Asphyxia
ebi-hime · 2015 · Visual Novel, Indie, Female Protagonist, Simulation, Anime
PC
Very Positive87% · 143 📉 Recent reviews down 77%
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About Asphyxia
Asphyxia is a gloomy yuri visual novel that takes well-known Romantic poets like Coleridge, Wordsworth, and Byron, and turns them into cute anime girls. It's every literature student's dream! ♥
Follow Samantha Coleridge, who is (as one might expect coming from Coleridge) languishing in the doldrums of depression. Samantha has been miserable for a long time, but her bleak mood has continued to worsen after an intense falling-out with her best friend, Lillian Wordsworth.
Why did her friendship with Lillian collapse, and was Samantha truly to blame for it?
Samantha turns these thoughts over in her head fitfully for several months, until a school field trip gives her a chance to once again spend time with Lillian. In the enchanting environs of the Lake District, will Samantha finally be able to fix her fractured relationship with Lillian...
Or is it destined to crumble once again?
- 70k worth of text (approx 3-6 hours of reading)
- A story with four different endings and several choices
- Gorgeous character and background artwork
- A cast of characters all based on Romantic poets (and Alexander Pope)
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge, re-envisioned as a sad lesbian!!!
- She has a crush on Wordsworth now!!!
- Wordsworth doesn’t reciprocate!!!
- Also, chic vampire Byron is pretty cute ♥
What Steam players say
Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.
✦ AI summary
Players praise Asphyxia for its emotionally intense, character-driven narrative with witty dialogue and introspective storytelling that feels deeply personal and relatable, particularly its exploration of a deteriorating friendship and depression. However, the game is deliberately melancholic and psychologically draining rather than escapist, with some players finding the emotionally suffocating atmosphere and narrow focus on misery difficult to engage with despite its literary quality. The visual novel appeals most to those seeking introspective, literary experiences and sapphic narratives, b
Fun. Pretty. Interesting concept, somewhat educational. As a "Samantha" myself, it made me extremely glad to no longer be 17. 10/101 found this helpful
Asphyxia, developed and published by ebi-hime, is a visual novel that trades scope and spectacle for emotional intensity and introspection, offering a tightly focused narrative that lingers more in its tone than its length might suggest. It is not designed as an escapist experience, nor does it rely on elaborate branching or dramatic twists to sustain interest. Instead, it builds its impact through carefully written dialogue, internal monologue, and the slow unraveling of a strained relationship, presenting a story that feels deeply personal and, at times, uncomfortably real. The narrative centers on Samantha Coleridge, a young woman grappling with worsening depression after a falling-out with her closest friend, Lillian Wordsworth. The story unfolds over the course of a single day, a structure that gives the experience a quiet sense of urgency without relying on external stakes. Rather than grand events, the tension comes from small interactions—conversations that can either mend or further damage an already fragile connection. The player’s choices influence how these moments play out, shaping the trajectory of the relationship and leading to multiple endings that reflect differe…1 found this helpful
Asphyxia is a sweet little story overfloated with melancholy and hopelessness. something about this game's story rlly got me. probably, thanks to the amazing writing, a generic plot suddenly hit completely different. i rlly love this VN. and i adore its art style. it's like magic how the main topic of Asphyxsia changes the perception of the visual part of the game. from just cute and magical, it turns truly depressive and gloomy, but still kinda fabulous. such a charming romantic story with blend of fragile beauty and severe desolation. 10/10 , feeling quite yuriful after this VN.
British people and being miserable, name a more iconic duo.
Melancholy prevails, but the dialogue is witty and occasionally hilarious.
Like reading an open wound, one in which I also suffer from, ergo I can't really review this in a detached, objective sort of way, so I'll keep this short. It's ebi-hime, and all that implies: well-written, full of immense sapphic yearning, emotionally draining for all the best reasons. Aside from the very much intentional classic literary reference, both the relationship dynamics and private school setting remind me heavily of Riyoko Ikeda's no less melodramatic [i]Dear Brother/Oniisama e[/i]—a welcome surprise that made me all the more invested as that is forever one of my favorite forgotten/overlooked pieces of shoujo manga history. It's just... good, and painfully relatable for irrational romantics that suffer from severe depression besides.
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