Post by Jackielope in Cruel Serenade comments

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reposting this so its on the main page, since I put it on the scene guide by mistake:

Really enjoyed it! Love the hypno angle, and nice to see a twinkish m/m content (as a bit of a twink myself). My one complaint is I wish the number of encounters was either toned down a little bit, or stealth was more of a viable option. In both slut mode and normal mode it feels like a bit of a slog getting through all of them, and trying to get past usually results in 3 encounters in a row (making the normal ending a little annoying to get) Otherwise very good, love the art and the writing! Can't wait to see more!

bitshiftgames2 years ago(+2)

Aw thanks, glad you're enjoying it! Yeah, there's a LOT of bara on Itch for some reason, and not very much in the way of small, cute sub/switch guys. So I'm glad to add at least a little variety.

There's always going to be a fair bit of encounters in these games, as the sex mechanics are a big part of the game and there has to be space to explore/encounter them. I will admit the overall feel of the encounters can still be improved, and I'll be tweaking a number of things in the second chapter, both on a basic level and just to add some variety. That said, it shouldn't be THAT much of a slog. Enemies don't respawn when you're "defeated," and you only have to defeat enough to clear a pathway forward. The whole thing should be clearable in an hour or so. Also, remember you can toggle off the battlesex by unequipping the clips, which both makes things easier and speeds them up a bit.

I will admit fighting through the stair guard legit is tough though.

Jackielope2 years ago

I think my main issue is individual fights take awhile, and that since you can only heal with items or dying (to my knowledge) it means the normal route makes you feel like wasting resources is really bad.

bitshiftgames2 years ago

You can actually heal with a skill too, when out of combat: "Patch up." I can see it being a fair bit harder without that.

Jackielope2 years ago

oh my god, that was the piece i was missing.

also while i still have the chance, just wanna say i really like the bad ending. Mezz looks super cute in eyeliner and with gauges. Really big fan of seeing proud characters turned into effeminate sluts. Super hot.

bitshiftgames2 years ago

Ha, no problem. It's partially my fault: I hate games that over-explain, so everything is kind of left up to the player to discover. I think that makes for a better game overall, but it does mean people miss things sometimes.

And thanks! Yeah, really did that look too.

itch.io

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