Once Upon a Throne of Thorns
ebi-hime · 2026 · Casual, Visual Novel, Anime, Stylized, Assassins
PC
3 user reviews100% · 3
This game is free to play. Get it on Steam →
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About Once Upon a Throne of Thorns
Ardenne's king is dead, and the country has been foundering ever since. The rightful heir to the throne, Prince Yuel, has gone missing - and, in his wake, a usurper has taken the throne.The new king, Salim, is of lowly birth, and he is paranoid alongside it. Cold, ruthless, and hungry for power, Salim has been combing Ardenne for the missing prince, who he means to have put to a swift death. The country only needs one king, after all, and it could very well cost Salim his hard-earned throne should the prince resurface. Six years have passed, however, since Yuel's disappearance, and nobody has seen hide nor hair of him. Tavi, Yuel's older cousin, and a deposed royal now in Salim's service, believes his younger cousin to have died, and he has since put the young man from his mind. Tavi's day-to-day is concerned with his ailing mother, who has been unwell ever since her husband's betrayal over a decade prior, and with his job as Salim's spy and assassin. In exchange for his mother's care, Tavi has been forced into the unenviable position of scouring the country searching for dissenters, whom he swiftly silences: the young, old, rich, and poor alike. Tavi's hands are awash with blood: so much so, he doubts Yuel would recognise him even if their paths did converge once more... But fate is a fickle, and Tavi soon learns that his feelings for Ardenne's missing prince are more complicated than he ever could have imagined.
- 140,000 words of text (approx 5-10 hours of reading)
- A linear story with no choices or branches
- Beautiful character artwork
- A custom soundtrack
- A touching boys' love story
- Crossdressing
- A sad assassin boy
- Political intrigue
- Murder!
What Steam players say
Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.
I have been anticipating this release from ebi-hime for SOOOOOOOOOO long and I'm so glad that it's finally here!!! [i]Once Upon a Throne of Thorns[/i] is another incredible entry in ebi-hime's collection of YuelTavi VNs. It's on the darker and more plot-heavy side compared to some of her fluffier entries, which suits me just fine ;w; [url=store.steampowered.com/app/2827190/All_Scars_and_Starlight/]All Scars and Starlight[/url] is ones of my faves, and there's some similarities here in terms of the darker themes, the plotting Salim, and the Suffering Tavi - however, there's also plenty here that sets [i]Throne of Thorns[/i] apart as its own unique and very worthwhile story. In this story, we get to see Tavi cast as a reluctant assassin. He's a lot less cheery and more subdued than other versions of himself, which is a good look on him IMO precisely because it's so different from the usual. His relationship with Yuel is incredibly sweet! They act as a tether to one another's sense of self after both of them have gone through so much that has changed them. Through each other, they can connect with their less troubled, less traumatized selves, even as they continue to experience hard…7 found this helpful
i like it when crossdressers look like crossdressers instead of women.
Kinda a bit embarrassed to say this but this is my first YuelxTavi visual novel (you know ebihime's OCs that she gushing so much she've written many stories about them. Props to her for being so dedicated). I was mostly drawn to the art and then the story got me curious. Played first the demo that confirmed my interest and did get the full vn. I certainly wasn't disappointed ! Even though the story focuses mainly on the couple, the other characters were just as interesting to follow. Towards the end, the tension made me a bit anxious and I really wondered how it would all turn out, but I ended up being satisfied with the conclusion. Plus, the writing really showcased the illustrations like damn. So yeah an another banger from ebihime's VNs and I hope at least this one will get people more invested on her favorites blorbos.
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