Sooo... it's been a HOT minute since the last update. Life happens, completely understandable. I wouldn't expect the devs to prioritize this game over their mental/physical health. What I'm saying isn't new here, but I really wish that at the very least, they would be more transparent about such issues. A simple "hey guys, really sorry about the lack of updates, but life stuff is going on and we are taking an indefinite hiatus" would suffice, especially when they have been financially backed thousands of dollars. I joined the Discord and the most recent update I saw was in October of this year, in which the dev basically said what I put in quotes above. While saying it on Discord is better than not at all, I think that they should definitely be saying that where backers and the general public who have been waiting for this for a long time to see. Not everyone has Discord or even knows there's a server for the game.
I take no issue with the game's development taking longer than expected. Hell, Omori took SIX YEARS, and it turned out absolutely brilliant. I do take issue with the devs not communicating this, which ironically enough, the creator of Omori was guilty of as well. Alongside that is the fact that Omori was Omocat's first game, and First Degree is also Parival's first game. Perhaps I'm being too optimistic here, but maybe it's a similar situation going on in which the development process for First Degree is going to take a very long time, but the final result is amazing. I left an extremely positive review of the demo 9 months ago, so I definitely have faith in Parival to keep that quality up for the rest of the game.
I wish them luck and success in their future endeavors and progress on this game, but do wish they would be more upfront about the whole process.
Edit: After rereading some comments, I noticed that some were angry about a side game being finished when the main isn't. I could be wrong, but I don't think that the devs made a side game just for the lulz. It could have been to bring some more money in because the main game was costing more than expected. Again, this is their FIRST GAME. They may have underestimated the time, effort, and money it takes to do something like this.