Slice of Death, Side of Romance: Inside Salvus: Aries
In a liminal world of reapers, shifting paperwork and second chances after death, Salvus: Aries asks a simple but brutal question: if you were given another shot at existence, what would you do with it?
To dig into the heart of this upcoming Otome/visual novel, we sat down with creator/writer Esha and programmer/Kohi to talk about how Salvus began, what makes Aina and the reapers so special, and how you build romance in a setting that starts with an execution.
This highlight Q&A gathers some of the most insightful and fun moments from that conversation kept in their own words, with filler trimmed but personality intact. You’ll find character-focused questions, talk about themes, worldbuilding, development, Kickstarter stories, and even exclusive cut content that never made it into the game.
Listen to the FULL Episode :
https://youtu.be/RQLdJT7OTxM
The Team behind Salvus: Aries
Highlights from Salvus: Aries
The Team behind Salvus: Aries
Highlights from Salvus: Aries
Esha:
“We're real life friends.I said, this is a game I'm making again. I just had a picture of Aina, and Kouya said, if you need a coder, I got you. I said, okay. And now she's stuck with me.
On Salvus itself? I've been playing Otome games since I was in middle school. On mobile, the apps, all of it. I was a teenager asking my dad to get me iTunes cards so I could buy the routes. I played anything I could get my hands on. I played the weird stuff on DeviantArt. Anything. Then I discovered the console games.
I thought, “I want to make one of my own one day.” But that takes experience. I've always written. I think I was born writing. I've written lots and lots of fic and original things. But to make a game, you need money. So it was out of the question for a while.
I started working hard in artist alley, selling merch online. Then I took everything I made and said, let me make a demo. I made sure to make Salvus something I want to work on forever. I sat on the story and ideas for about a year or two before getting anything made, because I didn’t want to get sick of it halfway through and feel stuck. I really committed to the idea.
The specific inspiration was a K-drama called Goblin. They have reapers there and I thought it was so charming that the reapers were everyday people doing their thing, but also had this otherworldly job. I loved that, and decided to play with the idea, make it my own, build the stasis system, the worldbuilding, and create a whole universe out of it.”
Esha:
“I usually call it a slice-of-death adventure game, because you’re starting in the afterlife. The game starts with, “Today’s the day of my execution.” You see what happens when you wake up after that. You think, “I did everything great in my life.” No. You screwed up. You’re not in hell, but you have other things to do.
It’s a game about connections, relationships, and finding the meaning of: should I live, why should I exist? It’s about looking past what you’ve done to redeem yourself and also find love.”
Esha:
“That’s definitely a nod to all the webtoons I read, and the Otome isekai genre where the heroine dies and comes back.
In high school I read a story called Rifā where the kids die and end up in a purgatory school where they have to earn their life back or something similar. I love stories like that. There’s Ghost Teller, Ghost Theater I really like the afterlife concept.
So I chose that on purpose. I thought it would be fun and a small nod to the Otome isekai genre without actually going full isekai. Ina did some things, she was executed, but we move on. It’s still part of her past, but balanced.
I also feel the Otome isekai trend will get tired out at some point, and I want to make something long-lasting.”
Esha:
“I want them on the edge of their seat. I want them to finish and think, “Oh my God, what just happened?” The demo ends on a big note. A lot happens.
But afterward, I need to reel it back in: we move forward, we see how Ina finds her path with each of the guys. Different things happen in different routes, because I believe in different timelines. There will be discussions about that in the game.
Even when bad things happen, you have to bounce back. What is she going to do? She has to move on at some point. That’s the feeling I want people to take away from the demo.”
Esha:
“With Ina, she has her own tragic past. In the human world, by the end of her life she had a lot of things she wanted to do and a strong purpose behind them. Then she gets thrown here. She doesn’t remember her time in purgatory. She’s confused.
As her memories come back, that becomes another battle. Do you even want to remember the bad things that happened to you? But isn’t that still a part of you? That’s her main struggle.
The other part is her sense of justice. She wants to do what’s right, she can’t stand by in certain situations. But then the question becomes: did the other person want you to act? Are you imposing your idea of “right”?
So it becomes: should you listen to someone else when it comes to doing the right thing? What do you think is the right thing? How much do you let others decide that, how much do you interfere? I want people to think about that through Ina’s lens.”
Kohi:
“From my perspective, Aina is a very candid character. She isn’t a damsel in distress begging to be saved. She knows she can hold her own ground.
But when you’re in a delicate situation and unsure what decision to make, others can influence you. Being surrounded by new environments can be overwhelming. We see her get swept up by that, but also slowly learn more about herself and bring her own decisions into it.”
Esha:
“He’s fun because he thinks he knows everything. He’s great. I like having Ina fluster him because his whole existence has followed one set of rules. Ina is here to challenge everything he knows. He’s trying to figure her out; she’s trying to figure him out.
I pretend I’m a middle-aged man when writing him.
Valafar chooses that appearance because he wants to be calming whenever he has to reap a child. When I was younger, I was always afraid of older men, but someone like Valafar, more mature, composed would feel comforting.
So he presents himself that way. He wants to take care of everyone. He thinks he should carry everyone’s burdens without showing his own.
He’s the mom, or the dad, of the group. I write him calm, with a dry wit. He’s sassy in a quiet way.”
Kohi :
“I see myself in Valafar as well. It’s a running joke Esha calls me “father” in the Discord server because I usually fix issues as the programmer.
I tend to have an unbiased view of things, and Valafar does too. He positions himself as someone who stays neutral and looks after everyone. That’s very familiar to me.”
Esha:
“His story will be interesting. You need a Seir. You have Orias being grumpy, another character fighting, and then Seir just goes, “Hi, Ina.”
A lot of the lore revolves around him, and he’s a big reason everyone gels with Ina early on without too much hesitation. You need that bridge.
I want Salvus to be something you can play without being emotionally crushed every second. Seir says whatever is on his mind, and I hope that lightness alleviates some situations, because sometimes you need to stop and breathe.”
Esha:
“We have a Xaphon demo planned, and it’ll show this even more clearly. His issues come up early. Ina notices Xaphon is always making people laugh, taking care of everyone, but no one really stops to think about him.
That also happens with Valafar, but in different ways. With Xaphon , you really see the deeper part of him. I want him to resonate with people who sometimes have mean or awful thoughts even though they’re good people. You can be kind and still have intrusive, dark thoughts.
I want his route to say: even if you think those things, you’re not automatically a bad person. It happens.
Xaphon tries to be good to everyone as motivation to stay good himself, to keep going. It’s not just “I want to make everyone happy,” it’s also, “Maybe if I fake it till I make it, I’ll be happy too.””
Esha:
“He’s fun because he thinks he knows everything. Aina flusters him constantly because she challenges his worldview. He’s trying to analyze her; she’s trying to understand him.
In his route, they’re both trying to figure each other out while also wrestling with this electricity between them. Each route plays with a different dynamic, which is why we’re doing a spin-off for another character I originally wanted to give a route to. That route would have been too similar to Caym Fx Aina.
Caym has his own way of thinking, Aina has hers. It’s a clash of ideals, plus the realization, “Wait, this is an Otome game, we’re obviously going to fall for each other.”
So Caym's route is very much, “I like this person, but they’re driving me crazy. Why do they think this way?” That tension is the fun part.”
Esha:
“There are reasons for everything he does. The demo shows him pushing her away. He has his reasons. His intention is, “I don’t want you close to me because of X, Y, and Z.”
But you also see how much he cares about Aina. She’s unraveling him like an onion: “Let me see what’s behind that.”
So you get that push and pull. He keeps saying, “Just this once, I’ll help, just one time, it’ll be fine,” and then afterward he realizes he’s more attached than he wants to admit.
That’s Orias. I think that’s why people like him. He gets his mean side from me.
Kohi:
“I relate to him a lot. He’s very honest, and there aren’t many people who can be as blunt or discourteous as he is. Sometimes I come off that way with close friends, so I understand where he’s coming from.
People will say, “You’re such an asshole,” but he’s just being honest.”
Esha:
“Not Caym. He’d sniff out everything I wrote and judge me.
I’d probably be with Xaphon . I like Xaphon . That’s just the honest answer.”
Kohi:
“I definitely wouldn’t be around the main Reaper group. Ironically, I’d be with the other ones in particular. If you know, you know. I’d definitely hang around Malthus, if that says anything.”
Esha:
“I really like belts.
I like chest straps, belts, suits. For Kaim, I wanted an astrologer motif. For Seir, a butterfly motif. I don’t even have a deep reason; the ideas just grabbed me.
We pushed Orias and Xaphon in a more desi direction, which I appreciated because I’m desi. That was fun. Valafar is about the handsome silhouette. I think a lot about silhouettes. I have specific shapes in mind.
Our artists are really good. I gave detailed briefs and they delivered. We didn’t have to change much. Originally Orias had white hair because I love white-haired guys, but Ina already had white hair, so that had to change for contrast.
The aesthetics are very specific things I love, poured into characters.
Malthus: I worked on his design with a friend. I wanted him to look like a mushroom. There’s a blue glowing mushroom that inspired him.
For Lucian, I wanted OG-style fashion plus that mushroom inspiration. “Mushroom, but make it OG.”
Malthus has off-the-shoulder elements because I love that. I sketched him with a transparent high collar. It’s basically fan service for me.”
Esha:
“In terms of writing, I have to make sure nothing is pointless. Pacing is everything. I’m constantly asking, “Is this part enjoyable to read?”
That’s why I’ve rewritten so much and scrapped entire storylines. I’ve always had the endings in mind, but the journey is crucial. For a long time I had a certain path, then realized it would be boring.
I’m making a supernatural game, so I want to keep the supernatural elements strong and not bog it down with things that feel like a slog.
The other half is logistics: getting everyone to do their work on time, keeping assets organized, making sure everything comes together. People are working hard with me, so I want to work hard for them.
I don’t want someone to say, “It looked pretty, but the writing sucked.” I want them to say, “Everything was great: the voice acting, the story, the effects.” If people put in effort, I need to match that.”
Kohi:
“From a project management angle, we all work in different time zones. Me and Esha are both in America, but some of our art team isn’t. Coordinating that is a challenge.
We’re making a visual novel. The first thing a player sees is the characters and the backgrounds. So we have to look after the art team and their mental wellbeing.
Artists can hit blocks, especially when conceptualizing a CG, a character design, or a key background. Some of our backgrounds are handcrafted to fit very specific vibes.
So we’re constantly balancing deadlines with the fact that we’re all people at the end of the day. We’re human.”
Esha:
“I learned how expensive everything is. The fees were worse than I predicted. It was a new experience trying to raise money.
We even had someone pledge a big amount and then back out at the last second, which was… an adventure.
I wish I’d been better about reminding people that their cards might not go through, because that took out a chunk. That’s something I’ll keep in mind for the future.
I’d love to hire someone to handle the merch for a full release, because I’m exhausted just thinking about it. That took much more time than I thought.
The physical rewards ordering, shipping, packing take a lot of time. But I come from a merch background. If I didn’t make merch, who would I be?”
Esha:
“The Malthus DLC was so funny. I went to sleep thinking, “We won’t hit it.” Then I woke up and saw people rallying, making posts: “Get Malthus funded.”
My friend was the very last person to bump up their pledge to cover the final amount because they really wanted Malthus.”
Esha:
“Mr. Arsène Soleil might come back one day in a future game. My friends mourned when I killed him off, but I wanted to have a Phantom Thief.
I had a whole storyline planned for Kaim’s route where Kaim would be a fake butler for a noble lady, and Arsène Soleil would be this Phantom Thief who makes Kaim super jealous. It was a full arc.
Eventually I realized, this is a game about supernatural things. I should keep the focus on that lore, not human-world heists. So I said, this could be a different game in another world with different characters.
But I was attached to Mr. Arsène Soleil for a long time. It made me very sad to let him go. They say “kill your darlings.” He was a darling.”
In a genre crowded with reincarnations, princes, and pastel academies, Salvus: Aries stands out by starting where most stories end: at an execution, in a world run by reapers, grief, and unfinished business. Through Ina and the chaotic found family around her, Esha and Kohi are building something that’s equal parts afterlife office comedy, cosmic romance, and slow-burn self-forgiveness.
If this Q&A made you curious about Ina’s past, the reapers’ secrets, or that poor, doomed Phantom Thief, now’s the perfect time to dive into the demo, share your favorite theories, and keep an eye out for upcoming content.
Stories like Salvus: Aries grow because people talk about them, so tell a friend, scream about your favorite route, and support the team however you can whether that’s wishlisting, sharing the game, or just sending a kind message after you’ve played. Ina’s second chance has already begun; the rest of us are just catching up.
