my thoughts on the demo

[Cloudy]

I'll be honest, i downloaded this demo because two things caught my eye, that creepy af trailer (real good stuff) and a mysterious sentence.. "Play as a victim of bullying, escaping from terrifying monsters while uncovering the mystery of Akidearest in a thrilling journey of terror, pushing you to the edge of your seat as you explore the dark impact of social media on mental health."

The second part had me more intrigued due to my confusion.. If i am playing as Anne... what is Akidearest? The realm the monsters were from? a demon? a quick scroll farther into the steam description and it lets me know the game features a few popular online personas, one of them being Akidearest. Did a quick wiki search, read an article and found out she is a very popular youtuber. Now on to the game..

It feels really like a passion project.. I'm sorry. (unless thats what it is?) Its a walking sim in a new engine. Nothing wrong with walking sims, i play plenty and have played plenty. But no new mechanics, stuff spawns behind you when you open a door, or pick something up, an occasional jumpscare, open drawers, avoid a monster or two. Its just..bones. Theres nothing really even explaining whats happening in game unless you read the steam description. Now here is kind of my biggest opinion of the game.. the whole Akidearest thing is just kind of..immersion breaking. I read one paragraph about her on wikipedia and it kind of made me think way too hard about the game..I'll give some examples.

This is just based on what i read on wikipedia, i am not claiming any of this to be factual btw. On wiki it says Akidearest started her youtube channel in 2014, after receiving a degree in psychology, and then eventually moving to japan in 2019. Throughout the game are a series of comics regarding the protaganist Anne. They reference Anne being bullied throughout her life, for her weight, and some abuse by her parents. The parental abuse immediately stuck out, as the comic depicts Anne being criticised intensely by her parents, for wanting to make YT videos INSTEAD of going to college. Based on the wiki about Akidearest, this sounds familiar, as she decided to start her YT after receiving a degree. The other comics refer to her being bullied at school, before eventually becoming a popular online persona herself. Thats when i started thinking about the title, UNFOLLOWED and what it may mean to someone whose life is based on social media. This is kind of where I had to stop playing, as i felt like i was reading through someones journal vs playing a game.

To wrap it up, I do not think the experience was bad. Ive seen many positive comments about the game, so obviously people are enjoying it, and are looking forward to the full release. I just..unfortunately see this as a gaming experience for myself, as more of someone elses creative way to vent or deal with their past trauma. Which i do wanna say thank you for putting yourself out there and i dont believe anyone should be bullied or feel uncomfortable in their own skin. Im not sure if Akidearest is still struggling with these issues, or if this was talking about the past, but i wish them the best and i thank them for sharing their experience. And to the dev or devs, for a first demo this is very solid, you obviously have a good handle on the engine, just need to fine tune =)

Thanks Guys!

[Serafini Productions]

Hi Cloudy!!

We thank you very much for playing the demo and for sharing your impressions about it. We always appreciate receiving new input and feedback.

In the game, we tell the story of Anne, not Akidearest. Akiderest has a different role in the story than what you predicted. Anne is a combination of multiple individuals and has a much darker twist.

In the first demo, there were few cutscenes, and even in terms of gameplay, there were limited features. A few days ago, we released a new demo that incorporates more features. This new demo is still in beta, so we are continuing to work on optimization and refine certain mechanics that are still a bit rough.

Perhaps you will find it more to your liking and gain a better understanding of the story and direction!