Broken Harbours
A downloadable visual novel for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android
Broken Harbours is a story about friendship and its limits, new beginnings and old wounds. Follow two solitary souls, Rune and Devon, through the beginnings of their friendship and see where the mutual fascination will lead them.
This visual novel features NSFW scenes and therefore is meant to be played by adults only, though it has an optional SFW mode too. Please note that there is a list of kinks in Preferences that you can turn on or off, depending on your tastes.
This is early access version of the game, still subject to change. The final version will feature additional illustrations and a gallery, and will be uploaded here once ready.
Broken Harbours is a standalone side story to Dawn Chorus. The game is also available on our Patreon, starting with Lively Lion ($5) tier.
Soundtrack available here.
The team for Broken Harbours is
Keo - story, writing, music, programming
hq - character design & sprites
Bartor - additional writing
Nouan - banner & backgrounds
Dangpa - illustrations
Purchase
In order to download this visual novel you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $4 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Download demo
Development log
- v1.4 - some fixes25 days ago
- v1.3 and weekend sale30 days ago
- New sprites!80 days ago
- Broken Harbours free weekend!Oct 05, 2023
- Broken Harbours v1.1 - Chinese translation & fixesAug 30, 2023
- Broken Harbours v1.0 - project releaseAug 27, 2023
Comments
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i now hate myself for forgetting to check itch.io in the weekends ;w;
I'm really excited to read this I love dawns Chorus and my favorite deer boi is here to glad I was able to get it this weekend luv you guys so much keep doing what you do it's amazing
so this is the game not finalized yet, pancake 😿
a one can I myself this game to my library?
I have to ask what is the hole thing about the codes in the main menu and what is unlock kinks ?
Ok so found some info just wondering how do i get codes
I love the detail of the shirt and hoodie matching thr other's eyes, however, it makes it confusing to read. Even if i know who Devon is, the color of his name makes me think Rune is talking, and vice-versa.
the story i have seen so far in the demo is great. love their interaction, the character development, and they feel like the characters i know.
my only problem is, Rune. He is described as toned, and that is how he was on Dawn Chorus, and we all got used to him looking like that, got emotionally invested in him as a character, same with Devon. but now he is buff. Kind of went from an Otter to a full fledged Wolf. Even the face has changed quite a bit. it looks like his older brother, not necessarily Rune.
now If I read this first, i would love the characters as they are, but we ( or at least I did) got used to how he looked in Dawn Chorus. I am not badgering the artist, the work is beautiful, but now what we had come ot be invested into already.
Yeah, probably could get used to it, but this is just feed back after reading what others have said, and actually reading the demo myself. hmm, maybe the new body with the old face that we all got used to might be better. i do not know, just tossing out an idea.
either way, you are a great vn creator and have a wonderful team with you and i do love your stories I have read so far. just my thoughts on this mate
the opening scene says Devon is wearing a white sweater under the jacket. But looks more like a dark tank top.
How do you get the unlock kink password
If you scroll down, they're in one of the comments near the bottom!
thank you very much.
can I play it on my ipad?
Unfortunately no, games built on RenPy aren't compatible with iOS :c
What's new in 1.2?
New sprites and some minor UI improvements!
I really enjoyed the narrative between Devon and Runes relationship and how they explored their feelings towards one another, and freely exploring each other without commitment.
I would really love to have a copy of the illustrations from the game which is usually present on the game files but they are somehow unavailable. I hope we could have a bit of an access to them, but please keep up the good work!!! I love everything about this game
I unfortunately was kind of disappointed by this. Which is not to say that I think it is bad, but it just felt like something was missing compared to the main VN and after mulling over it a bit for me it comes down to what feels like the ultimate goal or purpose of the work. A lot of what I really like about the sex in Dawn Chorus is that it is full of tension, unease, a kind of excitement and perhaps most crucially the sex is never the most interesting thing going on.
Which I guess I just didn't really feel that in BH, the sex was kind of the most interesting thing and it was fine but also kind of whatever. and maybe that's all it was meant to be, a kind of nice pleasant short but there is a clear gesture towards a sort of melancholy and sadness and greater meaning which keeps it from being pleasant but also it does not really go far enough to have a real thrust or impact. It almost feels stuck in between the two ends.
Despite my criticisms I would still urge people to buy it though, because any money given to the development team is money well spent and they're doing really great stuff this one just sadly didn't really feel as good to me :(
This. I agree with everything(thought I do wish you did some formatting on your comment).
This VN doesn't understand what it's trying to be and ends up falling short in everything it does. Not a good porn VN, not a good short story, doesn't explore anything it starts exploring beyond the ankle depth...
And why is it told from no one's perspective? That's the one thing everyone expects from a VN, doubly so from the creator of Dawn Chorus, where perspective is so important and used to such great effect?
Contrary to you, however, I'd like to warn people against buying this and instead consider supporting the Dawn Chorus patreon. This is not a good VN and the more obvious it becomes to the creator - the lower is the chance they will do something similarly undercooked in near future.
Broken Harbours was in huge part an experiment in writing in third perspective in a VN and in that regards I'm happy with the result. From the literary style to more adult themes, it was meant to be very unlike Dawn Chorus. I don't agree with it not sticking to a perspective.
I agree that the smuttier side and more serious one pull the story in two directions at once and now I wish I stuck only one of these. My interests shifted between the time I wrote down the rough idea and the time I sat down to write the text, the initial plan was for a much more lighthearted story. Still, in the end I'm happy with the result, and though I wish either I toned down the smutty side or leaned only into the horniness, I think it uses the word count well and is still worth a read. It is possible but unlikely that I'll revisit it in a future to tidy it up and expand on it, once the time allows and I need a breather from working on Dawn Chorus again.
First of all, thank you for replying. You owe me nothing, so it's nice to see you take time for this.
I understand this was never meant to be like Dawn Chorus, but it wasn't obvious until after I already finished the story. It's advertised as a side story to Dawn Chorus with the same characters and that's it - you can surely see where the confusion is coming from.
And even if I went into this with full understanding of what it is - I don't think I would enjoy it. This is a very personal, intimate story of a friendship blooming and being tested by a transformation into something different, and this heart of the story is great!
BUT!
The impersonal perspective is taking away from the experience. The abundance of narrator bits is taking away from the experience. And most of all, the smut part is taking away from the experience - not because it's smut, but because it is not an organic part of the plot. It's not really pulling the story in a different direction, it's not pulling it anywhere at all, it's a plot point that's just sitting there. It's important for the story, but it's not a part of the story - it is not exploring the characters. Everything leading up to it explores the characters, the scenes after it explore the characters, but the sex scene is just there.
IATERRY said it best - sex in Dawn Chorus was done better, because it always came in a form of an emotionally charged scene, characters bloomed in them. And in BH - it has no emotional weight, just some after-thoughts attached.
I want to see Rune nervously pacing Devon's apartment, biting his lips and mindlessly eating those frozen berries, worrying if he's using his friend. I want to see Devon worry and pull away mid-sex because he's worried what he's doing is going to make him lose a friend. I want Rune and Devon to stay real people in the most important part of the story!
What I'm trying to say is... There's a good VN here, but no offense, it's under the rubble of your experimentation. With all due respect, and I do respect you a great deal as a writer, I don't think it's a success.
What is the password? I was going through the preferences and i saw kinks so initially, i tried to enable it but it asks for a password, let me just simp for my deer boy okay??
I fixed it and I've gotta say that it's beautiful, and the poem like lines fit so smooth in the VN.
*BIG BIG SPOILER*
From the title "Broken Harbours", and after playing the game, I think Devon and Rune are like the right person wrong time kind of situation, which leads to "more than friends, but not lover". Even though they spend time with each other and even do "the thing", their loneliness is still there, or I think at least it is for Rune.
After the shower, Rune decides to go home, even though Devon suggests staying with him for the night. The story does not explain about Rune much in the end so idk.
For Devon, looks like he is finding some peace with his past, and he gonna accept of what will happen between him and Rune, good or bad because it's just another page of his life.
"No ship can moor at broken harbours", this describes what happens to the both of them rn, they are not ready for a LTR yet.
Also, a daffodil means hope, but giving someone a single daffodil also means misfortune. (idk if it means anything but I'm just putting it out there)
One question is, after this story, do they actually do "the thing" more than once or is it just a one time? 🤔 (before the DC ofc)
I'd guess fwb maybe? It might even tie into the main game at some point if you pursue Devin or Rune.
I'm on mobile android, and I bought the VN but it says I need to buy it still. Any ideas on how to fix this?
I got it when it was free but I had to urgently format my pc and I forgot to back it up :c
Okay
so.
It's probably VERY unlikely, BUUTTTTTT
Is there any chance that this'll possibly become temporarily free again? like every few months theres another free weekend thing, or is that not gonna happen?
If it does, see image below. If it doesn't, see image below.
This was very very good. I lvoe the depth it added to Devon's story. I was a bit surprised at how bold and straightforward Rune was though, it didn't feel like him. But either way it was great. Still can't figure out the password though...
I loved this, especially since Rune and Devon are my two favorites from DC. I wonder how the events from this will color Rune and Devon's routes moving forward. I'm always rooting for our boy Arvo, but I'm curious to see how the previous feelings these two share will affect their opinion of Arvo. We already have seen Rune get a tad jealous during Devon's route.
My anti-virus has taken great exception to this game. The issue is; ti!7DBFBB57F808 it is on BrokenHarbours-32.exe
Please advise, thank-you
I deleted the -32 bit, it has now found a treat in python.exe ti!2068B45C960C
Please advise
try to download it through website but not in itch app
https://dawn-chorus.itch.io/brokenharbours
you are god
edit: thank you god
i was just about to buy the game then it went on sale, and the game itself is amazing It is a great read and only takes like an hour to get through. this combine with how much I'm enjoying Dawn Chorus i think I'm gonna back the patron if only to get early access to the updates.
How do you know if the game is on sale?
i cant seem to download it it keeps giving an error is there some way to fix this i was really wanting to try this
Am I supposed to be getting an error during download?
"Cannot read property "build" of undefined"
This sale actually made me piss my pants in excitement, thank you so much for giving off this sale, my mental health went wrong 0 to 100 in an instant 😭😭😭
This was an awesome experience, the writing was really good, every word made me feel the story, and the scenes on the bedroom were just wow, the art amazing, this story def made me remember why i like Devon so much, thank u a lot for this, i loved it, cant wait too see more of the lovely feline
12/10 best duo
This was so good thank you 🙏
thank you thank you thank you i rlllly wanted to play this lol
I'm not really sure how to feel about this prequel, mostly because I really like Devon's character in Dawn Chorus. I already knew he had some kind of special connection with Rune, but I wasn't expecting THAT kind of connection. I wonder how it'll impact Devon's route in Dawn Chorus (especially because I tend to rely heavily on romantic endings, that's why I hoped for a happy romantic ending between Arvo and Devon in DC. But now I don't know if that'll happen or not and if it does, how much drama with Rune it will create because of he and Devon's pasts)
But I'm still glad I played this game, it gave Rune and especially Devon's characters much more depth, which is always welcome !
Anyone knows what the unlock kink password is or does?
I'm also confused lol
Posted in a previous comment by the author
imalittlestinker - for musk kink and some extra sniffing
davidvsgoliath - for those who like them really big
snoutmania - for snouts exploring tight holes
Copy and paste all of them. You can turn each kink on or off in preferences or leave them all on (best choice)
*If you want me to delete this just lmk but the original comment is still up.
About the broken harbour is it after the main story (dawn chorus),before it or like another world like story?
Because if it is before dawn chorus it's going hard for me to thinke that there is or still are feeling between him and devon when i doing run story in dawn chorus, like is it going to be a start of a drama scene?
And sorry if my English is bad.
This novel takes place before the events of Dawn Chorus in the period after Coach Devon first moves from the states and his start teaching at the university.
Ok thenks for answernig.
I think that the feelings between Rune and Devon is like "more than friends, but not lovers." I haven't read Broken Harbours, but I have doubt that the relationship between them is complicated, not like normal relationships that we usually thought. From my standpoint, in both Rune and Devon's route in Dawn Chorus, Arvo (the main character) seems like a "third person crashing." Playing Rune's route, this appearance of Broken Harbours makes me think that Rune in Dawn Chorus is in a state of confusion if he has love feelings for Coach Devon, like "I love him, but Arvo is the one comforting me when I'm unfortunately sinking in the darkest time right on a five-day camp. Do I really love him? Or Arvo the one?" For Devon's Route, the confusion is whether the leopard again seeking a love relationship with another student of his, Arvo, or is just another portion like with Rune, and Rune in Devon's Route seems like a nearly jealous man toward Arvo.
The thing makes me confuse myself is the Dawn Chorus's prologue and Arvo's dream. It seems that Rune would seek a loving relationship with Arvo. But is it a Deja vu, or is it a strange dream which is not happening in the reality? The game's name, "Dawn Chorus", is a song of birds in the early morning. The birds sing, then fly away having completed alarming a new day. Would this is a sign that Rune or Devon in the respective route would go on to seek a new future with Arvo, or Arvo the one help them stabilize their feeling toward each other? Or, five days is just five days, and then they would be completely strangers like a poem sentence as far as I remember was "I would do anything for just a moment of this"?
Sorry for talking too much about Dawn Chorus here without buying Broken Harbours, and my bad English, too.
Ok thanks for the beautiful explanation, It's nice to see other people thet love the game
"my bad English" ???? that was 1 whole essay
on god
Congratulations on the release, Keo! I already bought my copy but haven't played it yet, I'm gonna do it as soon as real life allows.
For anyone just jumping in who's never played Dawn Chorus, I'm dropping some episodes here, hopefully to convince you to try things out.
Oh, so you are DrakeWingGaming?
Nope
w o w
When we buy this, do we also get access to the mp3s of the music, or are they stored somewhere else?
Just uploaded the album to bandcamp with a free download!
https://buildingslikeradiators.bandcamp.com/album/broken-harbours
Just upgraded my Patreon membership! Can't wait to start reading this prequel starring my favorite boys from Dawn Chorus
I've never spent a cent on any books, stories, movies, music etc online before, but I genuinely believe this is something worth spending money on. If it lives up to Dawn Chorus in terms of storytelling, I'll happily pay good money for it.
I read it around when it was first released and it's 100% worth the money! Getting to know the history between Coach Devon and Rune was so great.