Steam News3 June 20261mo ago

June Update - meet the characters!

It's early June and it's time for another Seal of Solitomb update! Last month was nice and varied - we've worked on boss arenas, camera movement, scene transitions, the shop interface, ability animations, the battle seq

In this update2

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Full Seal of Solitomb update

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What changed

0 fixes3 additions4 changes0 removals

UI and audio
Gameplay
Balance

changedLast month was nice and varied - we've worked on boss arenas, camera movement, scene transitions, the shop interface, ability animations, the battle sequence, and tons of smaller stuff. This is all necessary work to bring the final level of polish to the game, but the biggest focus of our work in May was getting one thing fully implemented, playtested and ready for release.

addedCharacter classesSeal of Solitomb is a reimagining of an earlier PICO-8 version of the game . This means taking what's already there, then doing more of it and better. Sounds simple, but tends to be harder in practice. "Just add more stuff" is a recipe for disaster. If you don't carefully think those additions through, you'll get a muddled, confused sequel that waters down what made the first one successful.

addedCharacter classesThe characters in Solitomb are one of the places that needs such care. The original only had three. That leaves quite a bit of untapped design space, but the PICO-8 version had a spartan take on what makes a character: just a single built-in ability. Elegant and minimalistic, but also a bit of a problem once you add more classes. Seal of Solitomb currently features eight and will likely want more when the game is inevitably successful. I needed to add something new to give each class a strong, unique identity.

changedCharacter classesWe're still talking minimal: two components to anchor an entire character. And yet, it's 100% more elements than the original used! I'm doing my best to balance simplicity and depth, but I'm also counting on all of you to help me dial this in once the game is released.

addedOkay, so who is actually in the game?We've got a wide range of heroes to choose from. The usual suspects return: you have your basic Warrior of course, a bow-wielding Rogue , and a Mage that can make mana like there's no tomorrow. Joining them are the new classes: the Protector makes defense cards at will, the Berserker builds rage by getting hit, the Necromancer summons skeletal armies and the Invoker gets access to more abilities, but can't really control which ones at any given time.

changedOkay, so who is actually in the game?And then, there is the Beastmaster , whose gameplay is showcased in the video below.

Seal of Solitomb changes

addedSeal of Solitomb is a reimagining of an earlier PICO-8 version of the game . This means taking what's already there, then doing more of it and better. Sounds simple, but tends to be harder in practice. "Just add more stuff" is a recipe for disaster. If you don't carefully think those additions through, you'll get a muddled, confused sequel that waters down what made the first one successful.

addedThe characters in Solitomb are one of the places that needs such care. The original only had three. That leaves quite a bit of untapped design space, but the PICO-8 version had a spartan take on what makes a character: just a single built-in ability. Elegant and minimalistic, but also a bit of a problem once you add more classes. Seal of Solitomb currently features eight and will likely want more when the game is inevitably successful. I needed to add something new to give each class a strong, unique identity.

changedWe're still talking minimal: two components to anchor an entire character. And yet, it's 100% more elements than the original used! I'm doing my best to balance simplicity and depth, but I'm also counting on all of you to help me dial this in once the game is released.

addedWe've got a wide range of heroes to choose from. The usual suspects return: you have your basic Warrior of course, a bow-wielding Rogue , and a Mage that can make mana like there's no tomorrow. Joining them are the new classes: the Protector makes defense cards at will, the Berserker builds rage by getting hit, the Necromancer summons skeletal armies and the Invoker gets access to more abilities, but can't really control which ones at any given time.

It's early June and it's time for another Seal of Solitomb update!

Last month was nice and varied - we've worked on boss arenas, camera movement, scene transitions, the shop interface, ability animations, the battle sequence, and tons of smaller stuff. This is all necessary work to bring the final level of polish to the game, but the biggest focus of our work in May was getting one thing fully implemented, playtested and ready for release.

Character classes

Seal of Solitomb is a reimagining of an earlier PICO-8 version of the game. This means taking what's already there, then doing more of it and better. Sounds simple, but tends to be harder in practice. "Just add more stuff" is a recipe for disaster. If you don't carefully think those additions through, you'll get a muddled, confused sequel that waters down what made the first one successful.

The characters in Solitomb are one of the places that needs such care. The original only had three. That leaves quite a bit of untapped design space, but the PICO-8 version had a spartan take on what makes a character: just a single built-in ability. Elegant and minimalistic, but also a bit of a problem once you add more classes. Seal of Solitomb currently features eight and will likely want more when the game is inevitably successful. I needed to add something new to give each class a strong, unique identity.

In addition to a built-in ability, each character now gets something extra: a free bonus that you get for clearing specific columns in the tableau. These goodies give each character some extra punch, especially if timed correctly to maximize their benefit. Rogue's "Behind The Lines" ability (pictured above) is a good example of that, letting you get rid of one of your biggest obstacles.

The addition of the column-clear bonuses lends a bit more design room to each character, but also helps reinforce their theme and make the specific "geography" of each level more important.

That still wasn't enough. With eight characters, there needs to be some variety in terms of complexity. The overall pace of unlocks is slower (more content!), so there is room to give more to later characters. I decided to push what "a single built-in ability" means. Early characters still get straightforward stuff, while later ones like the Berskerker, Necromancer or Beastmaster utilize mechanics or resources that are completely unique to their class.

We're still talking minimal: two components to anchor an entire character. And yet, it's 100% more elements than the original used! I'm doing my best to balance simplicity and depth, but I'm also counting on all of you to help me dial this in once the game is released.

Okay, so who is actually in the game?

We've got a wide range of heroes to choose from.

The usual suspects return

you have your basic Warrior of course, a bow-wielding Rogue , and a Mage that can make mana like there's no tomorrow.

Joining them are the new classes

the Protector makes defense cards at will, the Berserker builds rage by getting hit, the Necromancer summons skeletal armies and the Invoker gets access to more abilities, but can't really control which ones at any given time.

And then, there is the Beastmaster, whose gameplay is showcased in the video below.

This class is pretty special and comes with its own Animal Companion card. Your beast buddy hangs out with other cards in the tableau, and if you take proper care of it (by playing with it a lot and using it in combos), it will keep growing. That becomes useful when you send your animal friend to munch on the monsters. The bigger your pet gets, the more damage it will do! This whole dynamic is very fun, but also extremely powerful - so much so that the Beastmaster is the only class that doesn't get a column-clear bonus.

And yes, before you ask: we have a feline version. As the only cat person on the dev team, I wouldn't dream of having it otherwise!

Steam post image

It's been nice talking to you, but it's time for me to get back to work; still got a few tasks left on my plate today. A game developer's work is never over :)

I'll chime in soon with another update. In the meantime, you can follow the latest on Bluesky, Discord, etc., etc. There should be links to all the channels below, so take your pick!

Until then, take care, and see you around the dungeon! --

Source

Steam News / 3 June 2026

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