DEV DIARY #1: Forging the Combat of Alkahest

Recently, Alkahest hit a major milestone: over 500,000 wishlists on Steam.

Half a million people basically said: “Alright, you’ve got my attention. Show me what you’ve got.”

We’re endlessly grateful that so many of you connect with our vision - and yes, a little nervous to finally share it with you.

After almost two years of development, it’s time to lift the curtain - just a little - and give you a glimpse behind the scenes. But first, let’s answer the question everyone is most interested in: yes, a full gameplay trailer is coming :)

Some parts of the game still need a little more love before they’re ready for the spotlight. We’ve been heads-down refining the core gameplay, while some areas - like boss fights and cutscenes - are still in the oven. Give them a little more time, and they’ll be ready to steal the show.

Even so, you absolutely deserve to know how the game is shaping up! This devlog is our way of keeping you in the loop about our progress, our creative process, and the values guiding us as we build Alkahest for you.

Quick disclaimer: everything you’re seeing here is still a work in progress and doesn’t represent the final game. Some elements may change as we move forward.

Let’s start where it all begins: physics-driven combat.

In Alkahest, you’re not some invincible action figure. You’re a human being in a dangerous world, facing opponents who outnumber you, outweigh you, and absolutely want you dead.

To survive, you’ll need vigilance, timing, technique, and a bit of ingenuity. A well-placed kick, a desperate shove, or turning the environment itself into a weapon can matter just as much as the steel in your hand.

When we talk about the “flow” of combat, our goal is to make every encounter feel closer to a fencing duel than a button-mashing brawl. Your sword isn’t a blunt tool - it’s an elegant weapon that rewards precision, timing, and intent.

That’s why every sword attack in Alkahest supports directional input. Your swing follows your intent - whether you’re cutting from the hip, slashing downward, or chaining together different variations.

Light attacks use that directionality to keep your swordplay fluid and readable, letting each strike roll naturally into the next. For heavy attacks, direction also becomes a tactical tool: a well-aimed blow can send an enemy tumbling exactly where you want them.

The goal is expressive, fluid combat that makes you feel like a real swordsman - not a rigid simulation that drowns you in mechanical detail.

There’s far more we want to share about our approach to fencing, but we’ll save the deeper breakdowns for future devlogs.

Great swordplay also means great hit reactions. So next, we turned to the other half of the equation: what happens to enemies after your strike lands.

In many games, when an enemy falls down - after a heavy blow or even after they’re already dead - they instantly switch into a limp, floppy ‘ragdoll’ state. That’s the classic inactive ragdoll: the animation shuts off, the body collapses, and you’ve probably seen that exact fall a hundred times before.

Game: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered Clip credit: Gray Mischief

In Alkahest, we’re aiming for something more alive - we want enemies who fight the fall. When you strike an enemy, they actually try to stay upright: stumbling, bracing, twisting away from the hit, and only collapsing when they finally lose the fight against momentum.

And even once they’re down, they stay part of the world - real bodies you can bump, drag, or accidentally kick down a slope.

You see, we're big fans of swinging and kicking! However, combat in Alkahest is not only about how you fight. It’s also about where you fight.

Have you ever wondered why most modern games avoid truly physical, interactive environments? Why is it that you walk into a room in an RPG, see a table and a set of chairs - and some mischievous minion has clearly super-glued them to the floor?

Control and predictability. Once everything becomes physical, the game gets much harder to design, test, and polish. If players can move or utilize almost anything around them, chaos increases fast - which is why many studios stick to a more streamlined, cinematic route.

But this is exactly the challenge we want to take on. Because kicking an enemy into that said table and watching it splinter just feels right.

Realistic physics is demanding to pull off, but it creates emergent moments you simply can’t get any other way.

And we also know there’s a razor-thin line here - between a goofy ragdoll moment that makes you smile and an immersion-breaking mess where you lose control because your character’s leg got swallowed by a broken crate.

Internally, we call this balance “good junk vs. bad junk.”

Game: Dark Messiah of Might and Magic Clip credit: ConRaven

Our beloved inspiration, Dark Messiah, mastered the art of “good junk” nearly 20 years ago - turning physics into pure, joyful chaos without breaking immersion. We’re learning from that formula and building our own modern take on it.

Thank you for taking the time to dive into our creative process. Alkahest is the most passionate project we’ve ever taken on, and sharing this journey with you means the world to us!

Stay tuned, stay curious, and stay chaotic (in a good way). And keep an eye out - today we’ve only touched a small part of what we’ve already built, and we can’t wait to share much more in the updates ahead, including Alkahest’s worldbuilding, story, and other gameplay features.

Until then, we’d love to hear what you think so far - what stood out, what you’re curious about, and what you’d like us to explore next.

You’re also welcome to join our Discord community and social channels. There we share short clips - bits of gameplay, behind-the-scenes development, and the occasional fun edit or moment that made the team laugh.

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• Push On Team