Planned Release Date: September 2026

About This Game

Echoes of Chang'an is a historical mystery adventure visual novel set during the Dali era of the Tang Dynasty.

Following your father's orders, you travel south to deliver a secret letter. While passing through the rain-soaked Huainan Circuit, you seek shelter at the Wild Goose Inn—only to become entangled in a deadly plot from which there seems to be no escape.

A taciturn, down-and-out Taoist priest.
A boastful former constable.
The alluring owner of the inn.
A refined yet unruly middle-aged swordsman.
A corpulent merchant reeking of money.
An ambitious young scholar.
A little girl who keeps singing the same nursery rhyme through the rainy night...

More than a dozen seemingly ordinary travelers have gathered at the inn, each carrying a hidden past—and a true purpose for being there.

Only through meticulous observation, careful deduction, and decisive choices can you uncover the grudges, conspiracies, and secret dealings that bind them together—and seize the slightest chance of survival.

The year is 778 AD (the 13th year of the Dali era). Emperor Daizong of Tang sits upon the throne, and the empire appears to be enjoying what later generations would call the "Dali Restoration" after the devastating An Lushan Rebellion.

Beneath the surface, however, the foundations of the empire have already begun to crumble.

The authority of the imperial court is fractured. Powerful regional military governors have entrenched themselves across the realm. The three autonomous provinces of Hebei—Weibo, Chengde, and Youzhou—rule themselves in all but name, while rebellions erupt and the tax system steadily collapses.

The imperial army has grown weak. The emperor relies on the Shence Army, commanded by court eunuchs, to maintain a fragile balance between the frontier warlords and the officials of the central government.

To the south, the Jiangnan and Huainan regions have become the empire's economic lifeline, with the Grand Canal sustaining Chang'an's survival. The old aristocracy is fading, scholars from humble origins are rising through the imperial examinations, and both Buddhism and Taoism flourish.

Beyond the borders, the Tibetan Empire repeatedly raids the western frontier, the Uyghur Khaganate exploits its influence for political and economic gain, and the Tang's grip over the Western Regions is steadily slipping away.

The golden age of the High Tang has passed. The magnificent empire celebrated by history now staggers forward on little more than the momentum of its former glory.

From ministers at the imperial court to frontier generals, from ordinary townsfolk to the descendants of fallen officials, every person is but a drifting leaf carried by the tides of history.

Yet it is the choices made by these ordinary individuals that, together, determine the fate of an empire.

The game unfolds as a closed-circle mystery:

• Nearly every character has a story of their own. Delve deeply enough into their past, and what you uncover may become a crucial piece in your struggle to escape.

• A tightly paced, relentlessly suspenseful story in which every step could be fatal. You have only four shichen—eight hours—to determine who lives and who dies. Your adversaries act intelligently, the plot never stalls, and the pressure never lets up.

• Subtle details in each character’s dialogue reveal their inner thoughts, hidden intentions, and movements. Follow the clues, unravel the truth layer by layer, and you may expose the deadly scheme before anyone else.

A rain-soaked inn brought to life in 3D, modeled around the story’s primary setting and designed with reference to Tang-dynasty architecture.

A majestic vision of Chang’an, rendered in the style of delicate ink-and-color painting on silk.

Historically inspired costumes and accessories tailored to each character’s identity and profession, balancing period immersion with visual appeal.

Woodblock-print-inspired clue-card illustrations that bring the protagonist’s deductions and mental reconstructions to life.

Across every aspect of the game—from historical figures, clothing and accessories to architecture and dialogue—we drew upon a wide range of historical records and surviving artifacts.

While ensuring that the story remains coherent and engaging, we have sought to recreate the world of the mid-Tang dynasty with as much authenticity as possible.

The main storyline and its core endings also unfold in step with the broader course of history, allowing you to experience the era not merely as a backdrop, but as a living world shaped by real historical forces.

We hope Echoes of Chang'an offers a compelling sense of historical immersion while still delivering a tightly constructed mystery.

AI Generated Content Disclosure

The developers describe how their game uses AI Generated Content like this:

This game uses generative AI during its development:
· Visual art (character art, CG illustrations, and background scenes) is created with generative AI tools and then curated, edited, and refined by our team to fit the game's unified semi-realistic Tang-dynasty art style and content standards；
· Program code was written with the assistance of AI coding tools during development.
The game's voice acting (recorded by human actors), music, and story text are created by human creators / our team, and are not AI-generated. No AI-generated content is produced at runtime.

Mature Content Description

The developers describe the content like this:

Echoes of Chang'an is a mystery visual novel centered on a murder at a Tang-dynasty inn. Before playing, customers should be aware that the game contains the following mature content:
· Violence & blood: The story revolves around a series of killings, depicting—in text and illustrated CG—crime scenes, corpses, wounds, bloodshed, and the deaths of characters, including a small number of more direct images of injury and death. Some scenes portray coercion, threats, and characters in mortal danger.
The game contains no sexual acts, nudity, or sexual content of any kind, and no depictions of sexual assault or non-consensual acts. The violent and lethal elements are presented in a stylized, illustrated, narrative context in service of a mystery story, and store-page images avoid graphic content. Recommended for mature audiences.