👋 Greetings, friends! Kirill here.
We are a little late with this weekly update — we usually try to post around 17:00, but this week turned out to be especially intense. So today we would like to share what has been happening with Is There a Way? over the past few days.
The most important thing this week is that we analyzed our current Steam page and finally understood why it is not bringing in the number of wishlists we were hoping for.
The issue is not the game itself, but the way it is currently presented. The page does not communicate the strongest parts of Is There a Way? quickly enough: its atmosphere, psychological tension, detective mystery, Soviet setting, and the story built around a case that should never have been reopened.
Because of that, we made an important decision: we are going to fully rework the Steam page.
We are already preparing the materials needed for this update, so the page can better reflect the actual tone, scale, and identity of the project.
This week we:
— analyzed the current Steam page and identified its weak points
— planned a full rework of the game’s Steam page
— started preparing new Steam materials
— completed the direction plan for the gameplay trailer
— are about to begin full trailer production in the coming days
— added several new systems to the code and successfully tested them
— received the first feedback from the closed playtest
— fixed several dialogue issues based on player feedback
— fixed a number of technical problems
— wrote new music tracks for the prologue and the main game
— prepared several new characters
— continued working on the game’s visual presentation
— moved further with the updated demo build
The first playtest feedback has already been extremely useful. It helps us see the game through the eyes of new players: where the pacing works, where more clarity is needed, which scenes leave a stronger impression, and which parts still need polishing.
We are also continuing to work on the atmosphere. For us, Is There a Way? is not just a sequence of dialogues. We want it to feel like a complete psychological story, where music, visuals, UI, writing, silence, and pacing all work together.
Right now, we are in a very active stage of development. We are polishing the build, analyzing feedback, preparing the trailer, and reworking the Steam page at the same time, because we want the updated demo and the future release to feel much stronger.
Thank you to everyone who follows the project and supports us.
If you are interested in Is There a Way?, please:
— add the game to your wishlist
— share this update with your friends
— tell people who enjoy psychological thrillers, detective stories, and visual novels about the project
— stay tuned for the next updates
For a small indie team, your support truly means a lot.
More news soon. 😶