The Use of Life News

[p]Hello everyone,

Thank you for playing The Use of Life!

Chapter 3 of the Kohaku & Veronika Route is here![/p][p]
We've been hard at work on this unfinished route since July of last year, and today, we're excited to finally release the next chapter!

If you’ve cleared Chapter 2 of this route, your save file will let you jump right into the new content with this update.

Unlike the previous routes, this path takes you on a journey alongside Kohaku, the girl you saved in Chapter 2.

Where once there was an obsession with power and survival, that has now transformed into a desire to live. Through your time with Kohaku, the story explores a completely different take on its central theme: how we choose to use our lives. Step into a new chapter, make new choices, and discover a new fate.

We've added new, route-exclusive features to spice up the battles in Chapter 3! Look forward to brand-new status effects and a fresh enemy mechanic: "Counter", QTEs triggered not when dodging, but in response to your attacks!

From dungeons to events to the characters you meet along the way, everything in this route is completely different experience from the ones that come before it. Discover a new side of Goshe, one shaped by different choices and a different path through life.

We're still in Early Access, and your feedback means everything to us! Share your thoughts through the in-game survey or over on the Steam discussion threads. Your input will help shape the road ahead as we continue developing and preparing for the full release. Thank you as always for your support and we hope you continue to stick with us on this journey! [/p][p][/p][p]Visit the Playism Website Follow us on Steam Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Facebook Join our Discord server[/p]

We've received another status update from Daraneko.

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It's July.
Here's the status report for this month.

But before we get into the dev updates, there's something I'd like to share with you all.
[h3]This month...we're releasing the third chapter of Veronika and Kohaku! More information to come after the dev updates so please stick around![/h3]

Now let's get into the June dev updates.

◆Chapter 3's Completed Tasks

• Worked on balance adjustments
  
• Worked on implementing translations and bug fixes.
  

◆Chapter 4's Completed Tasks

• Designed new enemies
  
• Created new skill effects
  
• Created new functions
  

◆Slight QoL improvements

• Changed the UI for dodging enemy attacks (an arrow now appears to indicate when an attack can be guarded)
  
• Weight changes will now be displayed when changing equipment
  
• A stat comparison will now be displayed when selecting a reward.
  
• etc
  

That's about it.
Wow, when you lay it all out like this, it shows we've done quite a lot.

The illustration work is progressing quite smoothly, as the main illustrator (the one who drew Misha, etc) has finished their part.
That being said, there's still some art that's a work-in-progress that we've commissioned to other artists, such as background and enemies.
We're really looking forward to showing you what Chapter 4 has in store! To give you a little taste, you can expect to see a cool new boss.
Now a real concern I have is that after all these commissions, my wallet is starting to feel the pain...HAHAHA



Now then, let's talk about release information.
We’ve been steadily working on development without minimal updates since around October, but we’re finally nearing the release of Chapter 3.
Right now, we're in the final stages of preparing for release.
(handling things like translations, bug fixes, and internal playtesting for balance adjustments)

If everything goes smoothly...Chapter 3 is scheduled for release on Tuesday, July 15th (JST) !
If...we hit a few bumps, it might get pushed to Thursday, the 17th, but we're keeping fingers crossed!
By the way, we finalized this date in a discussion with our publisher so it's fresh off the press!

After Chapter 3 is released, the next major update will mark the official release of the full game, making it the final update for the Early Access version.
We'll be releasing Chapter 4 and the final chapter together, so it's still a little ways out but since the main story has been fully written all the way through the ending, the pace of updates should be quicker than before.
The finish line is finally coming into view and we appreciate your continued support and patience for just a little while longer.

=================================

And that's all for this status update.
Development is still going strong, so please continue to support us!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1483370/_/

Visit the Playism Website Follow us on Steam Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Facebook Join our Discord server

We've received another status update from Daraneko.
Please give it a read.

=================================

It's June.
Here's the status report for this month.

In May, I mainly worked on the battles in Chapter 3 and oversaw the illustrations for the last two chapters.
I came up with enemy skills, made new skill effects, adjusted their damage levels...
I'm almost done with Chapter 3! (Other than putting the translations in and debugging though.)
I want to move on to Chapter 4 in the second half of this month if I can.

I've also added a new feature to battles.
Such as enemy counterattacks.
For example, if a skilled warrior prepares a counter before Goshe attacks, maybe there's a chance you get hit back...



If you perform a perfect input, your attack would land, but if you don't, the enemy counters instead.





I also plan to add new status effects in Chapter 3.
Hopefully, it'll be a completely different experience from the other finished routes.

-------

Also, and this isn't related to this project, I'm going to be presenting at CEDEC next month about game design.
It's a conference targeted at game developers, so it probably has nothing to do with most people reading this, but if you're interested, feel free to stop by!
https://cedec.cesa.or.jp/2025/timetable/detail/s67b0454b7f56a/
I'll keep working on the game while also preparing for this talk.

=================================

And that's all for this status update.
Development is still going strong, so please continue to support us!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1483370/_/

Visit the Playism Website Follow us on Steam Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Facebook Join our Discord server

About the status of development as of May

We've received another status update from Daraneko.
Please give it a read.

=================================

It is now May.
And since the Golden Week holidays are over, here's a status update.

In April, I mostly worked on writing events (and comissioning related work and overseeing that work). The events of Chapter 3 are almost complete.
This part will take place in a scary, snowy mountain, and there are lots of event that take place there.
There's even a quiz I worked hard to come up with questions for. The Chauris Special Quiiiiiiz!!!



Background art plays a pretty important role in this route, so we've put a lot of effort in that too.



And there's plenty of smaller illustrations for certain moments during events.



In May, I want to finish the battles in Chapter 3 and tweak everything. Ideally, I'll even finish Chapter 3 entirely.
I'll also be getting new art for enemies in Chapter 3 starting from May, so I'm planning on staring at the art while I think of moves for the enemies.

=================================

And that's all for this status update.
Development is still going strong, so please continue to support us!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1483370/_/

Visit the Playism Website Follow us on Steam Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Facebook Join our Discord server

We've received another status update from Daraneko.
Please give it a read.

=================================

It's April.
Now that March is over, 25% of the year has passed. And now it's time for this month's status update.

In March, I've been checking illustrations and working on Chapter 3.
I've been checking the art submitted by A-san and replying to them, and then checking the art from B-san and replying to them too, and then when I try to do some of my own work I get another message from A-san and have to check their new art and reply again...
And that's the loop I've been going through.

But hey, the illustrations are coming along very nicely.
By the way, I planned to focus more on humanoid characters for this route, but I feel like that would upset a certain number of people and make them glare at me with hatred in their eyes, so I'm adding more anthro characters as random NPCs.

Like this buff bear guy.



Or this slender, hot cat lady.



Other than these two, we're working on bird and sheep characters too.
We've also finished some of the illustrations for events, and it just feels so good to put them into the game.
It feels like the ideas I had in my mind are becomining reality.



The events themselves, at least for Chapter 3, are around 40% complete.
This month, I'll continue to check the art while working on the events of Chapter 3. Hopefully, I'll be done by the end of April.

=================================

And that's all for this status update.
Development is still going strong, so please continue to support us!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1483370/_/

Visit the Playism Website Follow us on Steam Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Bluesky Follow us on Facebook Join our Discord server