The 13th Month, a brand new visual novel that reimagines the Sleeping Beauty fairytale in a much darker setting, releases onto PC with a mobile release not far off

After being announced back in August of this year, Japanese developer Kobayashimaru’s grimdark visual novel The 13th Month, or Kodansha, has been officially released on PC. But the real highlight of this launch is the fact that we finally have a mobile release window as well, as the developer also announced that the game will be coming to iOS and Android sometime in early 2023.

This reimagining of the classic Sleeping Beauty fairytale sees you experiencing the tale in a much darker setting that’s redone in anime art style. While the trailer isn’t in English, making it somewhat difficult to gather all the details, it does show off some of the characters you’ll come across, all of whom are realised in a style that lands between that anime look with a bit of edginess added in.

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It’s safe to say you’ll still be experiencing the fairytale we all know and love, but it’s likely to be quite different at the same time. This is a reimagining of the story after all, as opposed to a simple retelling. We do know that this retelling delves into some much more intense themes than the original fairytale, as it discusses religion, philosophy, love, and even the meaning of life itself.

Don’t expect this one to stay as child friendly as the storybooks. This is a story that features demons and traumatized characters with their own assortment of issues that you’ll learn about as you dig deeper and deeper, going down the rabbit hole if you would. If you’ve played something like The House of Fata Morgana, you’re probably not too far off.

As for the gameplay, it’s a visual novel. You know what you’re getting into - text conversations told between portraits of each character, sometimes with a few CG scenes thrown in too. This one’s heavy on the reading, so be prepared if you’re looking to try it out.

For now, there’s no store page to pre-order or pre-register for The 13th Month, but those of you on PC can check it out on Steam right now. We mobile gamers will have to wait for a true release date in the meantime!