KOTCL Developer Diaries: Magic, Spirit Persival, And Dark Vanadis

Knock, knock, travelers!

Today we’ve got a lot of news on DLC! We’ve prepared new reborn heroes for you— they’ll reveal themselves in a completely new light. Prepare to face hordes of the undead, explore new gear, and experience magic intertwined with the fates of our beloved characters.

In this diary, we’ll talk about mantles, Vanadis’ encounter with dark forces, and Persival’s transformation into a spirit. And there will be surprises, of course. You will see what our heroes might look like in a parallel universe. Gather around the campfire—it’s going to be exciting!

The Mantle That You Chose!

Remember the poll from our last diary? Most of you voted for mantle #2 —an artifact as ancient as Mortis’s magic itself. But the deciding factor was a comment on Reddit by player Anomadner, who explained in detail why a round collar was out of place in the Midian era!

So, we settled on option 2, improved the design a little bit, and even tried the mantle on the other heroes. Now, they can adjust their brooches with an air of importance while looking like true fashion adepts.

What do you think?

Vanadis Will Sell Her Soul...

The Bog curse looms over Midian once more, and this time, dark magic will make its way into our heroes. Vanadis will face Death herself.

She won’t be a simple archer anymore—she’ll serve the Goddess Death. But in exchange for her new powers, Vanadis will lose part of her humanity. Will you help her return to her old self or side with the ancient force?

There'll Only Be Soul Left Of Persival...

Meanwhile, ghostly mushrooms will turn Persival into a spirit,

Doomed for a certain term to walk the night, And for the day confined to fast in fires

As you can see, we’re inspired by Hamlet’s father’s ghost! Are there any other medieval specters you’d suggest we look into?

So far, we think artwork #1 looks too much like a silver golem, so we’re leaning toward artwork #2. We’re considering making him legless—you won’t need boots, and equipment sets will be much easier to assemble. What do you think? Which ghostly style appeals to you more, 1 or 2?

Esha, I’m Your Father!!

Last week, we introduced you to Esha, our new NPC mage. Now it’s time to meet her father!

Beneath his stern exterior lies a sincere love for his daughter. Separated by dark forces, Esha and her father are ready to do whatever it takes to reunite. But will they have the courage to face the Bog curse?

Somewhere in a Parallel Universe…

What if our heroes looked... different?

Picture elongated limbs, distorted proportions, and faces straight out of Dali and de Chirico’s paintings. In our rare breaks from working on the DLC, we’ve been experimenting with alternate versions of our characters. Soon, we might have enough for a full parallel universe! Some break, eh?

How About Some Chit-Chat?

Hi, friends! This is Andrew aka Innrey, the founder of RedBoon.

The work on the game has been intense this week, and I’m excited to share the highlights with you. First, I want to say that we’re not just creating our game thanks to you, but we’re evolving it together, too. Your sessions, strategies, and all your experiences in the game help us make it better.

Much of our progress is thanks to your active involvement. This became possible because we now have real, large-scale data on your gameplay experience—something we didn’t have before the release. We can analyze how you play and use that data to improve KOTCL.

We’ve identified 17 key strategies the players use. Yes, we’re literally analyzing your builds! We track which strategies lead to victory and collect data to make the game more engaging. Our immediate plans include refining these strategies to keep the game challenging even for veterans while avoiding frustrating moments when bosses counter specific builds. Now, we know exactly what works and what needs some tweaking to keep every moment thrilling!

We hope that you’ll be able to play KOTCL on the gamepad pretty soon. We’re working on adapting game controls. It’s a huge work in progress, but our developers are already testing KOTCL on gamepads!

Additionally, we’re tackling sound design for the DLC. Do you love listening to the sounds of rain or the ocean? So do we, but right now, we’re binging "Midian’s Greatest Hits" while working on the DLC soundtrack! Sword swishes, explosions, magic… and maybe some Christmas carols in December. We hope the sounds will be a welcome surprise for you!

Thank you for staying with us, sharing your ideas, and supporting the project. Your involvement truly inspires us.

See you in the next diary! :)

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