Balancing dreams and family pulls at the heart of this indie adventure. You guide novelist Dan Kaplan through his toughest summer yet in a remote coastal home, where he juggles his career-defining book with duties as husband and father. A ghostly presence lets you peer into the family's thoughts, roam their memories, reveal hidden desires, and subtly shape their paths-all while remaining unseen.
Choices ripple through Dan's bonds with his work, wife, and son, sparking fresh events each playthrough. Every decision carries weight, with no simple fixes in sight. Casual players drawn to thoughtful, replayable tales will find their own reflections in the Kaplans' evolving lives.
The Novelist asks one central question: can you achieve your dreams without pushing away the people you love? The game focuses on Dan Kaplan, a novelist struggling to write the most important book of his career while trying to be the best husband and father he can be. The Kaplans have come to a remote coastal home for the summer, unaware that they’re sharing the house with a mysterious ghostly presence: you.
Read the family’s thoughts. Explore their memories. Uncover their desires and intervene in their lives. But stay out of sight; you can’t help the Kaplans if they know there’s a ghost in the house. It’s up to you to decide how Dan’s career and family life will evolve, but choose carefully; there are no easy answers, and every choice has a cost.
Dan’s relationships – to his work, his wife, and his son – react and shift in response to your choices. With a different sequence of events in every playthrough, The Novelist gives life to a unique experience each time you play.
The decisions you make will define the Kaplans’ lives, but they may also tell you something about yourself.
