"If they call me wicked for following my heart, then so be it."
Wicked Willow
is a Queer Romance Visual Novel by T.F. Wright, released on June 2, 2020.
Willow is a judgmental atheist with a tragic past, who has awakened innate magical powers after a brush with death. However, despite her newfound power as a "wicked" witch, her situation (and attitude) struggles to improve. She's joined on her journey by her best friend Avery, too-cheery Christian Lydia, self-appointed mentor Tanya, nun-turned-succubus Xarsi, and an annoying talking cat named Shadow.
Tropes:
- Choice-and-Consequence System: It's stated right on the store page that every choice will cause a new branch in the story. Subverted in Lydia's ending; she uses her Anti-Magic powers to block the consequences, allowing Willow to prevent the end of the world.
- Gayngst: Wicked Willow is set in 1993, during the time when the community was just coming out of the shadows. The story tackles topics ranging from sexual repression to gender identity to conversion therapy.
- Multiple Endings: There are 8 unique plot paths, each of which has an ending and associated Steam achievement.
- Naughty Nuns: Xarsi, who still wears robes covered in crosses even after her conversion.
- Not Quite the Right Thing: All over the place, both played straight and zigzagged. Every use of magic can backfire, and numerous seemingly innocent choices (like healing Avery's liver) have negative consequences for at least some people.
- Shout-Out: Xarsi quotes a line attributed to Mark Twain to describe her attitude: "Heaven for climate, Hell for company."
- Stable Time Loop: The entire game is ultimately one, in an endless "Groundhog Day" Loop, but most notably there's the explanation for where Xarsi came from: she's fictional, but after being wished into existence in one route, she shows up in another specifically because Willow and Tanya set here there for the next go-around.
- Story Branching: There's an unlockable "Choice Map" of all the story's branches to help find all routes.
- Talking Animal: Shadow. He immediately and freely admits to being cursed into that form.
- Trapped in TV Land: Or rather, trapped by a wish in Avery's Dryads & Demons game.
- Traumatic Superpower Awakening: Willow's brush with death awakens her before-unknown magical powers, instigating the main story.
