Young Hearts

Young Hearts is a visual novel set in Yuzhnogorsk, a university town among the hills and mountains in the south of the country. Winter lasts no longer than a week, while summer lasts six months. You play as Maxim Anisimov, a prospective student who has come from Siberia to study and search for his childhood friends Chris and Sasha, who ran away from home three years earlier.

As Max gets to know the town and its residents, he encounters stories about a graffiti queen from the local anticafe, an explosion at an abandoned movie theater and the sudden disappearance of the town’s best pianist. He may also find the mysterious theater master Chris and Sasha were seeking, known as “The Master of the Given Circumstances.”

Stories and choices

The plot consists of a prologue and four stories, each connected in some way to one of the girls who befriends Max. Your choices determine which girl you learn more about and how their shared adventures end. The game currently contains two complete stories, alongside a prologue that introduces the main characters and plot.

Forte’s story

Anya Fortova, usually called Forte, is a first-year architecture student and Max’s groupmate. She is an energetic optimist who rides her skateboard around Yuzhnogorsk and also sings. Like Max, she moved to the town from elsewhere a few years ago, but is reluctant to talk about how her warm youth began, at least on their first walk.

Her story, “Youth-Adolescence Beyond the Northern Snow,” takes about 4–6 hours to read and has three endings.

Kathrin’s story

Kathrin Richter is a first-year journalism student from Germany. Aristocratic and often daydreaming, she enjoys being alone, but also visits busy places around town to drink coffee and watch people, gathering ideas for her writing. A year ago, she spent whole days playing board games and hiking in the Yuzhnogorsk hills with friends from the “To Samoe” anticafe. Her story explores whether she admits how much she misses that past, or whether memories of an old friendship have become anchors holding her back.

“The Black Hearts Ocean” takes about 6–9 hours to read and has three endings.

Nika and Dasha

Two other stories feature pianist Veronika Sennhova and Dasha Grafova, Max’s school friend and an artist. They cover more of Yuzhnogorsk’s history, theater and jazz, and may reveal more about Max’s missing friends.