Hyas: The Side Effects Within

Hyas: The Side Effects Within is a narrative-driven puzzle game about Veloria, a high school girl who wakes in a world that feels both familiar and alien. Following fragments of her memory, she solves puzzles and meets strangers who seem oddly recognizable, seeking a way out and answers to who she is and why she has returned.

Veloria wakes outside a gloomy orphanage as ashes swirl through the air. The real orphanage burned down years ago; the building before her is a distorted reality assembled from shards of memory. She enters to uncover what happened, exploring its darkness by candlelight and pursuing truths buried in the past.

Explore shifting realities

You explore, solve puzzles woven into the level design, and use mechanics that shift between memory and reality to move the story forward. The game also includes stealth and intense chase sequences, alongside expressive CG scenes and visual effects. Its art style is defined by a sense of translucency.

The characters

Veloria is timid and introverted, avoids social interaction and struggles to express her emotions, often appearing cold. She has a kind heart and persists when something matters to her. As a child, she grows close to Ethan, who is soft-spoken, gentle and passionate; his maturity makes him her confidant, and he relies deeply on her. He savors the amber candy Veloria gave him until its sourness erodes his teeth and the taste of rust fills his mouth, reminding him of her hair.

Grace harbors secrets connected to Grace's Home. She appears as a doll, moves with great difficulty, carries herself arrogantly and likes colorful things. Ella has Porcelain Doll Syndrome (Osteogenesis Imperfecta), is paralyzed from the waist down and confined to her bed. She wears a gentle smile, is unusually mature for her age, rarely shows intense emotion and treats Veloria with exceptional kindness.

Grian is the only teacher at Grace's Home, where all the children adore him. Though an adult, he has a childlike heart and often seems naively innocent. He tells corny jokes that few find funny, except for Veloria. Vianna claims to be Veloria's best friend.