A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux

Buy Now$5.00 USD or more

Secret Little Haven is a game about old computers, community, creativity, fandom, gender, and the internet. Alex Cole is a teenage trans girl in 1999 who has yet to figure herself out. She spends much of her free time on the internet, browsing a fan forum for her favorite magical girl show, and chatting with her friends.
Join her on her story of self-discovery through friendship and media as she explores her computer for the treasures and curiosities of the early internet.

Play with SanctuaryOS, an entire operating system developed in Unity, with nearly a dozen applications such as a Web Browser, Chat Client, Doll Maker, and Text Editor, as well as an entire web forum for you to search through.

Explore the internet. Explore yourself. Find haven in your life's small comforts.

[CONTENT WARNINGS: Parental conflict, gaslighting, flashing visuals]

StatusReleased
PlatformsWindows, macOS, Linux
Rating
Rated 4.8 out of 5 stars
(828 total ratings)
AuthorVictoria Dominowski
GenreVisual Novel
Tags90s, computer, Cute, Female Protagonist, LGBT, mac-os-9, Transgender, vaporwave, Yuri
Average sessionAbout an hour
LanguagesEnglish
InputsKeyboard, Mouse
AccessibilityOne button
Mentionsitch.io Recommends: Jokes, Technology, a...

Purchase

Buy Now$5.00 USD or more

In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $5 USD. You will get access to the following files:

Secret Little Haven - Official Soundtrack.zip 88 MB
Secret Little Haven.zip 67 MB
Secret Little Haven.zip 81 MB
Secret Little Haven.zip 83 MB

Comments

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Viewing most recent comments 2 to 41 of 358 · Next page · Last page

 this game looks awesome

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^_^

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I wish things were given more room to breathe, like in Terranova--right now it feels like every single conversation has to be nonstop gender. But there's a lot of attention to detail, like including actual fanart and fanfic and stuff, which is very nice.

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really good game! but im really confused about the unlockable codes? i cant find anywhere to enter them?

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i laughed, i cried, i wrote fanfiction for a show that didn't exist. excellent work.

красиво оформлен сайт

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thank you

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one of the most beautiful games ive ever played. as a trans person, thank you.

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i almost never write anything but, this game has made genuinely tear up and made me cry in a way i haven´t cried in a long time and and the panic i felt during the Jhon sections was way too real and the hope from the ending and that little smile that "She'll figure it out" generated on me to the point i hadn´t even realise that the were a smile in my tear filled face 

you have made a wonderful experience not just for transgirls but anyone willing to gave this game a shot i highly doubt i can comment my experience in this moment of my life since inside the closet there is not that much to see but the internet and especially this game had made my day (sorry for the bad English and hella long comment but i felt like speaking specifically since i just finished it) thanks for this ;3

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I don't normally make comments about the content I play, but this one really stuck with me.

You've really created something quite beautiful and touching. Seeing a multitude of trans girls at different stages in their experiences really was special and relatable. God, the longing. So well expressed.

I really like how it doesn't shy away from some of the harshest struggles that trans people face both in a literal and metaphysical sense. All while cloaked in an aesthetic that just screams "reclamation of childhood". It just all comes together in a way that's unique and evocative.

I could criticize the finicky volume slider/CRT settings, the terminal issues, etc. However, I didn't play this game to have a flawless experience. I played it to feel something. You definitely achieved that.

Thank you for making this. Thank you for making me cry. Hopefully we're all on our own paths toward figuring it out. <3

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Random Scuffed Games #73

https://twitch.tv/ditodesign


Vorgeschlagen von: Schatten1001


Prinzipiell finde ich das OS sehr überzeugend und an sich mag ich es ja auch mich durch Informationen zu wühlen. Allerdings passiert das Storytelling via Chat und ist zunächst absolute Zeitverschwendung. ich habe gefühlt eine halbe Stundenlang die Texte übersetzt und vorgelesen sowie alle mir möglichen Optionen ausprobiert um voranzukommen, sowie Seiteneinträge und Mails durchforstet.

Am Ende des Tages, sind die irrelevanten Infos sehr Detailgetreu, aber leider fehlt mir etwas der Rote Faden warum ich überhaupt dieses Spiele.

Ich kann kann Ahnen, dass es um eine Person geht, die ihrem Hobby nachgeht und ihrem Vater zuwider Pflichten sowie wünsche von diesem vernachlässigt.

Allerdings catched mich die Story leider so gar nicht und es kommt auch nicht wirklich in Fahrt.

Die Umsetzung ist wirklich gut, aber leider holt mich die Geschichte bisher so gar nicht ab. Ich hätte mich z.B. auch über mehr Details der Protagonisten gefreut, seien es Fotos, Fantasien oder andere kleine schmutzige Geheimnisse. Hier geht es darum Mäuschen zu spielen, allerdings ist es für mich eher wie ein Rückblick in mein jugendliches ich.


Ratings:

Dito: 2.5/5

Chat: 1.85/5

Gesamt: 2.18/5

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Secret Little Haven is the first entry in the new mental list "Games I have recommended to my therapist".

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Hi there! I'm CJ—I'm working on a master list of interface drama and would like to include your game as an interface drama. I really loved playing through this game. It was recommended as a companion piece to our game Terranova and I agree; it gave me a lot of queer feels. ;;

I'm reaching out to devs like you to confirm that I have accurate tags of your game.

Right now, the tags on Secret Little Haven are:  
- lgbtqia+
- nostalgia

- relationship driven

If there's any other tags on the list, or ones you'd like to add, please let me know.

Thank you for your time!

(+3)(-1)

John's sections almost gave me an anxiety attack. 10/10

Deleted 218 days ago
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> I wish i was trans
You either have something to figure out about urself or need to better understand about others, in both cases I wish you the best <3

puzzles are really hard for some reason (not really im just stupid) other than that absurdly good game

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Beautiful game just wow :,) A very touching, realistic, and unique way to depict a trans-girl finding who she really is. The ending was really beautiful and makes me feel better about my own situation regarding my gender. Thank you for making this game, I absolutely loved it. *HUGS* <3

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Great game :) Heavy-handed with the writing for sure and not without its fair share of bugs. But it was totally worth playing! I'm trans and thought it was super cool to see Alex find out that there's a whole new path out there for her. If you like emoticons play lol

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i love this game so much so far but i cannot stand the terminal puzzles whatsoever its prohibiting me from going any further even after looking at steam guides I am still having trouble but over all this game is a masterpiece and reminds me of my own self in a sense, props to the devs yall slay!!

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Love this game so much. Played through it in a single sitting. I swear I could pick out bits and pieces from my life and my friends’ lives in it. Only issue I had was that the terminal puzzles at the end were a bit obtuse, especially cause they depended on my arcane NixOS setup actually having a desktop lmao

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I love this game's story. but I'm currently stuck on the console, anyone have any Ideas?

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I had a bit of a bug at the start that forced me to restart the game a few times (the first conversation with John did not seem to launch), but the restarting part didn't take long. This game was emotionally taxing, but also extremely fun.
The ending, with all of your friends having your back felt extremely great, and made me tear up, even though I'm not usually the kind of guy to cry at all.
I had a bit of trouble relating to Alex's struggles with her gender, but that's mostly because I'm much younger than her, and my world was mostly accepting when I came out as transmasc, but I can definitely relate with her parental struggle. The dialogues between Sammy and her made me want to cuddle them both so hard (while I would have given everything to smash John in the face)
This game was extremely great, and the programming part of it, while hard enough to need me to search for a bit, wasn't so hard that I had to rely on outside help.
Thank you for making this game :)

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I really enjoyed this game and cried so much! I feel like anyone could relate to Alex but this touched me deep in the feels as a transfemme. The aesthetics are a cute delivery for the overall message. Such a good ending. We will all just figure it out! 

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I love this so much! The story was beautiful and Had such a wonderful ending!
Maybe I missed it, but is there a way to turn off the camera shake/text moving? The last talk with John gave me a headache XC

But I LOVE LOVE LOVE this! The style is so cute, and all the characters are so interesting <3

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Oh and I wanted to add! I'm a trans guy and I chose the name Alexander for myself. But I connected so strongly with Alex and I really FELT how much it hurt to always be called Alexander and son (just like when my parents use my deadname/misgender me)

The computer setup is SO cute and I love the egg friend!

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this game hit me so hard. it gets so many little details right, so many things i wouldn't have even thought of or remembered but are instantly familiar.

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such a beautiful little game <3 i wish there was more!!!

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I love the way that this game is able to depict the journey of utilizing online spaces as a way to escape the shit in your everyday life and be able to freely explore and express yourself It was so immersive and I instantly felt attached to Alex. I got so excited and happy for her as she started to make steps to figuring out her identity, but also scared for her when stuff seemed to be going south. But ultimately, this game does such a wonderful job of not only depicting the struggles of transitioning, but the necessity. Thank you for the lovely game!!!<3

(4 edits) (+3)(-2)

I thought that people might want to use the backgrounds and Profile Pictures, So I extracted them and uploaded them to google drive. Here's the link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wc857k25WTjEFJ4-EiULNjxnTWfWl3aw?usp=sha...

(+2)(-2)

I got this game a while back, and I'd really like to play it, but one little detail is holding me back. I really struggle with my deadname showing up in fiction, and one of the characters uses it. Is there a way for one to mod the game it so I don't need to see my deadname (Samxxx) as much?

(+1)(-2)

I could probably mod it to be something different. what name would you want it to be replaced with and what OS are you playing it on??

(+2)(-1)

Thank you! You could just replace all the Samxxx mentions with Sammy, that's more than enough to help. Playing it on Windows, Steam version if that matters.

(1 edit) (+7)(-2)

I cannot sing enough praises for this game. Expertly written, Secret Little Haven is nothing short of a time capsule. It handles dark and sensitive themes with an unusual level of care. Each of the characters are distinct and likeable, with Alex Cole themselves being a particular standout in terms of charm and believability. The occasional dips into horror whenever John entered the narrative were a welcome change of pace and featured some creative scares that further emphasised the bitterness of the situation. I ended up making a serious effort to continue their fanfiction despite the fact I could have just written the word "butts" 481 times and cheesed the game's lack of insight. It's not flawless of course, the UI has a fair number of bugs and glitches involving windows getting stuck on top of each other and one puzzle getting me stuck for more than an hour could have used an extra hint (I didn't realise "Y O U R desktop" meant the actual desktop of your Windows 10 PC and not the virtual desktop in the game's executable). But it's absolutely worth the five dollars I would have paid had I not received it in a bundle.

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this game is so cute im recommending it to all my friends!

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Hey, I'm sure someone has already asked about this, but what is the best doll to make for Sam on day 2? I've figured out the sweater and the blue skirt, but I'm at a loss for any options. I've tried several times and haven't gotten better than "not so bad".

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You're close, the last item you need is the orange hair (Because her avatar has orange hair)!

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OMG I did't realize there were different outcomes! That's so cool!

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this game is so fucking cute and good!! highly recommend it, 10/10 i was Touched by it

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Thanks for making such a cute simulation game that introduce us to the unique journal of transgender and fandom. You can tell how much effort the developer put into the design of a complete simulated 90s-style computer operating system. The response speed of NPCs sometimes is a little bit too slow.

(+2)(-2)

Just cried my heart out 10/10. Beautiful storytelling, thank you.

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adore this game and have recommended it to many of my friends!! such a cute style, i love the gameplay and the story made me CRY! love this game 10/10

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this game is so beautiful!! i'm not a trans person exactly, but this game really helped me understand some of the things trans people go through on the daily.. how WRONG it feels when the wrong pronouns are used, etc. 

that being said, it was unexpectedly relatable. The way everyone talks is just so REAL. i was so immersed playing as alex.

thank you for making such a wonderful, pretty, cute game that helps me understand a lot of my trans loved ones and even myself just a bit more. <3

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...not to mention early internet is so fascinating to me and i LOVED being able to interact with this world. <3

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10/10 Far too relatable and real

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