Freeware Game Pick – ‘Juniper’s Knot’

Not so much a ‘game’ today, so much as a book. A small visual novel, written natively in English, with luscious art and rather pleasant writing. A nice way to while away part of a slow Sunday afternoon. Juniper’s Knot by Dischan Media is a short story about a bound demon and a boy, and the stories they share in some crumbling ruins on an autumn afternoon.

Juniper’s Knot is only a short story, and you should chew your way through it in less than an hour if you tend to read quickly. There’s no interaction here, beyond clicking through the script, but that’s all there really needs to be. Juniper’s Knot was created in a fairly short space of time, but aside from its short length, it really doesn’t show. The art is genuinely good, and the music is emotive without being overbearing. The writing in particular is an interesting mish-mash of slightly archaic wordings, but it makes the characters a little more colourful, and as the perspective of the story alternates between the two characters, you get a feel for both their internal monologues. Here’s a video showing the first few minutes of it:

Juniper’s Knot is available to download for free for Windows, Mac and Linux and even iOS. There’s some bad language and some dark concepts, but nothing otherwise unsuitable for an impressionable youth. If you’ve got an hour or so spare, give it a look.