gameindustrytrends

itch.ioRank 18382026-10-14

The Hostage

by Melancholy Marionette

Open on itch.io

Velocity

-0.004

The Hostage Velocity, last 14 days: falling across 14 days, 0.00 to -0.00 (low -0.00, high 0.00).

Confidence 20%

Confidence is the share of Velocity’s four components that could be measured for this game, scaled down again when there is less than a fortnight to measure over. Here, ratings had a measurable acceleration on 2026-10-14. Topic views and comments did not. We also have itch.io chart positions for it, which is the fourth component. It was observed on 14 of the last 14 days. How this is computed.

Which counter moved first

Lead and lag

30 days

Not enough of the ladder to compare.

Only ratings could be plotted, so there is no second counter to compare the timing against.

Lead and lag for The Hostage, 30 daysLead and lag over 30 days, 2026-09-15 to 2026-10-14, each series scaled to its own change so the timing can be compared. Not enough of the ladder to compare. Ratings: 260 to 261, up 1, the change came at a steady pace.100%50%0%Sep 15Oct 14Ratings

Each line is scaled to its own change across these 30 days, so counters that differ by orders of magnitude can be compared by shape. The vertical gap is what matters: a line higher on the left took its change earlier. The real counts are in the legend, and the day-by-day numbers are below.

Series — over Sep 15 to Oct 14

  • Ratings — people finished and cared260261+1
  • Topic views are not recorded for this game, so that rung is unmeasured — not zero.
  • Comments are not recorded for this game, so that rung is unmeasured — not zero.
The numbers behind the chart

The counter as we recorded it that day, and beside it the share of the window’s change it had reached — the value the chart plots.

DayRatings
Sep 15260
Sep 16260
Sep 17260
Sep 18260
Sep 19260
Sep 20260
Sep 21260
Sep 22260
Sep 23260
Sep 24260
Sep 25260
Sep 26260
Sep 27260
Sep 28260
Sep 29260
Sep 30260
Oct 1260
Oct 2261
Oct 3261
Oct 4261
Oct 5261
Oct 6261
Oct 7261
Oct 8261
Oct 9261
Oct 10261
Oct 11261
Oct 12261
Oct 13261
Oct 14261
What the platform publishes

Counters

Read 2026-10-14
CounterNow7d30d
Ratings conversion2610+1

A blank change is not a zero: the scoring pass refuses a window whose nearest observation is too stale to compare, rather than differencing two points that are not seven days apart.

Not our number

On itch.io's own charts

Categories

ChartNow7d30dHistory
Top rated · Visual Novel799-18-30Position on itch.io's Top rated · Visual Novel chart across 47 readings: slipping, #789 to #799 (best #766, worst #799).

All of itch.io

ChartNow7d30dHistory
Top rated2,151-40-51Position on itch.io's Top rated chart across 56 readings: slipping, #2130 to #2151 (best #2093, worst #2164).
On 11 tag charts
ChartNow7d30dHistory
Top rated · #experimental52-2-2Position on itch.io's Top rated · #experimental chart across 37 readings: slipping, #51 to #52 (best #50, worst #52).
Top rated · #lgbtqia680-2Position on itch.io's Top rated · #lgbtqia chart across 36 readings: climbing, #70 to #68 (best #66, worst #70).
Top rated · #yandere111-3-5Position on itch.io's Top rated · #yandere chart across 36 readings: slipping, #106 to #111 (best #104, worst #111).
Top rated · #casual1330-1Position on itch.io's Top rated · #casual chart across 38 readings: climbing, #134 to #133 (best #131, worst #134).
Top rated · #amare1600-4Position on itch.io's Top rated · #amare chart across 55 readings: slipping, #155 to #160 (best #155, worst #160).
Top rated · #psychological-horror182-3-4Position on itch.io's Top rated · #psychological-horror chart across 36 readings: slipping, #174 to #182 (best #173, worst #182).
Top rated · #interactive-fiction400-11-11Position on itch.io's Top rated · #interactive-fiction chart across 36 readings: slipping, #395 to #400 (best #386, worst #400).
Top rated · #short407-11-14Position on itch.io's Top rated · #short chart across 36 readings: slipping, #396 to #407 (best #391, worst #408).
Top rated · #horror512-10-12Position on itch.io's Top rated · #horror chart across 36 readings: slipping, #505 to #512 (best #498, worst #512).
Top rated · #romance529-5-16Position on itch.io's Top rated · #romance chart across 36 readings: slipping, #525 to #529 (best #512, worst #529).
Top rated · #no-ai920-18-48Position on itch.io's Top rated · #no-ai chart across 36 readings: slipping, #883 to #920 (best #867, worst #920).
Everything else we hold

Activity and where to go next

First seen by us
2026-08-20
Price
free
Average rating
4.60 / 5

No devlog has been posted since we started watching on 2026-08-20. itch.io publishes only the most recent devlog date, so anything posted before then leaves no trace here.

Go to the source

We hold counters and metadata only. Nothing on the game’s own page — its description, its screenshots, its build — is republished here, and everything worth reading about it is behind those links.