Korean developer Cherry Picker recently posted an update regarding the development of D1AL-ogue+, the sequel to their cyberpunk puzzle game D1AL-ogue. According to the announcement, the sequel will be addressing the soundtrack and localization-related issues from the previous game. However, due to insufficient funds and daily-life financial difficulties, the studio is currently looking to fund the project via crowdfunding.
D1AL-ogue is a free indie game released on February 5 for Steam. The story, set in the cyberpunk metropolis of Chroma City, follows the protagonist Chris, who becomes the manager of a back-alley repair clinic. His customers are feminine androids known as Electronic Vital Entities (E.V.E), and Chris’ job is to skillfully operate an old-school diagnostic console (D1AL), navigating through a series of circular three-match puzzles to repair their bodies and minds. The game has garnered an “Overwhelmingly Positive” score on Steam with over 2,942 reviews since launch, and thanks to the positive response, the developers we able to announce the sequel, D1AL-ogue+, on March 10.
On the other hand, the game has faced some criticism due to the aforementioned localization issues. Aside from some general translation errors throughout the game in the Japanese version, reviews also point out unnatural use of gendered language, as well as use of second-person pronouns and sentence-ending particles that come across as rude. To address this, Cherry Picker has been openly recruiting for translation support, and apparently, correction work is already underway.
When it comes to the soundtrack, upon its release, the demo version of the game featured music generated by AI, raising concerns among players. This led the developers to completely switch out the AI-generated tracks with open-source music and songs from Unity’s Asset Store.
In response to the studio’s recent announcement, some users suggested that, as the game is already successful and has a decent following, Cherry Picker could raise funds for the sequel by selling physical copies or DLC. However, since D1AL-ogue was a student project created through Krafton’s Jungle Game Lab program for upcoming developers, the studio was contractually obliged to distribute the game for free. The legal inability to monetize the game is also one of the reasons the studio is currently developing a sequel.
Furthermore, since Kickstarter is not available in South Korea at the moment, Cherry Picker is urgently looking for alternatives or any other forms of help in order to keep the second project alive. While it’s yet to be seen what platform or funding method the team will opt for, those who wish to support the developers might want to keep an eye out for updates on Cherry Picker’s official X account.
D1AL-ogue is available on Steam.
