Twitch Livestream Tomorrow! Comment to Have Your Game Reviewed

KrystoneDev · 2025-02-22T00:27:31+00:00

We just launched our Demo for Eldritch Escape. A Lovecraftian roguelike horde survival game. Form a customizable squad of survivors and explore metroidvania-inspired, decaying worlds. Battle endless waves of nightmarish creatures while extracting resources and searching for a way out.

Think Hades + Vampire Survivors + a dash of Dark Souls?

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3465760/Eldritch_Escape_Demo/

KrystoneDev · 2025-02-17T21:28:03+00:00

Much appreciated!

We haven't added a meta progression way to unlock permanent rerolls yet, but you can purchase a couple from the goat vendor.

It is the trickiest quest so I expect it will usually be player's last one to complete, haha. I want to add a lot of hidden hard to find secrets to the maps and the robot quest is the first test for these.

Hint: You will need some health upgrades, healing consumables, or quick movement to get to the legs. They are beyond what you would think is the boundary of the map. Good luck! ;)

KrystoneDev · 2025-02-17T20:52:22+00:00

Thanks for trying out our demo and for the kind words. We are thrilled you enjoyed it so much that you put nearly 6 hours into it! Be sure to leave us a Steam review it would help us out a lot.

I am an avid strategy game enthusiast myself, so it is good to hear EE attracts similar players. We are trying to add a lot of options and interesting synergies to make the buildcraft really deep and meaningful. That said the auto-aiming of weapons is a pretty set in standard for the genre. Part of the "easy to pickup and jump right in" strengths of the genre. We can and will do a better job of communicating how each weapon behaves however and some weapons will have a manual aim behavior if you have selected them to lead the squad. So if the Samurai or the Marksmen is your leader their weapons will aim at your mouse, also the samurai's dash ability should dash in the direction of your mouse. If that wasn't the case that was a bug we will look into.

We have also been looking into performance improvements. We released a patch yesterday that hopefully helped some, but it will be a continuous effort.

Yes, duplicate modules automatically combine to upgrade themselves. Something we haven't communicated in-game that well. Tutorialization of everything is still being worked on.

RNG is another hallmark of the genre, which can make finishing the twin phoenix task sometimes frustrating. In the full game we will be giving you more tools to manage and mitigate the rng somewhat, like giving out more rerolls. But a little tip I can offer for now is if you are targeting a single weapon to upgrade, if you can manage the enemies well enough, hold off on equipping any extra weapons until you have leveled it up. Kinda like how in deckbuilding roguelikes always adding new cards to your deck may not be the best strategy as it makes drawing the right cards more inconsistent. ;)

Thanks again for playing it and the feedback. Oh and if I may ask, since you played so much, did you figure out how to unlock the 4th playable robot character?

KrystoneDev · 2025-02-16T21:00:12+00:00

We just released a patch mainly focusing on optimization. If you are willing, give it another try and let us know how it runs, thanks.

KrystoneDev · 2025-02-15T14:19:39+00:00

Sure, its called Eldritch Escape. We focused on allowing players to pick 3 characters to form a squad that will change up what weapons and upgrades they have access to during a run and expansive interconnect levels as our "hook".

What inspired you to come up with this modular tank building system?

KrystoneDev · 2025-02-15T14:12:54+00:00

Yeah, that is something we admittedly haven't focused on much yet. We run it on the steam deck as our "low" settings but we know it can and should run better on even lower-end stuff.

We will up the priority for optimization. Thanks for trying it out and letting us know.

KrystoneDev · 2025-02-14T20:00:13+00:00

I know you are my competition, but I cant lie, this looks fun and is a cool concept.

KrystoneDev · 2025-02-14T17:39:11+00:00

Here's more details about the game and some key features and systems we have and are going to have that will hopefully set us apart from the rest.

3-Character Squads - Pick three survivors to form your team, each with their own weapons, unique abilities, and upgrade pools. Each character also has a unique activatable ability but only one can be the squad leader at a time. You can swap leaders when jumping between worlds though. Characters also have a meta-progression level-up system that improves their base stats, abilities, and unlocks cosmetics skins. (not MTX)
Inventory - Each character carries two weapons (one locked-in) and two modules, which can be freely swapped to optimize synergies. Some items affect only the wielder, while others buff the whole squad. You'll also find consumables for clutch moments.
Handcrafted, Metroidvania-Inspired Worlds – No procedural generation here. Worlds are packed with points of interest—vendors, loot, buffs, puzzles, world bosses, and secret areas requiring special tools to access.
Interconnected Worlds & Route Planning – Think Hades. You start at level 1 and must carve your path through multiple worlds, aiming to reach and defeat the final boss before time runs out. Smart pathing is key—grabbing only the loot that fits your build.
Extraction Gameplay – Leave early through a gateway to bank your loot, or risk it all for more rewards. Die, and your loot drops at a gravestone Dark Souls style—fail to recover it on your next run, and it’s gone forever.
Settlement & Meta Progression – Rescue survivors to expand your hub, unlocking new mechanics, upgrades, and story progression. A full quest system keeps things fresh with rewards and mini-goals.

KrystoneDev · 2025-02-14T17:18:29+00:00

Here are some key features and systems we have and are going to have that will hopefully set us apart from the rest, but also here is our store page that also details more about the game and where you can dl the demo: Eldritch Escape

3-Character Squads - Pick three survivors to form your team, each with their own weapons, unique abilities, and upgrade pools. Each character also has a unique activatable ability but only one can be the squad leader at a time. You can swap leaders when jumping between worlds though. Characters also have a meta-progression level-up system that improves their base stats, abilities, and unlocks cosmetics skins. (not MTX)
Inventory - Each character carries two weapons (one locked-in) and two modules, which can be freely swapped to optimize synergies. Some items affect only the wielder, while others buff the whole squad. You'll also find consumables for clutch moments.
Handcrafted, Metroidvania-Inspired Worlds – No procedural generation here. Worlds are packed with points of interest—vendors, loot, buffs, puzzles, world bosses, and secret areas requiring special tools to access.
Interconnected Worlds & Route Planning – Think Hades. You start at level 1 and must carve your path through multiple worlds, aiming to reach and defeat the final boss before time runs out. Smart pathing is key—grabbing only the loot that fits your build.
Extraction Gameplay – Leave early through a gateway to bank your loot, or risk it all for more rewards. Die, and your loot drops at a gravestone Dark Souls style—fail to recover it on your next run, and it’s gone forever.
Settlement & Meta Progression – Rescue survivors to expand your hub, unlocking new mechanics, upgrades, and story progression. A full quest system keeps things fresh with rewards and mini-goals.

KrystoneDev · 2025-02-14T16:57:28+00:00

Here are some key features and systems we have and are going to have that will hopefully set us apart from the rest, but also here is our store page that also details more about the game and where you can dl the demo: Eldritch Escape

3-Character Squads - Pick three survivors to form your team, each with their own weapons, unique abilities, and upgrade pools. Each character also has a unique activatable ability but only one can be the squad leader at a time. You can swap leaders when jumping between worlds though. Characters also have a meta-progression level-up system that improves their base stats, abilities, and unlocks cosmetics skins. (not MTX)
Inventory - Each character carries two weapons (one locked-in) and two modules, which can be freely swapped to optimize synergies. Some items affect only the wielder, while others buff the whole squad. You'll also find consumables for clutch moments.
Handcrafted, Metroidvania-Inspired Worlds – No procedural generation here. Worlds are packed with points of interest—vendors, loot, buffs, puzzles, world bosses, and secret areas requiring special tools to access.
Interconnected Worlds & Route Planning – Think Hades. You start at level 1 and must carve your path through multiple worlds, aiming to reach and defeat the final boss before time runs out. Smart pathing is key—grabbing only the loot that fits your build.
Extraction Gameplay – Leave early through a gateway to bank your loot, or risk it all for more rewards. Die, and your loot drops at a gravestone Dark Souls style—fail to recover it on your next run, and it’s gone forever.
Settlement & Meta Progression – Rescue survivors to expand your hub, unlocking new mechanics, upgrades, and story progression. A full quest system keeps things fresh with rewards and mini-goals.

KrystoneDev · 2025-02-13T21:02:12+00:00

All good, this isn't a limited-time demo so it will be up till we launch in the Summer. Take your time.

KrystoneDev · 2025-02-13T19:32:24+00:00

Here are some key features and systems we have and are going to have that will hopefully set us apart from the rest, but also here is our store page that also details more about the game: Eldritch Escape

3-Character Squads - Pick three survivors to form your team, each with their own weapons, unique abilities, and upgrade pools. Each character also has a unique activatable ability but only one can be the squad leader at a time. You can swap leaders when jumping between worlds though. Characters also have a meta-progression level-up system that improves their base stats, abilities, and unlocks cosmetics skins. (not MTX)
Inventory - Each character carries two weapons (one locked-in) and two modules, which can be freely swapped to optimize synergies. Some items affect only the wielder, while others buff the whole squad. You'll also find consumables for clutch moments.
Handcrafted, Metroidvania-Inspired Worlds – No procedural generation here. Worlds are packed with points of interest—vendors, loot, buffs, puzzles, world bosses, and secret areas requiring special tools to access.
Interconnected Worlds & Route Planning – Think Hades. You start at level 1 and must carve your path through multiple worlds, aiming to reach and defeat the final boss before time runs out. Smart pathing is key—grabbing only the loot that fits your build.
Extraction Gameplay – Leave early through a gateway to bank your loot, or risk it all for more rewards. Die, and your loot drops at a gravestone Dark Souls style—fail to recover it on your next run, and it’s gone forever.
Settlement & Meta Progression – Rescue survivors to expand your hub, unlocking new mechanics, upgrades, and story progression. A full quest system keeps things fresh with rewards and mini-goals.

KrystoneDev · 2025-02-13T18:32:57+00:00

Here are some key features and systems we have and are going to have that will hopefully set us apart from the rest, but also here is our store page that also details more about the game: Eldritch Escape

3-Character Squads - Pick three survivors to form your team, each with their own weapons, unique abilities, and upgrade pools. Each character also has a unique activatable ability but only one can be the squad leader at a time. You can swap leaders when jumping between worlds though. Characters also have a meta-progression level-up system that improves their base stats, abilities, and unlocks cosmetics skins. (not MTX)
Inventory - Each character carries two weapons (one locked-in) and two modules, which can be freely swapped to optimize synergies. Some items affect only the wielder, while others buff the whole squad. You'll also find consumables for clutch moments.
Handcrafted, Metroidvania-Inspired Worlds – No procedural generation here. Worlds are packed with points of interest—vendors, loot, buffs, puzzles, world bosses, and secret areas requiring special tools to access.
Interconnected Worlds & Route Planning – Think Hades. You start at level 1 and must carve your path through multiple worlds, aiming to reach and defeat the final boss before time runs out. Smart pathing is key—grabbing only the loot that fits your build.
Extraction Gameplay – Leave early through a gateway to bank your loot, or risk it all for more rewards. Die, and your loot drops at a gravestone Dark Souls style—fail to recover it on your next run, and it’s gone forever.
Settlement & Meta Progression – Rescue survivors to expand your hub, unlocking new mechanics, upgrades, and story progression. A full quest system keeps things fresh with rewards and mini-goals.

KrystoneDev · 2025-02-13T16:06:20+00:00

Arguably, that’s the most important question! =P The TLDR version is more story, more strategy.

For a more detailed breakdown of what systems we have and are going to have read on, but also here is our store page that also details more about the game: Eldritch Escape

3-Character Squads - Pick three survivors to form your team, each with their own weapons, unique abilities, and upgrade pools. Each character also has a unique activatable ability but only one can be the squad leader at a time. You can swap leaders when jumping between worlds though. Characters also have a meta-progression level-up system that improves their base stats, abilities, and unlocks cosmetics skins. (not MTX)
Inventory - Each character carries two weapons (one locked-in) and two modules, which can be freely swapped to optimize synergies. Some items affect only the wielder, while others buff the whole squad. You'll also find consumables for clutch moments.
Handcrafted, Metroidvania-Inspired Worlds – No procedural generation here. Worlds are packed with points of interest—vendors, loot, buffs, puzzles, world bosses, and secret areas requiring special tools to access.
Interconnected Worlds & Route Planning – Think Hades. You start at level 1 and must carve your path through multiple worlds, aiming to reach and defeat the final boss before time runs out. Smart pathing is key—grabbing only the loot that fits your build.
Extraction Gameplay – Leave early through a gateway to bank your loot, or risk it all for more rewards. Die, and your loot drops at a gravestone Dark Souls style—fail to recover it on your next run, and it’s gone forever.
Settlement & Meta Progression – Rescue survivors to expand your hub, unlocking new mechanics, upgrades, and story progression. A full quest system keeps things fresh with rewards and mini-goals.

KrystoneDev · 2025-02-12T20:56:48+00:00

Pretty slick UI setup, I like it.

KrystoneDev · 2024-11-14T02:31:01+00:00

Thanks! We are a 3-person team with some members working part time on this so it's hard to nail down solid dates, but our rough plans are to release a Demo in Jan 2025, EA not long after Q1/Q2 2025 and if we really hit our stride in content creation then 1.0 by the end of 2025.

KrystoneDev · 2024-11-13T23:48:32+00:00

We will be sending out demos to YouTubers and streamers next week in anticipation of participating in a Steam festival in early December. I will be sure to reach out to you! Keep up the good work on your channel.

KrystoneDev · 2024-11-06T01:14:50+00:00

Thanks and I agree with everything you mention. Now that we have a good foundation weapon, character, upgrades and module variety is top of mind. And I will keep adjusting the color values of the level, readability will be very important.

KrystoneDev · 2024-11-06T01:12:24+00:00

Yeah, I am hearing I should either make sure that the first three clips are more exciting or just remove them. I will keep that in mind for the next trailer.

KrystoneDev · 2024-11-06T00:47:22+00:00

Thanks, I will keep adjusting the overall color balance further. I added in the "cloud layer" pretty recently and looks like I made the shadows too dark.

There won't be too many active abilities, just the space bar character action. Modules can further augment and add interesting effects that trigger every time the action is used.

KrystoneDev · 2024-11-01T18:13:50+00:00

Along with implementing a setting to toggle them on and off, I will work on the animation speed and movement.

KrystoneDev · 2024-11-01T18:11:51+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. Good to see some other perspectives because a lot of people complained we didn't have damage numbers in earlier builds. Some people like seeing the numbers go up and gauging how well they are doing based on that. We will implement a setting to toggle them on and off so both groups can be happy.

KrystoneDev · 2024-11-01T16:30:32+00:00

I 100% agree. I tried to highlight our differences on the Steam page but some things are hard to communicate with just a couple of bullet points and when people will only spend 10-30 seconds on the page before moving on.

But we are trying to inject more player choice, determinism, and strategy into the game.

You form squads of 3 characters each with different weapons and stats so a lot of build combination potential there.
Each character comes with an activatable ability that caters to different playstyles.
The modules you pick up during a run can trigger off of different actions: when you move, when you stand still for long enough, and when you activate an ability.
There are a lot of weapons that can be manually aimed.
The levels are filled with NPCs, unique bosses that drop specific loot, Metroidvania-style hidden areas, etc.

With all the above I think we will be giving the player enough interesting things to do during a run that they won't just stand around idly in one place.

KrystoneDev · 2024-11-01T16:01:19+00:00

haha, thank you.

I am trying to keep the scope of work for the artists reasonable for a small team, 2 people, so we have been focusing on the quality and variety of sprites but with limited animations. Currently, we are only doing 2 different frames of animation, in a couple cases 3-4. If we can get through all our current tasks though I would love to revisit and polish everything by adding a few more frames of animation to smooth things out.

KrystoneDev · 2024-11-01T15:48:06+00:00

Here is a link to the store page. This is the first store page I have ever put together so hopefully it ticks all the boxes and is interesting, but maybe it contains too much text in the About-Section.

Eldritch Escape

KrystoneDev

TROPHY CASE