Playtest 2 Now Live: New Systems & Improvements

The New Playtest Begins Today

Following our first public playtest, where hundreds of players jumped in and shared invaluable feedback, we’ve spent the past weeks refining the early experience of Desert Revenant 2: The Reawakening.

This playtest will run from today to April 15th, and is available right now.

What’s Changed

🔹 More Meaningful Decisions

We’ve started introducing more dynamic decision-making across the map, with choices that carry more weight and influence how your run unfolds.

🔹 Desert Encounters (Work in Progress)

Desert encounters are currently being reworked.

In the previous playtest, they often felt too simple and not impactful enough as an option compared to other paths. This is an ongoing area of improvement, and you’ll begin to see the direction in this version.

🔹 Improved Combat Clarity

We’ve added a new interaction highlighting system.

When hovering cards, buffs, or effects, related elements now visually react, making it easier to understand how abilities interact without reducing the depth of combat.

🔹 Enemy Adjustments & Balance

Several enemies have been refined to improve readability and balance.

• Adjustments to enemies like the Jinn of Destruction and Sand Ogre

• Clearer behavior and more understandable mechanics

🔹 Expanded Build Options

We’ve added new cards for the Leper, giving you more ways to shape your build.

🔹 Improved Boss Rewards

Boss fights now offer more satisfying rewards, better reflecting their difficulty.

🔹 UX & Immersion Improvements

• Reduced the number of mini loading screens

• Added lore introductions for bosses and mini-bosses

• Lore screens no longer auto-skip. You can now read them at your own pace

New System: Minion Perks

This playtest introduces a new system focused on minion customization.

You can now assign Minion Perks, unique passive abilities that allow you to shape how your minions behave and interact with your build.

• Choose from a selection of perks

• Assign them to your minions

• Each minion can hold one perk

This opens up new synergies and strategies in every run.

Focus of This Playtest

This playtest remains focused on refining the early game.

You’ll play as the Leper, across the first three regions, as we continue improving progression, clarity, and decision-making.

We’re especially looking for feedback on:

• Progression and map decisions

• Desert encounters

• Combat clarity

• The Minion Perks system

Join the Playtest

The playtest is available now and will run until April 15th.

👉 Head to the Steam page and request access to join. This update is a step toward making Desert Revenant 2 more strategic, more layered, and more rewarding to play, while preserving the strength of its core combat.

We’re excited to see how this version feels.