Hi everyone!
In this DevLog, we'd like to talk about Ringlorn Saga Gaiden, its design, and the advancements from the previous game. Please note that the game is still in development, so the screenshots may not reflect the final version.
What is Ringlorn Saga Gaiden?
Ringlorn Saga Gaiden is a top-down Adventure RPG with an open world and bump combat system. You play as a spirit of a warrior who died in a battle against the Dark Lord, and you need to possess his minions and free the trapped Five Magic Spirits to exact your revenge.
The scenario allows you to reach your goals in any order, and each monster type offers its own set of abilities and nuances that will affect the way you play the game. In fact, if you decide to skip objectives and face the Dark Lord early, even if you end up dying by his hand in a single hit, the game won’t stop you.
Ringlorn Saga Gaiden is inspired by the Temple of Rebirth dungeon from the original Ringlorn Saga. In this bonus mode, you get to play as monsters and seek to reclaim your body from the top floor of the dungeon. It was added at the last moment for fun and was met with positive reception, and we’ve decided to make a standalone game out of it, with its own story and revised game design.
Does it play the same as the bonus mode?
No. The original systems were fine for a bonus dungeon that takes about 20-30 minutes to beat, but they wouldn’t work in a standalone campaign that lasts several hours.
The game design was revised to focus on player agency — for example, you’ll no longer be forced to swap bodies whenever you kill an enemy. Instead, unless you play as a ghost, body-swapping is handled by manually interacting with a corpse of an enemy.
After all, if you defeated a boss and took over his body, it wouldn’t be fair if you weren’t allowed to kick some serious ass and look down on monsters that gave you trouble a few hours ago.
The rest of the game will feel familiar enough to those who played the original, but with quite a few changes, such as the switch to half-step movement, which offers more tactical options, such as attacking two enemies at the same time, and allows us to create more nuanced maps.
On the technical side, the game is running on a new codebase that offers more flexibility, and Ringlorn Saga: Book Two will run on this codebase as well.
How far along is it? When is it coming out?
The main scenario planning is complete. The gameplay, level design, and scenario implementation are underway and we’re enjoying rapid progress.
Ringlorn Saga Gaiden will come out in 2023, but there’s no concrete date yet, as we’re not rushing the game to the finish line.
Please look forward to our next DevLog, where we’ll share more information. If there’s anything you’d like to hear in future DevLogs, please let us know.