Today, I’m extremely excited to announce that the beta-test phase for SHINRAI Saku – Blooming Beyond Despair has officially begun!
And just in time for the start of our anniversary month, too!
Aug 01
Weekly Update #625: SHINRAI Saku Beta-Test Phase
Jul 25
Weekly Update #624: Achievements, Credits & Notebook Progress
As mentioned in last week’s blog post, we’re planning to add achievements to SHINRAI Saku – Blooming Beyond Despair and, after determining their number, unlock conditions, titles and descriptions, all that’s missing now are the respective icons, so that’s one of the things I’ve worked on this past week and you can see some of the results above!
The first one is the icon for a locked achievement, the second one is a progress-related achievement that you’ll acquire for simply reaching the halfway mark of the story, and the last one is related to the notebook.
Jul 18
Weekly Update #623: Profiles, Achievements & Choice…?
As mentioned in last week’s blog post, I’m currently working on all the extra content for SHINRAI Saku – Blooming Beyond Despair, which includes everything you’ll be able to read in the notebook: trivia, diary entries and character profiles.
After already having finished the former two categories by last Saturday, this past week, I’ve mostly dedicated myself to writing up the profiles. And while they aren’t entirely done yet, I’ve certainly made some good progress!
Jul 11
Weekly Update #622: Saku Notebook Content
At the moment, I’m working through all the missing notebook and bonus content for SHINRAI Saku – Blooming Beyond Despair.
This past week, I’ve finished writing the remaining trivia entries and all the ones for Raiko‘s diary.
I really enjoy using the notebook sections to deepen the world-building and to share as much of the knowledge I’ve attained through my writing research as possible. So, in Saku too, you’ll be able to learn more about not only the world of SHINRAI itself, but also how a lot of stuff actually functions in reality, particularly when it comes to everything related to ryokan, onsen and Japanese middle school trips!
Jun 27
Weekly Update #620: The Final Track
Today, we’re both super excited and also a little bit sad to unveil to you the final addition to SHINRAI Saku‘s OST: its credits theme!
On the one hand, this is another major step forward regarding the completion of this project. On the other hand, it means that our composer Crescendo‘s work is done on it now, which is quite a shame. After all, collaborating with her and regularly receiving these amazing musical pieces was a true joy! One I already greatly miss…
And if you feel the same about no longer getting any new Saku music previews from here on out, do be sure to check out Cre’s website where you can find a lot more work from her! But first, please have a listen to her final contribution to our next VN’s soundtrack:
As always, the full track is available to supporters of both Crescendo’s Ko-fi (3$ memberships) and our Patreon (5$+ tiers).
Jun 25
🌴Summer Sale 2026🌴
It’s officially summer now and so the annual Summer Sale returns, shining brightly with a myriad of hot gaming deals ☀️
And among them, you’ll once again find our murder mystery visual novels SHINRAI – Broken Beyond Despair and GENBA no Kizuna!
So, if you’re looking for something to cool down during these hot days, why not dive into a chilling murder investigation?
The sale will last for exactly two weeks, ending on July 9, 10:00 AM PST.
Jun 20
Weekly Update #619: Soundtrack Complete & More Saku Progress
As Jurassic June continues, so do my threads on Twitter and Bluesky, in which I share all the dino media-related nods I’ve put into GENBA no Kizuna. So, if you haven’t yet, do check them out to not only see what obscure references you may have missed, but also what some of the design choices were inspired by, from the characters to the user interface!
(Here are just two quick examples)
Jun 13
Weekly Update #618: Ace(?) Trainer Shiku & Sprite Art Progress
Since it’s Jurassic June, I figured it’s the perfect time to finally continue the “GENBA Pokémon Trainer” series, so let’s start off today’s post with a brand-new artwork featuring our perpetually tired Shiku and her excited little Archen:
The piece was once again drawn by the rextremely talented JulyMarte (who’s currently open for commissions, by the way).
If you want to see her previous artworks, click here for Amber and here for Ryuunosuke. She’s also got her own section in our gallery where you can find all her pieces, as well as a ton more art from various amazing artists.
Jun 06
Weekly Update #617: Happy Jurassic June 2026 🌴🦕
Dino Month is once again upon us and it immediately started off in rather entertaining fashion with the continuation of Angie Lumine‘s GENBA no Kizuna stream! The latest episode had her conclude Himatsu‘s second interview round, leaving only Rei‘s examination of Ryuunosuke‘s room now, until we’re halfway through the game’s penultimate Phase/Chapter!
As always, it was a somewhat chaotic but also very fun experience, so please consider joining us next time her investigation goes live!
You can find a playlist with all eleven current parts here. One of my personal highlight moments was this one right here:
