After a few months with Reina & Jericho on the backburner while we assisted another studio and made the money we needed to continue, we’re finally starting to ramp up work on Reina again (although our attention will be divided for a while). This does mean the release date will be bumped to 2023, but we finally have the resources to give the environment art an extra pass and tidy up a few other things we’ve decided we want to tidy up. If the feedback from the public on recent game releases has reinforced one thing, it’s that it’s worth taking the time to squash a few extra bugs rather than release a game before it is ready. A side benefit of this whole affair has been the clarity that comes with time. When you work on a game (or any other project) every day you become familiar with it, and you don’t see it with the same degree of objectivity that a stranger would. In short, the more you become the designer/developer the less you see the game like a player. Taking a few months away does wonders for letting you see all the little issues you’ve become acclimated to. There are definitely a few things we want to polish up on Reina & Jericho. Without getting into spoiler territory, some aspects of the final encounter need a little bit of work, along with the level design in a few rooms and some routing edge cases. As far as the final encounter goes, it has already been redone once but I think we can tidy up two key components in it and it will be much better off for it. On a personal note, while refreshing the critical eye is important in evaluating the game it’s also worth noting one other important discovery that has been affirmed yet again: I love this game. I love the way it feels to play, I love the speed of it, I love the art style, I love the music, I love the story… Some of that is to be expected, and your mileage may vary. Other people will have other opinions on how games should be done, but it’s good to know that I succeeded in one of the goals from the start: make a game I would enjoy.