Thanks for waiting! This is what we've been up to:
For the last few months, we have been working hard on writing, art, music, new functionality and, finally, the playtesting. The main chunk, of course, was the writing we’ve been reworking, which was an extensive overhaul of a character's entire personality and plot development!
Playtesters liked the changes!
We sent the rewritten storyline to the same playtesters who tried the first version, and the feedback was very positive! Players bonded with the character and empathised with her much better, the wholesome moments are sweeter, and the tension build-up and climax is much stronger! Hearing this kind of feedback was wonderful!
Delaying the release to this extent was a difficult decision to make, and it has been a stressful experience due to some of the reactions from expectant fans, however it was the best decision we could have made regarding the thematic problems that existed previously. Accurately representing the dark subject matter depicted in this game, and making sure the highs and lows of a character arc hit you, is important to us, so that players will finish the game and continue to think about it.
So thank you to the playtesters and all the patient fans who have supported us while we were busy!
What's left to do before release?
Now that our direction is set, all that's left are the consistency checks for all the bad ends that are connected to that charcter.
When that is done, we will identify a good time for release and announce it! Rest assured that whenever we next announce the release date, IT WILL BE THE FINAL RELEASE DATE.
Thank you so much to everyone who has had faith in us and been understanding. The team as a whole feels so much more confident and proud of our work.
If you're curious about some other things we achieved:
Art: New and updated CGs and optimised image use
Music: New tracks, and all remastered.
Full controller and keyboard support.
Content warning system: Descriptions are more detailed, and you can skip the scene.
File size: now 900MB (it was 2GB before!?)
I put in a stretch goal that I hinted at a while ago on my social media account ;) If anyone guesses it correctly, I'll be impressed