Here are my far-too-wordy thoughts on the new demo:
THE GOOD
- Having low sanity result in deafness is an interesting idea for a game with so many audio cues. It also appears to make the camera transition between rooms more slowly, so it creates kind of a snowballing effect where things just get worse and worse the more you ignore your sanity--I like it. It really emphasizes that you need to watch that meter.
- The game's presentation looks great. Character models look really good, the environment's getting fleshed out (and having everything be well-lit really helps show that off), and the VA's are doing a stellar job.
- I like the new gimmicks quite a bit, by which I mean Sammy getting in your face, Poppy's bomb doll, and Nile killing cameras if she feels like she's being ignored. It gives each of the girls something to do besides trying to break into the control room, while also emphasizing their individual personality traits. (I do kinda miss the hypnosis thing Nile used to do, but mechanically speaking the bomb doll covers pretty much the same "think fast!" role so I guess I'm just averse to change. Also, quick idea for the next NSFW update: maybe switching to Nile's dead cameras can play some of those "bonus" videos. As a distraction.)
THE "BAD" (this is subjective, ignore at your leisure)
- I know I just said I like the gimmicks, but not when they all happen at the same time--which is far too often. It's surprisingly common on Night 4 to see girls at both windows, while Sammy's in your face so you can't interact with anything, and the bomb doll is at the ceiling, AND the stress doll's been stolen when you weren't looking, AND the light is red so you have to fix stuff on the cameras ASAP, except none of that stuff even gets a chance to kill you 'cause your sanity dropped below 25% so Ari decides to barge in and bop you on the head. Maybe only allow one gimmick in the room at a time? And have some kind of universal cooldown for gimmicks so seeing one at least means you have some time to breathe before the next one happens? Just throwing some ideas out there.
- I feel like 25% sanity is a bit soon for Ari to start showing up. Considering that sanity now drains passively, and that so many things already prevent you from regaining your sanity (losing the stress doll, Sammy getting up close and personal, or just getting caught up in fixing stuff on the cameras), it really feels like 25% sanity is just kind of early to start worrying about an unstoppable one-shot from a character that doesn't even seem to announce herself like the others do. And even when you can use the stress doll, Misty will one-shot you if you use it too liberally, so it can really take a while to get your sanity at a healthy level, and the entire time Ari is at risk of taking you out. My idea for a solution: hold off on Ari showing up until your sanity is at 0%. Then she can show up at the window and start tapping the glass, which can be her sign that she'll bust that door down in 30 seconds if you don't get your sanity back. Anyway, I'm just trying to make suggestions instead of sitting back and complaining. You're the developers, and it's your show.
- Just some minor bug/balance stuff, like characters attacking after being against the window for less than two seconds, or going from being against the window to being in their pre-window positions with no cooldown. I also got a softlock once, while the bomb doll was in the room when the night was close to finished. Maybe the doll blew up and the shift ended at roughly the same time and the game got confused?
Sorry for the massive wall of text, I just wanted to offer some feedback. And the major takeaway from that feedback should be: the game's coming along really well. There are some wrinkles that can be ironed out, but that'll come with time and playtesting. You're doing great, can't wait to see more!