Welcome to Hush House, where books are memory that does not die.
- Shutter the windows against the sea. Bank the fire against the cold. Listen to the rain rattle on the roof, while you slide books one by one into their ancient nests…
Book of Hours is a Construction and Management Game from Weather Factory, a studio founded by Alexis Kennedy (formerly of Failbetter Games), and a sequel to Weather Factory's previous game, Cultist Simulator.
You are a nameless individual who has been appointed as the Librarian of Hush House, an ancient manor situated on the isolated isle of Brancrug and one of the nine sites sanctioned by the Hours as a repository of arcane lore. As Librarian, you are tasked with finding and cataloguing the books of the house to rebuild and organize the collection, and to do so, you will have to restore Hush House to its former glory following a fire seven years before you were appointed. Alas, your mission begins on a bad note as you wake up ashore after a dire storm, your memories scattered.
Book of Hours revolves around the management of your resources, from your money to your memories, which are presented in the form of cards. To accomplish anything, you must use the right cards together in the right slots of any action prompt, or desks which serve as your workstations. In doing so, the Librarian can investigate the books and try to comprehend them, acquire and level up skills, craft teas, potions or instruments, talk to people, and unlock more rooms from Hush House. Beyond that, you are free to advance and discover the game at your own pace, and you are free to decide what kind of Librarian you want to be and how much you want to influence the outside world.
The game was launched on Steam
and GOG on 17 August 2023.
Book of Hours has examples of the following tropes:
- Abusive Parents: The Prodigal Librarian's parents are Longs, aka immortals, who are uncontrollably driven to commit The Crime of the Sky, devouring them and becoming Alukites as all immortal beings who have offspring with other immortals are compelled to. How the Librarian managed to survive to presumed adulthood is unclear (although they mention crossing three oceans and nearly drowning in another and there's one case mentioned in CS where a Long incorrectly believed both their children had died in childbirth and only went after the surviving twin after learning they existed), but Hush House is a safe haven (for now), and may even show them a way to defend themselves. They appear to have been Lantern-Longs as a couple of Prodigal endings mention that they serve The Watchman.
- Amnesiac Hero: The Librarian starts the game washed ashore after a storm and they have no recollection of their identity for the moment. It takes a bit of time to consult the journal the Librarian was clutching in their hands to have a general sense of who they are and where they're coming from.
- Anatomy of the Soul: Referred to as the "elements" of the soul, in gameplay terms, each of these is a resource that recovers each day and needs to be expended in order to perform practically any task, and each one has two principles (see below), one stronger and one weaker, that make it more suited to some tasks than others. They are:
- Chor - exuberance, instinct, and rhythm, strong in the Heart and weak in the Grail.
- Shapt - eloquence and understanding, strong in the Knock and weak in the Forge.
- Fet - the part which walks in dreams, strong in the Rose and weak in the Moth.
- Ereb - pride, compassion, hatred and fear, strong in the Grail and weak in the Edge.
- Trist - change and longing, strong in the Moth and weak in the Moon.
- Mettle - will and self-discipline, strong in the Forge and weak in the Edge.
- Phost - sight, perception, and inspiration, strong in the Lantern and weak in the Sky.
- Wist - name and memory, strong in the Winter and weak in the Lantern.
- Health - dwelling place of the soul. As an exception to the rest, it's equally weak in Heart, Nectar and Scale, and thus unsuitable to purely mental exercises.
- The Atoner:
- The Archaeologist Librarian opened a tomb and unleashed an ancient plague. In despair, they have travelled to Hush House, a place where they can isolate themselves and possibly find some way to make amends for their deed.
- The Executioner Librarian worked for the Suppression Bureau to eliminate all sorts of supernatural threats. Wracked by guilt, they have travelled to Hush House to atone for their crimes, and to ensure that those whose lives they took are remembered.
- Arc Number: Nine. There are nine elements of the soul, nine wisdoms, nine backstories for the Librarian, and the season of Numa occurs every nine seasons. Additionally, the Sky Stories skill mentions the "nine winds." There are also ninety-nine non-secret endings.
- Beneath the Earth: In the lower levels of Hush House, even below the cellar, the Librarian may eventually find whole shrines dedicated to the Hours and long abandoned Torture Cellars full of skeletons, with rooms being ossuaries decorated with bones.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: In the Deeplight Caves, one can observe a giant Hermit Crab in the water. It is remarkable by its size, as it is roughly the size of a cupboard, but the Librarian cannot interact with it, and it is merely part of the background.
- Big Fancy House: Hush House, a great manor dating from the Middle Ages at least, is set to become your residence. A lot of the game is about exploring its dozens of opulent rooms decorated with luxurious furniture, intricate instruments and various works of art.
- Bizarre Seasons: Every nine seasons Brancrug spends a day in the Numa season, during which many extraordinary events occur. Mist covers the isle, unique flowers bloom in the garden, the vegetables grow quite rapidly but taste off, and strange pilgrims come to the bar. It is a rare event and the Librarian has a unique opportunity to harvest and scrounge for items, but it offers its share of dangers as well.
- Bizarro Elements:
- Much like in Cultist Simulator, cards are defined by different principle aspects which represent fundamental ideas of the world.
- Forge is the principle of transformation and destruction. It is associated with fire, artisans, metal, and forges.
- Lantern is the principle of light and knowledge. It is strongly associated with the Mansus, thinkers, and philosophers. It is most useful for discovering things, notably when they are hidden or secret.
- Moth is the principle of confusion, chaos and yearning. It is strongly associated with humans, the Wood, and self-change (even cutting one's hair is associated with Moth).
- Grail is the principle of lust and hunger. Hedonism, birth, blood, feasts and any kind of excess is associated with Grail.
- Heart is the principle of continuation and preservation. It is strongly associated with life, music, and dance, and can be useful for dispelling curses.
- Winter is the principle of silence, of endings and of things that are not quite dead. It is associated with anything about death and cold.
- Edge is the principle of struggle, conflict, and violence. It is associated with violent phenomena, from battle to hail, and is most commonly invoked among those who like to fight and kill.
- Knock is the principle of openings. Associated with keys, scars, wounds, and anything that opens, it is one of the strongest aspects.
- In addition to the eight from the original game, Book of Hours adds five additional aspects:
- Sky is the principle of balance and harmony. It is associated with weather, creatures of the air, and the laws of the universe.
- Moon is the principle of secrets and things forgotten, strongly related to night and the ocean.
- Scale is a remnant of the powers of old earth and is associated with resilience and resistance to change. As might be expected, it's associated with the element of earth, and the beasts which dwell upon it.
- Nectar is associated with things in nature which grow and develop in cycles, such as plants and the seasons, and the nourishment which can be derived from them.
- Finally, Rose, the aspect that incorporates the secret knowledge of the occult and alternate dimensions, and covers exploration and possibility.
- Burn Baby Burn: One way to dispose of unwanted or even dangerous items is to throw them into a fireplace.
- But I Read a Book About It: The Librarian's main method of acquiring and gaining more understanding of skills as diverse as surgery or glassblowing to reading omens in the sky is... to read books about them. It is implied that practice is required to actually level up skills with the understanding you acquire by reading books, however.
- Classical Tongue: The Librarian, being a learned scholar, starts out already able to read Latin, Greek, Sanskrit, Phrygian, and Aramaic. Even more exotic languages like Vak and Deep Mandaic will require lessons.
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience: The various aspects most cards and items that have to do with them are color-coded to make it easier to see what they are at a glance. Grail is bright red, Heart is pink, Forge is orange, Edge is pea green, Nectar is emerald green, Moth is cream, Moon is silvery-gray, Knock is purple, Lantern is bright yellow, Winter is pale blue, Sky is dark blue, Scale is brown, and Rose is magenta.
- Zig-zagged with the books themselves; while most books have a sleeve which matches the colour of the aspect required to master them, there are several where this is not the case. The first two volumes of "Travelling at Night", which are always available as soon as Hush House is reached, both have purple sleeves, but only one of the requires Knock, with the other needing Sky to unlock.
- Commonplace Rare: Some objects that you would assume to be easy-to-acquire are instead very hard to get and valuable; for instance, a mop and bucket (valuable as a tool to enhance Heart, which can be used over and over for a variety of purposes) could potentially require unlocking most of the house and breaking numerous curses to reach.
- Crystal Landscape: The Rowenarium situated deep in the caverns beneath Hush House is a large room covered in huge shining white crystals. However, spirits lurk inside the crystals and the Librarian and assistant must be careful when carving their way in. Once inside, the Librarian can admire the vistas of a humongous cavern room covered in man-sized crystals as well as use the shrine located there.
- Curse:
- If a room in the house isn't unsafe to enter due to simply being in disrepair, it's probably unsafe to enter because it's been cursed. Either way, you'll need some assistance from someone with the right aspects in order to clear it out.
- Additionally, some books carry some form of corruption or infestation, which sometimes means a curse. They carry the risk of damaging some of your stats if you try to read them without first removing the curse.
- Deus est Machina: The Forge-aspect endings mention the Gods-From-Steel, who did not exist according to a lamp you can examine. It is implied they are born from technology, industrialization, and the totality of industrial war expressed in World War II. As well, it's said they can bring about the Second Dawn.
- Double-Meaning Title: "Book of Hours" can refer to a prayer book in Christian tradition (in-universe main religion isn't Christianity, but it borrows a lot of trappings from it), a catalogue of the gods, who are collectively named Hours, or to Librarian's efforts at rewriting history with their journal.
- Extranormal Prison: Cliffside of Hush House stands Brancrug Gaol, a wing of the castle that the Suppression Bureau's precursor had turned into a prison for all occult troublemakers they could capture, from simple occultists and people incautious with their dreams to more extraordinary inmates like an Edge dyad, Longs or Labhites. They had tailor-made prisons protected with silver bars and spells, and the Governor Collers occasionally used torture to rehabilitate his inmates, along with more distinctly supernatural forms of rehabilitation. Then the Name of the Chandler being kept in the basement escaped and killed everyone in the prison, starting the fire that leads your character to become the new Librarian.
- Fictional Currency: Spintriae function as an obscure currency to trade for anything that directly has to do with the occult, which in the game's case is to buy occult books and to pay for lessons in the more esoteric languages. They come in iron, bronze, tin, silver and gold spintriae.
- Imperfect Ritual: Reading a book ideally involves 1) Considering the book, 2) Adding an Element of Soul, a skill, and a memory the three of whose total in one Principle matches or exceeds the level of the Aspect of the book you want to read, 3) Enjoying your new skill or lesson after a short interval. However, most books (at least initially) are going to be of a higher difficulty number than you can manage with those things. However, all hope is not lost as if your total is lower than the total of the book as you'll enter a timed minigame wherein you'll have three opportunities to cobble together enough extra Principle to pass. The form of opportunities is random, ranging from using an Element of Soul or memory to boost the number, to having to find a piece of furniture or wall art or an ingredient, item, or drink with the essence of the Principle, or even just randomly entering a mood which hopefully raises the relevant scores. Essentially the Librarian is running around the place scrutinizing everything in a mad rush, cobbling together suitable inspiration/frames of reference to fill in the gaps in their understanding so they can actually complete the book, and this inspiration can take the form of things like pinches of salt or flowers or the feeling of a chair with the right Aspect or a beverage which evokes the Aspect, etc.
- Item Crafting: One of the new mechanics of the game is item crafting. The Librarian can craft a variety of items, beverages, special food, inks, tools and so on in Hush House using the many workstations situated inside. This include the house's many desks to the kitchen ranges to an autopsy table or even an alchemical desk. The workstations accept different types of cards and only a few aspects so it is often necessary to choose the right workstation for advanced crafting. For instance, there is no point trying to use wood with the Barber's Chair.
- Go Mad from the Revelation: Downplayed in three examples:
- The Symurgist Librarian overheard the songs of the aviform Hours, something they were warned would drive them mad. Not only did this not happen, but the Symurgist's goal is to discover the things they know they didn't hear in the songs.
- Any Librarian's Phost (perception, inspiration etc.) can become corrupted by curses and become "fascinated"; having seen too far, they can't get their mind off of what they saw. In gameplay terms, this only means that the affected Phost card can't be used until cured. The Librarian can carry on with other tasks no worse for wear.
- A side effect from failing to read a book properly can cause one of your Elements of Soul to be Maladied in some manner. In some cases, this reduces its usefulness, but it's not all bad. The damaged Element can still be used in certain situations (like re-reading a book to get a memory or crafting) and cannot be exhausted. Plus, some damaged elements have a different Principle from the one they had before, which can be useful if it's something like Scale or Nectar, which only appear on the Health card otherwise.
- Lighter and Softer: In both content and gameplay, Book of Hours is this to Cultist Simulator.
- While the protagonist of Cultist Simulator was a Villain Protagonist who would likely commit multiple murders and kidnappings in order to fuel their ascension, the Librarian mostly just explores Hush House and catalogues its many books without really harming anyone.
- In terms of gameplay, Cultist Simulator is a game of balancing many plates while under constant pressure, with many playthroughs expected to end in failure on your path to ascension. Book of Hours, while still purposefully obtuse, gives you the luxury of figuring things out at your own pace with the assurance there will always be some way forward.
Go quietly. Book of Hours is not a punishing game, unless you want it to be. - Living Shadow: As part of the curse they unleashed the Archaeologist Librarian has one. Or is one? They're not sure which is which and they'd really like to know.
- Magical Library: Hush House is one of nine places sanctioned by the Hours to accumulate occult knowledge. As such, it has accumulated dozens of books about the occult over the years and the Librarian can add to the collection by buying books from Oriflamme's Auction House. This also means that the Librarian will receive visitors who wish to consult the knowledge inside.
- Magic Music: Music can be a powerful Memory card, providing a significant amount of aspect and make a difference during crafting. For instance, the Thundeskin Paean can provide 4 Heart.
- Multiple-Choice Past: At the start of the game, choosing which soul cards to take end up giving the Librarian a specific background out of several, which will affect the endings you get.
- The Archaeologist dug too deep and unleashed a curse that stuck to them. They're in Hush House to isolate themselves and prevent it from spreading.
- The Artist came to Hush House to create a masterpiece.
- The Cartographer came to Hush House to complete a special map.
- The Magnate was once rich and once poor, but always felt they were missing something and came to Hush House to find it.
- The Prodigal is the child of two Longs who came to Hush House to hide from their parents.
- The Executioner once worked with the Suppression Bureau and now regrets it. They're going to Hush House to atone.
- The Symurgist tried something said to make you Go Mad from the Revelation... and wasn't impressed. They're in Hush House to learn the things they know they didn't hear before.
- The Revolutionary came to Hush House to overthrow the Suppression Bureau and make the occult widely known.
- The Twice-Born was a Mansus spirit who took human form. Now they can't return to the Mansus or stay in the world, so they're at Hush House to Take a Third Option.
- Multiple Endings: As with its predecessor. Book of Hours, however, has ninety-nine non-secret endings—with several for each Librarian origin.
- History: Most endings, consisting of The Librarian writing a new History in their journal. This has the most variations, depending on the Numa and Aspect you choose and your backstory (certain Librarians get special endings for certain Numa). You can make Port Noon a sanctuary, make the Carapace Cross return, become part of the 'City Never', create the City Ys, colonize the House of the Moon, bring the Gods-From-Stone back, accelerate the Second Dawn, imprison the Watchman so it never happens, and more.
- Pale, invoking Winter instead of a History. Quite possibly the 'true' ending.
- Ace of Cups/Evening Falls: The Librarian chooses a simple life inside Hush House, living with their books, their clock, and their fire. The ambitions they may have had when entering may be unfulfilled, but they have found happiness and contentment nonetheless and know they will pass on with a smile on their face. The game mentions that while there are greater victories to be had, this may be considered the "best" ending.
- Mysterious Employer: St. Rhonwen's Trust is a mysterious organization that has hired the Librarian to catalogue the books of Hush House. Contact with them is sparse, information about them is scarce, and you'll only know them through correspondence and the payment they provide to you each spring. They're cheapskates, too.
- No Name Given: The Librarian's name isn't given, nor the names of the assistants you can hire at The Sweet Bones. Only their occupations.
- Non-Player Companion: To open up each room of Hush House, the Librarian must use assistance from a non-player character. You usually have one friend who's happy to help you for free, but all other assistants will have to be paid, and all will leave at the next dawn. It is possible to hire the denizens of Brancrug Village, but you can also meet misfits and other strangers at the inn who have much stronger aspects.
- Non-Standard Game Over: Burning your journal will cause this, although the game does warn you about it.
- Overly Long Name: Daymare's real name is Gräfinnote Friederike Dagmar Sophia Theresia Helena Benigna von Nagelsburg. She would rather not be called that.
- Power-Up Food: The Librarian can create and gather various foods and drinks which can boost certain aspects of those to whom the Librarian gives the drink. It is useful for the more complex tasks who require higher levels of aspects.
- Pupating Peril: In one of the cells of Brancrug Gaol stands a great purple chrysalis larger than a man. Something undefined lays dormant inside it and it may wreak havoc when it awakens. However, you can use it as a workstation for your rituals too.
- Psychoactive Powers: The Librarian's mood is represented through cards like "Memory: Fear", or "Memory: Satisfaction", which also possess some aspects. One can use the cards for different purposes, notably boost an assistant.
- Randomly Generated Loot: The Librarian can scrounge stuff by walking in the moor East of Brancrug Village or walking by the sea in St. Brandan's Cove. They always find things, but the loot is randomly generated and can be as various as sand, animal remains or even abandoned packages containing food or more exotic items. Later, The Librarian can also scrounge stuff by the cliffs near the sea among a colony of gulls, or in a cavern that used to be underwater.
- Renovating the Player Headquarters: After the fire Hush House has been completely sealed off, down to individual rooms, and it is up to the Librarian to restore the manor room by room. They constantly need assistance from the villagers for this to unlock and clear out rooms. However, more esoteric nuisances than mere rubble will block your path as you advance further inside. Deeper in the house lie several workbenches or similar equipment which will allow the Librarian to do more, notably crafting.
- Resting Recovery: The Librarian can use their bed to rest any fatigued element of the soul with any drink, which can be useful to make the most of their day. Moreover, resting in bed is also the way to cure maladies, although the Librarian then needs to provide enough of the good aspect as well via Skills, Memories or Drinks.
- Rewriting Reality: The gist of all major victories is for the Librarian to rewrite history with a History of their own and present it at the tree behind Hush House during Numa. In doing so, they create a new history from scratch with fundamental changes in how the Hours acted.
- Riches to Rags: The Magnate Librarian describes feeling as through something was missing when they were rich, but still feeling that something was missing after no longer being in possession of their fortune, coming to Hush House in the hopes of finding peace of mind at last.
- Small, Secluded World: Downplayed. The Librarian is set to spend the entirety of the game on the small Isle of Brancrug, which is quite isolated, but there is still one post office where one can correspond with the outside world, in addition to the telegraph and a telephone available to the postmistress. Occasionally but only occasionally you will receive visitors from the outside world or hear about news from beyond the waters around Brancrug.
- Story Breadcrumbs: There are snippets of lore everywhere for each room, skill, down to individual pieces of furniture. Eventually, one can piece together the story of Hush House through the centuries.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Secret Histories from Cultist Simulator is no longer present, but one of the new principles, Rose, has the same color and association with travel, though unlike Secret Histories Rose functions the same as all of the other principles. Secret Histories itself only makes a cameo as an aspect on the Tree of Wisdoms, covered almost completely and sealed with a Suppression Bureau stamp. It appears to be primarily associated with Birdsong, Preservation, and Horomachistry.
- Take a Third Option: The Twice-Born Librarian's goal. They were a bodiless immortal in the House of the Sun, but had to take physical form as a human to take care of a task. Now if they return to the House of the Sun, they'll be hunted down and punished. If they stay as a human, they'll be hunted down and devoured. They're looking for a third choice and came to Hush House to try and find one.
- Tarot Motifs: Each ending where you write a new History has one of thirteen possible Tarot cards associated with it, with the specific card you get being determined by which aspect and Numen you use.
- Tome of Eldritch Lore: Since you manage an occult library, this trope applies to nearly every book in the game.
- Uniqueness Rule: You cannot have two of the same exact Memory in your inventory. If you obtain a duplicate, the one you had before will vanish.
- Unusual Pets for Unusual People: The librarian can collect a number of different animals, ranging from the mundane (cats, chickens, a dog) to the somewhat more exotic (seagulls, snakes) to the outright fantastical. The last group typically needs to be made by the Librarian infusing mundane eggs with certain occult principles.
- You Wake Up on a Beach: The game starts this way, with the Librarian waking up in St Brandan's Cove after being swept up by a storm.
