In Part I of this little blog post series, we talked about the inception of our latest release: SHINRAI Saku – Blooming Beyond Despair.
We then delved into how the initial idea evolved in Part II, talked about some worries related to the project in Part III and addressed a few more considerations that went into it, particularly when it comes to the marketing, in Part IV.
Today, I’d like to conclude these post-release musings (at least for now) by taking a look at the game’s reception thus far and seeing what we can take away from it. So, without further ado, let’s dive right in!
- Review Count
As of the time of typing this, SHINRAI Saku sits at 6 Steam reviews, although the store page only displays the number “5”, because “Product received for free” reviews (like, if you’ve been gifted the game by a friend) sadly don’t count towards a game’s review score.
That means that we actually still need 5 more reviews before we’ll finally reach the first important milestone, as a total review count of 10 will grant the game a Steam rating, such as “Mixed”, “Negative” or “Positive”. At that point, it will also receive an algorithm boost, increasing its visibility and therefore making it more likely for more players to find/see it.
Needless to say, we’d love for Saku to get there ASAP and it’s a bit of a bummer that it wasn’t able to garner ten reviews within two whole months, even though way more than just ten people have bought and played it. But that’s just the way things are. Only a small fraction of players usually leave their thoughts and impressions after finishing a game, especially when it comes to doing so in the shape of an actual review. And I totally get it. If you wanna do it proper, really sort out your thoughts and type them down, that can take a while! Because of that, I rarely ever leave reviews myself, so I’m honestly in no position to complain here, ahahah…
But that does make me appreciate all the more the reviews we did get so far and so, if you’re one of the peeps who have left one, I wanna take this moment to thank you from the bottom of my heart, as we truly appreciate you going out of your way to spend some extra time on letting us know your thoughts!
After all, not only do they provide us with pointers as to how we can further improve our work, every single review moves us one step closer to getting that Steam rating and visibility boost, and could also help convince more people to give Saku a chance!
- Reception & Takeaways
Now, as for the actual feedback we have gotten, it may not be plenty, but at least it’s all positive! Players enjoyed the characters, writing and art. The latter makes me very happy in particular, as it does confirm that we’ve improved quite a bit in that regard, given that the art style has always been one of the main points of critique when it comes to the original SHINRAI.
Actually, the characters have often been deemed a weaker aspect, too. And since I did very much focus on them with Saku this time, it’s a great relief to see people specifically highlight and praise the character work as well!
Another thing I’ve been really worried about has been my handling of some of the subject matter. We live in a time of extremes in which, at least on social media, people often display a very “black and white” kinda worldview, with nuance seemingly having become a thing of the past. And so, I have to admit that I was a bit anxious about how some of Saku‘s “gray-area takes” would be perceived, but here as well, players pointed out that they appreciated them and how things were addressed in a “mature way”. So that has me relieved, too!
All in all, the feedback does reassure me that, over the past ten years, we really did noticeably improve our craft, from the visuals to the writing, which is really soothing to hear for someone like me, who always has this little voice inside grunting: “Everything you do is complete garbage anyway, so just give up already!“, ahahah…
But of course, another thing these reviews confirm are some of the worries I’ve had about the project.
- Worry Confirmation
One reviewer pretty much summed it up perfectly: “I wasn’t sure what to expect of a bite sized, kinetic VN. That’s not my usual speed. I like my murder mysteries, I like my branching narratives, I like control. Coming back to Shinrai without a murder to investigate? […] I would be lying if I said I was hyped for this. More curious.”
Based on everything I’ve laid out in the previous posts, this was exactly what I had feared the view on Saku would be. That, due to the lack of gameplay and a real mystery to solve, as well as the focus on one of the weaker aspects of the original (the characters), there wouldn’t be any real interest in it, never mind full-on excitement. And if the very first review we got typed out exactly that in its opening paragraph… then I think it’s fair to assume that most people probably feel/felt that way and that that’s the main reason Saku‘s sales have been slow. But again, I knew exactly that that was going to be the case, so I can’t act surprised here.
It’s one of the potential consequences of creating something for yourself, without really caring what fans would rather prefer to see.
But this is the project I wanted to create. The story I wanted to tell. So I willingly chose this path.
And I don’t really regret doing so. I’m proud of the result. Although I’d be lying, of course, if I said it wouldn’t have been a lot neater if players of our previous titles would have wanted to see this exact type of project just as much as myself, haha.
However! At the very least, those that did give it a chance have ended up enjoying it a lot. Case in point, the reviewer quoted above went on to say that they were “very glad” to have given Saku a shot, that it’s a “solid little entry” and that they are “very excited to see what comes next” and honestly… what more could I ask for?
- Thank You & What’s Next
Of course, I hope that, over time, more and more people will give Saku a spin and ideally enjoy it as well, but for now, I’m just so happy that even a few have taken a chance on this little gamble of mine. It really does mean the world to me that there are people out there who spend not only their hard-earned money but their precious and limited time on something that I have created, some even going as far as analyzing everything in insane detail and cataloguing the entire project in various categories on TV Tropes, for example, haha.
It’s so wild to see the extent to which all three of our projects have been examined there and it provides me with the greatest joy I could ever feel as a creator. So, once again, a huge thank you to everyone who’s not only given Saku a chance, but any of our projects in general. And to those who’ve been yearning for something more akin to our debut title, please rest assured:
What we’re working on next will be a true, full-on murder mystery sequel to the original SHINRAI, following its vibe, tone and formula much more closely. But that’s something we’ll be talking about in more detail over the coming weeks and months.
Until then, please enjoy the rest of your weekend, have a super spooky time and, as always, take care ^w^
