Spring at Dawn, I Am a Monster Launches on Steam August 20 With 16 Endings

Spring at Dawn, I Am a Monster. (春はあけぼの、我はバケモノ。) now has a confirmed release date. CHARON's latest psychological horror visual novel will launch for Windows PC via Steam on August 20, 2026.

Creator Kaoru Nekofuji also framed the new project as the result of roughly 13 years of making games. This time, players take the role of a Japanese-language teacher attempting to help three girls who have stopped attending school, only to discover that good intentions can push already fragile relationships toward dependency, ruin, or very different outcomes.

Quick Summary

• Japanese title: 春はあけぼの、我はバケモノ。
• Official English title: Spring at Dawn, I Am a Monster.
• Developer: CHARON / STUDIO CHARON
• Publisher: CHARON / STUDIO CHARON
• Genre: Psychological horror adventure / visual novel
• Platform: Windows PC
• Store: Steam
• Release date: August 20, 2026
• Steam status at time of checking: Still listed as Coming soon
• Price: Not announced
• Mode: Single-player
• Steam Family Sharing: Supported
• Protagonist: Japanese-language teacher
• Story focus: Home visits to three students who have stopped attending school
• Heroine: Nanatsu Kokorome
• Heroine: Nyako Maigo
• Heroine: Ajimi Konoha
• Total endings: 16
• Ending structure: Three characters × five endings plus one Teacher Route
• Teacher Route: Unlocked after all 15 standard endings
• Themes: Salvation, dependency, family, morality, obsession, and ruin
• Horror approach: Psychological horror without relying on jumpscares
• Visual identity: Black, white, red, spring imagery, and Japanese literary influence
• Engine: HORAI Engine based on Unity
• Free demo: Available on Steam
• Demo content: Common route and opening portions of all three character routes
• Full-game languages: Japanese, English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean
• Full voice: Not listed
• Demo localization: Some temporary AI-assisted translation
• Full release localization: Planned to use human native-language translation/editing
• Temporary backgrounds: Some current screenshots/videos use AI-assisted placeholder assets
• Final version: Those temporary backgrounds are planned to be replaced with hand-drawn artwork
• Age rating: Not yet announced
• Streaming: Endings 1–15 permitted
• Ending 16 / Teacher Route: Streaming and video uploads prohibited
• Character theme songs: Three announced

Release Announcement, Official PV, Steam, and Screenshots

A New Horror Game After Roughly 13 Years of CHARON Development

In its latest social post, creator Kaoru Nekofuji presented Spring at Dawn, I Am a Monster as the latest result of around 13 years spent developing games under CHARON.

CHARON has long been associated with indie horror and yandere stories. The new project retains an interest in unhealthy human relationships while moving the central conflict into a grounded setting: a teacher trying to help students who have stopped attending school.

There is no combat-focused monster hunt here. The pressure comes from dialogue, family circumstances, dependency, secrets, and the question of how deeply an adult should involve himself in the lives of vulnerable students.

The premise repeatedly challenges the assumption that doing what appears morally correct will automatically produce a good outcome.

Three Girls With Three Different Circumstances

The story begins when a student in the protagonist's class stops attending school. Concerned, the teacher visits her home.

That process eventually draws him into the lives of three girls: Nanatsu Kokorome, Nyako Maigo, and Ajimi Konoha.

Each carries different circumstances and secrets. One may cling to an adult in an attempt to fill an emotional void, another tests the limits of kindness, while another quietly seeks help inside an already damaged everyday life.

Player choices determine how those relationships evolve.

The game treats “helping” as an unstable concept. Getting too close can become dependency, while a decision that looks responsible in one moment can damage someone later.

Its horror therefore comes primarily from emotional pressure and increasingly uncomfortable relationships rather than physical threats or sudden jumpscares.

Sixteen Endings Lead to the Teacher Route

The full game contains 16 endings.

STUDIO CHARON's official page breaks that total down into five endings for each of the three heroines, creating 15 standard outcomes.

After obtaining all 15, players unlock Ending 16, the Teacher Route.

Steam describes this final path as an ending centered on the teacher himself after every other story has been witnessed.

That structure makes ending collection part of the narrative rather than a simple completion checklist. Players are expected to see multiple possible fates for all three girls before reaching the protagonist-focused conclusion.

CHARON has also established an unusual streaming rule: gameplay through all 15 standard endings can be broadcast or uploaded, but Ending 16 cannot be streamed, recorded, or posted as video content.

A Free Demo Is Already Available

A standalone free demo is currently available on Steam.

It covers the common route and the opening portions of Nanatsu Kokorome, Nyako Maigo, and Ajimi Konoha's routes, giving players an early look at the dialogue system, presentation, and branching relationships.

Steam notes that the trial represents only part of the full game and that save data or other specifications may differ in the final release.

The demo supports Japanese, English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and Korean interface text and subtitles.

Some demo text currently uses temporary AI-assisted localization. The developers say the full release is planned to replace this with translation and editing performed by human native-language translators.

Each Heroine Has Her Own Theme Song

STUDIO CHARON has also announced dedicated theme songs for all three central characters.

Game Ad

Orbit One

Nanatsu Kokorome's song is “ごめんなさい、ごめんなさい”, performed by Nanahira, with lyrics by Kaoru Nekofuji and composition and arrangement by TAKASUKE.

Nyako Maigo receives “AZULAMENT,” performed by Gurutamin, with composition and arrangement by TAKASUKE and Takenori Shibayama of OplaSync.

Ajimi Konoha's theme is “青に慶、冬は射止めて,” performed by Naozumi Takahashi.

The individual songs reinforce the multi-route structure by giving each girl's story its own musical identity in addition to its separate endings.

Psychological Horror Without Jumpscares

Spring at Dawn, I Am a Monster is explicitly designed around psychological horror without jumpscares.

Steam describes tension emerging through conversations, silence, expressions, and subtle shifts in relationships.

Springtime imagery serves as a deliberate contrast. Cherry blossoms, Japanese literary influence, and a black-white-red visual palette wrap an increasingly uncomfortable story in something outwardly beautiful.

Some backgrounds currently visible in development screenshots and promotional footage use AI-assisted tools as temporary assets. The developer says these placeholders are planned to be replaced with hand-drawn backgrounds in the full version.

No content is generated by AI in real time during gameplay.

Why This Matters

1) The horror comes from human relationships

Rather than monsters or jumpscares, the central tension is built around choices, family problems, dependency, and the line between supporting someone and making their situation worse.

2) The 16 endings have a deliberate structure

Five endings for each heroine create 15 standard routes before the Teacher Route opens as the final perspective.

3) The last ending is intentionally protected from video spoilers

CHARON allows nearly the entire game to be streamed, but specifically reserves Ending 16 as something players must experience themselves.

4) It carries CHARON's identity into a newer production

After roughly 13 years of horror development, the project retains the creator's interest in obsession and unhealthy relationships while adding Unity-based production, five-language support, character songs, and a Steam launch.

Game Information

Additional confirmed information currently includes:

• the full title is 春はあけぼの、我はバケモノ。 - Spring at Dawn, I Am a Monster.
• CHARON / STUDIO CHARON develops and publishes the game
• Kaoru Nekofuji is the primary creator
• System / Scenario / Graphics are credited to CHARON / Kaoru Nekofuji
• music is credited to 月桂樹冠
• movie production is credited to LauReL
• the official site lists HORAI Engine based on Unity
• the full game is scheduled for August 20, 2026
• Windows PC via Steam is the confirmed platform
• pricing has not been announced
• the age rating has not been announced
• single-player and Steam Family Sharing are supported
• there are 16 endings in total
• 15 endings belong to the three heroine routes
• Ending 16 is the Teacher Route
• the Teacher Route unlocks after all standard endings
• the free trial is available through the Steam Demo
• the full version is listed on Steam
• the full game lists Japanese, English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and Korean
• the current full-game listing requires Windows 10 at minimum
• minimum processor is currently listed as Intel Core i5
• minimum memory is 4 GB RAM
• DirectX 11 is required
• minimum storage on the current full-game listing is 500 MB
• recommended storage is listed as 1 GB
• Endings 1–15 may be streamed
• Ending 16 may not be streamed or uploaded
• spoiler warnings are requested for spoiler-heavy videos
• streamers must include the game's Steam URL in video descriptions
• official details are available from the Spring at Dawn, I Am a Monster website
• developer updates are posted through CHARON Official on X

Closing

Spring at Dawn, I Am a Monster brings CHARON's approach to horror into a story about a teacher and three students who need help but have no simple answers waiting for them. Choices made with good intentions can lead to dependency or ruin, with 16 endings showing different consequences.

The full version launches on Steam on August 20, 2026, while a free demo is available now. Launch pricing remains unannounced, and the Steam storefront still displays Coming soon even though CHARON has now directly confirmed the August 20 date.