A night of fun turns into a night of horror when you find yourself trapped in a never-ending carnival as the most death-prone college student ever!
Harlequinade is a timeloop horror romance visual novel about a college student trapped in a carnival that resets every time they die. Can you trust the clowns there to help you see the day through?
In this preview of the carnival you can customize your protagonist from two character looks with a changeable name and pronouns, meet the two male love interests at the carnival — the Harlequin and the Pierrot — and die several times. The demo is an hour long, though it may run longer if you stream it. The full game is planned for January to February 2027, will not be NSFW or 18+, and is set to have at least two endings for both the Harlequin's and the Pierrot's routes plus several dead ends.
Content warnings: the game features murder, killing, death in a variety of ways (car crashes, electrocution, and similar), and suicide. None of it is displayed or written in graphic detail, but the developer advises playing it only if you are an older teen or up. A Kickstarter is planned, and streaming the demo is explicitly welcome.
How to Play
Work through the carnival night and its encounters. Your choices shape how the two love interests — the Harlequin and the Pierrot — treat you, and dying restarts the night, so each loop is a fresh attempt to see it through. Pick your protagonist's look, name, and pronouns at the start, and try the other route if you finish one.
Controls
See the original itch.io page for the developer's control notes.
Tips & Tricks
Death is the mechanic, not a failure — the carnival resets and you get another read of the night.
The demo runs about an hour, so budget for a single sitting (longer if you are streaming it).
At least two endings are planned for each of the two routes, plus dead ends, so the demo is only a slice of the story.
Features
Free browser demo of a timeloop horror romance visual novel
Made with Ren'Py
Two male love interests: the Harlequin and the Pierrot
Player chooses a changeable name, pronouns, and one of two protagonist looks
Death resets the carnival night into a new loop
Content warnings for murder, death in a variety of ways, and suicide (not graphic)
Full game planned for January to February 2027, and not NSFW or 18+
At least two endings planned per route, plus several dead ends
Streaming the demo is explicitly permitted
Kickstarter planned with physical copies, keychains, and acrylic stands
Latest Updates
Added to PlayBloo
A timeloop horror romance where the carnival resets every time you die — and the clowns want to help.. Discovered on itch.io's new releases feed and added to the PlayBloo catalogue with verified source details.
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