After two years of development, we’re thrilled to announce that Project: Z3R0 Ch1&2 — covering the Tutorial, Chapter 1: Into the Deep End, and Chapter 2: Last Orders — will be launching on Steam within the next few weeks. Built by a small, passionate indie team at KittiCat Games, this is the project we’ve poured everything into, and we can’t wait for you to finally step into Vesper City.

Project: Z3R0 is a cyber noir visual novel set in 2073, following detective Richard William Apocryphal and his android companion E.M.R.S — known simply as Em — as they navigate a city teetering between order and chaos. It’s a story about technology, humanity, and the uncomfortable question of what separates one from the other.

 

 

“Two years of world-building, hand-drawn artwork, and original music — all converging on one question: what does it mean to be human?”

 

What’s in the release?

Built in Unreal Engine 5.5 with two years of development and entirely hand-drawn artwork, the release opens with a Tutorial that introduces you to Richard and Em and gets you settled into the world. From there, Chapter 1: Into the Deep End throws Richard into his first murder case — the choices you make are yours alone, and the city doesn’t offer easy answers. Chapter 2: Last Orders brings a second case, and with it, a nagging feeling that the two might not be as separate as they first appear.

This is not the full release. The complete eleven-chapter story, with its five possible endings, will be announced at a much later date.

A team effort

This has been a genuinely collaborative project. Postgraduate and undergraduate students were part of the team at various stages of development, bringing fresh perspectives to everything from programming to character art and original music composition. It’s the kind of debut game that only exists because people cared enough to give their time to it. As Indie developers, building this on next-to-no budget has been the central challenge, and reward, of the last two years.

Wishlist on Steam now so you don’t miss the launch — it won’t be long.

Click here to Wishlist Project: Z3R0 Ch1&2 on Steam