Where Are We Headed – Director’s Note

Hello everyone,

I'm J. Kim, Director of Ember and Blade.

Today, I want to talk about a decision that's going to shape the future of Ember and Blade.

Over the past few months, we've spent a lot of time asking ourselves whether the current version of Ember and Blade is the best version it could be.

We're currently working on a new demo that goes far beyond bug fixes, balance adjustments, or polishing what's already there. Instead, we're rebuilding one of the most important parts of the game: combat itself.

In this note, I'd like to share how we arrived at that decision.

Back in April 2025, we released the first public demo of Ember and Blade.

Since then, we've gone through Steam Next Fest, rebuilt large parts of the game, and earlier this year launched what we internally called the"Demo Rebuilding"effort. Between April and May alone, we shipped four major updates and five hotfixes.

With each new demo, we focused on the biggest frustrations players were raising at the time. From optimization and voice-over quality to narrative flow and game feel, we poured everything we had into addressing the issues you brought to us.

And little by little, things got better.

By the time we released our most recent demo, the game had reached a Very Positive rating on Steam, something that would have been difficult for us to imagine a year ago.

To everyone who played the demo, left a review, reported bugs, or took the time to share detailed feedback: thank you. Ember and Blade. exists in its current form because of you.

And yet, once the latest demo was behind us and the dust had settled, a question kept finding its way back into our discussions.

Better reviews tell us we've moved away from our mistakes, but they don't necessarily tell us we're building the best version of the game we could be making. It's a strange thing to start questioning yourself when things are finally going well.

But in a way, I don't think we could have asked ourselves that question any earlier.

For most of development, we were focused on solving immediate problems. We were trying to make the game better than it was the month before. Only recently did we reach a point where we could step back and look at the bigger picture.

Only now were we ready to ask ourselves what kind of game Ember and Blade was meant to be.

So that's exactly what we did.

We looked back across the entire history of the project. Not just at Ember and Blade as it exists today, but at every stage of its development, from the earliest proposals to the current build.

And what stood out wasn't any one change.

It was the pattern behind them.

Late 2024 Internal build

Apr 2025 First public demo

Apr 2026 Current (final) demo

Looking back at footage from late 2024 is honestly a little embarrassing. The game looked much closer to a traditional survivor-like. Movement was slower. Combat was slower. The overall pace was slower.

Then came the first public demo in early 2025. Movement speed increased. Attack speed increased. Dodging became faster.

Compare those builds to where the game is today, and the difference becomes even more obvious.

With every update, the action became a little faster. Movement became a little more responsive. Blessings gradually shifted away from passive effects and toward mechanics tied to dashes and attacks.

None of this happened because we set out to reinvent the game. It happened because we kept listening to feedback and responding to it, one update at a time.

Looking back at all those changes together, a simple question emerged:

And that's when we realized something.

The direction all of these changes were pointing toward wasn't something new. It was where we had wanted to go from the very beginning.

The core idea behind Ember and Blade has always been simple:

We had never strayed from that vision.

We simply hadn't gone far enough.

Out of respect for the survivor-like genre, much of the game was built around progression and build-up. Instead of overwhelming enemies through action, players often had to wait for their builds to come online. There's nothing inherently wrong with that approach, but over time we realized it was also limiting the kind of excitement the game could deliver.

The more we listened to feedback, the more we found ourselves pushing against that limitation. That's when it clicked: the direction players were pulling the game and the direction we had wanted to take it from the start were actually the same.

What we'd like your feedback on in the next demo comes down to two major changes.

The footage below is an early proof of concept built using existing assets. It doesn't represent the final quality of the game, but we felt it was important to show where we're heading rather than simply describe it.

What we'd like your feedback on in the next demo comes down to two major changes.

The footage below is an early proof of concept built using existing assets. It doesn't represent the final quality of the game, but we felt it was important to show where we're heading rather than simply describe it.

Ember and Blade has special attacks, but they were never something players could freely reach for at any moment.

For a game that wants to embrace action, combat could still feel too repetitive. We believe that introducing a simple combo system built around light and heavy attacks can add rhythm, decision-making, and a greater sense of mastery to every encounter.

Combo System — Proof of Concept

In the Next demo, blessings won't simply activate on their own and ask players to wait for them.

Instead, blessings will become much more closely tied to player actions. During a run, players will be able to modify how blessings activate, shifting them from passive effects to mechanics tied directly to light attacks, heavy attacks, and dashes.

Our goal is simple:

Active Blessing — Proof of Concept

To be completely honest, making changes of this scale this late in development is a risky decision. Most teams would avoid making a change like this, and they'd probably have good reasons to.

There aren't many examples of games successfully combining the scale and chaos of a survivor-like with the responsiveness of a true action game. We're not following a proven blueprint. In many ways, we're figuring it out as we go.

That's exciting.

But if I'm being honest, it's also a little frightening.

And yet, after months of discussion, we've come to believe this is the path toward a better Ember and Blade. Because the direction you've been pointing us toward for the past thirteen months is the same direction we wanted to go from the beginning.

And because we're still building it, we have a rare opportunity to build it together.

Please continue sharing your thoughts with us through Steam and Discord.

You'll get your first hands-on look at these changes through our new demo. More importantly, the systems you'll be testing aren't being built for the demo alone. They're part of the future of Ember and Blade, and they'll continue to evolve as development moves forward.

Coming Act 4, in development alongside the renewal — Frozen Tribunal

You've brought us this far, and for that, we're incredibly grateful.

We know this decision means asking for a little more patience, but we believe it's the right one.

As we take this next step, we hope you'll continue walking it with us.

— J. Kim