Get ready to immerse yourself in the magic of Handmancers, a first-person roguelite deckbuilder that will take you into a crazy fantasy world. Build and customize your deck every game, create different combinations and playstyles every time. Handmancy will be the key to your success!
Game information
Play the role of a Handmancer, a powerful mage that uses Handmancy to fight their enemies. Explore a procedurally generated map, face hordes of funny and ruthless enemies, discover hidden treasures and powerful artifacts as you try to survive. Each new game is unique, thanks to the random combination of cards, enemies and paths that await you around every corner.But beware, the power of your cards comes at a price! Every time you use a card, you will tire your powerful fingers, accumulating cramps. Choose wisely the cards you play and the strategies you adopt to survive each battle and advance in the dangerous world of Handmancers.
.Build your deck
Customizing your deck is critical to your success. You can enhance your cards with special effects, creating unique decks. Create devastating combos and defeat your opponents with a snap of your fingers. Take advantage of synergies between cards, discover unique strategies and become the most powerful hand ever.
.Immerse yourself in corruption
Deep within the world of Handmancers lies an ancient and mysterious power: Corruption. As you advance along the path on the map you will come into contact with this terrible evil that will empower your enemies and continually tempt you. Will you be able to resist it?Choose your character
Each game you can choose one of three characters and artifacts with which to begin your adventure. This choice affects the course of the game and your style of play.Get ready for an epic adventure in the world of roguelite deckbuilders with Handmancers. Grab your deck and become a master in an ever-changing world.
With mesmerizing graphics and immersive sound, Handmancers takes you into a crazy and mysterious world ruled by the lords of the three Signs. Face increasingly difficult opponents, overcome deadly challenges and discover ancient secrets that will change your destiny.
Eternity is at your fingertips. Are you ready to challenge destiny?
Feature list
- Customize your cards and build a deck to your liking!
- Equip powerful artifacts
- Choose one of the factions from the powerful tribes of Stone, Parchment or Blades
- Fight numerous unique enemies, watch out for Corruption!
- Create powerful and unstoppable combos, the power is in your hands
- Buy numerous power-ups and potions
Hey everyone! winter2019happysnowman
We want to wish you Happy Holidays, and we want to do it with a small gift.
We\'re super happy to say that the private playtest has just been updated!
A few things have been added, such as a new boss enemy, more gems and artifacts are now playable and a new progression system will allow you to track all the items you have gotten in the past, as well as check everything there is to uncover.
And that\'s not all! We also took a lot of your feedback and suggestions to heart!
Balancing is different, with major changes to things like Empower and Shield generation, enemy attack patterns, as well as others buffs, nerfs and changes that were really needed!
We are super excited to hear what you guys think of these changes and as always we are so thankful of your help in making the game better, together ccheart
How do I access the private playtest?
Join our Discord and If you already have access to the playtest, the game should update automatically. If you haven\'t received a key yet make sure to head to the -application channel for instructions, then request your key in the playtest-chat channel. We might not be able to reply right away, but we\'ll try our best to be as speedy and effective as possible from now on! And yes, all the progress you have achieved during the demo is saved here as well.
Bigger announcements and updates will come with the new year, so stay tuned!
And again, Happy Holidays!
[img src=\"https://cdn.discordapp.com/emojis/1135963405598072843.webp?size=56\"][/img]
[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/44418950/76ebd9a5d9c62a9fba8618a8ceb107369e1e8c26.jpg\"][/img][img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/44418950/bc8af051e418b344b8b441c7b3b9029acaf2cf5c.jpg\"][/img][img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/44418950/0015e39f333b4351cb92a51a75bdb8380d4d98a1.jpg\"][/img]
[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/44418950/a9977d8f0630c8708063607aeb213adcb2fc795c.png\"][/img]
\nHey everyone!\n
The brand-new, fully reworked Handmancers Demo is now live on Steam winter2019coolyul
After being recognized among the Top 50 most played demos during Steam Next Fest, we took the time to rebuild and refine the experience so it represents the games final vision much more accurately.\n
Whats New?
The demo has been fully reworked from the ground up to deliver a smoother, more polished experience with expanded content, deeper gameplay, and a clearer look at the core of Handmancers - without spoiling what\'s ahead.
\nBeneath its simple Rock, Paper, Scissors foundation lies a world of depth. Each Sign can be reshaped with Gems that alter the look of your cards and add powerful effects, while Artifacts create synergies that influence how every battle unfolds. Building the perfect hand - not just choosing the right Sign - is the heart of the game.
Play the New Demo Now:
[dynamiclink href=\"https://store.steampowered.com/app/2423290/Handmancers/\"][/dynamiclink]
Join our Discord to access closed playtests, chat with fellow Handmancers, and tell us what you think.
Thank you all for your support - and enjoy the new demo!
58BLADES
[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/44418950/217170359d6d3589f14b86d6fef1ed3e221b89e8.png\"][/img]
Hey everyone,
First of all, thank you so much for all the support we received from you after we shared a bit of behind-the-scenes update in our previous devlog. Its absolutely incredible to us that even after a year of silence our message was so well received and many of you voiced your support and excitement about the future of the game.
Now, as we promised, here is another update for you and the next step in the development of the game. We are going to take down the current Demo version on October 4th, which is tomorrow. Not for long, though - the demo will receive a significant glow-up with a lot of new content and more in-depth gameplay that will actually reflect better on what we expect the game to look like in its final form. We wont share the content of the new demo or the exact date when it will be released but rest assured you wont have to wait a long time for that to happen.
But!
We do understand that some people would like to keep playing the demo (shout out to 1 person playing it at the time of writing). As mentioned before, aside from the Demo and Open Playtest we also plan to have some Closed Playtests going on the smaller scale so we can test out some game mechanics and make sure we are developing the game in the direction that is most enjoyable for our players. After all, community feedback is something weve taken seriously since day 1 and weve read through hundreds of feedback forms you sent our way. We truly appreciate you taking the time to do so.
Playtest Hub on Discord
So weve set a Playtest Hub in the games Discord. Its a closed channel everyone can join. By getting access here, youll become a part of our playtest community and will receive access to the special branch on Steam where we will upload builds with content and game mechanics that need testing, balancing, etc. Naturally, all active members of the playtesting community will be featured in the Credits of the game.
Thank you so much for your continued support! Now, lets get that Demo a proper sendoff and open the way for a better one coming up in the near future.
Cheers,
58BLADES
[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/44418950/1a092e4ce740e285f788534ea8d55cc2962afa1a.png\"][/img]
\nHey folks!
Its been a while since our last update and a lot of you probably think the game is dead. This is not the case.\n
Short version: we\'re developing Handmancers and will keep at it until it\'s done. We just had to take an \"involuntary vacation\" that ended last week.\n
But if you want the long story, grab some popcorn because boy, do we have a tale to tell - and I\'ll start from the somewhat-beginning.
What Happened
In March 2024, we found a publisher willing to fund the game. We started working together and showcased at Steam Next Fest in June 2024. The demo absolutely crushed it - we landed in the top 50 (still feels surreal), with YouTubers playing our game and thousands of concurrent players (thank you guys). It was the dream: people loved the game, the demo was killing it, and we had publisher resources to keep developing for a September 2024 release.
Then our luck ran out. After many delays, the collaboration with our publisher broke down, and we were left broke with the game\'s IP stuck in publisher limbo.
We had to stop working on the game. Lawyers advised us that continuing development could be seen as implicit acceptance of not getting paid (legal logic is fun, right?). Then came emails, meetings, paperwork, and finally in January 2025, we got our IP back. Even with all the mentioned complications we are still grateful to our ex-publisher the situation was resolved and hold no grudge. Life is life.
Back on track
In May, we learned the game would receive additional public support for our game and convinced our company (now a 20-person cooperative that\'s become fans of the game) to invest in the project so we could continue production. We searched for another publishing partner (we still believe in working with experts) and are now involved with Human Qube in an arrangement where we keep the IP.
Early September we restarted work, and as of this week, we\'re back at full speed!
Why didn\'t we write sooner?
We made the classic mistake of caring too much and wanted to come back with good news. Here\'s the slightly mushy part you can skip: from the play tests by you, we collected hundreds (~450) pieces of feedback, watched every possible YouTube and Twitch video. We believe that the beauty of an indie gamedev (not just ours) is being able to develop outside the box and getting support from the community. Personally (and I think the whole team feels this), we felt responsible for stalling a project that people had chosen to help us with. And for this we are truly sorry.
We deeply thank you for your patience, and honestly cant wait to finally see you play Handmancers.
Our roots and our commitment
Handmancers is a passion project by a team of non-professionals (read: naive dreamers) who had this wild idea of making video games. Back in early 2023, our team was a startup developing educational games with little money in the bank and way too many ideas. Through a call for proposals, we pitched a proof of concept and won a small grant that let us create a Handmancers demo, attend industry events (we\'re based in Italy), and fly to Gamescom hunting for a publisher.
Being resource-challenged (fancy way of saying broke), we needed a publisher to keep developing the game and, more importantly, to handle all that scary publishing and marketing stuff.
That said, we gained a lot of experience that will help us to move forward and stay committed to the release of Handmancers and build up the game weve envisioned without any restrictions. From now on, we will keep you posted on upcoming updates and would appreciate you joining us on our development journey.
Whats next
The Demo will be taken down (well announce when).
There are a lot of changes to be made and we want to reintroduce it once its properly updated with new content and game mechanics that we had in mind for the finished product. In the meantime, well run at least one open playtest.
For those who want to go deeper, were setting up a Playtest Hub in our Discord . This will be the place for closed playtests - with a private channel, a dedicated role, and access to the Steam playtest branch through a code well share there. Its a space for players who want to actively help shape Handmancers, not just try out a demo.
After all, its your support that proved to us the game was worth fighting for and we care deeply about your feedback.
Join our Discord if you want to participate in a closed playtest and we\'ll let you know about next steps.
TL;DR: The game is in development, updates coming soon, planned to be released in 2026, come hell or high water.
58BLADES
[img src=\"https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/44418950/2d0ea6a6e571b21618937a60885590e37aa1ffbe.png\"][/img]
From initial idea to final execution, heres a look at the workflow behind character creation in video games, told through the making of one of Handmancers iconic enemies: The Living Corpse.
Finding the right balance between gameplay and art direction
One of the key elements shaping Handmancers identity, alongside its dynamic gameplay, is the quality of its art direction, which helped build a consistent and recognizable visual world.
Creating a good game isnt just about strong mechanics; its also about designing characters that stand out and capture the players attention, like The Living Corpse, our undead foe.
But how did we bring this character, and all the others, to life.
Step 1: concept art. It all starts with the idea.
The first step was developing the concept, a character design that felt original while seamlessly fitting the games mechanics and overall style.
The Living Corpse is a zombie who, after stealing an Handmancers brain, uses it as an external intelligence, since he has none of his own: its the brain that plays, generating a magical hand-shaped aura to perform moves.
This 2D concept phase is the most creative part of the process, but every proposal goes through team feedback and is adjusted to fit production needs.
We used Procreate to sketch the first concepts, but pen and paper or other drawing tools wouldve worked just as well.
Step 2: low-poly modeling. The first step into 3D.
With the concept locked in, we moved into 3D modeling, to give our character depth. Our first version was built in Maya as a low-poly model, meaning it had a low polygon count.
What does low-poly mean? Polygons are the surface units that make up a 3D model: more polygons means more detail.
At this stage, though, the goal is to create a basic structure optimized for different platforms (PC and console) before adding complexity later on.
Steps 3 and 4: high-poly modeling & texturing. Adding depth and definition.
To transition from a low-poly model to one rich in details, we went through two closely connected phases: high-poly modeling and texturing.
In ZBrush, we added more polygons to the initial model, introducing additional details. Then in Substance Painter, we used baking to project these details onto the low-poly model.
Whats baking? It means capturing the visual details from the high-poly model - such as wrinkles, teeth shapes, and skin texture - and transferring them onto the low-poly version as textures. This creates greater visual fidelity without compromising performance.
Finally, we hand-painted the model to finalize its look and colors, drawing inspiration from the distinctive visual style of Arcane: this was the most detailed and time-consuming phase of the entire workflow!
Step 5: rigging. Laying the foundation for animation.
But the process wasnt over yet: once the model was complete, it needed to be animated and brought into the game. The first essential step was rigging, which we handled in Maya.
What is rigging? Rigging means creating a virtual skeleton made of bones that allow the model to move, like a digital puppet. These bones form the control structure used to animate the character.
In essence, rigging defines how a character can move, its range of motion and flexibility: since The Living Corpse is humanoid, we built a skeleton based on the human body. However, we added extra bones - like in the face and shirt collar - to enhance expressiveness and enable more nuanced animations.
Steps 6 and 7: animation & implementation. Bringing the character to life.
The final steps - animating the model and integrating it into the game - were carried out in Unity, the engine we used to develop Handmancers.
Using the skeleton created during rigging, we animated the model by rotating the bones and setting a sequence of keyframes. These keyframes defined both the movements and their timing, allowing us to craft fluid and intentional animations.
Working directly inside the engine gave us immediate visual feedback, helping us fine-tune the animations quickly and efficiently.
With visual and sound effects added, the model was nearly ready for the game: we created prefabs, which were implemented alongside ongoing development. This allowed the programmers to align the characters behavior and logic in real time with the gameplay mechanics of Handmancers.
At last, The Living Corpse was ready to make his debut.
Many characters, a single workflow.
Character creation is a careful blend of creativity, artistic skill, and technical execution.
Every character in Handmancers goes through this same detailed process, helping turn the game into a fully immersive experience.
Hey Handmancers!
All the team at 58BLADES and I want to thank you all deeply, truly
Steam Next Fest was a very exciting time. It was the first time we ever shared Handmancers openly, and let me tell you, we got blown away by your positivity and feedback about the game.Handmancers was the top35 most played demo of the event
It has now being played by more than 25.000 people and for more than 51.200 hours (almost 6 years!!!).What's next?
We are looking forward to take as much as possible of the hundreds of feedbacks that we received - and are still receiving - into account as we keep developing the game and working towards Early Access!We care deeply about your opinions, feedback, ideas and suggestions. Our aim is to keep developing the game with our community throughout the way, making it the best version of Handmancers it can be.
We already uploaded an updated build with some of the feedback we received, so there might already be something new for you to try if you played the demo during the event.
Be part of our community!
If you want to be part of our community feel free to join our discord where we have announcements when something new gets released, or if you just want to share feedback, screenshots or opinions on the game and chat with us developers!Thank you all, Handmancers.
Minimum Setup
- OS: Ubuntu 14.04 LTS
- Processor: i3 4th genMemory: 4 GB RAM
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: 2 GB di RAM
- Storage: 3 GB available space
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