Hi there! I found your company by accidentally stumbling across the Chess of Blades demo, and while waiting for it to come out, I decided to give a shot at Requiescence. Let me say, I never regretted it. :) Halfway through the demo, I already knew I was going to buy it. The mysteries and the atmosphere got me hooked properly! I really enjoyed playing throughout the past week, finishing all routes and endings. Checking out your social media sties, I can see that you were on a tight budget, and while it definitely shows in the CGs (and the sprites) (is there any chance you'll make a second version with updated art?), you definitely did a great job in bringing this game to life with an amazing soundtrack and even partial voice acting. Oh, and the animation of the fights was also nice. :)
The best part is most definitely the storytelling. Full of action, surprises and emotions that felt real, for the most part. I felt that Carrault's path could have used some more development, but then again, if I think about it, that's what their personalities imply. Maybe some insight on Carrault's side would have helped. The only critics I have about the story progress is that most of the choices didn't matter in the end, only those two that determine the route and the ending. And so I didn't have to work to woo the love interests.
As for the characters and paths. By the end of the demo, my favorite was Kaul. Still I didn't mind that I have to play his route last. I guessed his route will hold the answers, so I was looking forward to it. I went for Damian first, since he's the first one Kymil meets. I found him interesting, and contradictory. His appearance and voice suggest he is fragile, his sharp tongue soon became funny, and yet he was a vicious fighter, and carried a deep dark past. I came to like him and his most romance-y route a lot. In hindsight, I find his bad end the worst, most pointless and hopeless one. Carrault... as you led it up, I was half-expecting his central conflict to be what it was. While there wasn't much time for development, I really enjoyed those short glances at his softer side. What I didn't expect was the drama with Seere. And finally Kaul. I have to say, he turned out to be... very different from the first impression. I haven't decided yet if in a good or bad sense, and I'm still a bit confused about his path. I feel like there are a few unanswered questions, though maybe I just didn't pay enough attention and replaying will answer me. Though I feel that Kymil overreacted, when the truth was revealed to him. What I undoubtedly liked about Kaul's path was the different interactions with Sychar and Absalom, and the side romance (well, except how it ended...). I'm still wondering if Kaul's love end really is the good end? After all, the world is saved and Kymil is still happy (through crazy...) in his bad end. This brings me to the biggest question I guess, which I couldn't figure out on my own no matter what. Does breaking chalice destroy the corrupted power, or does it set it free? Is giving up on the love interest a necessary sacrifice to save the world? That really turns around the interpretation of the endings. if the power breaks free, that means the bad ends are rather the necessary sacrifice of love to save the world, and the love ends are selfish. That would make a great lesson on how there's no ultimately good solution, there's no way to get everything you want. The other way around, that would make all the bad ends just stupid mistakes, pointless and painful. I'm really curious, how did you intend that?
One more thing I wanted to point out about the R-18 version. The voice acting in the rated scenes. I'm not sure about the community's tastes, especially since this is almost the first R-18 game I played. However, listening to the sexy times, I would have enjoyed them better if it wasn't so dominantly about the high-pitched moaning. First, because I felt that Kymil appeared quite girly there, which clashed with my mental image of him as a stubborn, strong young boy, and well, this is yaoi - while he is a bottom, he is still a boy. Second, since I'm a girl, I would happily listen to some deep, manly sounds from the semes. I would guess, most girl players imagine themselves in the bottom's place, so hearing the partner too, not just themselves would improve the experience, right? In the end, maybe I'm just talking for myself or a minority here, but I think you could please everyone by adding some more lines to semes, and then the uke's voice won't be so predominant, without reducing his lines. :)
Huh, it became quite the long-winded comment... I hope you like reading... :D Anyways, thank you very much for this awesome game and the experience, and keep up the good work! :)