Hello again!
I'd be happy to tell you what I thought of the last three paths, if/when the drive to play the game juuuust a little bit longer manages to be stronger than the fear of it being over ;:D (one more coincidence: as a Mass Effect superfan who has yet to properly finish ME3, I relate to everything you wrote to an almost frightening degree).
You are doing a terrific job of introducing what's to come, though, and I really want to experience all of it! I think I'll get to Detective as soon as I have enough time to properly enjoy it. :) And then the others two, gradually.
On that note: boy oh boy, I did *not* think it was possible for me to get more hyped than I already was about the ??? route, but you somehow made that possible. Here's the thing: I LOVE true routes. They might be my favourite aspect of the genre (I think they're more of an otome thing than anything else, I'm not sure about many of those being in typically male-oriented dating sims...). So much so that if someone were to contact me tomorrow asking me to write a thesis on them, I'd be grateful. So much so that I'm currently teaching myself to code and write tiny multiple-choice stories for the sole purpose of one day being capable enough to release one specific game, which is basically just a huge pretext for having one of those :D (E.T.A.: 3430, if ever, given my current learning curve > <;) The idea of an entire dimension of the story not being accessible to the player at first is wild.
Kowing that, the fact that there is a true route in SR is reason enough for me to be giddy; doubly so because, judging from the game description, it seems pretty meaningful to the story as a whole and not there just because. And now you're teasing more character development, including a possible redemption arc, for our favourite Not-Yandere Yandere? Be still my heart.~
Again, this game has brought me so much joy already, and I'm not even at the halfway point. <3 If, as you wrote, making players happy was the mission you gave yourself when developing the game, then mission friggin accomplished.
I'll let you know when I'm done, then! In the meantime, thank you for sharing all of these details about your experience, as well as what went through your head during development. It was really interesting, and really pleasant to read. It's always neat to see how a project evolves from beginning to end. Also, getting SR all the way to release is all the more commendable given the effect anxiety/depression can have on productivity and the perception people have of their own work. All the kudos to you.
Have a lovely week as well (and then some ^^) and take care! <3