Crown & Applause

ROYAL ENTERTAINER WANTED
Must be small, musical, and comfortable receiving feedback from a dragon.

Congratulations!
You are the mouse jester in Crown & Applause, a narrative rhythm game of medieval bardcore and court politics, where the King needs his people entertained so they stop asking how the kingdom is actually run. That makes you the most important person at court. It also makes you the easiest one to replace.
THE STORY
Knights and a cart came for your village band, took you away without a question, and now you are playing for dragons and beasts your village has only heard stories about!

The King's court is where the game starts, not where it stays. Nobody lets a jester leave until they've had their show.

One kingdom, nine chapters, and every stage belongs to someone bigger than you.

Luckily, you won't be going alone! A party comes together along the way. Not a sensible one in the bunch, and not one you'd trade for the world!
YOUR DUTIES

Hit notes arriving from both sides as they meet in the center. Hold the long ones. Catch the simultaneous ones. Keep up as performances spread across three lanes. Pressure from the Crown above and the crowd below, closing in from every direction.

Good timing keeps your stage candles burning. Let them all go out, and your shift ends rather abruptly.
WORKING ARRANGEMENTS

Here for the rhythm? The performances run from gentle to genuinely unkind, with leaderboards and Endless mode waiting at the top.

Here for the story? Story mode keeps the performances easy, so you can stay in the court and the conversations.

Both halves are the whole game. Neither one is the side dish.
CUSTOMER FEEDBACK IS ENCOURAGED

Play well and the crowd cheers. Lose your rhythm and discover how many opinions fit into a village square. Some members of the audience have brought produce.

Just don't get them clapping together without a herald. Around here, that counts as suspicious organization.
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Performances earn coins. Spend them on cards and upgrades between songs: protect your Spotlight, make good hits more rewarding, or squeeze a little more money out of a strong combo. You can also save your coins for cheat codes and new Free Play songs.

Purchases influence your allegiance too. Apparently even shopping is political here.
MULTIPLE ENDINGS

The jester has always been the one person in the room allowed to say what no one else can, because everyone assumes they're harmless.

Will you flatter the Crown, side with the Crowd, or look after Yourself? Your dialogue choices and purchases steer the story toward different endings.

Try another run, revisit unlocked performances in Free Play, and give your personal best a suitably theatrical beating.
STREAMER SAFE

Every song in the base game is original and owned by us. Perform in front of your audience without fear of the black knights of DMCA. (Custom songs you import are your own responsibility. We cannot save you from the pillory.)
FEATURES

* Two-sided rhythm: Hit notes arriving from both sides across up to three lanes, with sustained notes and simultaneous hits to master.
* Medieval bardcore: Perform to a soundtrack of lutes, hurdy-gurdies, and folk instruments.
* Player-created content: Add your own songs to the court's repertoire and create custom charts with the charting tool.
* Keep the Spotlight alive: Accurate hits keep your stage candles burning. Lose the last flame, and the performance ends.
* Reactive crowds: Win applause with a strong performance, or face heckles and tomatoes when your timing slips.
* Cards and upgrades: Spend your hard-earned coins between songs on cards that protect your Spotlight or boost your performance rewards.
* Three allegiances: Dialogue choices and shop purchases draw you toward the Crown, the Crowd, or Yourself, shaping which ending awaits.
* Theatrical storytelling: Discover royal absurdity, political tension, and awkward loyalties through visual novel scenes between performances.
* Story mode: Not into rhythm games? Play through the story with easy performances and enjoy it worry-free.
* A colourful cast: Play a mouse jester among eccentric animal characters and a demanding Dragon King.
* Built for encores: Revisit unlocked performances in Free Play, improve your personal bests, climb the leaderboards, earn Steam Achievements, and take on Endless mode.

The position remains open.
Please bring your sense of rhythm!