A downloadable game for Windows and macOS

'If this counsel or this work be of mortals, it will come to nought: but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.' - The Acts of the Apostles

The shining city of Neo Rome has stood for a thousand years, a bastion of truth and justice. But beneath this glorious dream of peace and prosperity lies a twisted nightmare: the city is ruled by demons who feast upon the helpless souls of humanity.

Slipping through the cracks between dream and nightmare, a young man comes face to face with the horrific truth. But gifted with mysterious powers of prophecy by the finger of God, can he and his allies overthrow this kingdom of demons and usher in the year of Jubilee?

FEATURES:

  • Attack and dethrone the demonic god of this world!
  • 10-15 hours of gameplay!
  • Challenging battles - exploit elemental weaknesses and inflict ailments while building up WRATH Power to unleash strategic skills!
  • 'Mercy' difficulty for those who prefer story!
  • Talk to your party members at any time!
  • Bonus dungeons, Colosseum sidequest, and collectibles!
  • Modern/dystopian setting!
  • Gratuitous Bible references!
  • Non-RTP music!
  • Gay people!!

PG-13. Content warnings: religion, violence (including off-screen violence against children), coarse language, alcohol references, death, and implied/off-screen cannibalism.

Made in RPG Maker MV. Usual system requirements apply.

NOTE: The Mac version is apparently a bit unreliable, but if you have trouble running it from the direct download you may have more luck downloading it through the itch.io app. There's no dedicated Linux version but I've been told you can run it through wine, although there are some graphical errors and no audio.

StatusReleased
PlatformsWindows, macOS
Rating
Rated 4.7 out of 5 stars
(7 total ratings)
Authorgayleviticus
GenreRole Playing
Made withRPG Maker
TagsDystopian, Fantasy, LGBT, religion, RPG Maker, Singleplayer, Story Rich, Turn-based
Average sessionA few hours
LanguagesEnglish
InputsKeyboard, Mouse

Download

Download
Jubilee v1_3_9 win.7z 373 MB
Download
Jubilee v1_3_9 mac.7z 471 MB
Download
Jubilee v1_3_8 win.zip 395 MB
Download
Jubilee v1_3_8 mac.zip 525 MB

Install instructions

Download the files, unzip, and click on Game.exe to play!

If you want to download the new version of the game and preserve your saves, just make sure to extract the unzipped files to the same directory you saved the older version so the new files overwrite the old.

If you want to be super certain your saves won't be erased, you can also copy the contents of www/saves in the old Jubilee folder to the same location in the new version.


I keep the latest 2 releases uploaded here just in case there's some new bug I didn't notice, but for the most part you should be good with the newest version.

Development log

Comments

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I wasn't sure what to expect when I downloaded this game but safe to say it surpassed all expectations I could have.

I really liked the game, it felt like a solid JRPG adventure with good mechanics that represented the plot. I like how you are always rewarded for exploring and revisiting places, the maps make sense and the way they connect makes you feel like you really come up a long way since the beginning. I also liked the difficulty of the game which makes it challenging but still not need to grind for hours on end. The only "issue" I experienced was some tilesetting that I could go through walls or walk on top of them but it never made me stuck on anything.
The characters are also very interesting, I thought Amos would have a much darker arc XD their dialogue is interesting to read and the "party talk" button is very appreciated. There are a lot of side quests that are there only by npc dialogue without pointers so it felt "organic" and more like a choice I did to go back and bring what they asked for which is nice. For the main quests, though, I would appreciate if the characters told me the directions again since it can be kinda confusing if you have to stop in the middle of a quest. 
End dungeons were challenging and fun, especially the extra one. Religious references went over my head but I had a lot of fun regardless. Congrats on the game, hope to see the possible sequel? in the future! 

Thank you so much for leaving a comment, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I see you picked up on the hints for Amos that went nowhere lol - my initial ideas of him going rogue or on some kind of revenge rampage ended up interrupting the flow of the story way too much (and honestly I felt I couldn't blame him if he decided to snap and go too far!) but I do feel like it kind've fizzles out in the end. But thank you for playing again! Hopefully someday the sequel (currently stuck at the 3rd dungeon for a while) will come out

[SPOILER] Hey, I love your game! I'm stuck in Sarah's house and I'm wondering if I can get a hint. I set the clock to 6:45, and clicked on the fireplace and saw there was a tunnel, but I couldn't put out the fire. Now I can't figure out anything else to do in the area.

If I recall correctly, you need to place the bread, wine and cooked steak on the dining room table.

(1 edit)

Sorry for the late reply, I hope it didn't scare you off the game! The other comment is right, you need to put the bread steak and wine on the table (you cook the steak in the oven.)

(3 edits)

Warning: MAJOR spoilers. Don't read if you haven't played it. Also I played the whole main game, but not the part you unlock after the ending, and I think there were a couple late-game side areas I didn't see. Anyway:

OH MY GOD this game is amazing! The Bible references may be a little much for some people, but I honestly loved them. I grew up fundamentalist - PCA, not Catholic, but still a very toxic abusive culture and belief system - so I like seeing those ideas deconstructed and reframed in a way that makes more sense, and this game absolutely does that. There's an underlying mentality of powerlessness and self-worthlessness in fundamentalist culture - a sort of double standard where unjust authorities are excused and even credited with safety and stability when it's there, but when their oppression is revealed and it's undeniable that they're profiting from the fear and submission of people under them, the cost of straying is too great and there's death and destruction around every corner, to the point where you can't even trust yourself and your knowledge. I grew up with a lot of that mentality, and I've seen people - especially in positions of power - with even more of it, and you absolutely NAILED it in this game. In the hospital, the staff keeps creating demons even when they know that's what they're doing; in the palace, everyone worships Sapphira out of fear of the demons even though she does nothing to help them, teaches them unconditional submission instead of protecting themselves and each other, and fills her palace with gold and ornate rooms while her people live in poverty.

The blood addiction she gives them and the amplified passions in the hospital are important images. A big part of toxic theology that people often take for granted is the lie that valuing yourself and being arrogant - or seeking freedom and seeking power - are the same, and particularly that freedom actually means doing what you're told, and slavery means making your own decision. In this game they're different. The emotions Babylon and the demons have - the "passions" they enslaved people to - are the thoughtless, power-seeking ones that come from shame and fear and hide behind a thin veil of confidence, and the desire to be actually free from them - the emotion that's like "One thing's for sure, I'm not putting up with THIS shit anymore" - that gives you power. When the voice calls out to a character and gives them Jubilee power, it always begins with a question implying that they're better than letting themselves die like this. And yet it never feels like a heavy-handed metaphor or 1:1 comparison with capitalism or real-world slavery. The oppression by the demons is its own thing with all the same foundational lies, and you've shown it brilliantly. You can tell how much care you've put into all the conversations, like with how repetitively the Babylon people ask you to join their side and tell you you have no hope, as if they're so unprepared for any opposition that they can't deviate from their one line of reasoning. I love all the main characters, but especially Leah. It's just too bad that her best lines are in an optional party dialogue (the one where she tells Miriam about good and bad people).

The one big thing about the story that I'm not sure about is that Babylon's propaganda is almost too true. The demons are so much stronger than non-Jubilee humans that even a small number of relatively weak ones could wipe out every human in Neo Rome if they wanted - they wouldn't, of course, because they need a stable human population to reproduce, but the humans don't know that, and even if they did, no amount of rebellion would stop them from killing all the rebels and replacing them with more subservient humans. And even though killing all those demons and taking down Babylon is necessary and ultimately succeeds, your party really doesn't address what will happen to everyone when the areas you take back get overrun by demons or suffer a similar fate. Like if you go back to Moab late in the game, it won't be overrun by demons, but almost everyone has either left or killed each other, presumably because they were still addicted to blood and Miriam turned it all into water. Which you can't really blame your party much for - it's not like they had the resources to help that many people individually or the time to quietly start a rebellion, especially when they were the only known people with Jubilee power - but it does kind of feel like Babylon was right about humans in general being helpless, it's just that now they're helpless and relying on you instead of being helpless and relying on Babylon.

The game also seems a little grindy and item-heavy, since it takes a while for Amos and Leah to reliably regenerate their JP during battle, and Miriam never really can since they have to swap it with their LP, which is never really safe when it's low, and Amos is rarely fast enough to heal them before an enemy attacks. So you basically have to use items after every battle for a good part of the game. There are a few bugs - the shops in Nineveh are blocked by lampposts on the sidewalk (but you can warp by then so it's no problem)(Edit: You actually can get to them), I'm pretty sure one of the item descriptions says HP instead of LP, copies of Micah's face replace your other party members' faces on the timeline in the final battle - but nothing that really affects the gameplay.

Which brings me to the ending, and HOLY SHIT I didn't expect it - you have to fight the literal devil, and it's someone who actually understands what kind of power you have and throws Micah's line back at you. It gets a little cliche in some parts, like when Miriam talks about working together and when you basically believe Babylon's power away, but honestly it kinda makes sense since their power is demonic, and it answered a question I had earlier in the game: If levels are measured by a character's faith, how come Amos thought God didn't care about him in Nod when he was near level 30 (for me at least)? Turns out it was because the level cap is 777, and you can only get it by trusting God through death. Which is honestly pretty relatable for me since I have OCD and a lot of intrusive thoughts - you can see tons of proof and evidence that something is true and reason it perfectly in your mind, but sometimes it's still hard to feel confident about it until you act on it.

Anyway, AMAZING job on the game. I just have 1 question, and maybe I just missed this, but do we ever see who it is that dragged us into the Nightmare originally?

(+1)

Thank you so much for the review! You're not missing much from the post-game, it's just a vague sequel hook (and anything there would end up being clearly repeated in the sequel)

I really love your analysis here, it hit exactly what I was going for - even a few things I wasn't consciously thinking about but make so much sense (like the contrast between the genuine freedom of Jubilee and the self-serving freedom of the demons). I questioned myself a lot over whether it was too heavy-handed, too gratuitously grim at times, or conversely too 'power of friendship' cliche, so I'm glad to hear you felt it wasn't too heavy-handed.

In re: Babylon's propaganda being too true - you've actually touched on something here I felt too. Part of the reason why it's such a hero-centric narrative is just practicality - it's easier to deal with a small cast, it fits the RPG fantasy, and I found it a tad easier to avoid the maudlin sentimentality of 'every single character teams up and uses the power of friendship to fight the bad guys' - but you're right, I did feel it ends up sort've... overlooking the power of ordinary people to fight back?

I guess thematically I would say the big flashy magic powers represent you know, the kind of decisive salvation only God can bring, and it's only once that happens (i.e. after the game) that people have the genuine freedom to act for themselves, to rebuild, to choose good. But I definitely did feel unsure how to approach this, while maintaining the style/fantasy/pacing of the game, so I get what you're saying.

I didn't realise the Nineveh bug was a problem whoops, I'll have a look. Getting the ending sequence to not override the other party members with Micah's face was such a pain for some reason, I thought it was gone LOL. Thanks for the heads up! And I'm glad you enjoyed the ending! Yeah it does become a bit cliched, but I felt it was important to hammer home the fundamental heart of the demons was accepting the lies - of scarcity, safety, security etc.

I actually didn't think of an answer to who drags Micah into the Nightmare. I suppose you could ultimately just blame it on God, but I guess I assumed it was just a malfunction. Every lie has its holes, every idyllic society has its cracks. No matter how much you whitewash a tomb, it still stinks of death. So yeah, there's no specific secret about who was responsible.

Thank you so much for playing and for the review!

(1 edit) (+1)

I found Jubilee to be a most enjoyable game. I've been suffering on and off with anxiety and depression for several months and Neo Rome's Dream (Utopia) and Nightmare (Dystopia) dimensions that the four heroes travel between are much like the good and rotten moods I've been going through. Even though it may sound odd, I like exploring the dirty, demon-infested nightmare dimension more than the safe and clean dream dimension. I'll admit that the Dream dimension side quest puzzles in Sara's mansion were cool. (Cooking a steak in the oven and setting the clock etc.)

I'm a proponent for gay rights and homosexuality in general, so a game with several gay characters gets a thumbs up from me. Jubilee also has a strong religious theme to it, which is odd considering most (not all) Christians oppose homosexuality. I made an RPG myself (Colinbound, a hack of Earthbound) long ago and one of the quests is to rescue a PC from the clutches of a homophobic christian cult. But this isn't a theological or moral debate, rather this is a review of a game.

Graphics, sound and music in Jubilee are all great, but characters look they all came from the same game asset with just new hair color and skin tone. The main character has no spoken lines which, I feel, is out of place considering all of his friends get plenty of lines and have distinct personalities. Perhaps Gay Leviticus was going for the silent Chrono-like protagonist.

Overall, Jubilee's worth playing and scores up there with other PRG greats like Umbral Soul, Mojique, Cope Island and Flip Dimensions.


Edit: I also found a bug. Go to Nightmare dimension's Street from City Hall and go South to the Hidden Market, from there go West to the Industrial District, turn around and go right back to the Hidden Market. From here you'll notice that the weather stays rainy wherever you go (even inside buildings like the Clinic or City Hall). Using Micah's warp magic seems to fix it though.

(+1)

Hey, thanks for taking the time to comment! I really appreciate it! Unfortunately I wasn't able to get custom assets for the game, although I'm considering commissioning some faces at least for a sequel maybe. I actually agree the silent protagonist is a bit disappointing - to be honest, I just found it super hard to write him with lines, for whatever reason, so I figured I'd just give the other characters more personality to compensate. And thanks for the bug report, the weather was kind've a pain to get right so I'll have a look into it.