Hey! Thanks for the compliments! And thanks for the feedback as well. Really glad to hear you enjoy Marie. Personally I'm especially fond of her "Disappointed (+2 Terrify, -2 Con)" Injury, haha :P
(Mind you, I also have no idea how Rik managed to get all this work in before the submission deadline; his drive to create stuff is kind of insane.)
You raise a good point regarding the Grotesques. Hadn't really thought of it like that before, hm. I have to admit we weren't able to playtest this submission before the deadline, so I'd have to see how it feels in play before reaching a final verdict. But as-is there's definitely a good chance they won't offer the challenge and tension they're meant to bring to the table.
I think you could amp up how they actually interact with the scene by making the Objective more difficult to achieve while they're around. You could have them add Challenge to the Objective, or just have it them make it so you can't advance the Objective while they're around, or have them remove successes/progress from the Objective (that would probably equate to adding Challenge with extra steps, but it might feel different in play). Then again, that doesn't really address the main complaint you raise, of them being just another bag of hitpoints.
We're trying to schedule some playtests with our friends soon, so I hope we'll be able to deliver on a cool ability/interesting mechanics once we've incorporated playtest feedback. I'm definitely going to keep this in mind.
Thanks again for the feedback :) Cheers!
- Jorrit
P.S.: Freak Squad looks absolutely sick, the art's vibe is just chef's kiss