So did this game released in an unfinished state?

[helios396]

I was following the news of this game until a few months ago and I was under the impression that this game was still under development and will take some time until its release. I tuned out from the news, thinking it might come out in another year or so.
And then I just heard today from someone that apparently it has dropped.

I read some of the reviews here and they said that there's only 2 dungeons and the game's also super short. Tbh I'm a bit disappointed.

People who have played the game, do you think this game was rushed and released in an unfinished state? Is it worth to buy at the current price or should I wait for sale/updates (if there's any)?

[violet dmboogie]

Yes. I'm about five hours in, and I've completed both dungeons and maxed out two of the weapons. I'm aiming to 100% complete it, but I doubt it'll take me more than another 5 hours at most.

The content that's there is good - the characters and dating especially feels complete and the highlight of the game - but there are very obvious seams. A character is introduced and then immediately leaves the game (texting you that he'll be back 'soon enough,') the shelf in your room VERY obviously has space for four dungeon completion souvenirs...

I know the devs have announced plans to patch the two new weapons in, with potential for other additional content.

I backed the game on Kickstarter - I don't regret it or feel ripped off, I enjoyed what I've played. But I'd had a hard time recommending it at full price pre-updates unless you're super in love with the concept and want to play RIGHT NOW.

[David J Prokopetz]

Yeah, the game really strongly feels like a third non-endgame dungeon got dropped at some point.

Even beyond the fact that the Kickstarter page talks about a third dungeon (and it would be disingenuous if it were talking about the endgame dungeon, as that's only a single room), and that the preview material seems to contain a whole dungeon tileset that's nowhere to be seen in the published game, the resource economy of the core gameplay loop feels unbalanced. You're unlikely to have maxed out even a single relationship by the time you complete both dungeons, forcing you put the main story on hold and do a bunch of grinding right when there's ostensibly urgent stuff going on, at least if you want to finish out any of the character-specific stories.

If you look at the number of relationship points you get from dungeon crawling and compare it to the number you'd need to actually advance those relationships without doing a lot of repetitive grinding, it looks like the math assumes that there's about 50% more dungeon-crawling content in the game than there actually is, which squares with the idea that a third non-endgame dungeon is currently missing.

[violet dmboogie]

tbf if you're judicious in your gift-giving its pretty easy to get relationships maxed before then unless you're trying to level everyone equally

[David J Prokopetz]

Nah, I took that into account. Unless you're giving perfect gifts every time and/or doing a lot of grinding for materials for the craftable ones, it doesn't make up the difference (and the latter gets right back into the grinding thing).

[helios396]

Originally posted by dmboogie:

Yes. I'm about five hours in, and I've completed both dungeons and maxed out two of the weapons.

the shelf in your room VERY obviously has space for four dungeon completion souvenirs...

Originally posted by David J Prokopetz:

Yeah, the game really strongly feels like a third non-endgame dungeon got dropped at some point.

You're unlikely to have maxed out even a single relationship by the time you complete both dungeons, forcing you put the main story on hold and do a bunch of grinding right when there's ostensibly urgent stuff going on, at least if you want to finish out any of the character-specific stories.

If you look at the number of relationship points you get from dungeon crawling and compare it to the number you'd need to actually advance those relationships without doing a lot of repetitive grinding, it looks like the math assumes that there's about 50% more dungeon-crawling content in the game than there actually is, which squares with the idea that a third non-endgame dungeon is currently missing.

Oof, so it's very obvious that there's some cut/unfinished content huh. I probably will hold out for now and wait for future updates.

It's too bad. I was really looking forward to this game to be a fresh air in hybrid romance sim/RPG/dungeoning genre :(

[Necroscourge]

Yeah, the kickstarter had several weapon goals completed, including Rowan the Axe, which mysteriously are not in the final product. I only played the first dungeon tonight but it's so gosh darn easy that it's pretty hard to enjoy.

It feels like they took the money and ran, TBH.

[professorlitwick]

Originally posted by Necroscourge:

Yeah, the kickstarter had several weapon goals completed, including Rowan the Axe, which mysteriously are not in the final product. I only played the first dungeon tonight but it's so gosh darn easy that it's pretty hard to enjoy.

It feels like they took the money and ran, TBH.

Rowan the *Scythe* is in the game and fully romanceable. Leah the Hammer and Jonah the Axe were the final 2 character stretch goals who will be added post-launch, as development was running long and they weren't anywhere near level of completion as the other characters. Jonah as a character is present in the game, but is not romanceable. And they clearly didn't take the money and run, seeing as how they've launched a fully playable game with about 10-11 hours of content.

[Necroscourge]

It's a real shame they bait/switched us, man.

[Susurrus]

Given that they have not yet delivered on what they said they would in the Kickstarter, it really feels like this should be marked Early Access.
There are entire characters missing, and clear evidence of at least one entire dungeon missing.

The pandemic has been a factor, I'm sure. However, this may be somewhat of a pattern for Kitfox, given Moon Hunters was another game where a larger concept was reduced in the process of development.
Don't get me wrong, both games are still good, but something clearly needs to change with how the dev team approaches projects.

(Moon Hunters has been left with at least one glaring bug: when playing co-op, the titles and descriptions given for each player don't actually match their in-game actions.)

Edit: To answer your question, the game's fully playable but I would suggest waiting if you want the full experience.

[Bee]

I came here to ask the same question. The story doesn't seem to flow in a coherent way, and it ends so abruptly. You're just hanging out, doing your thing, and suddenly summer is over at the same time they introduce the "plot."

It's pretty clear that the plot needed some extra room to breathe, and that the game clearly originally had more than 2 dungeons. I know content gets cut in game development, but you have to adapt your story to the new game pacing. You can't introduce the final villain immediately before the player kills him. As it is, they definitely needed another act in the story to let the whole Katana thing actually play out a little.

I don't really mind the Kickstarter characters being added post-launch, but their messaging should have been more upfront about that before launch. And they definitely should not have released the game with an entire third of it missing. I was really really looking forward to this game more than any other this year, but now I'm just left feeling disappointed that I bought an unfinished product.

[nit3mar30]

Originally posted by helios396:

I was following the news of this game until a few months ago and I was under the impression that this game was still under development and will take some time until its release. I tuned out from the news, thinking it might come out in another year or so.
And then I just heard today from someone that apparently it has dropped.

I read some of the reviews here and they said that there's only 2 dungeons and the game's also super short. Tbh I'm a bit disappointed.

People who have played the game, do you think this game was rushed and released in an unfinished state? Is it worth to buy at the current price or should I wait for sale/updates (if there's any)?

Ya, i had thought that it will be another year or so before the game is out and i am just surprised to see that it's out.

[Lilael]

I’ve been really pleased with the game, but I have not been following closely & didn’t know about the Kickstarter. My news following of the game was very lax because there wasn’t even a release date on my Steam wishlist. I admit I was very surprised when it did release seemingly out of nowhere.

So as a clueless player, I’m having a ball. I enjoyed it so of course I wish there was more content. But I totally see now as backers and looking at the campaign how it feels incomplete.

[Lillyth]

I was waiting for YEARS for this game.
And now I'm here and feeling disappointed.
The Dungeon crawling was pretty fun, even while it was very easy (I found no hardmode, but they said there is one at the kickstarter page). And I liked most of the dates.
But this game is so short and unfinished.
A rushed story and only 2 dungeons are a bummer.
Plus no endgame content, a character we meet at the beginning and never see him again( til an update in the future). I also had a few translation errors.
The game has so much potential but it is so unfinished.
My expectations were too high, I guess.

[Essence of Zem]

For as long as this game's been in production, the "final" product definitely feels underdeveloped. It was in a Coming Soon status on my Wish List for ages, and the delivered content doesn't seem to match up to that. The start of the game is great, and I really enjoyed it. But, like many others, it seems like just when you're starting to get into the meat of the game, it abruptly ends - almost like the devs had been chugging along, then either had issues or got tired of working on the game and decided to just release it as is, rather than properly finishing it. It's a great concept, and I've had a lot of fun with Boyfriend Dungeon, but it needed more polishing, if nothing else, before release, and it would really benefit from some more game play and depth than what it got. Hopefully future updates will make this happen.

[RobJ81]

From what I've read- game feels rushed. I was on the fence about buying the game, now I will wait. Maybe in a few patches, the game will be more "complete" with more dungeons and so on. Release now, patch later.. the usual viewpoint for many game makers. It's been that way for a while now unfortunately.