per their latest kickstarter update, the game is officially canceled. if you're a backer you can view the post here (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/483356923/softly-with-teeth-a-vampire-otome...) it seems life had many challenges for everybody involved (understandable) and it just became too expensive to continue.
Viewing post in Softly, With Teeth (2019 2nd Free Demo Up) comments
Could you, or any other backer that still lurks here, perhaps copy-paste what the update says? The post is only available for backers, but if the project is indeed cancelled, maybe it would be better to post it in the comments to warn potential itch.io customers.
The title of that update is “[…] Upcoming Updates/Content + Continuing” so it sounds more like the project is still alive and kicking.
And with an “official” cancellation statement like that, maybe this project can be reported to itch.io and taken down so no more people will be scammed. (although this sadly isn’t the first nor will it be the last game here that’s forever up and keeps taking “pre-orders” even though the devs have long moved on or vanished…)
"Hi everyone, long time no see! I apologize for the delayed update. It seemed that once things settled down, new events to consider have popped up. For example, Vacu used to live in Kiev, but has otherwise currently relocated. I didn’t want to give backers news when I wasn’t sure of the situation myself. Things have mostly settled now, both with Vacu and beyond.
It’s been a long several years, full of wonderful things. However, the game must be canceled.
Is the game really canceled?
Yes.
Where’s the money?
Spent on assets and the redoing of said assets. Programming had to be redone multiple times due to programmers coming and going, some choices made due to some NDA related affairs, the music OST is completely done, the art assets (sprites, CGs, backgrounds) that were completed were paid for, old script that isn’t really usable was still compensated for, etc. There was also a bit of obligatory budget bloat that I tried to pay out of pocket for.
Will I still get my money back, though?
You’ll still be refunded your pledge, it just can’t be accomplished immediately because the money was, again, spent on assets. Since some pledges can’t go through due to the length of time the project has gone on, please instead fill out this google form by June 4th. Refunds won’t be issued by the time the form closes, but it’ll be useful in figuring out the best strategy to get you your money the fastest. It will take a lot of time to get the money accumulated - likely several years, but I'm hoping only 1. In order to help speed this along, I’ll be delaying my school degree and focusing on work.
What happened?
The situation simply became infeasible due to poor leadership. Everyone else was fantastic at their work, both quality and time wise. The cost of the game has also become particularly volatile since merchandise wasn’t planned to be made until the game was finished, and now both production & shipping costs have skyrocketed to the point that the bundles sold at the prices they were are now impractical to a significant degree.
What now?
I continue to work so I can repay backers."