ON HIATUS

Inner Demons is a supernatural horror story set in modern-day Seattle. It's a text-based interactive fiction, where you play as the family screw-up who accidentally unleashes hell right in the middle of Pike Place Market. Whether you save the world or succumb to your darker side is entirely up to you.

Latest Update: December 24th, 2021 | Chapter 2 (first half)
Please note that although save files from prior to 12/24/21 still technically work, I recommend replaying the game from the start to avoid errors due to stat changes. Apologies for the inconvenience!

This game is a work in progress and new chapters will be released periodically. For updates, please follow the Inner Demons tumblr blog

Support: While this game will remain free/donation-based, support is greatly appreciated! If you enjoyed playing, please consider supporting my work here or via Ko-fi

Content Warnings: Inner Demons is currently rated 16+ and contains strong language, depictions of violence, death, murder, and trauma. Optional 18+ sexual content to be added later.

Note: This game needs access to browser cookies so it can store game data when playing online. Please ensure third-party cookies are enabled on your browser before starting the game.

You hadn't meant to start the apocalypse today, yet here you are: sandwiched between two sorcerers and facing off against a horde of snarling demons as they rampage through Downtown Seattle.

When your grandmother passes away unexpectedly, you are thrust into the world of dark magic; a world she tried all your life to keep you safe from.

Like Nana, you possess abilities that could be humanity’s saving grace...or their downfall. You're hunted by demons and sorcerers alike as you learn to wield your powers, but with good and evil on both sides, who can you trust?


    • Play as female, male, or non-binary (set pronouns separately or enter your own)
    • Romance, befriend, or antagonize any of six characters, three of whom have selectable genders of female, male, or non-binary
    • All ROs are romanceable by any MC (you will not be asked to specify your sexuality)
    • Romance is not required; every RO has a platonic path
    • Customize your appearance, personality, emotional intelligence, etc.
    • Hone your sorcery skills & demonic influence
    • Select an animal familiar (or don't)
    • Save humanity or leave them to their doom


Desi (gender selectable) is your relentlessly optimistic childhood best friend. You recently rekindled your friendship after losing touch for over a decade, but when Nana dies, you discover that Desi has been hiding way too many secrets from you. Can you trust the charismatic sorcerer or is this easy friendship hiding wicked intentions?

Ciaran (male, he/him) is the brooding, secretive sorcerer who Nana entrusted with your protection. As you spend more time with him, you find that there’s a softer side lurking beneath Ciaran’s tough exterior. But does this multifaceted man really have your best interests at heart?

Yu (enby, they/them) is a master sorcerer from the Order of Watchers, a group hellbent on harnessing your unique abilities. Enchanting and elusive, Yu makes it clear early on that they are not to be trusted. Then again, they could capture you with the flick of a wrist...so what are they waiting for?

Sam (gender selectable) is the deeply sardonic Nephilim currently residing in your head. As the offspring of Samyaza, the fallen angel who led the Watchers to their downfall, Sam is more powerful than you and your friends can comprehend. So why are they spending their time teaching you how to banish their kind?

Amina (female, she/her) is a young Cambion who devoted her life to serving Sam. She’s dispatched to watch over you and, diligent to a fault, ends up biting off more than her fangs can chew. Fierce, fiery, and too intense for her own good, can Amina be trusted or is she simply following orders?

James (gender selectable) is a sweet, nerdy comic shop owner who gets roped into the whole ordeal when you seek out their expertise. As the town’s resident demonic lore keeper, they’re no stranger to the darker side of Seattle. But is there more to James than meets the eye?

Character Page | Playlists | Mood Boards

Thank you for reading! If you encountered any bugs or typos that you'd like to report, please complete this form. <3

StatusIn development
PlatformsHTML5
Release date Sep 04, 2021
Rating
Rated 4.7 out of 5 stars
(164 total ratings)
Authora.w. morgan
GenreInteractive Fiction
Made withTwine
TagsHorror, supernatural, Text based, Twine
Asset licenseCreative Commons Attribution_NonCommercial v4.0 International
Average sessionAbout a half-hour
LanguagesEnglish
InputsMouse, Touchscreen, Smartphone
LinksBlog

Development log

Comments

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(+9)

The Tumblr page is gone, I think it's safe to say this is abandoned.

I LOVVEE THISS SO FAR...I hope it's still in progress.

ooooghh i loved it and can't wait for more, here's to hoping it isn't on an indefinite hiatus as it was last updated in 2021...

I didn't read the potential romances before starting, and was really confused because I thought the game was misspelling and inputting my name, Ciara, somewhere wrong xD

(+8)(-1)

Hi! Is this still being worked on?

Oh my gosh I can't wait to see more. Also can't wait to get through to Ciaran lol. I always need to befriend the non-befriendable character XD 

(1 edit) (+1)

Wowzy
I think I already love it, the story is intriguing, and has great potential. The sarcastic attitude is a nice touch too. Also, I can't wait to know more about the characters and meet those that haven't been introduced yet. Ow and the animated texts are dope, they add to the atmosphere.

(+5)

When is this going to be updated?

SO GOOD I NEED MORE OMG

(+6)

I will fist fight Ciaran and win.

This is non-negotiable.

YES!! FINISH HIM! >:3

(+3)

What a lovely read this was!

Though I do have to ask, is this still being worked on? Been a few months without an update and all.

(+10)

hmm an interesting read; but like the main character, I just had trouble believing any of it was real.  The annoying not helpful Voice, the much more annoying arsehole Rescuer(? maybe as we pass out there is no way to know who did what, and why we are still alive, if we really are still alive) and the Friend whose been around but has obviously never been open and or honest with us.  TBH if i was the MC, I would just say "screw this" and leave.

Still I am interested to read on a bit more to see where the story is going and hope maybe it will be able to draw me in.  I like the premise you created anyways, if not particularly the characters so far.  I know Rude Know It All npcs and Clueless MCs are all the rage these days.  But to be honest Im kind of tired of reading that trope over and over.

(+3)

Thank you for your thoughts and hey, my characters aren't for everyone🤷🏻‍♀️

(+1)

ciaran is so cute -///- 

before he came in though i went through a phase with wholesome desi...and i had this short moment with the demon murderer :0

(+1)

Aw I'm glad Ciaran is getting some love!! Desi and Mr. Morillo couldn't be any more different but I love hearing that you dig both of them 😝💖

I love this! Thank you so much for making it ^_^ I wanted to let you know that we've mentioned your story in our list of recommended Twine stories. But if that's not okay just let me know. You can view it here, let us know if there are any other details we should add for your title --> https://itch.io/t/1763600/twine-games-with-character-customization-part-1

Oh goodness, I'm so sorry I'm just now responding to this! Thank you so much for adding my little game to your list and for letting me know!! Such an honor to be included with so many amazing authors💗

The hardest choice in this game for me was choosing between sam or ciaran as a love interest

Haha I'm glad to hear it! Both of my sarcastic babies are a lot of fun, so I'm happy you like them💖

(+2)

Noooo, I'm already getting attached to these characters and it just ended up like that q w q

I can't wait for the next update. The UI and the overall design is so pretty,  and it tunes well with the ambience of the game. The story got me hooked, mainly because of the MC's humor. I like it when I can joke around with the characters in the game. (btw, the glitching text is hella cool. idk how you do it)

(+1)

Thank you so much!! 🤗 I'm glad you like the funny moments w/MC, I was definitely worried people wouldn't be into my sense of humor haha. I'll have more to share with you all soon, so stay tuned! <3 

Oh! And the glitching text is so much fun, right? For some of them, I used Hiev's 'Drunk Text' code and just tweaked the keyframes, and for the demon text I used a combo of 'Rumble' and 'Shudder' from here, also adjusting the keyframes until it looked just right. Yay coding!

Can't wait for the next acts. The story is very nice!

Thank you!! I'm glad you're liking it so far! Hopefully will have more to share soon:)

this is beautiful!!! I am so curious for the next update keep it up:DD

Thank you so much, I'm so glad you're liking it so far!! <3

(3 edits)

Asking about Sam gives an error
Edit: 

"Was I seriously attacked by a demon?" $info_label also throws an error





(1 edit)

Thank you for reporting this (and for playing)!! Another person received this error when they played using an old save file. I'd recommend replaying from the start, which should (hopefully) eliminate those errors:)

(+1)

Already in love with Sam plz send help! Love the writing, can't wait for more!

(+1)

Thank you so much!!! 💖 And I'm so glad you like my snarky bb Sam :P

(+1)

You can't just end it here 😭 I really liked this story and the voice is hilarious 😂

Haha I promise I'm  not ending it here!! I'm so glad you like it so far<3 Sam is so much fun to write, so I'm really happy you're enjoying them too! I'll hopefully have more to share with you all soon, just working on editing chapter 2 now🎉

(+3)

Oh nooooo, this IF is already *SO* good!!! 😂 I am absolutely in love with both Desi and Sam~ I can already tell that Desi is just gonna completely melt my heart and honestly there are very few things sexier than a cynical Demon in your head lol

Your writing is lovely and I'm really excited to see where this super interesting plot of yours goes! Please keep up the incredible work! I'll be over here, waiting patiently, but so very eagerly~

Aww, thank you so so much!! I'm seriously so flattered (and I agree, there isn't much sexier than a cynical demon in your head😂)! Hopefully I'm going to have more to share with you soon<3

Hi! I played your game a few days ago while working on my game. It looks like you use Sugarcube. I was hoping you’d tell me how you did the glitching text affect? (I know how to get the font :D) Also you game is so far amazing and I can’t wait for more! (Well I can but yeah-) -RoDoe

Hi!! I'm so sorry for the late reply, but thank you for playing my game! I'm so glad you liked it💖 You're right, I do use Sugarcube and the glitch effect is called drunk text, which you can find right here! I also played around with the CSS on it to get the blinking exactly how I wanted:)

Thanks a bunch! I’ll use this for sure!

I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Thanks ^^

eror???what should i do???

(3 edits)

Oh no!! I'm so sorry, I'm not sure why this error happened! If you'd be so kind as to report this on my error form right here, it'd really help me try to replicate and troubleshoot the issue❤️ Thank you for posting about it so that I'm aware of it though! And sorry again, errors are no fun to encounter:/

EDIT: Okay, I found a couple posts about this error (here's one, and another) explaining that this can appear when cookies aren't enabled on your browser. I'll update the game description here to say that cookies must be enabled to play:) And thank you again for reporting this, I learned something new today!!

This is amazing ! i'm in love with this, the Voice already has my heart lol. I also really like the fact that the option aren't as monotone as the ones I saw on some other games, the " it's gonna be a no from me dawg" had me clicking in second. Anyway, I'll be there for the next update :)

Thank you so much!!! I'm so happy you're enjoying it so far! And I'm glad you liked that option, I was definitely laughing when I coded that bit in😂

Hey demo was very good so far I'm sensing superstition vibe here with all demon , hell , half-breed and saving the world and stuff. I'm hoping it stays away from that kind of cliche. I have to say you're doing great at settings and saves that most twine books seems to lack at this part. Just one thing please add ❤ to flirt options cause people like me that english isn't their first language don't miss them. thank you 😊

Thanks, I'm glad you're liking it so far! I'm not sure about the superstition cliche so I guess we'll see if it ends up going that way? But as for the flirt options, I'm planning to add them in the next chapter. No flirting so far :) Thanks again!

Hey Ash. Really really dig your style! I loved how you're thrown into the story and the world in the intro. And the UI and Art Style is amazing! Would you maybe share which Story Format you used? I'd really love to try out that Saving Mechanic and especially the Settings Options! Really cool that you implemented that.

Thank you so much! I'm so glad you're enjoying it so far. The story format is Sugarcube (the most recent version, 2.35), and there's a really helpful template right here that includes the save and settings mechanics :) Good luck to you, and I'm always happy to answer coding questions!

That's so nice, big big thanks to you! :) Really cool that there's a new Sugarcube Version out, i didn't know. And wow, that Template just looks amazing! Can't wait to try it. Do you use Twine 2, or the first one maybe? :) Thanks again!

I use Twine 2!! And definitely, nyehilism is super talented, I'm really glad that I happened upon their template since it really helped me get the hang of coding in Sugarcube. There's another really gorgeous template here. It's less conventional than the first one I linked to so probably not as easy to start with, but still a lot of fun to play around with :)

Oh yeah, i found that one too. cerberus does incredible work, the "Walk with me" and "Snakeroot" UIs are just crazy beautiful. So polished! :)
I just started with Twine 2, i really miss the "Backend Passage" where you could directly store and edit all CSS. Now it's a bit clunky, hidden in the Story Menu. Do you maybe know if there's a workaround for that? :)

I don't, I'm sorry!! I'm pretty nooby when it comes to twine too, honestly. I've only been playing around with it for the past couple months, and I just end up editing css directly in the stylesheet. An easier way would be much appreciated! And agreed, everything cerberus does is amazing, both writing and coding! ❤️

An amazing start!  There's still a lot of questions and mystery to be answered, of course, but that's just what makes it so enjoyable! And, i really, really love desi's vibe!!

Thank you so much, I'm so glad you're liking it so far!! And yay for Desi love 💖 They're a real sweetheart and so much fun to write, so I'm happy you're enjoying them!

Oh my god, this was absolutely amazing! I love the UI and the writing! Very excited to see how this story progresses! 

Thank you! 💗 I'm so glad you liked it and I can't wait to share more of it with you!

(+1)

This is very cool! Thank you for choosing softer colours for the text and background, I'm prone to eye strain but this helps a lot. I like how you used the text effects too. And Nana is so cute omg. Looking forward to more in the future!!

Thank you so much!! And I'm so glad the colors helped :) I deal with eye strain too (especially with light text on dark backgrounds) so I really tried to make it less harsh. Thank you again, I'm happy you're enjoying it so far!

(+1)

I just played the game and oh. my. gosh. I love the way you write, I love the atmosphere of the whole game, and I love the design of it, too! It doesn't strain my eyes and the colors look really good together! I can't wait to see how it goes!

Aalaa!!! Thank you so much! <3 I'm so happy you like it so far (and that the design doesn't strain your eyes because seriously, I tried really hard to try and make sure that doesn't happen). Thank you for your compliments, this is just what I needed right now!!

Of course!! All the best with future writing!!