Nothing has changed. Chained Echoes is still not releasing anytime soon. We are currently working with the aim to release the game in late 2021. In early to mid 2021 we plan to hand out the playable Alpha version to the Kickstarter Backers. Followed by the official Beta later that year. A lot of work has to be done, many features are still heavily work in progress, others have yet to be touched. But we're making good progress. And as of today, we'd like to make clear: From now on you'll hear more and more about the game as Gamescom is our kickoff for talking more about it.
That also means that for the very first time, you, yes you, get the chance to play Chained Echoes for a limited time. In a world before 2020, we would now be at our Booth at Gamescom, showing off a first playable Demo to visitors and press. But due to the global situation, this is currently not possible. However, Gamescom was not canceled. It went online. And we're part of it, as we joined forces with the Indie Arena. And thanks to these amazing people, Chained Echoes now has a playable demo for everyone to try out.
It is a pre-alpha demo and on a trade show we'd be standing right next to you, explaining you the features which are in, which are yet to be implemented or which were cut for the sake of having a demo available. A few of you already spotted the demo and gave us tons of feedback via Discord, Twitter, Reddit and Steam. And we're reading all of it. Every single written line. And we're thankful for it. Let us explain a few things upfront however:
- There is no progression system in the demo. The skills are not upgradeable. The weapons aren't either. The system is, more or less, in place already but for the demo we had to cut it out and change the balancing.
- The Combat System is not yet fully finished. You will still have fun (at least we hope so) but especially the Overdrive system will be way more complex in the final game, offering multiple stages of Overdrive and Overheat.
- The dialogues were written exclusively for the Demo. There are no story spoilers in the Demo. And there aren't that many dialogues just yet. And not many options. The GUI for these, also when exploring the world, is just placeholder stuff.
- There are no real options in the Demo. And the Dualshock layout has not yet been implemented.
- The Menus are not finished
- Everything you see may change. We tease quite a few features but do not really show them off. Again: Keep in mind this is very much pre-alpha.
One last important note: We will take down the demo around September 7th. We thought about taking it down as soon as Gamescom ends, but we wanted to give everyone a chance to give it a try. Why take it down? The thing is: Yes, it shows off Chained Echoes but it does not represent the final quality of the game. And we're more than a year away from the release. So a lot will change and we may or may not update the demo at some point for future shows.
And that's it. Now enjoy your first trip to Valandis.