I am so incredibly excited to play this game, and I'm really thankful it's still being updated - now I just need to figure out how to convince my friends to be as hyped as I am...
Posting this here instead of as a review bc I wanted more people to see it and maybe be convinced. If it's too long, feel free to delete.
I normally don't play VNs (I think this is the longest one I've ever finished), but omg this game feels like it was created specifically for me personally.
So much of this games' presentation perfectly captures the vibe of a certain kind of passion project nature documentary where the scientists care deeply about their work - perhaps to an extent more than their budgets will allow - and there's maybe a little bit of chaos behind the scenes.
There are all these little touches where I kept thinking "the game would've been just as good if the developer didn't put the thought and effort into this tiny detail, nobody would've questioned its exclusion, but the game is so much more alive for its presence". The very small example that comes to mind is the slight difference on the scanner display when its scanning through relatively thin plant material, compared to dense animal fat.
The sense of humor is also perfect for the setting and structure. There's this really interesting delineation between things that are intentional jokes on the part of the fictional documentary crew ("it grows into a formidable predator... relative to its size"), versus things that are funny to the real-world audience that would just be facts of life to the people of this world (like the explicit clarification that the sea bunny is not a real animal, as compared to these very real alien whales).
If you're looking at this page and have any slight interest in trying this wonderful game, just do it. I finished the whole thing in an hour and a half and my only wish is for more of the story. I'm eagerly awaiting part 2 (which honestly shouldn't be free if charging would help the dev!)
It was a combo of enemy timers and the fact that my level was in the hundred-somethings so the game was having a rough time as is (I was gaining so much EXP that I had to click through the upgrade list for like a solid minute every time I killed an enemy). I really love all the new additions, though, the curses and the class system add a lot!
Just wanted to say that I love this game (even though I'm trash at it) and I can't wait to see it get as big as it deserves when you release the final version :D
Ah yes, purgatory.