There is always a good reason to have a demo ready or almost ready when you launch a Kickstarter campaign. While not always necessary it almost always certainly helps potential backers decide one way or the other. Sometimes a demo is almost mandatory when we are told very little about the plot and characters of a game. In the case of Bloody Chronicles this is the latter. We do get a glimpse of who the main players are and a very brief look at the overarching plot, but honestly little else. It was enough for me to put down a buck to keep an eye on it but not enough to go in for a copy of the game. Which is why taking the demo for a spin was important for me.
Unfortunately, while the demo for Bloody Chronicles certainly helps flesh everyone out more it still doesn’t quite give me what I need to jump one way or the other. It’s short, which I can’t fault it as most visual novel demos tend to be, and it does show off some of the characters’ personalities and their reasons for being in IGRASIL. I’ll get to that in just a bit, but I will say this. It’s still worth playing even if you don’t pledge, especially if you’re into murder mysteries and backstories that tug at the heartstrings. Your mileage with what’s there may vary.
The demo for Bloody Chronicles, as far as I know, takes place at the very beginning of the game itself and covers the first couple days before the main investigation of the Phantom murder case. It is here that you get to meet all of the main players and learn a bit about who they are and why they’re doing what they’re doing. In the case of the playable protagonist, Kazuki, and the head of the organization, Suzumi, you get a couple really sad stories about their past and why they’re out hunting bad guys. I won’t spoil it, but I will say that out of the entirety of the demo these two scenes did make me start to tear up. And are the main reason that I enjoyed the demo as much as I did.
When it comes to demos I’m expecting to see some meat on their bones. While there is certainly enough there to start to get an idea of what to expect for me it’s not quite enough. Especially with a pitch that’s light on story and out of the seven updates released thus far they don’t go any further either. The demo was, quite frankly, the final decision maker for me to either pull out completely or move up a tier or two. Unfortunately, I’m still left with a tough decision to make as while it helped I’m still not certain it’s worth moving up to $19.
I really don’t fault the demo for making the decision even harder as most tend to follow the opening scenes of the game getting funded. My problem lies with the lack of information beyond that. The characters are indeed colorful and have their own way of viewing the world, which is always a plus in my book, but outside of the above-mentioned two we really don’t know why they’re there. Whilst I liked the demo it’s still a shame that it wasn’t enough to convince me beyond a shadow of a doubt.
