Hey there, Reapers! We're back with another devlog! After introducing you to the weapons you will wield in the Trial Grounds, we're going to explain more about the narrative of Grim Trials. If you've played the demo, you'll generally understand what the game is about. However, we do want the story to stick with you a little more, so here's a longer intro, major spoiler-free of course!
The main premise of Grim Trials is: you play as a young, recently deceased woman named Avelin, trying to become a true Grim Reaper by undergoing the ritual of Purification. Purification consists of defeating the Seven Sinful Souls, who represent the events of her past life.
As Avelin starts out a mere Cocoon in the Academy, there will be mentors who will guide her through the entire process, and even a fellow student on a journey of their own! It is after all, a coming-of-age in the Afterlife, where Avelin and the rest of the Academy's denizens grow together with time and many conversations.
Avelin was a young woman in her 20s who didn't have things easy growing up. Unwanted by her parents and a misfit in her environment, she grew up to be a stubborn and abrasive rebel, until she met the love of her life, Timmy. The first person in her life to ever want her around, Avelin felt herself changing bit by bit, until a freak accident put a stop to any dreams of a life together. It was not a pleasant parting. Having died in the middle of an emotional argument, Avelin's final conversation was filled with words unmeant, and worst of all, the important parts left unsaid. Now her only chance at returning to the world of the living is as a Grim Reaper, and Avelin must do whatever it takes to purify her soul, clinch the Reaper role, and hopefully find a way to apologize to the only person that ever mattered to her, to mend that her parting words were angry ones. Narratively, Avelin's character underwent a big change during our development process. What started as a typical rebellious teenager grew into a more level-headed but still headstrong young adult, someone who had already begun the process of growing up, but was stopped by tragedy before becoming who she was meant to be. Even her dialogue changed from being that of a despairing child obeying instructions without question, to a more inquisitive, more confident woman quickly spying an opportunity in the systems of death to return to the world of the living for her unfinished business.
As a Cocoon, you won't go through your journey alone. There will be mentors who are going to help you with everything you need to become a true Grim Reaper. You will also meet Breone the Cat and Nameles the Dog who are always ready for some quick pets! The mentors you meet are individuals who have completed their Purification ritual long before Avelin. Each of them have their own story, unveiled after many interactions (such as sidequests!) with Avelin. They have different philosophies when it comes to death and Purification, which you will discover throughout your journey in the Afterlife.
At the end of your first attempt at the Trial Grounds, you will meet John, the mentor of all Grim Reapers before you, and the one who will be guiding you in your journey. Alongside John, you will meet Ivanya the Witch, Milyun the Spinner, and Pytra the Blacksmith. After you progress through the story, you will also meet a fellow Cocoon, Kai. Small fun fact: John had to undergo a bit of a rework too. Plain in appearance and plainer in conversation, he was originally meant to be uninteresting, as we wanted to portray a Grim Reaper who had been working the job for so long that he had grown tired of the responsibility. However, after a while, the team started to feel like John needed to leave a better impression as the very first Academy denizen that appears in the game. We wanted to make him more memorable!
That is all for today's devlog! Thank you so much for sticking with us and supporting Grim Trials from the very beginning. Your support and feedback mean so much to us, and we can't wait to show you more as we're one day closer to the release. See you in the next devlog!
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