First of all, thank you for your input. During Akui I saw that you released some games and sometimes I thought I was getting too old for the business. To be honest, there were times when I was close to shutting it down, but in the last few months I've been able to finish the project nicely. And why am I backing out, that's also why the Akui was different than the 2020 teaser. There were technical and visual decisions that threw the project upside down a few times. The fact that there is no real puzzle in the demo, but there is in the following levels is certainly a problem, but I didn't want to take a later level and present it as a demo. Akui's game content has become a bit broader than was intended in the teaser, even if the collecting aspect in level 2 is not very complex, so you have to deal more with the monsters and in level 2 you also learn something important for later in the game.
But that could also be the next problem with Akui, I tried to pack a lot of history into the game, which I also try to convey: parallel dimension, the D.O.A.S., the cult, the possibilities that exist in the parallel dimension, the protagonists , the connections between the institutions and characters, etc.
Because of the background noise I had to think a bit, it could be that due to the different ground conditions you only hear one or two footsteps that sound different than usual. There are 3 sounds for footsteps: concrete, wood, metal, but there are some wood and metal plates on the ground in level 2, maybe it gave the impression that something is near you. Otherwise there is only the ambient music, the opponent's fx and a soft click when you activate a grave light.
In any case, thanks a lot for your detailed comment and your time to play Akui!!! It can always take a while for me to reply, because my day job is currently keeping me in suspense. :)