A Henry VIII otome game where Henry’s only role is to die and his queens take the spotlight. Six unique routes where you can woo your queen in the first half and kill Henry VIII in the second!
You’re assigned as the advisor to the king, but Henry VIII is so self-centered that he won’t listen to you, so you decide to just act as the advisor to the queen. As you learn what a piece of shit Henry is and what a delight his prospective wife is, you make it your goal to marry her yourself and work together with your new love to assassinate Henry, so the rightful queen can take the throne.
Meet the queens and review their routes (spoiler warning) to see who you would like to pursue!
Catherine of Aragon: The Philanthropist
The most elegant and mature of the queens, Catherine rode into a battlefield while pregnant to inspire the troops, but was disposed when she struggled to carry a child to term and bear a male heir.
Hurt from the betrayal of being disposed, Catherine lives her life focusing on her spirituality and academia and heavily donates to colleges for the education of women.
❤️Storyline
After being disposed, Catherine still leverages her power as queen to work out ventures to support education for women. As her advisor, you support her with these endeavors. You can raise your affection with her through competence and looking after her when she overworks herself. When you overhear of Henry’s plot to banish her, Catherine will only believe you if you have succeeded in gaining sufficient affection and trust.
With a failed ending, you are beheaded for treason and you can’t even say goodbye to Catherine as she is banished. With a successful ending, you steal a kiss under a starry night on the balcony.
💀Storyline
Upon learning that Henry plans on banishing her, Catherine agrees that the only option is killing him. However, as she wishes to take the throne with as little scrutiny as possible, Henry’s death must seem as natural as possible. You must infiltrate the kitchen staff to put minute amounts of poison into Henry’s meals to slowly cripple him over time so he eventually dies of heart attack. This involves late night cooking practice sessions with your new love to steal the head chef’s position and stealthy maneuvers so nobody may suspect you and your queen.
With a failed ending, you are both beheaded. With a successful ending, you both “mourn” Henry VIII at his funeral during the day, and you later surprise her with her favorite meal in her room to celebrate and share an intimate night ;) together.
Anne Boleyn: The Flirt
Anne Boleyn is whimsical and thrives on attention. Secretly, her carefree nature masks the immense parental pressure she faces to marry into a powerful family. For this reason, Anne is incredibly flattered when Henry first gives her attention and then gives her power over foreign relations.
Marrying Henry will undoubtedly lead her down a path that she can’t control, it’s up to you to convince her to take a different path.
❤️Storyline
You are to support Anne with foreign relations matters. You are the recipient of her flirting…along with many others. In order for her to take your affections seriously, you must match the wit of her banter and jabs. The moment you seem to become close, however, she suddenly becomes cold towards you. Through an accidental encounter with her parents on a shopping trip, you learn of the pressure she faces from them to marry into a powerful family. When you try to initiate your first serious conversation with her, she’s only willing to talk to you about her parents if you’ve sufficiently raised your affection with her.
With a failed ending, she pushes you away for prying into her private business and you must look on as a useless advisor while she marries Henry. With a successful ending, you embark on a cruise under the guise of a foreign diplomatic matter.
💀Storyline
After you return from the cruise, Anne has no interest in becoming Henry’s babymaker and both of you agree the only option is to murder his ass. Anne decides that the best way to do this is to completely destroy his legacy. You must devise the most embarrassing way Henry VIII could possibly die. With Anne, you plan a banquet with leaders from the most esteemed countries. You must succeed in securing the funds for a lavish enough party to attract these world leaders. Then, you must carefully coordinate the banquet for Henry’s very public, very embarrassing death.
With a failed ending, Henry proposes to Anne at the banquet in front of all the world leaders. With such an audience, Anne cannot say no. With a successful ending, Henry’s trousers slip as he stands from his throne (successful conspiring with his tailor), trips down the very shiny stairs (successful conspiring with the maids), falls face first into a massive cake (it’s just a normal cake), and a chandelier falls (you better have planted that explosive correctly) on him, crushing him. Anne gallantly ascends the throne and all the world leaders acknowledge that a buffoon like Henry should’ve never been king in the first place. You and Anne escape the bustle of the party to the quiet of the garden and share your first kiss together.
Jane Seymour: The Peacemaker
The only woman who harbors feelings most akin to love for Henry and the most technically difficult romantic route. A gentle woman, Jane saw the marriage and disposal of two queens first-hand as a maid to both Catherine and Anne. No one feels the pain of their disposal more than she does.
She harbors great maternal affection for Mary, Catherine’s only daughter, and intends to use her position as queen to not only bring peace and harbor justice in her court, but also to elevate Mary to the position that is rightfully hers.
You’ll have to convince Jane to abandon her convictions and goals in order to live her life for herself.
❤️Storyline
After her mother’s banishment, Mary is withdrawn to herself and Jane is struggling to connect to her. As Jane’s advisor, you can gain her trust if you are able to get Mary open to you. This route includes cute outings with Jane and Mary, conversations with a shy child, and supporting Jane when she feels overwhelmed. When you finally gather the nerve to tell Jane that Henry is not a good father for Mary and Jane alone deserves the throne, she will only believe you if you have sufficiently raised your affection with her.
With a failed ending, you are banished for treason and Mary gives you back the friendship bracelet you made her. With a successful ending, you put Mary to sleep and Jane, tired from a long day, falls asleep against your shoulder.
💀Storyline
Both of you agree that killing Henry VIII is the only way for Jane to take the throne. However, she refuses to traumatize Mary any further and insists that Henry must die by “going away to become a monk”. You must devise a way to get Henry out of the country and dispose his body without a trace by fabricating a false country without rousing his suspicions. More importantly, Mary can NOT catch wind of what you’re planning.
With a failed ending, Mary snitches on your murderous plot to Henry and you’re beheaded. With a successful ending, you convince Henry that an alliance with the monarchy of a swamp would be fruitful and after luring him out to a swamp, you feed him to the alligators. After returning with a forged letter from Henry that says he has retired the throne to become a respectable monk, you finally, FINALLY manage to get Jane alone without Mary and share a night ;) together.
Anne of Cleves: The Delinquent
A badass tomboy on the outside and softie on the inside. While she faces intense scrutiny for her lack of education, Anne is quick-witted and quite the card shark. She particularly enjoys the company of intellectuals and frequently visits the courts to listen in on the magistrates in their discussions.
Her relationship with Henry is sisterly, and while she has no romantic interest in him she also recognizes that a marriage with Henry would greatly benefit her family and cement her position as a woman who commands respect.
❤️Storyline
Anne is busy mingling with nobles and magistrates to get the latest tea on the state of the court and annihilating them all at card games. She has absolutely no time for an advisor that even the useless Henry ignored. Your only way to gain her respect is to force a random magistrate to take you on as an advisor and advise him into finally beating Anne at banter and games. An enemies-to-lovers route, Anne gains affection for you as you exchange blows in various battles of wit. Eventually, you gain the bravery to confess your love.
With a failed ending, Anne laughs at your confession and that’s punishment enough. With a successful ending, you both sneak out of the castle and enjoy some cheap, greasy food in a small food shop.
💀Storyline
Killing Henry is not the only option, but you both agree it’s your favorite option. Anne offhandedly notes that she’d enjoy seeing Henry die in a duel and in a knee-jerk response to impress Anne of Cleves, you immediately claim that you could easily take Henry in a duel. You can’t take your words back now, so you have to cause enough ruckus for Henry to even agree to a duel with you. You work out aggressively to get swole and attempt public feats of strength and charisma, carrying grandmas back home and lifting a fallen wagon off a child.
With a failed ending, a shockingly ripped Henry spears you through with his fencing foil and the last thing you see before you die is Anne’s disappointed face. With a successful ending, you spear Henry through and your clothes splattered with his blood, Anne leaps into your arms and kisses you.
Kathryn Howard: The Tsundere
Abandoned by her father soon after the death of her mother, Kathryn lives a lavish life that’s secure only on the goodwill of others. Insecure and willing to please, Kathryn exhibits a demeanor that is unusually trusting.
There is no romance in Kathryn’s route, but choosing Kathryn yields the most satisfying result for Henry’s disposal. You get to stab. Henry. With a lightning bolt.
🌻Storyline
This is the only route where you are actually assigned to be the prospective queen’s advisor. Kathryn goes along readily with any of your instructions and tasks from Henry, and you realize that she is keeping everyone in the castle at arm’s length, including you. You must convince Kathryn to abandon some of her queenly responsibilities and learn how to live life like a normal teenager. Eventually, you decide to tell Kathryn what you’ve been thinking all along: Henry VIII has absolutely no right to marry her.
With a failed ending, Kathryn is terrified someone might overhear your conversation and tells Henry of your treachery. You are subsequently beheaded. With a successful ending, she ditches all of her responsibilities for the day and you take her to her first festival. She gets a candied apple and laughs at the songs of crude bards.
💀Storyline
Both you and Kathryn agree that pedophiles must die, so with that logic, Henry VIII must die. Kathryn decides to exploit Henry’s power-hungry disposition and in order to carry out her plan, you must gain Henry’s trust. Either through seductive or diplomatic means, you must become Henry’s advisor. Once you do so, you can plant the idea of an Emperor Pope in his head.
With a failed ending, Henry VIII actually becomes Emperor Pope and somehow Emperor of all of Europe. What did you and Kathryn unleash??? With a successful ending, just as he’s about to be ordained, Kathryn bursts into the church dressed as God. With a mist machine that you’ve rigged, she’s incredibly convincing. After reading a comprehensive list of his sins (that you’ve collected as his advisor), she raises her hand and a lightning machine that you’ve rigged impales him with a spear imbued with lightning. Kathryn becomes queen and to thank you, uses her authority to set you on a bunch of dates with ladies to find you a good wife.
Katherine Parr: The Intellectual
A natural linguist with an affinity for cussing. Katherine has been married once before, and suffers greatly from her first husband’s death. She’s still set on moving on though, and has received two proposals: one from Henry and one from an old friend, Thomas Seymour (Jane Seymour’s brother).
Morally upright with a strong sense of justice, Katherine intends to use her status as queen to ally herself with the former queens’ families . . . possibly for a greater unknown cause . . . ?
❤️Storyline
Katherine is considering two proposals and neither of them are from you!!! You forcibly insert yourself as a third proposal and communicate with her through anonymous love letters. As her advisor, you must show her the follies of both Henry and Thomas. This may involve some not-so-legal digging around to pull up dirt on the two. You become a close friend (emphasis on friend) as Katherine trusts you enough to confide you in her romantic uncertainties. Eventually, you gather the courage to tell her that you haven’t been entirely truthful and reveal your identity as the anonymous admirer.
With a failed ending, Katherine feels deeply betrayed by your deceit and has Henry fire you. No one is willing to hire you after that, and you die penniless and lonely on the streets. With a successful ending, she reconciles your two identities and accepts your affections.
💀Storyline
Katherine actually already has a plan to kill Henry, but had always been hesitant about the risks. She uses you as a courier, and you carry messages between the families from the former queens to help launch Katherine’s complicated plan. In a furtive route where you must gather undeniable proof of the families’ claims, you must separate what is fact and what is hearsay. Then, with all the information you have gathered, you sneak out in the middle of the night to scatter pamphlets that detail all of Henry’s crimes.
With a failed ending, Henry finds a loose thread in your accusations and has you and the families of the former queens executed. With a successful ending, there is no way Henry can argue his way of an execution. Relieved the stressful operation is over, you and Katherine crash in the castle’s libraries for some light reading. You snuggle, smooch, and eventually fall asleep, buried in blankets and surrounded by books.
This is not a real game, but if anyone is interested in actually making this a reality, my anonymous collaborator and I are on our knees begging for your coding skills.
