To think it’s been six long years already since our little murder mystery SHINRAI – Broken Beyond Despair was first released on PC and that we’re also getting closer to the one year anniversary of its console port… time really proceeds at an unrelenting pace!
By now, our second project, GENBA no Kizuna, was long planned to be released and there are many reasons as to why it’s been taking so long, all of which I will eventually get thoroughly into, once we find ourselves post-release.
Something we are ever so closer to now!
Last year, we finally finished up the entire first chapter and offered it as a demo to patrons. This year, we have something similar in store with another demo release now available on Patreon, which features not only the entire second chapter, but even the third!
The game is now approximately 138,000 words long, only 12,000 words short of hitting the same count as the entirety of SHINRAI!
And not only is everything up until the end of the third chapter (out of five) fully playable, we’re also well into the development of chapter four. So, as you can see, we’ve really picked up the pace during this past year and are currently planning to finish the rest by the end of this one (although a release will still have to wait until 2023)!
There still is quite a bit left to do, but we’re currently in the 60-70% completion range. Chapter four is going to be a pretty lengthy one, but the fifth and final one will be more on the shorter side again, similar to chapter three. It’s pretty exciting to think that the finish line is visible on the horizon and I can’t wait to jump into new projects next year, some of which have already been worked on quite a bit as well and which will finally continue telling Raiko‘s story!
Outside of the actual sequel to BBD, we will also work on a short side project dealing with the immediate aftermath of Rie‘s Halloween party, that will properly bridge the gap between the two main games. I’ll probably talk about it some more later this year, around late November/early December (which is also when that story takes place), so please keep your eyes peeled for that!
All I can really say for now is that it’s really going to be a short project this time around, at most the length of GENBA‘s third chapter (~30,000 words), so it shouldn’t take all that long to complete. But, of course, even though I’m working on it every now and then, the main focus will remain on GENBA no Kizuna, especially now that we’re getting so close to wrapping it up!
I’m very excited for what’s to come and hope that, from here on out, we can keep up the pace. We’re still gaining new fans, after all, who, along with longtime followers, are eagerly awaiting our new projects and we really don’t want you guys to have to wait too much longer! And, on that note, we’d like to once again thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your generous patience as well as your continued support! Even six years later, hearing people tell us that they enjoyed our little project is something that truly warms our hearts and makes us so incredibly happy!
We really love and appreciate you guys!
Now, to wrap up this post, I’ve got a few glimpses at GENBA‘s third chapter here in the form of various screenshots as well as some actual gameplay footage that will give you a quick look at the evidence presentation system. Something that SHINRAI players should be all too familiar with:
(You can find more gameplay videos over on our YouTube channel!)
Screenshots:
(Click to enlarge!)
Oh, right! Also can’t forget the anniversary artwork! You’ve already seen her above, but here’s the solo version of our grumpy little detective! Given the new demo release, we went with Raiko wearing the same suit as her uncle, Superintendent Nobuhiko Shinpuku, and intended her to go along with Officer Kamen from a couple years ago:
As always, the image has been added to our gallery (where you can find even more artwork from ourselves as well as various very talented artists) and patrons get access to a higher resolution version here.
Also, on a side note, we do have a public demo available for GENBA, which features the prologue and a main chunk of chapter 1, introducing the basic premise and all the major characters. Just wanted to throw that out there in case you didn’t know and would like to actually experience a bit of the game for yourselves!
So, with that all out of the way: Once again, a huge thank you to all of you guys for joining us on this VNdev adventure! Whether you’ve been with us from the start or just began following us recently, we’re glad you’re here and seriously cannot wait for you to experience our next project! Now, as always, please enjoy the rest of your weekend and, until next Saturday, take care :3
