Her Love, Like Poison

About

l Her Love, Like Poison is a visual novel that twists romance and horror into a slow-burn narrative. Playing as Ethel, a university student mired in writer’s block and heartbreak, you navigate her lonely winter in a bleak coastal village. Her escape into the woods leads to a haunting encounter with a seductive stranger whose allure masks something unsettling. Dialogue choices shape a story steeped in gothic atmosphere, where every interaction blurs the line between affection and dread. The game leans into its eerie tone, balancing poetic introspection with unnerving tension as relationships curdle into obsession. What lingers is the way it subverts romantic tropes through a lens of body horror and psychological unease. The art style leans into stark contrasts, wintry blues and deep shadows, while the prose drips with Romantic-era grandeur, undercut by visceral, unsettling imagery. Early playtests note its ability to unsettle even as it pulls you deeper, with branching paths that escalate from tender to toxic. A niche pick for those who like their love stories steeped in existential dread.

Storyline

Ethel Briggs is a shy, self-conscious girl in her final year of university. Though she should be working on her thesis about Romantic poetry, her well of inspiration has run dry. After a nasty break-up with her former girlfriend, Clementine, Ethel is feeling very blue - and it certainly doesn't help that she's spending the winter holidays in the depressingly drab village of Oxbury, while her family are off holidaying in sunny Australia. Left to her own devices, Ethel struggles to finish her thesis while the cold, wintry wind blows outside and the days continue to get shorter and darker. Staying inside proves to be unbearable, however, and Ethel escapes the confines of her family's home for a breath of fresh air. Going for a walk in the woods should be enough to invigorate her, and fill her with newfound passion for Romanticism. That was Ethel's plan, at least - but she wasn't counting on meeting a mysterious, dark-haired beauty in the woods, who is much more than she seems.