Major update1 Jun 2026Free Hard Mode Update!Ready to kick some alien butt? The Hard mode update is here! Already beaten Normal mode? Start a New Game+ and pick Hard mode! You'll take all your gun and shield upgrades into the Hard mode version of the game. Ready for a REAL CHALLENGE ? Start Hard mode from scratch! One shield, one gun, and your ChainStaff! It's pretty tough but very satisfying to beat. What's in the free Hard Mode update?…
<steps up to the mic> Are you ready to rock? I said... Are you ready to rock? People, we have a full-on music video! Check out "The Ultimate Weapon" , the theme song for ChainStaff created by the brilliant Deon van Heerden (composer on Broforce). CAREFUL: Listening to this may cause loud outbursts of singing and pumping of fists in the air! :D Guaranteed the catchiest video game song you'll hea…
Thank You! We made it to 50 Steam reviews! Let's keep going! Thank you for leaving your thoughts on the game. Every review helps, good or bad, big or small. If you've not already left a review on Steam or on console, please do! It helps bring in more gamers to find the game. Accolades Trailer The critics have been enjoying the game too! Here is a snazzy accolades trailer. More Choice Quotes "a…
Version 1.0.49, Updated to Steam, consoles to follow. -New music track for level 5 mid-boss Jellymander -Added cheat "change difficulty" to modify game difficulty mid-game. -Fixed "floating HUD crystal" animation -Improved Russian translations (Thank you "Solo" for the translation) -Fixed the ChainStaff Upgrade menu that would hang the game if you had maxed out everything. -Fixed the "Skewered"…
ChainStaff is out now on Steam! And Switch and Playstation and Xbox. But you should play it here. Then probably buy a copy on a console too. Just for safe keeping. If you enjoyed the demo there's 9 more giant levels, weird-ass parasite upgrades, over a dozen giant bosses some of which are hard to figure out! And plenty of weapons too shoot at dozens of completely bonkers monsters while you go f…
ChainStaff Coming April 8th Release date: April 8th. Coming to Switch 1/2, Xbox One/Series, Playstation 4/5, Steam Oh crap the game comes out in 2 weeks! I'm kind of freaking out, but also feeling good since the testing and bug fixing has been going well. I made a cool new, kinda silly, but very helpful video on stuff you can do with the ChainStaff. Check it out! I am hanging out on Discord, an…
As we continue to polish ChainStaff for the April 8th release date, I've got cool news. After loads of playtesting I realized we needed just a little bit of extra polish. Behold--the "Vault Ability"! This is a new, automatic move that happens to the player in the game. Any time you are next to a ledge, and you press towards it (left/right), you will automatically try to climb it just a little b…
Launch Date I have cool news! We finally have a release date for ChainStaff. Steam, Switch, Playstation, Xbox, everything...the game is coming out April 8th . Check out the trailer for new monsters, weapons, and levels. Pre-Order Also big news--we have a price, $14.99, and pre-order options are available! We worked really hard to get the game through all the annoying systems for Nintendo and Mi…
I will be at MAGFest this weekend in Washington DC! It's June 8th to 11th. It's absolutely packed with awesome indie games, arcade games, and lots of amazing game music. Come out to the show and tell your friends about it! ChainStaff was accepted to be shown in the "MIVS" division of the show. It's an indie-only section where cool indie games are previewed for the gaming public. You get a 10x10…
Updated Demo Get a taste of the story in ChainStaff! There are now two new story cutscenes at the beginning of the demo, where you can see the origins of the Star Spore invasion. The demo update also has the ability to pick between Easy and Normal difficulty modes. The difficulty is hand-tuned for each level. There will be new attacks and more enemies in Normal difficulty. Easy mode might have…
I wish I had great news, but I have a bit of ... not great but not terrible news. I lost my publisher, Null games. Well, I didn't LOSE them, they dissolved (I don't know why). What does this mean for ChainStaff? It means I have to do all the marketing, promotion, and community building myself, in addition to making and producing the game. That's is a lot work! But don't worry, I've done it befo…
FALL IN HERE, MAGGOTS! ChainStaff is confirmed to release on PC, Mac, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. Prepare yourselves for heart-pounding heavy metal tracks and fast-paced, slippery combat against some of the weirdest half-alien, half-animal hybrids out there. Maybe even consider eating some brains, as a treat.
Are you ready, grunt? ChainStaff is traveling at the speed of light to deliver some heavy metal mayhem to the first-ever Galaxies Showcase streaming exclusively on Twitch. Expect some big news with a planet-sized serving of blood, guts, and carnage. Synchronize your watches - the briefing starts April 17th (12 PM PT / 3 PM ET / 9PM CEST), so tune in for the latest updates on your mission to bri…
It’s here! The ChainStaff demo has landed, but so did the giant aliens and their brutish minions. Spear, swing, and shoot your way through a transformed version of Earth to save mankind. The demo will be live through Steam Next Fest, so get in your run’n’gun time. Here’s what you can expect from the demo: · Get to grips Learn to harness the ChainStaff’s murderous and varied powers in the Tutori…
Howdy everyone! I've been hard at work on making lots of cool monster animations. I like seeing all the texture in a hand-painted HD game. I want to give ChainStaff an extra bit of polish so I've been using Spine Animation to make the game look slightly 3D. Hey, let me know what are some High-definition, painted-looking 2D games that have a cool 3D look, and/or great animation? I'd love to chec…
Hey all, Check out how I'm making the camera work for platforming, swinging and more! Got any examples of 2D games with good cameras that I should check out?
Null is heading down under! We’re bringing ChainStaff to sunny Australia, and will be in attendance at SXSW Sydney from October 16th to the 20th. If you’re interested in catching some ChainStaff and live nearby, feel free to swing by the Games Showcase and find our booth to get your hands on what The Gamer is calling “ the most hilariously brutal shoot ‘em up ever! ” If you missed it, check out…
I recently visited PAX West show off the game and it was great fun. However, the PCs were faster than my work rig, and I noticed the game physics was having issues at the super high framerates. In this development video I show how I fixed the player swinging, guns, and even some environmental effects to handled higher framerates when building my game in Unity. (Shuhei Yoshida even came out to p…
Hey all, Here are some nitty-gritty details on how I improved the jump, spear-throwing, and swinging animations in ChainStaff. I tried to channel as much Spider-man as possible :D
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Announcements are the developer’s own posts to the game’s Steam news feed: updates and their patch notes, in-game events, releases and sales. The important ones are marked on the players chart.