It’s been a while, but we’ve just updated the sub page for SHINRAI Saku – Blooming Beyond Despair with a new introduction card, this time of another returning member of the SHINRAI cast: Kamen Eiga!
Nov 08
Weekly Update #587: Saku Notebook Content
First of all, in case you’ve missed the big news, we’ve not only introduced SHINRAI Saku‘s composer Crescendo in last week’s blog post, but also shared a public preview of the very first track, while the full version is available to supporters of both our Patreon and Crescendo’s Ko-fi. So definitely do check that out if you want to get a better idea of the musical vibe of our new project!
Then I’d like to give a quick reminder that we’re currently running our Dinovember Sale, so you can snatch up GENBA for 20% off!
Nov 03
Dinovember Sale 2025
The Halloween Sale may be over, but just like last year, we’re immediately following it up with another one: the Dinovember Sale!
This way, you have the chance to grab our dino-themed murder mystery GENBA no Kizuna (which sadly didn’t fulfill the requirements to be accepted into Steam‘s Scream Fest) for a discount as well!
So, if you’ve just finished and enjoyed SHINRAI, why not delve straight into your next murder investigation?
Nov 01
Weekly Update #586: Saku Soundtrack Composer & Preview
Today, we’re extremely excited to not only talk more about the soundtrack for SHINRAI Saku and finally introduce the musical genius behind it, but to also give you an actual listen to what your ears can expect! So let’s start right off with that, shall we?
Oct 27
Halloween Sale 2025
Although Halloween itself may lie a few more days away from us, the annual Halloween Sale is already going at this very moment and, as you should have come to expect by now, our fittingly themed murder mystery SHINRAI – Broken Beyond Despair is once again a part of it, being offered for 50% off until the event ends on November 3, at 10:00 AM PST!
The complete soundtrack is also on offer for the same percentage amount and you can even save another 10% by buying the game and its music together through the bundle!
Please bear in mind that these deals only apply to the PC version, but if that’s your platform of choice (or of a friend you think would enjoy SHINRAI), then be sure to strike at the opportunity!
And in case you’re a little unsure whether this really is what you’d like to spend these spooky days on, don’t forget that we’ve got a slew of player impressions in the form of Steam Reviews that may help you clear up any doubts!
Oct 25
Weekly Update #585: Art & Music Progress + Mystery Game Masterclass
This past week, my work on SHINRAI Saku character expressions continued and, as you can clearly see above, I’ve also finally finished those for our little bat mascot which will once again accompany you through the game and react to the dialogues!
Oct 18
Weekly Update #584: More Sprite Expressions
It’s pretty late, so today’s blog post needs to be kept on the shorter side again I’m afraid. Though there isn’t too much I could talk in detail about, anyway. I’ve mainly continued from where I left off last week, working on more sprite expressions for SHINRAI Saku, this time tackling the Asatsui siblings, Ritsu and Shizue! They make a brief, early, mysterious appearance before their proper introduction later on in the story, so they don’t need too many facial variations yet, meaning that I’m just about done with them (for now).
I’ll share a preview with patrons soon, just like I did with Taiko earlier today. 5$+ supporters can now check out his full set of expressions for the whole game right here!
Other than that, I’ve worked on a few more GUI-related assets and, by now, I’ve actually heard a preview of the very first piece of music for Saku, which sounds absolutely amazing! I’m really excited to finally share more regarding the soundtrack, but you’ll have to wait just a bit longer for that, as I’d like to have the first track fully done before getting into it.
Anyway, that about wraps it up already, so please enjoy the rest of your weekend and, until next Saturday, take care and have a super spooky good time ^w^
Oct 11
Weekly Update #583: Saku Sprite Progress
As you can see, this week has mostly been dedicated to whipping up some more expressions for various characters in SHINRAI Saku. My current goal is to get everything playable until scene 07 when the first big shift in the story takes place, so while I’m going through the script, giving it some more polish, I’m also tackling the remaining assets we’ll need to translate all that into VN format.
And while we did already have a good number of sprite variations for both Nobara and Raiko, some new scenes create new situations that obviously call for new reactions. Thankfully, the main chunk of their sprites is definitely done and so, I only had to create one new expression for Nobara and three for Raiko, which you can see above!
Oct 04
Weekly Update #582: Saku Progress Update
This past week, I’ve returned to background art for SHINRAI Saku, more or less finishing yet another piece (namely the entrance to the onsen) which patrons can already check out here! Gonna get a little bit of distance from it in order to be able to properly judge whether or not something still needs to be fixed, so I’m gonna wait a bit longer before sharing it publicly (sorry).
Meanwhile, I’ll continue polishing up the writing for the next few scenes and getting the other assets still missing for them done.
As a matter of fact, I got two new character images ready for coloring right before starting to type this post, though I won’t tell you who they are yet (double sorry).
Then, in other news, I can now officially state that Solo Acapello, our composer for GENBA no Kizuna, will sadly not return for Saku.
He’s been pretty busy with a ton of stuff, which won’t really change any time soon. I’ve been holding out on starting any music work for the past six months, hoping for his schedule to clear up, but at this point, we really need to get into the musical aspect of things, so…
While Solo is still intending to return for Withering Without Hope, Saku‘s soundtrack will now be composed by someone else. Someone just as amazing and talented, though, which is why I’m still feeling super duper excited to finally begin work on the music! This is a topic I want to properly delve into at a later date, however, so this will be all I’m gonna share at the moment (triple sorry)!
Anyway, things are overall progressing very much to my satisfaction and I can’t wait to actually unveil more, but for now, I seriously gotta get back to work, so please enjoy a spooky start into October and, until next Saturday, take care °w°
Sep 27
Weekly Update #581: Meet Another New Saku Cast Member
As promised in last week’s post, here we have another new addition to the cast of SHINRAI Saku – Blooming Beyond Despair:
Raiko‘s homeroom teacher Mana Kobayashi!
