[Review is for v0.1.0a and will be updated if I get around to it]
What a fantastic little demo! It's rare that I look at early releases, and even rarer that the quality is worthy of the hype. This horror-themed game clearly takes inspiration from the likes of Resident Evil and the RPGM games such as Ao Oni. But instead of running away from scary monsters, you gotta get away from the lusty succubi who want to drain our MC dry. I don't know why, but I just think horror and eroge just go well together, probably it's just the double thrill that takes your excitement to the next level.
In classic horror game style, you need to find items and solve puzzles to advance through the game. Thankfully, there is an option to make all interactables visible so there's no frustrating check every random object in hopes of finding something useful (unless you want to, for whatever reason). Piecing together clues from the notes you gather will help you advance, and it seems the developer is taking extra steps to make certain aspects of the puzzle procedurally generated so no copying someone else's homework.
The star of the show of course is the H interactions with the succubi, and each scene is rendered in gorgeous dot pixel animations. Succubi can appear in rooms, and when you enter their line of sight they'll give chase. When caught by a succubus, you need to enter a series of directions to escape. Take too long to escape, and you'll be squeezed to death. But worry not, because our hero finds a protective amulet that basically gives you a second chance against lesser succubi. Fail once and it breaks, which it can then be restored at a save point, but fail twice and, well....
Speaking of saves, this game has the option to be played with limited save items called paper charms, very similar to using ink ribbons in old school Resident Evil. But not only are these charms used for saving (or you can choose to save without needing them), they are used as part of the continue system. If you get drained by a succubus, they will corrupt the MC in the process. Give up a precious paper charm, and you can stop the corruption. How does corruption affect gameplay? Well, we'll just have to wait until the full release to find out...
There is a lot to appreciate about this demo so far. Besides the atmosphere and animations, it's so nice to have 8-way movement, and with sprinting movement just feels very smooth in general. The modular levels of game settings also lets you experience the game from more hardcore to more casual depending on how you want at the start.
If I had to level some criticisms, my biggest one so far is that Esc is the only functioning cancel key. I can use X to pull up the menu, but not to close the pause menu or cancel using an item when prompted. Not sure if this is a bug or an oversight, but it is inconvenient. My other criticisms so far have to do with sprinting: you have limited stamina for sprinting but there is no UI element for stamina. Same goes for your flashlight batteries, I presume leaving the flashlight on drains batteries which need to be replaced but I haven't used it that much to know for sure. I think these UI elements can be a visibility option for the player. Lastly, I think the randomized puzzles can also be a toggle. Some people are probably not up for figuring out everything themselves and will want to look up some answers, so I think a set puzzle mode would be appreciated for those players. Besides those suggestions I think this has been a very promising demo so far and I look forward to the full release.