Project: Eden's Garden is a cancelled Fan Game Visual Novel inspired by the popular video game series known by all as Danganronpa, and is directed by Tako and Juvey.

The story takes place in a prestigious American academy called Eden's Garden Academy: a school that scouts teens and young adults with remarkable talents and knowledge. But one day, a student by the name of Damon Maitsu, the Ultimate Debater, awakens within the school alongside 15 of his newest classmates. And to make matters worse, they discover that they are forced to partake in a killing game which will be documented for the world to see. Now Damon and his classmates must work together to survive the killing game and uncover the mystery of Eden's Garden.

You can follow the series either on Twitter at ProjEdensGarden or on Youtube at Project: Eden's Garden. The game is available on itch.io and Game Jolt.

The Prologue chapter, "Vows Woven by Stitches and Needles", was released on December 16th, 2022. Chapter One, "Beneath the Veil of Hypocrisy", was released on December 20th, 2024.

On April 2nd, 2026, the majority of the staff walked out following allegations regarding one of its voice actors grooming a minor and two of its directors (excluding Juvey) covering that up, leaving the game's future uncertain until April 25th, 2026, when the game was revealed to have stopped development entirely after leaks on the death order and some story details were released on the game's subreddit (though members of the team have stated that not all of the story details are true).

Tropes in Project: Eden's Garden include:

• Animal Motifs: Each character is tied to a specific animal that is featured in their attire.
  • Damon: Snake
  • Eva: Crow
  • Desmond: Shark
  • Eloise: Swan
  • Wenona: Bear
  • Toshiko: Flamingo
  • Ulysses: Owl
  • Mark: Alligator
  • Diana: Chameleon
  • Wolfgang: Sheep
  • Kai: Butterfly
  • Ingrid: Lion
  • Jett: Coyote
  • Grace: Rabbit
  • Jean: Dragon
  • Cassidy: Black Widow Spider
  • Tozu: Ram
  • Mara: Panther
• Artistic License – Physics: To test if the water in the boiler room is conductive, Eva tosses a lightbulb into the water to see if it lights up. In reality, the bulb's contacts are too close together to pick up enough voltage from the surrounding water for this test to work.
• Big Bad Duumvirate: The current main villains are Tozu and Mara, of whom are both human beings. The former is the ringleader of the killing game, while Mara is his enforcer.
• Big Guy Fatality Syndrome: Both of the cast's Gentle Giant characters, Jean and Ingrid, are dead by the Chapter 4 trial, with Ingrid further following the Danganronpa formula by being the Chapter 4 victim. Averted with Jett, the heaviest of the cast and one of the few survivors.
• Blackmail: The first motive involves each student receiving another student's dark secret. The content ranged between cryptic and serious, such as Wolfgang being A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, to less threatening, such as Toshiko ruining a relationship when she was in elementary school.
• Boss Battle: The climax of the trial features an arcade shooter themed game called Argument Altercation where chibi versions of Damon and the designated killer battle each other in an arena.
• Breaking Old Trends: The writers have outright said that while they are going for Original Flavour, they will also try to avoid falling into some of the usual Strictly Formula tropes of the Danganronpa series, and it shows.
  • The cast and setting:
    • The story takes place in America instead of Japan.
    • Rather than having a fully teenage cast, the age range is between 14 (Toshiko) and 22 (Wolfgang).
    • There is no "Ultimate ???". Instead, one of the characters has completely unknown information about them (Eva).
    • None of the cast have a Non-Standard Character Design. The closest person to this is Jett and that's only because he wears a helmet covering his face compared to everyone's faces being seen. Under the mask is a face as normal as the other cast.
    • The cast doesn't have a Tiny Schoolboy. The shortest male student is Ulysses at 5'7'', still taller than around half of the girls.
    • The protagonist isn't relentlessly good-natured and trying to encourage everyone to work together, instead they're kind of a Jerkass who rather than placing blind trust in his classmates points out early on it's inevitable they'll all turn on each other sooner or later.
    • The overseer(s) of the Killing Game are two humans instead of a plush mascot, though they still carry an animal motif (a goat and a panther).
  • The prologue. Right after the cast is completely introduced, a dead body is found (or rather, a doll that strongly resembles a real corpse) and the overseer of the game (then unknown to the audience) orders a full Investigation and Class Trial before any of the cast dies.
    • Even the nature of the trial is different. Instead of discerning who the blackened is, a random blackened is assigned and the cast must investigate how the murder is carried out. This marks the first time the entire cast participates in a single class trial, all still alive.
    • During the Closing Argument section, several of the students take part in explaining how the murder was carried out instead of relying on just the protagonist.
  • There's never a double murder in any of the chapters, and every chapter after the prologue has exactly two characters die.
• Call-Back: This being a fangame of Danganronpa, references to the original franchise can be found every now and then.
  • The announcement trailer features a cameo of the Grey Guy from the Closing Arguments.
  • Eden's Garden takes cues from the Ultimate Academy of Gifted Juveniles by having a giant holographic dome that imprisons everyone and the buildings.
  • In the prologue's pretend trial, the victim was revealed to have been armed with her own weapon with the implication of killing someone. Much like Sayaka Maizono from the first game.
  • Just like Junko in Chapter 6 of Trigger Happy Havoc, Tozu reveals himself in the trial room via cloud of smoke.
  • The Killing Game will continue until two students remain, just like in V3.
  • An aggressive student tries to attack the killing game organizer and is almost killed for their actions. Due to the fact that the organizer is a human, it's presented as a full-on No-Holds-Barred Beatdown rather than trying to destroy the mascot through any other means.
  • Much like in Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, a blackout occurs during a get-together the characters have, and after this, the first victim is revealed laying down by their stomach nearby a knife, showing that a murder occurred during it, in the first chapter.
  • Wolfgang, after snapping, pulls a knife and attempts to kill someone else, but he ends up being the first one dead instead. Again, much like Sayaka Maizono from the first game. However, the circumstances are at least different.
  • Eva, who is set up as the female lead, uses a vent to commit her crime and is the 1st culprit. Much like Kaede Akamatsu from the third game.
  • Like the series, the first execution starts off with the culprit surrounded by the rest of the students, the culprit getting dragged to the execution by a chain around their neck, and ends with the other students watching in horror at their demise.
• Chekhov's Gun: While exploring the pharmacy, Eva and Damon find a poster for a Tozu plushie. The poster contained a code that unlocked a nearby security door which would grant Eva the Traitor Perk which she would use for her murder gambit.
• Color-Coded Characters: Every character is given a specific color, which appears in the first letter of their name, their frame in the trials, and the gems on their dorm room doors. For certain characters, like Grace and Wenona, their colors are very similar, causing this to be somewhat Downplayed.
  • Damon: Dark green
  • Eva: White
  • Desmond: Blue
  • Eloise: Grey
  • Wenona: Light blue
  • Toshiko: Dull pink
  • Ulysses: Brown
  • Mark: Dull green
  • Diana: Bright pink
  • Wolfgang: Purple
  • Kai: Pinkish-purple
  • Ingrid: Pink
  • Jett: Red
  • Grace: Light blue
  • Jean: Orange
  • Cassidy: Reddish-pink
  • Tozu: Dark red
• Darker and Edgier: Right from the word go, the grim atmosphere and orchestral rendition of the DR theme song in the announcement trailer lets you know that this fangame will be more serious compared to the games they're inspired by. Adding to this, Eden's Garden lacks many of the "pop" elements of DR's psychopop aesthetic, with a soundtrack to match. The body discoveries are also more eerily silent this time around, and execution music is suitably grim for the occasion, really making you feel the same anxiety the characters do.
• Deconstruction: The concept of "Ultimates" is receiving this treatment. Damon mentions early on how many schools throughout the world have embraced the Ultimate Talent Plan and have begun to accept students with different talents or skills. However, the ongoing usage of Ultimate titles have lost its value as anyone can be accepted even though their special skills can hardly be considered revolutionary or beneficiary to the world. (Ex. A lawyer or businesswoman being compared to a pro gamer or drag racer). There's also criticism of how many of those Ultimates don't even have noble motivations and are only out to become famous.
• Did They or Didn't They?: Grace switches rooms to be Wolfgang's bunkmate for the night. Then she tries to stop the students from investigating Wolfgang's dorm for seemingly no reason, and when they finally enter they see her and Wolfgang's clothes messily scattered around the room. Yeah...
• Fan Disservice: There's a cutscene during Chapter 1 where you can see up Eva's skirt. It's just too bad that's when she's being dragged off to her execution.
• Foreshadowing:
  • After the Killing Game is revealed to the students, Damon ponders alone in his room who will most likely die first. He decides that "the makeup girl" [Diana] would make an easy target. Diana is not the first victim, but the culprit ends up choosing her to frame as the killer, apparently having made a similar appraisal of her.
  • When the students are exploring the newly opened up pharmacy, Damon conjectures that it is a bad idea to leave such a place unlocked and unguarded but doesn't say anything because he has already worn out his welcome with most of the other students. The first killer obtains a psychotropic drug and syringe from the place totally unnoticed, something a mortified Damon realizes during the trial.
  • During one of Diana's free time events, Damon lectures her on the dangers of blindly trusting the wrong person. Which comes to pass when she chooses Eva as a bunkmate. It also serves to hint at Damon's own misplaced trust in Eva.
  • Eva spends almost all of her free time in the basement hallway, just outside the boiler room. The same place where the rolling pin used to assail Wolfgang could be found and where the lock leading to the boiler room was reversed.
  • The preview poster for Chapter 1 prominently features a chameleon in the background. Diana is the student whose testimony proves most pivotal to determining the first killer's identity.
  • Damon and Wenona can have a conversation where Wenona derides the rest of the group as being easily lead around. The killer's plan relies on this totally, utilizing largely circumstantial evidence to convince the other students to hastily vote for an innocent party without questioning things like timeline or even motive.
  • When the time comes for the students to determine bunkmates, Toshiko suggests that they allow her to pair everyone up in terms of romantic compatibility. The rest of the group nixes the idea and instead they decide through chance. But the more compatible Grace-Wolfgang and Ulysses-Wenona just end up switching up, anyways.
• Frame-Up: For the first murder case, the killer lured Diana into the boiler room where Wolfgang, who was attacked and drugged, was waiting and set to be killed via electrocution. Diana being stuck there at the same time that Wolfgang perished would have convinced everyone that she was his killer.
• Garden of Eden: The titular school is named after the sinless paradise of Christianity.
• Hated by All: To Damon's dismay, the prologue ends with everyone disliking him after he points out how there's no chance that they'll live up to their promises of not killing each other and how it's only a matter of time before they turn on each other, not helped by him talking down to them in regards to their talents.
• Instant Sedation: In the prologue, the Ultimates boarding the train to Eden's Garden are knocked out after a mysterious bag releases a noxious gas.
• Interface Spoiler: Averted. You can't access student profiles from your Tozu Trinket at first, which may seem odd, but it's locked for a reason — that being it would spoil the reveal of Eva's true talent.
• Limited Wardrobe: Invoked by the Headmasters. When Damon tries to find clothes in his closet, he only finds multiple copies of the outfit he's already wearing.
• Mass "Oh, Crap!": All of the students react this way once they discover Cara's dead body and later Wolfgang's.
• Never Trust a Trailer: The trailer for Chapter 1 shows Wolfgang taking part in the class trial, which doesn't happen in the chapter itself due to Wolfgang being the victim.
• An Offer You Can't Refuse: According to Eva, Tozu warned her that by gaining the Traitor Perk, she is obligated to murder someone or else she will die. Even though he didn't specify how or what the deadline was, Eva felt she had no choice but to kill.
• Original Flavor: In regards to gameplay and graphics, the developers attempted to fully emulate the style of the Danganronpa series.
• Prolonged Prologue: The prologue which was released before any of the other chapters appears to be this, with it beginning with the student getting knocked out on the train, the introduction of the characters, a (decoy) body being discovered, an investigation, a class trial, AND the headmaster being revealed all at once.
• Recurring Element: There are a couple of students who fit familiar DR character archetypes.
  • Wenona serves as the brown skinned girl of the cast.
  • Toshiko is the Token Mini-Moe.
  • There are two Big Hearted Muscle characters in the forms of Ingrid and Jean.
  • Grace is the athletic girl of the group.
  • Mark is the musically-inclined student of the group.
• Rewatch Bonus:
  • After the first trial, if one goes to watch the video game tournament cutscene again, Eva is the only one who doesn't say anything and isn't in the frame, which indeed becomes pivotal in the trial itself.
  • More of "Replay" Bonus but if you go find Eva during the FTE's, she is mostly found in the basement hallway. Considering what she ended up doing, it makes sense she spent all of her free time there.
• Rube Goldberg Hates Your Guts: The key to the chapter 1 murder. Take a lithium battery out of Jett's room, wrap a long extension cord around it, then loop said extension cord through a vent in the dining hall, opening it just enough to have the battery dangling over the water. Then, all you have to do is close the vent at just the right time while your murder victim is standing in the water. The battery goes in the water, and presto; one dead lawyer.
• Shock Collar: To keep the students in line, each one is forced to wear a digital watch that zaps them when they do something that Tozu wouldn't approve of.
• Shout-Out
  • Upon their first meeting, Grace openly asks "is that a fucking gremlin" after seeing Toshiko.
  • The fact they have shock braces on their arms as restraints during a death game harkens back to one of the genre's progenitors.
  • One of Kai's panicked quotes is "Game over man! Game over!"
  • Cassidy is full of them:
    • When meeting Eva, her first thought is to mention how it's just like "the spy!"
    • True to her gamer background, quotes "Objection" during the prologue trial, and earlier tries to deliberately start an argument about ladders vs stepladders.
    • Before starting the trial, she says that "religious symbolism is tight!"
    • When Mara first appears, Cassidy says "This is getting out of hand, now there are two of them!"
    • In the first chapter, Cassidy, attempting to wake up Damon by opening his dorm's door, kicks it down while yelling "SUPER INAZUMA KICK!"
  • The first "victim" is said to be killed after being stabbed 28 times, something the cast highlights throughout the first trial.
    • Said "victim" is also named after Kara, one of the game's protagonists.
  • When discussing how bleach got in the "victim"'s eyes, Cassidy suggests a water gun and Jett responds with "The ink vanishes when the battle's over!"
  • When Eva gets outed for lying over her talent and is revealed to be the Ultimate Mathlete, Kai exclaims that it's social suicide.
  • Ingrid sings her own version of "Whistle While You Work" while doing laundry.
  • One of Eva's uncommon voice clips is "It's like one of my Japanese animes!"
  • Cassidy sets up a gaming tournament to light up the mood and picks a game resembling Super Smash Bros., and the game's artwork resembles Melee.
  • Like its inspiration, many gifts the player can give to the other characters during the free time segments are clearly references to other media. To Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc:
    • "The Goldflake Katana" and "Lint Roller", used on Case 1 as evidence.
    • "Genocider Scissors", the weapon of choice for the Ultimate Murderous Fiend.
  • To Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair:
    • "The "Meat on the Bone" from Case 1.
    • A phone charm that resembles Usami/Monomi.
    • A bag of gummies, conspicuously missing yellow gummies.
    • The idea of the students riding a train only to be gassed unconscious evokes Chapter 4.
  • To Danganronpa: Ultra Despair Girls:
    • The track Mark mixes during the game tournament uses the same vocal sample as some Ultra Despair Girls tracks.
  • To Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony: Some sushi rolls identified as maki rolls, apparently named by an astronaut.
  • To non-Danganronpa-related media:
    • A pair of "Purple-Yellow Shades", with the description referencing a telemarketer.
    • A "Green Magatama" that is able to "see the secrets hidden within a person's heart".
    • A "Masquerade Mask", shaped like Joker's mask, described as "popular with teenage delinquents".
    • A suspiciously familiar looking "Teleporter" with its accuracy deemed questionable.
    • A "Rose Rapier" that supposedly "has the power to revolutionize the world."
    • A "Grotesque Necklace", the pendant of which appears to be a red head with jumbled-up facial features (a behelit, in other words).
  • The Halloween artwork for 2022 has the cast dressed up as characters from different franchises:
    • Wolfgang is dressed up as Connor.
    • Eloise is dressed up as Utena.
    • Demond is dressed as Link.
    • Jean is dressed as Lara Croft.
    • Ingrid is dressed as Lady Dimitrescu
    • Jett is dressed as a Red Power Ranger.
    • Mark is dressed as Sunny.
• Spooky Painting: Every painting featured in the academy has sophisticated artworks with the subject wearing a disturbing animal mask, similar to the ones Tozu and Mara wear.
• Stopped Clock: In the first chapter, the clock on Mark's DJ equipment is found stuck at 9:35 due to the blackout, which lines perfectly with Wolfgang's time of death.
• Strictly Formula: While the story does break a few trends here and there, the first chapter of the game plays out similarly to how the first chapters of traditional Danganronpa games go, namely the deaths of characters billed to be somewhat important to the story. Both Wolfgang and Eva have traits that form a dynamic with protagonist Damon similar to the Power Trio characters of the official games. However, they are the story's first proper cast deaths.
• Taking Up the Mantle: At the end of the first trial, Diana vows to continue the late Wolfgang's work by inspiring their classmates and doing her best not to let them fall victim to the killing game.
• Villain No Longer Idle: After the story details were leaked and the game was canceled, some of those who disliked the plans for the finished project went on to make their own story, such as No_Boss_ 171 on Reddit who combined aspects of Tako’s story with aspects of Obelusk’s story, such as Eva Tsunaka being the mastermind of the killing game.
• Wham Shot:
  • The sight of a dead body (or rather a very convincing dummy, as the students quickly discover) in the prologue chapter, something that does not happen in Danganronpa.
  • In the first chapter when the students' Tozu Trinkets reveal their profiles, Wenona tells everyone to look at Eva's profile and find out that she's not titled as the Ultimate Liar, but the "Ultimate Mathlete".
• Your Door Was Open: To everyone's dismay, none of their dorm doors have functioning locks meaning that anyone can waltz right in whenever they feel like it.