Lock & Key Progress Update - June 2025 (Patreon)

Hello again, Magical Girls! Rachel here with another Lock and Key update. And boy oh boy, is this one a doozy!

I’ll say it plain: our first core build of Lock and Key: A Magical Girl Mystery is COMPLETE! Obviously we still have some work left to do both on the game and on the backend; achievements and the like for Steam, as well as incorporating the new music tracks from our Kickstarter stretch goal (thank you all again!), but the hardest part is almost over. Justinn’s tireless work got us up and running in record time with both a stable build and some amazing new visual effects. And while I can’t share it yet, this huge step has paved the way for a solidified release window! Crazy, right?

It’s a bit surreal seeing this project come together after all this time…there’s something bittersweet about finishing touches, I think. Almost like sending a kid off to college, y’know? Sherri, Kealey, Nina, and Ruby’s adventures through the mysterious fantasy city of “Chicago” have gone through many a twist and turn over the years, and seeing all that hard work paying off makes my heart fit to burst. Playing through the stable build for playtesting might be a standard part of game dev, but that doesn’t stop it from being exciting as all hell.

There’s also fun little bonuses like the aforementioned achievements. The team has had a lot of fun coming up with both creative achievement acquisition and, more importantly, great names for all of them. I promise I only snuck in one or two Linkin Park references! Stuff like this is icing on the cake, a little treat well-earned by lots of hard work. Game dev can be extremely difficult, especially when it comes to larger projects, but there’s always fun to be had in the midst of it. Love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life, right?

We’ve still got playtesting to do, scenes to revise, and assets (like the new music) to add in here and there, so the game isn’t 100% done just yet. That said, we’re very close to that magic number. We hope to have a public release window soon, and you’ll most certainly be able to get your hands on the game before the end of the year. Please look forward to it <3

With love (as always),

Rachel

p.s. be sure to wishlist it on Steam!