Playtest! Playtest!

Let's rewind for a second. A little while back we ran our very first closed playtest with around 50 players. It was the first time the game had ever been in the hands of people who weren't us, and to be honest we were nervous about it. It ended up going better than we'd hoped — the combat landed, people found the flow we'd been designing around, and a few players even pulled off combos and transitions we hadn't managed ourselves. More than anything, we walked away with a mountain of thoughtful, detailed feedback that's been shaping the game ever since. To everyone who took part in that first round — thank you. Genuinely. You helped us more than you know.

Steam post imageThis time, we're opening the doors a little wider. The build won't have a pile of new content — instead it's the same experience, but more polished, better tuned, with the most crucial problems from the first round ironed out. Basically, the game putting its best foot forward.

So what's actually in it?

You'll be fighting your way through a dark fantasy world — a settlement with a violent, troubled history, now overrun by demon-possessed warriors and villagers, with stranger things lurking at the edges. The combat is built around fast, crunchy, weighty brawling, with a deep set of moves and a system that rewards both aggression and patience. Here's some of what you'll get your hands on:

• Elemental disciplines — the heart of how each run feels. Electro is fast and chaotic, chaining lightning through enemies and building up charge until it releases in a massive discharge. Fire sets your strikes ablaze, dealing extra damage and launching whole crowds into the air with explosive ground slams. And Shadow — our strangest and most unusual discipline — bends space and time, traps enemies in dark bottomless chasms, and summons companion shadows to fight alongside you. Steam post image

• A modifier system that lets you build out each run your own way. Specials and autocasts trigger off everything you do in combat — hits, parries, takedowns — and they synergise both within a single discipline and across different ones, in combinations we're honestly still discovering ourselves.

• A reactive, breakable environment — the world fights with you. Grab benches and heavy objects, hurl them at enemies, smash things apart mid-fight. Some objects break instantly, some take a beating first, and every arena plays a little differently depending on what's lying around. Steam post image

• Combat depth that rewards mastery — grab denial against massive opponents who'll throw you right back, invincibility windows on specials, risk/reward choices baked into committing to your moves. The deeper you go, the more the system opens up.

• And on top of all that — everything we learned and fixed from the last round. Clearer move and modifier descriptions, balance tuning, performance improvements, and a serious dent in the bug list.

Whether you're a beat-em-up veteran, a roguelite obsessive, or just someone who loves combat with real weight and impact behind it — this is the perfect moment to jump in. You'll be playing the game early, watching it evolve, and directly shaping where it goes next. The feedback from our first testers genuinely changed the game for the better, and we want even more of that this time.

Want in?

Here's how to take part:

• Apply for the playtest on our Steam page — that's the main step, and all it takes to throw your hat in the ring.

What you can also do:

• Wishlist the game while you're there — we'd be hugely grateful, and it helps us more than you'd think.

• Join our Discord if you want to hear our news first and talk to us directly — it's where we make every announcement first, and where you can report bugs, share clips, and chat with us throughout the playtest.

Spots will be limited, so don't sleep on it. We read everything, we reply to as much as we can, and the testers who get involved early tend to have the biggest impact on the final game.

That's it for now. We've poured a lot into this build and we genuinely can't wait to see what you do with it. See you in the arena. 🤛

— The team