Kobojo’s Zodiac: Orcanon Odyssey ($4.99) has had a rocky launch, for sure. A game that seemed quite promising initially wound up being a game that I personally did not enjoy, and has gotten some mixed reviews so far. But the forum thread is full of people who are upset about the game, seeing bugs and shortcomings to the point that you have people requesting refunds. Namely, one major issue? The game just kind of ends suddenly, with pretty much no mention that the game is, basically unfinished. After all, when you see the menus with loads of class and character slots, it seems reasonable to think that they would be for content you could currently get in the game. But no, you hit a brick wall as far as content goes. Bugs exist, such as an app update deleting the save files of users who didn’t sign in with Kobojo, including one TA staffer. This post runs down many of the issues that our community is running into.

Kobojo’s community management folks have been trying to quell the flames of discontent, but some news has come out that won’t make people happy: future content is planned to be episodic, and will come via in-app purchase, according to posts on the Kobojo forums from two representatives (archive here), saying:

The next episode will be available through in-app purchase.

I asked the appropriate person here at Kobojo to know the price of the upcoming IAP, and it is still being discussed. What I can confirm you is that it will be cheaper than the price than the base game.

Kobojo made no mention initially that the game would be episodic. The iTunes description now mentions “WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF ORCANON, and EPISODE 1 of the ZODIAC SAGA." But, sources that scraped the initial iTunes text, including a check of the AppShopper databases, showed that the “EPISODE 1 of the ZODIAC SAGA" part was not included in the initial description.

Now, this isn’t a grand screed against in-app purchases or DLC for future content, not at all. And as I mentioned in my review, plans were being made for future content all the way back at GDC. But where the issue comes in is that people were sold a game that seemingly promised far more than what it offered, with characters, classes, and even areas that seemed to be available to current purchasers who just progressed far enough in the game. However, instead, players were shown a sudden “to be continued" screen and were not assured that they would have to pay for more of the game. If the game itself were fun in its current incarnation, such as Agent A (Free), a game I have similar complaints about as far as its sudden ending and content goes, that would be one thing. Agent A is a fun experience that just needs to better clarify its intent.

Kobojo’s actions with Zodiac feel like, if not a bait and switch, then mistreating their early adopters who spent well above the price of an average paid iOS game, and have been given a subpar product and a demand for more money. This does not feel like how Kobojo’s customers, nor anyone who dares to pay for a game upfront in this age of free-to-play, should be treated, and one would hope that Kobojo would think wisely about their future steps here.