Dead Man's Rest

In Dead Man's Rest, players transform into bounty hunters and journey to a remote town to find their enemies and fulfill their lifelong goal of revenge. There, they'll encounter diverse characters, sharing their lives and adventures as they uncover clues to their enemies' whereabouts. Ultimately, they'll achieve revenge and find sweet love and friendship. Each character in the game has their own unique storyline, and the player's choices and the level of affection they develop between them will profoundly impact the game's outcome.

Story:

1879, Golder's Rock. On a clear, moonless night in high summer, the stifling heat coils around a small town in the heartland of the Arizona Territory. Not a single lick of a breeze whistles through the dark, dusty main road, as silent as death itself.

After tracking down an old enemy for eight long years, lone bounty hunter Lee "Blackjack" McCarthy has finally pinned down his target—his eyes set only on vengeance for a past he can't forget.

But when the town mayor is ruthlessly murdered on that fateful, sweltering  night, Lee's plan suddenly stops dead in its tracks.

Suspected of the killing, forced to remain in town under watch, and desperate for the opportunity to catch his quarry, Lee has no choice but to work with the townsfolk he trusts—each with their own buried pasts and agendas—to reveal the truth and clear his name.

Then, and only then, can Lee finally chase his real target...and lay to rest the ghost that haunts his memories.

Jump into a whirlwind Western mystery as Lee finds both lovers and enemies among the mysterious townsfolk, discovers the dark truths hidden in Golder's Rock, and ultimately takes revenge on the murderer who destroyed his life.

Comments:

It's honestly weird to find a yaoi game without sexual content, especially one where the characters are well and truly adults, and despite any reservations they might have due to homophobic society or opinions you'd think they'd feel compelled. I don't know how I feel about it.

from the perspective of someone who doesn't play a lot of dating sims (not ZERO, but... not a lot) and hopped on board with this one immediately due to a love of Gay Cowboy Stories: this one really hits for me! the music is fitting, the UI is simple but charming, and the writing has a lot of heart and humor. there's a dignity to the characters' sexualities - and resulting struggles - as well that isn't super common in m/m writing! i particularly appreciate the commitment to addressing the homophobia & anti-indigenous racism of the time, including historical footnotes in the latter case; as a disclaimer, i haven't seen taza's full route yet, but i'm used to dismissing a good half of any story like this for doing way less than DMR tried to do.overall punchy and fun, and each route felt unique to me. (i still haven't found bill's in all this time, but I WILL. i love a greaseball cowboy, and no amount of dead ends can keep me from this one. yeehaw.)

A Wild West themed story of love, murder and revenge. You get to play as Lee "Blackjack" McCarthy, a bounty hunter, who has been after an outlaw called Wild Bill for 8 years of his life. He tracks him down to a small town in the heartland of the Arizona Territory, Golder's Rock, where he plans to put an end to the wild goose chase.Dead Man's Rest is a story about a special kind of love, homosexuality, a total taboo in a time where heterosexuality was the overwhelming factor and you could get jail time for being yourself openly. The game has 5 love interests, each being variably different from each other, but keep the characters consistency almost each time.It does an amazing job at being faithful to old western culture that involves your standard by the book sheriff, trifles with Native Americans, and some small scenes of gunfighting. It also does an excellent job at adding in the romance aspect as-well. It feels down to earth and realistic, with morals that reflected the time back then whether it be about sexuality or your culture, and how people would have reacted.

Developer Notes:

After a long stretch, we finally finished up all the routes for Dead Man's Rest!

Those of you who joined in Early Access might remember that Hollis' route was missing all of its CGs. After searching for new artists to no avail, we postponed the release for a little while.

However, after finally discovering the awesome Kuzunue, we were able to complete these remaining 3 CGs and finish the last necessary polish for DMR.

The game is now fully complete! We apologize for the long wait, but we're happy that it's finished at last. Please let us know if you encounter any bugs or issues in the new build by commenting or emailing us at contact@argentgames.co.

Summary:

It contained all the important aspects that I associate with the wild western genre. Sheriffs, cowboys, horses, trains, bounty hunters, bandits and so on ... But it never felt unrealistic or over the top. I'm not an expert on this, of course, but I think the natives were portrayed well too. I also like the depiction of Golder's Rock and the surrounding prairie. You really felt like you were at the end of nowhere in an insignificant small town far from civilization, which made the murder mystery all the more fascinating.