To the Hermes Expedition Members,
Hello, this is the CODE EXIT Development Team.
First, we would like to thank everyone who played the CODE EXIT Demo and shared their opinions with us.
This demo was an important verification process for us.
We were able to clearly identify how the intended experience of CODE EXIT was received in actual gameplay, and which aspects were not sufficiently conveyed.
First of all, through this demo, we were able to clearly see the potential of CODE EXIT.
The tension when being chased by S.O.M.A., the process of exploring dark spaces, and the experience of overcoming crises through cooperation were definitely working within the gameplay. In fact, there were already team members who felt that enjoyment and provided positive feedback.
However, our goal is not to confine these experiences to a fraction of players, but to deliver them naturally and consistently to all players. From that standpoint, this demo did not fully convey the core experience we intended.
The CODE EXIT we aim for is not simply a game of being chased by enemies. It is a cooperation-based survival experience where players assess situations with limited information, collaborate with teammates, and accumulate choices amidst danger.
Yet, in the current demo, this intention was not consistently implemented throughout the gameplay, and questions like “what to do,” “why this action should be taken,” and “what choices are available” were not adequately communicated during play. As a result, there were sections where cooperation and tension did not function in the intended manner.
The major issues identified during the demo period through Steam reviews, the official Discord, and offline playtests are as follows:
Certain puzzle structures acted as an "inconvenience" rather than fostering cooperation.
S.O.M.A's detection and tracking were unpredictable and difficult to accept.
The ways players could respond after being spotted were not intuitively understood.
The game's objective and progression flow were unclear.
The necessity and roles of cooperation did not emerge naturally during the course of play.
The map and UI did not function sufficiently in terms of both information delivery and immersion.
We determine that these issues are not simple matters of polish, but problems that arose because the core structure of the game was not clearly organized.
Therefore, we plan to clearly rebuild the missing structure on top of this verified "potential."
We intend to proceed with development in a direction that redesigns the core experience, rather than simply adding content. While we cannot incorporate all feedback exactly as received, we will prioritize the identified issues and continuously improve them.
Future improvements will center around the following criteria:
Reconstructing the objective and progression structure into a flow where players can always understand "what they need to do right now."
Redesigning cooperation not as a forced mechanic, but as a structure that naturally becomes necessary during the course of play.
Completely revising puzzles to focus on "clear interactions" that players can understand and resolve, rather than simply removing them.
Redefining S.O.M.A's detection, tracking, and spotted states based on rules and feedback so that players can comprehend "why they were spotted."
More clearly expanding counter-responses in dangerous situations so players can choose whether to hide, run, or cooperate.
This process will not be a simple numerical adjustment or partial improvement, but a task to recreate the very flow that players experience.
We know that our first demo fell short of your expectations. The next time we showcase CODE EXIT, our goal is to deliver a full-fledged survival horror game where players can experience tension and cooperation through their own judgments and choices, without the confusion and unfairness felt in this demo. And we will ensure that you can clearly feel that change during gameplay.
Thank you once again to all the Hermes Expedition Members who kept an eye on the potential of CODE EXIT during this demo period. We will greet you again next time with a more evolved version of CODE EXIT.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Phase 8 Studio