Before the Darkness: The Game That Let You ‘Fix’ Geto Suguru—and Broke Your Heart
Before the Darkness is a Jujutsu Kaisen fan game that mixes time travel, romance, and obsession in a powerful visual novel. In this exclusive developer interview, creator Khywae shares how she built the story, the emotional impact on players, and what it’s like to bring Geto Suguru’s fate into your hands.
In this interview:
Before the Darkness: What’s the story about?
Khywae: Hi, I’m Khywae and I make games that are a mix of erotic fanfiction and the interactive side of games. They range from role-playing to visual novels, and give you the ability to romance characters you’d only be able to in fanfiction.
Khywae: The player takes on the role of a sorcerer who has been in love with Geto Suguru for a long time.
When she discovers a way to go back in time, she takes the chance, hoping to change his path and stop his descent into darkness.
The heart of the project is the question: will she succeed? And what are the consequences of
trying to rewrite the past?
Khywae:I think so, but they might miss some of the story’s nuances. Since I usually expect players to
already be familiar with the anime, there are things I don’t fully explain.
Khywae: Jujutsu Kaisen is one of my all-time favorite anime, and its characters are really close to my heart. I wanted to show my appreciation by creating these games.
Khywae: So far, I’ve released 10 fangames. Most of them are set in the Jujutsu Kaisen universe, but I’ve
also made games based on popular titles like Honkai: Star Rail and Resident Evil. The game
mechanics sometimes change, but most of them follow a visual novel format.
Khywae:The idea actually started from a discussion with my patrons on Patreon. Someone brought up young Geto and time travel, and I really liked the concept. I expanded on it, especially since a lot of people love the “I can fix him” trope.
I also wanted to explore the theme of obsession. In most stories, time travel comes with consequences, so I thought — if the player changes Geto’s obsession from killing non-sorcerers, then that obsession would have to go somewhere else. It doesn’t disappear. It just shifts. The obsession has to exist, one way or another.
Khywae:Drawing the character sprites was definitely the biggest challenge. The anime already has a
stunning art style, so I had to try multiple times to create a design that felt faithful to it. Matching
that level of visual quality wasn’t easy.
Before the Darkness: Characters?
Khywae: Geto’s story is already full of angst. Jujutsu Kaisen in general has that tone, it mixes humor with sadness, so I wanted to bring that same feeling into the game. The different endings reflect that
balance between pain and possibility.
Khywae:The diary entries were the hardest to write, both emotionally and structurally. There had to be a
clear crescendo in Geto’s feelings over time, so I rewrote that part several times to make sure the progression felt natural. I also had to check the timeline carefully to make sure the dates lined up
with the anime and manga.
Before the Darkness: Main Themes and Fans?
Khywae: The main theme I was working with here was idealization — the way you can build up a fantasy
version of someone in your mind when you’re apart from them. For Geto, that feeling is even
stronger, since the player is the one who pulled him out of the darkness. He ends up forming a
deep attachment to her, seeing her as his salvation.
A lot of people already enjoy the yandere trope, so it wasn’t too difficult to write that kind of
romance. I just made sure the relationship had a clear progression so it felt believable and full of
tension. I think tension is the most important part of writing romance. It’s what makes everything
feel alive.
Khywae:While I was writing the story, I did get a bit emotional, but I didn’t expect it to hit others so hard.
When people started telling me they cried, I was a little surprised. I still remember watching HelloYinny’s playthrough on YouTube and seeing her cry on screen, that’s when it really hit me that maybe I overdid it with the angst. Oops.
But honestly, I love how the story turned out and I wouldn’t change a thing. Sorry, not sorry!
Before the Darkness: Development?
Khywae:I want the focus of my games to be on the art, animation, and story, so I needed a game engine
that didn’t require a lot of programming. I saw that a lot of game devs got their start with RPG Maker, so I decided to give it a try.
It also supports Spine2D, which is the animation software I use, so that made it an even better fit
for what I wanted to do
Khywae: After you finish the game (or Tape), you arrive at the Empress Conquest, a boat where my
character is waiting for you. The idea for this universe came from fanfiction terms like “canon” and
“ship,” mixed with the Y2K aesthetic.
Each Tape is like an alternate universe, kind of like a one-shot fanfiction, and we craft it together
using the cauldron. Then, the Tapes get blessed by the Smut Gods… or not. That decides how spicy the story ends up being.
It’s just a fun way I found to connect all the games, since they share the same aesthetic. I plan to
expand more on the boat and its world in the future, so stay tuned!
Khywae:Thank you! I played a lot of RPG Maker games to get inspiration before designing the UI. Some of the ones that stood out to me were by Temmie and Spicaze. Their work is amazing and really
inspired me.
Khywae: The animated scenes are made in Spine2D. For most of my games, I used a plug-in to put them
directly into the game, but for newer games, I’m changing that and using After Effects for effects
and a more cinematic feel.
Khywae: Before writing, I did a lot of research on the subject and ended up going with a simpler approach— where the player goes back in time in their own body and doesn’t run into their past self. I
wanted the focus to stay on the romance and Geto’s feelings, not on the technical side of time
travel. And I think it worked out!
Before the Darkness: Community?
Khywae: The community has been really supportive of my work, and I couldn’t be more grateful for that. I was a little worried at first that fans might think the characters were too out of character, but that
didn’t happen. It honestly makes me so happy and inspires me to keep creating games for the fandom.
Khywae: I did a survey a few months ago, and the results showed that a lot of people are interested in
BDSM content. So I’m excited to explore that more in future games.
Khywae: I’m truly honored for this opportunity. I started this journey to bring more otome content into the world, and it means so much to know that people are enjoying it. Being featured alongside so
many amazing creators in this community makes me incredibly happy.
Thank you, and I hope to keep creating even more games for you in the future!
If you’re a fan of Jujutsu Kaisen, emotional storytelling, or just love a good “I can fix him” tale, Before the Darkness is a must-play. Khywae’s unique blend of romance, obsession, and alternate timelines creates an unforgettable experience. Dive into the world she’s built—and see if you can change Geto Suguru’s fate.
Play the game HERE.
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