Orphan is an adult dark fantasy CYOA adventure by Exalted Text, built in HTML with 2D AI CG art. You play a lowly boy in a doomed world centered on Cradle, a sprawling multiracial city-state inside an enormous crater under a violet gas giant. The game is set in a dying neo-Rome under the Blade, shaped by sorcery, widespread slavery, violence, intrigue, and corruption. It mixes text-based choices with exploration, fantasy politics, and a harsh dystopian setting.
Development is ongoing, with Chapter 3.6, the BtD: Gladiator Cut, released on October 8, 2026. It runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac in English and is uncensored. The update adds over 70,000 words, 45 images, seven uncut videos, and more than thirteen Private Audience events. It also includes a dice-based gambling mini-game, better free movement in Private Audience content, ten new Cowboy, Bastard, and Knight voice effects, rebuilt auction outcomes, UI and UX improvements, revised save handling between versions, and smaller visual, writing, formatting, and continuity fixes.
Developer's description
Orphan
is an adult Dark Fantasy CYOA set in a dying neo-Rome ruined by Sorcery, ruled by the Blade. Immerse yourself in an unforgiving world, full of violence, magic, sex and intrigue. Life in the Cradle is short, brutish and crude. Ruined nobles struggle for power amongst the shadows of a crumbling city-state teeming with sorcery, rampant slavery and corruption. And you... you're just a nobody.
For now
.
Spoiler
Marring the frigid surface of a doomed planet lies an impossibly massive crater, so wide that one could never hope to see the other side with their naked eye, or the crumbling edge high above. Looming in the dark abyss of space above, a purple gas giant seems close enough to touch, casting a luminous violet haze over much of the world.
Smothering one side of the bowl lies a sprawling city-state, Cradle, where rampant and relentless slavery fuels the day-to-day misery of the multiracial mass within. The cracked, cobbled streets descend far down into the earth, where the poorest and lowliest lie, steam seeping through a ruined labyrinth of pitch-black alleys and shadow-filled lairs.
Here begins a tale of a boy who had his destiny stolen away from him.
What follows determines whether or not he is able to steal it back.
Chapter 3.6 — BtD: Gladiator Cut (October 8th, 2026)
70,000+ new words
45 new images
7 videos (Uncut)
13+ Private Audience events
Gambling dice strip mini-game
Vastly improved Private Audience freeroam
10 new Cowboy / Bastard / Knight voice SFX
Refactored Auction results
Improved UI / UX
Reworked save functionality between versions
Numerous smaller visual, writing, formatting, and continuity improvements
Chapter 3.5 — The Refusal
New Refusal branch,
Alternative endings.
22 new images.
25k+ new words.
Visual overhaul for Leoris (high-elf) scene
Cheat Menu w/ Kultist+ Edition
Chapter 3.4 - Waking Wounds (big redux update)
Seductive Visuals — 17 new images.
Expanded Lewd Scene #1 — Goblin Thief (images + reactivity).
Expanded Lewd Scene #2 — The First Dream [Succubus] (images + improved).
Early-Game Rewrites & Academy Flow.
Sound + QoL / UI Polish (notifications, etc.)
Awakening (Light Theme) Fix — now playable in the intro.
Chapter 3.33 — End of Watch (January 16th, 2026)
End of Watch — the Night’s Watch concludes. New progression through the final hours of your shift with Lyco, closing out this chapter of Highrock and setting the tone for what comes next.
UI / Interface Overhaul — cleaner, sharper, more readable. Improvements across the main menu, sidebar presentation, and general flow, meant to make Orphan feel more deliberate from the first click onward.
Oh, and some of the character screens like the Mirror of Self look much sexier now. Check 'em out~
Polish & Bugfixes — tighter presentation, fewer rough edges.
Minor fixes and refinements throughout: small issues resolved, transitions improved, atmosphere reinforced.
Chapter 3.32 — The Price of Freedom (MAJOR UPDATE, December 31st, 2025)
50,000+ new words – the second biggest Orphan update in the same month as the first
15 new images – noblewomen, friends & foes, glimpses into Cradle
Alternative Endings – imprisonment, torture, glorious death in combat and more
Action-packed Escape Routes – Did you manage to escape House Varro? Want me to continue these routes?
Reunions with friends & females – Because I know you've missed them so much
Chapter 3.31 — First Contact (PREVIOUS, December 13th, 2025)
60,000+ new words – the biggest Orphan update so far
14 new images – dark elves, tempting noblewomen and busty courtesans
Interactive Ludus map + freeroam – a fully clickable, explorable hub
First Contact – a long, erotic & private balcony sequence
Huge, Branching Spar – test the champion's arm
Chapter 3.3
Cinematic intro – A branching ride from the auction block to Duchess Livia’s yard
New gladiators (the beginning of your cohort; a new threshold into the latest arc)
Arrival at Duke Varro’s Yard – First steps into the ludus, a new area to explore
The Doctore – Scar-latticed hobgoblin with a whip and a word of law. His rules aren't optional
Minor bugfixes – Mostly for the Stavrick fight, slowly hunting them down.
Chapter 3.2
Cinematic intro + extended character creation — 6 archetypes and the new Defy the Scale path. Choose your height, build, endowment, hair, tattoos, scars, and voice. Your body is now part of the text.
Night’s Watch — mid and late-phase progression — fresh beats with Gerwin’s uncertainty, new mysterious threads, and the setup for the night's finale.
Bathroom threesome — a full, steamy scene. Free for all players. (Patron-only: the long/thick variation lines in select branches.) Future variations are coming for all erotic scenes using the new character traits in upcoming versions.
Codex update — Aspects of the mage/Mearesdes plotline have been revised & reworked.
Polish & audio/UI — fixed the subtle heartbeat clip, improved sidebar/font contrast, choice icons for playability
Chapter 3.1
A big overhaul of the audio system, a bunch of yummy QoL fixes and overall improvements to the game's experience, and an expansion to the Academy route. However, the bulk of the update is a patron-exclusive scene w/ the goblin thief turned Highrock maid...
Chapter 3.0
Update length: ~26,000 new words (total: 209,200)
3 new images, extended fight scene w/ Stavrick
Gant’s sale, Khalika’s fate, and the full Auction block
Four branching buyer outcomes (Livia, Alesia, Novia, Sibylla)
Post-auction revelations leading into Duchess Livia’s gladiator ludus
Chapter 2.9
Extended erotic scene w/ Khalika (3 strong variations)
A completely overhauled main menu
New UI enhancements and polish
A fixed music system that now properly persists across saves and loads
20+ reworked passages for tone, clarity, and flow
A handful of new visuals to deepen immersion
Chapter 2.85
Private audience with
the Young Heiress
(Knight, Bastard, and Cowboy variations)
Post-scene reflection and banquet transition
Optional
Courtesan Encounter
(Dominant & Submissive paths —
Patron Exclusive
)
Update length: ~10,000 words (177.8k total)
Chapter 2.8
big UI overhaul (darker, more cosmic)
15,000+ new words across 30+ passages (167k words total)
new locations to explore throughout Highrock's dormitories.
rewritten & expanded Goblin Thief encounter
new music track & sound FX
7 new images, not including UI elements
Chapter 2.75
over 152,000 words total
35 new passages
two major scenes (Dream Sequence, First Morning), bugfixes & corrected typos
Chapter 2.6
141,000 words total
short scene in the Academy route
new UI, character sheet page, bugfixes & corrected typos
Chapter 2.5
brings Orphan to just under 140,000 words total
big expansion of the Gladiator route
more images, new characters introduced, spicy dialogue and dark worldbuilding
Chapter 2.2 -
Bug fixes and minor revision
Chapter 2
over 105,000 words!
The most expansive and responsive erotic scene yet
More images, more music, and more fight scenes
The storyline for the mage/ascender route has been massively expanded
Chapter 1.5
~60,000 words
4 erotic scenes
Remastered with a totally new and improved presentation
More images, music, sound effects and a doubled word count
A vast & dynamic fight scene in the sands of a grand colosseum
Chapter 1
~28,000 words
2 erotic scenes
Forbidden magic and tantalizing sights
Fast-paced violence and cruel debauchery
A story that splits into two deep branches
The humble beginnings of a dark fantasy saga
Player reviews
Player rating5.0 / 5 · 10 ratings
Written reviews10 · avg 4.2★
Positive (4–5★)80%
Latest review2026-05-15
What players say
Most reviews are positive, praising writing and world, with a few critical notes.
5★7
4★1
3★0
2★1
1★1
Players like
Strong writing and compelling dark fantasy worldbuilding
Engaging choices and branching story paths
Interesting characters and promising future updates
Adult content supports rather than dominates the story
Common complaints
Heavy text and limited visuals may not suit all readers
Best for players who enjoy dark fantasy interactive fiction with strong writing.
Summarised from 10 written player reviews.
Copier80872026-05-15★★★★★
This game has words. This game has a lot of words. At the moment of writing a review, game post says it has 383 000 words. How much is that? Lord of the Rings trilogy is below 500k words. First…
BleepRose2026-04-04★★★★★
It's a text focused game that uses AI. The creator is a combative asshole in the discord and here. It's unfortunate because it's a solid concept. But executed in the exact way that decentifies support. I happily contributed to the…
JLP6032025-10-28★★★★★
Dark fantasy CYOA first sex game second. The best kind and one I hope will endure until the end. Not for everyone here since this is a pirate forum for games or media with sexual content. It's for those who…
★★★★★(10)
