this isn't your run of the mile RPG/Turn-Based RPG, there's something special to this game, so... what is it?
Well, it's how fun the combat is, all your characters have special skills that, when used accordingly, can give a HUGE boost and advantage against the (currently) 2 bosses.
WORLD (AND WORLD-BUILDING)
When I say this game doesn't just have a little bit of flavor text (world-building essential) but a whole lot, almost everywhere, I MEAN IT.
This game very easily makes the world feel alive and almost like it's real, almost like it's the world you're living in.
MY CURRENT ISSUE.
I'm not saying the game is like release Cyberpunk 2077 or Yandere Simulator when I say this game has an issue but,
My biggest issue would have to be this little thing called Accessibility. First off, the font, it's not very pleasing to look at normally and even less is it if you have any sight issues (like I do), when you compare the text to the background, it could potentially give you a headache (or make you vomit) because of how saturated both ends are. (In regards to the flashing lights warning, it only happens twice and is pretty slow)
FINAL RATING:
8/10, very fun and well put together.

(+1)

An awesome demo!!! I really liked how the characters played off each other, and the stakes really ramped up! Also lots of fun little details if you take the time to poke around. I'm super pumped to watch this continue to grow!

(+3)

This is a really well put together project! Impressive!

(+2)

ZLB recommended this, and I decided to play it, and I really love it! It's got a lot of personality and just, was really fun! Good job!

(+1)

..would you believe me if I said she got me to play it too? true story o:

(+2)

really cool rpg with lots of potential! Can’t wait to see how it turns out o: