Darkestville Castle is bringing its spooky charm to the Steam Scream Fest with a chilling 80% discount! From October 28 to November 4, dive into this darkly comedic adventure as you wreak havoc with Cid the demon. Don't miss out on this devilishly good deal! https://store.steampowered.com/app/689900/Darkestville_Castle/

[ 2024-10-28 17:41:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

Greetings! We are thrilled to announce that AWAKEN - Astral Blade is available now with a limited-time 10% launch discount!! We have prepared a new trailer to celebrate the occasion and get everyone hyped up to jump into action. [previewyoutube=DmGLIRJR-es;full][/previewyoutube] In addition to the standard digital PC release, gamers can also add the Deluxe Edition to their collection. This contains the AWAKEN - Astral Blade base game as well as the following additional digital content: a special Golden Scale Set, the original soundtrack by Alexandria Migova, and a Digital Artbook with concept art and illustrations from the game.
The time has come to join Tania on her most perilous mission yet, as she uncovers the ancient, dark secrets of a long-lost civilization on the mysterious Horace Islands. Weave your own story in this dark 2D side-scrolling action game, and use Tanias speed, skills and weapons to defeat the deadly mutant animals and plants that have infested the island! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1716310/AWAKEN__Astral_Blade/ If you don't want to miss any news and updates or just chat with us join the official ESDigital social media accounts. We are looking forward to seeing you in Jacha City!

[ 2024-10-24 10:00:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

We at ESDigital Games are excited to announce that we are continuing our autumn game event tour by attending the upcoming gamescom Asia show in Singapore from 17-20 October! [previewyoutube=yudQlm-jM0U;full][/previewyoutube] We will be showcasing five action-packed titles from our Incredible Indie line-up, with playable versions available in both the Business Area (booth BC05) and the Indie Entertainment Zone (booths IA 31-35). Attendees can get hands-on time with the stealth action game Steel Seed, action-packed Metroidvania-inspired AWAKEN - Astral Blade, complex alchemy RPG BattleJuice Alchemist, story-driven sci-fi adventure Sky of Tides and the stunning action-adventure game Island of Winds. See you there! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1716310/AWAKEN__Astral_Blade/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/458430/Steel_Seed/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1689340/Island_of_Winds/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1120330/Sky_of_Tides/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1384060/BattleJuice_Alchemist/

[ 2024-10-14 12:41:50 CET ] [ Original post ]

Were thrilled to announce that ESDigital Games is heading to Tokyo Game Show 2024! From September 26th to 29th, we will be presenting a wide selection of exciting titles from our portfolio. With support from our distribution partners, well have hands-on demos available for attendees, along with the chance to take photos with cosplayers inspired by our games! We will be present across four booths at the show, with demos in multiple languages. Whether you're a fan of action, strategy, or adventure, we have something for everyone. [previewyoutube=zpa0_iifUpk;full][/previewyoutube]

Heres where you can find us at Tokyo Game Show:

ESDigital Games - Booth 09-W11

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1716310/AWAKEN__Astral_Blade/

Galaktus (Polish Indie Booth) - Booth 10-W14

https://store.steampowered.com/app/458430/Steel_Seed/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1716310/AWAKEN__Astral_Blade/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1384060/BattleJuice_Alchemist/

Gamersky - Booth 09-W84

https://store.steampowered.com/app/458430/Steel_Seed/

Game Source Entertainment - Booth 08-C08

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2447260/Cats_on_Duty/ Were also excited to announce that a representative from Dark Pigeon Games, the team behind AWAKEN - Astral Blade, will be at our booths during the business days (September 26 and 27) and will be available for interviews and questions. Come visit us, try our games, and don't miss the chance to connect with our amazing development teams!

[ 2024-09-25 09:14:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Darkestville Castle is officially participating in the Game Devs of Color Expo 2024! The beloved point-and-click adventure is also available at an 85% discount until September 20. If you haven't experienced the quirky, dark humor of Cids adventures, now is your chance! https://store.steampowered.com/app/689900/Darkestville_Castle/

[ 2024-09-18 15:58:37 CET ] [ Original post ]

We are thrilled to reveal our 2024 Gamescom lineup, with some stellar titles showcasing never-before-seen gameplay in both the Business and Consumer halls at this years event! [previewyoutube=LlQ6vq4RCJ4;full][/previewyoutube] Gamers heading to Gamescom will have the chance to get hands-on with some truly exciting titles covering all kinds of genres! Located in the bustling Indie Arena Booth (Hall 10.2, Booth F010g - E019) we will be showcasing brand new game demos for AWAKEN - Astral Blade, Steel Seed, Island of Winds, BattleJuice Alchemist and Sky of Tides. There will also be the chance to snap a picture with two awesome cosplayers portraying the protagonists Tania from AWAKEN - Astral Blade and Zoe from Steel Seed as well as grabbing some cool branded merchandise after trying out the hands-on demos. In addition to the Indie Arena Booth, our team will also have playable demos for Cats on Duty, Memory Lost, and REMEDIUM on the Polish Indie Booth (Hall 10.2, F-041) for fans to try out!

More information on the great games available to play at Gamescom:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/458430/Steel_Seed/ Steel Seed (Storm in Teacup Studio) is a single player stealth-action adventure game set in a dark sci-fi world. In her epic journey inside a hostile underground facility run by AIs, Zoe is alone with Koby, a flying drone, as her only companion. Use Zoe's parkour skills to traverse the underground facility and gain a tactical advantage. Don't forget about stealth-based techniques to explore the facility's hostile environment undetected by robotic entities and guards. Some confrontations can be avoided through efficient movement. Also, get acquainted with KOBY, because he is the master key of Steel Seed and Zoe's guide on her lonely and dangerous journey inside the underground facility. By working together, they create a formidable duo and bring something new to every fight. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1689340/Island_of_Winds/ Island of Winds (Parity Games Studio) is an adventure game set in a fantastical world inspired by 17th century Iceland and its folklore. Experience the story of Brynhildur, a Balance Keeper who embarks on a journey of self-discovery. Core gameplay involves intriguing puzzles, spellcasting, and a focus on empathy encounters. The core gameplay involves spellcasting, intriguing puzzles, fantastical lore, and a special focus on approaching encounters with empathy. Island of Winds features a semi-open world environment that explores themes of self-doubt, violence, regret and empathy, as well as the conservation of nature. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1716310/AWAKEN__Astral_Blade/ AWAKEN - Astral Blade (Dark Pigeon Games). Weave your own story in this dark fairy tale 2D action-platformer metroidvania. In the mysterious ancient ruins, you will adventure with Tania to reveal her origins and fate. Is there any chance of survival in the darkest and desperate place? Slain your foes with a wide range of combos: from fastest to slowest. Parry enemy attacks to gain an advantage, use Fast Stand Up ability to get back into the fight and dash into enemies while they're attacking to slow the world around you and gain damage immunity. Combos and Skills will also help you to break through hordes of enemies and defeat bosses. Control the course of the story, help Tania make choices at the crucial moments of the game and take your own path to reveal mysteries of the past and present. Different routes may lead you to different endings. Search the Horace Islands for clues and information about mysterious and dangerous world of the AWAKEN - Astral Blade. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1120330/Sky_of_Tides/ Sky of Tides (Lofty Sky Entertainment Studio) is a sci-fi narrative game set in a technologically advanced universe on the brink of war. Play as Rin, who must search for her missing father and heal the broken planet of Numen. Explore the world while your choices shape your character. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1384060/BattleJuice_Alchemist/ BattleJuice Alchemist (Alchemical Works Studio) is a complex alchemy RPG that adds a unique item and skill system to the classic aRPG formula. Focus on isometric combat or opt for JRPG-style one-on-one fights. Explore the wilderness, learn ritual magic, build a tower and craft potions to fight the demonic hordes of Samhain. Juice, the alchemist, is called to Caribou Creek to fight the demons that roam the lands. As your unique version of Juice you explore the wilderness that once was New England. Fight evil in classic action RPG isometric top down view and in bullet-time close combat. Find and craft items with game-changing powers. Master BattleJuice Alchemist's deck-building mechanics by arranging your compilation of flasks to suit your playstyle. Accentuate your character beyond character customization by using ritual magic as long-term buffs. Meet strange creatures from the Crossroads while the dark plot of BattleJuice Alchemist unravels.

Additionally, there are opportunities for hands-on with these titles:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1659090/REMEDIUM/ REMEDIUM is a fast-paced twin-stick shooter set in a grim post-apocalyptic Renaissance setting. A special build for journalists, with all acts available + some never before seen new acts. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2447260/Cats_on_Duty/ Cats on Duty is a purr-fect blend of match-3 and real time strategy with tower defense mechanics. The full build of the Deluxe Edition will be available. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1483190/Memory_Lost/ Memory Lost is a story-driven cyberpunk twin-stick action shooter where players will have to capture the minds and bodies of their enemies to survive during combat. Plus, if you feel like talking to the devs, we have good news for you! You can meet the lead developers from "Storm in TeaCup", "Parity Games", "Lofty Sky Entertainment", "Sobaka Studio" and "Alchemical Works" at our booths at Gamescom! Our team is looking forward to welcoming all gamers to the Indie Arena Booth from 21-25 August, so head over to Hall 10.2, say hi and play some awesome games!

[ 2024-08-21 15:13:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

Fall in line feline fighters and prepare for battle! We are excited to announce the launch of Cats on Duty, the purr-fectly hilarious and action-packed blend of real-time strategy, tower defense, and match-3 mechanics from developer Prikol Team. Cats on Duty has launched with a paw-some 20% launch discount for a limited time. [previewyoutube=BlQBN8760DI;full]https://youtu.be/BlQBN8760DI[/previewyoutube]

[ 2024-07-30 12:24:38 CET ] [ Original post ]

We are thrilled to announce that ESDigital Games is participating in the big Steam Summer Sale! From June 27th to July 11th, enjoy incredible discounts on over 90 of our games, catering to every taste! [url=https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/esdigital_games/list/126829]
Don't miss this opportunity to explore our new titles and upcoming releases, and be sure to add them to your wishlist!

[ 2024-06-28 14:21:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

Get ready to delve deeper into the mysterious world of Caribou Creek as the award-winning BattleJuice Alchemist, the complex alchemy RPG, launches today via Steam Early Access! Developed by Alchemical Works, Battlejuice Alchemist redefines the classic aRPG formula with a unique item and skill system offering the choice between isometric combat and JRPG-style one-on-one battles. [previewyoutube=6yYXmlTaoSA;full][/previewyoutube] Were also thrilled to announce that BattleJuice Alchemist has just received the prestigious GDC Best in Play 2024 award and will feature as part of the publisher's lineup at this year's show from 20-22 March at the Moscone Center. Join our protagonist, Juice, the Alchemist, on a journey through the wilds of New England, battling demonic hordes and uncovering the secrets of the Crossroads. This exciting Early Access launch unveils a host of new features and mechanics for players to conquer. Build your alchemical tower, a bastion of light amidst the encroaching darkness, and harness its power to turn the tide of battle in your favour. Explore new lands around the new story locations and uncover their hidden treasures and dangers. Dynamic day-night cycles will affect enemy behavior, and an array of new items, perks, magic rituals and abilities wait to be discovered. During the Early Access journey, Alchemical Works will be working with the community to gather feedback to support their ongoing development roadmap and introduce additional content and updates to fully bring the wonderful world of BattleJuice Alchemist to life.

[ 2024-03-22 10:57:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey everyone, right now there's a big sale happening: the ESDigital Games Publisher Sale! Hurry up to try out our wide range of games at the most advantageous prices while the discounts are still valid! Also, don't forget to check out our new releases and upcoming games by adding them to your wishlist - they're also featured in our publisher event, the ESDigital Games Publisher Sale!

[ 2024-03-20 15:24:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey everyone, right now there's a big sale happening: the ESDigital Games Publisher Sale! Hurry up to try out our wide range of games at the most advantageous prices while the discounts are still valid! Also, don't forget to check out our new releases and upcoming games by adding them to your wishlist - they're also featured in our publisher event, the ESDigital Games Publisher Sale!

[ 2024-03-19 15:32:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

ESDigital Games is thrilled to be participating in next weeks Steam Next Fest with three titles from their roster upcoming games portfolio. BattleJuice Alchemist, AWAKEN: Astral Blade and Sky of Tides will all have exciting demos available for fans to try during Steam Next Fest, accompanied by exclusive developer Broadcasts to further showcase exciting new gameplay from each title.
Join the Developer Broadcasts: BattleJuice Alchemist Broadcasts: Stream 1: February 6th @ 1pm GMT / 2pm CET / 8am EST / 5am PST Stream 2: February 9th @ 2pm GMT / 3pm CET / 9am EST / 6am PST Sky of Tides Broadcasts: Stream 1: February 5th @ 7pm EST / 4pm PST/ (February 6th 12.00am GMT / 1am CET) Stream 2: February 10th @ 2pm GMT / 3pm CET / 9am EST / 6am PST AWAKEN: Astral Blade Broadcasts: Stream 1: February 8th @ 1pm GMT / 2pm CET / 8am EST / 5am PST Stream 2: February 11th @ 1pm GMT / 2pm CET / 8am EST / 5am PST

[ 2024-02-02 10:46:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

Prepare for an immersive adventure! From February 5th to February 11th, experience the dark and intriguing world of Darkestville Castle. During this weeklong sale, the game is available at a staggering 85% discount. Uncover the mysteries and embrace the shadows at an unbeatable price! https://store.steampowered.com/app/689900/Darkestville_Castle/

[ 2024-02-01 12:41:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

ESDigital Games is thrilled to announce a new publishing deal to release Sky of Tides, developed by Lofty Sky Entertainment Inc., on Steam! Its a story-driven sci-fi adventure with RPG elements set in a technologically advanced universe on the brink of war. Play as Rin, who must search for her missing father and heal the broken planet of Numen. Explore the world while your choices shape your character. [previewyoutube=l0c3_ngCrKU;full][/previewyoutube] Sky of Tides will also be participating in the Steam Storytellers Festival from 29th Jan - 4th Feb, where fans can celebrate the art of storytelling with a host of exciting visual novel and narrative adventure games. Visual novel content creator Asteyni will be hosting a live Sky of Tides Steam Broadcast during the Storytellers Festival on January 30 at 5.00pm PT / 8.00pm ET (January 31st 1.00am UK / 2.00am CET) showing brand new gameplay. Head over to the Sky of Tides Steam page to tune in! https://store.steampowered.com/app/112..._of_Tides/ More news to follow on Sky of Tides exciting participation in Steam Next Fest from 5-12 February!

[ 2024-01-30 14:02:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! We wish you all the best and are excited to announce that in celebration of the winter holidays and the ongoing Steam Winter Sale until January 4th, our game is now available with a festive 90% discount! https://store.steampowered.com/app/689900/Darkestville_Castle/

[ 2023-12-26 17:59:04 CET ] [ Original post ]

We are happy to announce a massive update to Memory Lost: Chapter One! You can now play the entire first chapter of the full game by heading to Memory Lost: Chapter One and jumping straight into the fresh, updated gameplay and seeing whats in store for the full launch next year! [previewyoutube=rvGlwLCvWfc;full][/previewyoutube] The Memory Lost: Chapter One was first launched in December 2022 and has delighted shooter fans with its innovative combat mechanics and fast-paced gameplay. Over the past 12 months, weve been gathering community and players feedback to support the ongoing development of the full game. As part of the continued development journey of Memory Lost, we will continue to use the valuable feedback gathered from the Memory Lost: Chapter One to enhance the full game experience. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1483190/Memory_Lost/ Try Chapter One for free and wishlist Memory Lost!

[ 2023-12-13 15:13:06 CET ] [ Original post ]

We are thrilled to announce the release of the first content update of Act 2 for REMEDIUM! Todays content update is the first stage in the full Act 2 release, including a new location, new mutant types, boss and new story content being made available for players to experience. A further two locations, enemy types, bosses and additional story arcs will be released over the coming weeks to complete the full Act 2 launch. [previewyoutube=bm1crfsWnqM;full][/previewyoutube] We also pleased to announce that there will be NO price increase for REMEDIUM following todays content update. The price will only increase when we are happy with the content and quality of the game in general and Act 2 in particular. For now, the focus is delivering the most polished and content-complete version of the game during its Steam Early Access phase. Since the launch of Act 1, weve been busy gathering your feedback and introducing many quality-of-life improvements and new features, many of which were requested by players already active on the Steam Early Access release. Some of these quality-of-life improvements include the balancing of battles to make weak enemies more dynamic, a reworked dash movement, new enemy spawn mechanics, improved VFX, blood effects and HUD, as well as many other cosmetic enhancements to the game world. We will continue to work with the community on todays update to improve and polish the upcoming content ahead of the full Act 2 release and extend our thanks for the support and feedback on REMEDIUMs Early Access launch so far and look forward to further collaboration throughout the development journey. Following directly on from the devastating boss battle at the end of Act 1, REMEDIUM Act 2 opens a new chapter in the hunt for a cure to the Grey plague and to your very survival in the world ravaged by hordes of mutants and chimeras. Armed only with your journal, you must navigate the snowy mountain paths and survive the onslaught of warring tribes of mutants spread across three village locations. In each new location, the blood thirsty mutants are protected by a terrifying and unique boss, which must be defeated in order to unveil the path to the cure for the disease and the survival of the remaining humans.

REMEDIUM Act 2 features:

• Act 2 will introduce three new locations with unique mutant types and terrifying bosses.
• Todays update unveils the new Fort location along with new mutants and boss type - Despite their beast-like looks these mutants wear armor and use human weapons like clubs, spears and even mortars. They inhabit a ruined fortress nestled into the mountainside protected by a deadly new boss. Mutant types: Grunt, Pikeman, Gunner. Boss: Huntress. Two more locations (Mine and Abbey), mutant types and bosses, will complete Act 2 and be released soon.
• Continuation of the intriguing storyline of the heros deadly journey.
• Players can craft new parts for their weapons (to further customize them and deal different types of damage) with the new reagents found in Act 2.
• Updated visuals and player accessibility for an enhanced gameplay experience.
• An improved upgrade system where players can now spend resources to become stronger.
• Dash movement and Almalgams use have been split for greater accessibility.
• Language support for English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Polish, Chinese, Japanese and Korean, with further enhancements to be added.

[ 2023-11-30 15:46:47 CET ] [ Original post ]

Get the game at the best possible price during the Steam Autumn Sale until November 28! Dont miss out on this great deal! https://store.steampowered.com/app/689900/Darkestville_Castle/

[ 2023-11-23 19:38:06 CET ] [ Original post ]

Good news everyone! The cat-tastic playable prologue for Cats on Duty is now available to download for free! [previewyoutube=GaFwwZ_aI_I;full][/previewyoutube] Its a purr-fectly hilarious and action-packed blend of real-time strategy, tower defense, and match-3 mechanics, where heavily armed battle-hardened cat veterans of rodent skirmishes and yarn tangles take charge in defending their homeland (and litter boxes) against the forces of great evil! The Steam Prologue contains the whole first chapter of Cats on Duty spread over 10 captivating levels, each showcasing a unique challenge and certain game feature. There is even a minigame, and a full boss fight to get your claws into, to prepare you for whats to come in the final game. Here you can also try out the co-op mode with your friends or family. One player focuses on the tile-matching field of the game screen to win the food needed to recruit and upgrade your battle cats while the other builds an unbreakable line of defense. Co-op mode can be easily activated or deactivated from the start menu or as you play. With cat and kitten difficulty levels available, you can adjust game difficulty on the fly should you find the current level too hard or too easy for your skills or mood. You will also be able to carry over your Prologue save files into the main game so you can either continue from where you left off or reset the game progress in the settings menu and start over! So try the free Prologue and add Cats on Duty to your wishlist! TRY OUT FOR FREE

[ 2023-11-02 12:29:02 CET ] [ Original post ]

Get ready for some thrilling adventures because Darkestville Castle is now available at an incredible 50% discount from October 26th to November 2nd as part of the Steam Scream: The Revenge event. Dive into the dark and mysterious world of Darkestville Castle and embark on a journey filled with humor, puzzles, and unforgettable characters. Don't miss this fantastic deal on Steam!

[ 2023-10-25 16:05:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

ESDigital Games and Alchemical Works are delighted to reveal their action adventure RPG title BattleJuice Alchemist and its new announcement trailer! [previewyoutube=_JlygN27g1Q;full][/previewyoutube] BattleJuice Alchemist is a complex alchemy RPG that adds an equipment-based skill system to the classic aRPG formula. Focus on top-down combat or opt for JRPG-style one-on-one fights. Explore the wilderness, learn ritual magic, and craft potions to fight demonic hordes overrunning the lands. Juice, the alchemist, is called to Caribou Creek to fight the demons that roam the lands. As your unique version of Juice, you explore the wilderness that once was New England. Fight evil in classic action RPG isometric top-down view and in bullet-time close combat. Find and craft items with game-changing powers. Master BattleJuice Alchemists deck-building mechanics by arranging your compilation of flasks to suit your playstyle. Accentuate your character beyond character customization by using ritual magic as long-term buffs. Meet strange creatures from the Crossroads while the dark plot of BattleJuice Alchemist unravels.

UNIQUE ITEMS AND CHARACTER BUILDS

Loot and Craft: As an alchemist you wear no armor and wield no sword, but you rain down fire on your enemies. Find flasks with unique properties in the wilderness or craft them at your workbench. In deck-building fashion you create a compilation of flasks which you randomly draw from. Unique Skill System: In BattleJuice Alchemist, your flasks are your skills. Every flask can be used the normal way and at times in a supercharged, "jucified" way for stronger effects. Some flasks have powers attached to them that drastically change their effects when used, which allows you to develop your own playstyle.

EXPLORE A DARK WORLD

Procedural Landscapes, Hand-crafted Towns: The world of BattleJuice Alchemist is separated into vast levels of procedural landscape. Every valley, sea, river, mountain, building, stone, tree and item is placed by a unique algorithm. This allows you to continue exploring after you completed the main story. Quest locations are still hand-crafted to tell compelling stories. Dark Lands to Discover: You are influenced by daytime and weather effects and so are your enemies. But they are also buffed by the evermore spawning demons presence. Find dark altars to hold their influence at bay and discover many other secrets.

ENGAGING COMBAT

Classic isometric ARPG action: Fight your enemies from afar in classic top down view. Throw explosive or freezing flasks at them, prepare ambushes of explosive barrels. Use the Frog Hop flask to jump away from danger or right into close combat. Close Combat with Bullet-time: Enter close combat with an enemy, where you can interact hands on by dodging or using smoke flasks to avoid being hit. Manage your resources and flasks during these intense one on one battles against your awe-inspiring enemies from the Crossroads.

[ 2023-09-27 15:10:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

GREAT NEWS EVERYONE! REMEDIUM, the twin-stick shooter set in the grim post-apocalyptic Renaissance, engages the unforgiving wilds in the first chapter, is now available on Steam Early Access with a 20% launch discount! [previewyoutube=UkLscFfPDPY;full][/previewyoutube] Set in the same decaying universe as REMEDIUM: Sentinels, REMEDIUMs second and third installments will enter the fray later this year.
Decades after the horrific Grey Plague wiped out nearly all human life, turning unfortunate souls and delicate fauna into decaying, hungry beasts, little remains. The few remaining survivors desperately fortify their defenses while searching for a cure, but hope dwindles for one as when a mission outside the fortress walls results in the infection invading their veins. He must scour the devastated landscape in search of a cure or be cast from the encampment forever.
Slay abominable mutants in perishing biomes, ready to strike in deadly droves. Evade chimeras, gargoyles, golems, elementals, and more with skillful dodging maneuvers while tearing through them with powerful combinations of firearms and alchemical ammunition. As the infection grows stronger, make the most of its horrific symptoms by using them as battle advantages.
Search every dark corner for vital ingredients to upgrade weapons, armor, strength, and stamina in the form of amalgams, injections, and potions. Inoculate as needed to enhance combat abilities, or weave mysterious elemental power into dwindling ammunition to make every shot count. Fight through every last beast and boss to survive long enough to find the antidote!

[ 2023-09-14 15:00:43 CET ] [ Original post ]

Today is THE DAY, fellow Sentinels! REMEDIUM: Sentinels has officially released, and we couldn't be more excited. Get ready to immerse yourself in an extraordinary experience filled with new features and improvements that have been implemented since the game's Early Access phase. Prepare for an expanded world of possibilities as we introduce a range of exciting updates. We now boast an impressive roster of 8 playable Sentinels, each with their unique abilities and playstyles. Traverse meticulously crafted locations, soaking in the atmospheric environments that will captivate your senses. Arm yourself with a diverse arsenal of weapons and upgrades to take on the hordes of adversaries that await. These additions were not available during the initial release, making the game even more engaging and dynamic. But that's not all! We have gone above and beyond to enhance the player experience. Significant improvements have been made to the HUD and interface, ensuring smooth navigation and seamless interaction. Prepare to showcase your skills and compete with players globally through the introduction of world leaderboards. We are committed to making the leaderboards even more engaging and exciting for you! Additionally, we have expanded the list of achievements, satisfying the insatiable quest for glory of achievement hunters. And rest assured, we have plans to continue adding new achievements in the future.
To further enhance gameplay, we have implemented quality of life improvements. Discover new interactive objects that grant additional scores when standing nearby, providing strategic advantages in the heat of battle. For example, in the "Mines" level, now you have to push the minecart to earn points. To make it happen, the Sentinel needs to be next to it while fending off hordes of enemies (they haven't gone anywhere)! Furthermore, we have introduced additional elemental versions of weapons, each with its unique effects, bringing more diversity and dynamism to combat encounters. Today's release of REMEDIUM: Sentinels marks an exciting milestone in our journey. We are determined to deliver an exceptional gaming experience, and we can't wait for you to join us. Embark on an unforgettable adventure of survival and discovery, and let the world of REMEDIUM: Sentinels captivate you. Get ready to push your limits, showcase your skills, and become a true Sentinel. Today is the day we've been waiting for! Stay strong and PUSH THE PLAY BUTTON!

[ 2023-07-18 15:04:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

As the release date of fast-paced roguelite auto-shooter REMEDIUM: Sentinels approaches, the developers from Sobaka Studio shared some exciting updates that have been implemented since the game's Early Access phase. They have been hard at work, and thrilled to announce the incredible additions and improvements that await players in the full release on July 18th: "First, let us highlight the significant content expansions that have taken place thus far. Brace yourself for the sheer variety available: we now boast a whopping 8 playable Sentinels, each with their unique abilities and playstyles. Traverse through 6 meticulously crafted locations, immersing yourself in the atmospheric environments we've created. And prepare for a vast arsenal of weapons and upgrades that will aid you in your battles against the hordes of adversaries. All of this was not present during the initial release. Delve deeper, and you'll discover a wealth of new content, including a plethora of enemies, bosses, and maps that have been introduced since the game's initial Early Access launch.
But that's not all! Our dedication to enhancing the player experience extended beyond the content itself. We've made substantial improvements to the HUD and interface, ensuring seamless navigation and interaction. Additionally, the introduction of world leaderboards will enable you to showcase your skills and compete with players globally. Achievement hunters will be thrilled to know that we've added more achievements to satisfy their insatiable quest for glory. We didn't stop there. We've incorporated quality of life improvements that enhance your overall gameplay experience. Discover new objects that grant additional scores when standing nearby, providing strategic advantages in the heat of battle. Moreover, we've introduced additional elemental versions of weapons, each with its unique effects, allowing for more diverse and dynamic combat encounters.
Looking ahead to the release on July 18th, our team is determined to deliver even more! We have exciting plans to introduce additional achievements, ensuring that your journey remains challenging and rewarding. Furthermore, we're committed to making each game mode distinct and unique, offering exclusive gameplay mechanics for victory and progression. This dedication to variety and innovation will significantly increase the game's replayability, making every playthrough feel fresh and captivating. Finally, let us remind you that the release is only a mere 5 days away, scheduled for July 18th! Don't miss out on the opportunity to experience REMEDIUM: Sentinels in its full glory. Mark it in your calendar, add it to your wishlist, and get ready to embark on an unforgettable journey of survival and discovery! Stay strong and PUSH THE WISHLIST BUTTON!" https://store.steampowered.com/app/2244480/REMEDIUM_Sentinels/

[ 2023-07-13 17:00:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

Attention! Attention! REMEDIUM: Sentinels, a dark survival game with roguelite elements, is exiting Early Access on July 18th (15:00 UTC / 17:00 CEST / 8:00 PST) and diving into battle armed with alchemical weapons, fully supported on the Steam Deck (Steam Deck Verified)! Set in the universe of REMEDIUMs post-apocalyptic Renaissance, more than one hundred years have passed since the initial onslaught of the calamitous Grey Plague, which decimated a once-flourishing continent. Among the few remaining humans, brave scientists funneled their resources into constructing mankinds last hope, the Sentinels - gargantuan metallic golems born of technological advancement and mysterious alchemy. As one of the few remaining Sentinels, rise as humanitys last line of defense, taking on endless hordes of infected mutants until the reactor runs out of power. Wield an expanded arsenal of automatic, alchemy-based weapons and unleash devastating attacks upon swarms of plague-ridden beasts and bosses. Clear maps while collecting glowing Prime Matter and resources to upgrade guns, projectiles, and defenses. Find a fitting balance of weapon and force fields for all 8 Sentinels to prepare for the monstrosities that lie ahead. Match the machines with optimal offensive and defensive armaments and elemental upgrades to reach each Sentinels fullest potential and improve survival time with every run.

[ 2023-07-06 15:09:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

Summer sale is in full swing! Get Darkestville Castle at a super discounted price of 65% off until July 13th!

[ 2023-07-03 16:46:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

Our quest Unusual Findings take the Official Selection LAGS 2023 nomination at the Latin American Games Showcase! In honor of this event, the game is 25% off until March 13: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1605320/Unusual_Findings/ DLC also received discounts: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2151060/Unusual_Findings__Original_Soundtrack/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/2151070/Unusual_Findings__Digital_Artbook/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/2151071/Unusual_Findings__HD_Wallpapers/

[ 2023-03-10 13:09:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

New roguelite fast-paced auto-shooter REMEDIUM: Sentinels is now available in Early Access!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2244480/REMEDIUM_Sentinels/ The game is set in the same world as REMEDIUM game. It has been more than a hundred years since the Grey Plague has won turning most humans into vicious mutant freaks, and only a handful of cities still stand amidst the death and chaos that consumed the land. Now you can take control of a Sentinel created by alchemists with only one goal - defend the cities against the endless hordes of mutants until your reactor dies. Combine items and alchemical elements to acquire more and more weapons and create unique builds.

Easy to play, hard to master!

[previewyoutube=m8xQS2oK8Cc;full][/previewyoutube] Share your ideas how to improve the game on developers official Discord server.

[ 2023-02-28 15:58:24 CET ] [ Original post ]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2244480/REMEDIUM_Sentinels/ In this roguelite fast-paced auto-shooter, set in the same world as REMEDIUM, you can combine combat gear and alchemical elements to obtain powerful weapons and create truly unique equipment. Everything to protect the survivors of the plague from the endless hordes of maddened mutants! Check out our new game REMEDIUM: Sentinels. Watch the announcement trailer where we share the official Early Access release date: [previewyoutube=nS346tCwIbw;full][/previewyoutube] P.S. February 28 ;) And join our Discord community!

[ 2023-02-07 13:20:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

Minions! It's time to celebrate winter, which means the world's most fun quest* Darkestville Castle has received an 85% discount! https://store.steampowered.com/app/689900/Darkestville_Castle/ Help the demon id find his kidnapped friend, and get rid of the pushy hunters. We're sure it will be hilarious!
* - according to the great demon id

[ 2022-12-23 09:07:43 CET ] [ Original post ]

New Roguelike Action RPG Scholar of the Arcane Arts is already available in early access! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1650200/Scholar_of_the_Arcane_Arts/ Learn new spells, solve puzzles, unlock secret dungeons, and defeat monstrous beings to save the world invaded by five Planes of magic! Every spell you cast interacts with one another. About a hundred spells and 10,000 combinations await you! All worlds are randomly generated, so each playthrough will be unique. Try your hand at the art of magic and take part in the development of the game! Talk to the developer and other players on Discord to reach unprecedented heights of mastery in Scholar of the Arcane Arts!

[ 2022-12-15 15:04:25 CET ] [ Original post ]

Being a demon is not easy. You need to constantly invent meannesses, arrange troubles, recruit servants, and especially when you own a whole city! And even if its inhabitants do not suspect it, they know the truth in the depths of their human souls... Don't you believe it? Check it out for yourself! And to make the temptation irresistible, as part of this sale, the Darkestvill Castle game has become 80% cheaper!
Ha ha! That's it. And this is not cheating! For now... In general, bow your legs, mortals, and vote for my game ^^ - your favorite demon, Cid.

[ 2022-11-25 12:32:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1605320/Unusual_Findings Join the party right in the neon 80s! Old-school adventure game with modern special effectsUnusual Findingsis finally here! With a new game by Epic Llama studio you will travel back in time into the era of VHS, 8-bit games and mysterious aliens! Join the three friends Vinny, Nick and Tony in their awesomely dangerous adventure where every action has consequences. Solve puzzles, meet interesting characters and investigate strange things while listening to the authentic Synthwave-soundtrack including the super hit You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) by Dead or Alive: [previewyoutube=kT9AX_07Rsc;full][/previewyoutube]

[ 2022-10-12 21:04:39 CET ] [ Original post ]

What more proof do you need of the power of the demon Cid? After all, he was not only able to sneak into your computers, but also into the little Steam Deck!

Another way to recruit new minions. Muhahahahaha! Wonderful...

[ 2022-06-24 17:00:07 CET ] [ Original post ]

Once a year, Darkestville hosts a summer festival where the town's citizens all get together and have a real party! There's laughter all around, lots of good food, and a great mood... That would seem to be a disaster for any demon. But it's not! Cid has an ingenious plan. He decided to play along with the naive people and reduced the price of Darkestville Castle by 80%.
Why? The catch is that the main character in the game is the great demon Cid himself! More people will play, more minions will stay!

Call [strike]naiv people[/strike] good friends, Darkestville Castle is 80% off until July 7!

[ 2022-06-23 17:07:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

An exciting new DLC, Tome of Dimensions now available to purchase on Steam!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1684600/Deck_of_Ashes__Tome_of_Dimensions/ Meet Sibyl the Dark Soul, a lonely but fearless fighter looking to bring her race back from extinction. A deadly sharpshooter, Sybil uses different arrowheads in her arsenal to deal critical hits. Resurrect fallen enemies to deal even more damage, or use Fear and Hysteria to disorient foes. Learn a new character's history, access over 100+ new cards, and battle newly arrived dangerous enemies. To celebrate the release of the add-on we have prepared a new atmospheric trailer: [previewyoutube=LYn-EWWCbkw;full][/previewyoutube]

But that's not all!

Now you can discuss deck tactics with your friends playing on consoles! After all, Deck of Ashes is now available on them as well:

- Xbox; - PlayStation; - Nintendo Switch.

We've also done a lot of work on fixing small bugs previously found in the game. Thanks for the wait, enjoy the game and DLC!

[ 2022-04-22 17:03:44 CET ] [ Original post ]

I, the great and all-powerful demon id, give you literally the most important thing in your life... yes, yes! I'm talking about 80% off on great game about me! You'll find there tricky puzzles, fascinating stories, servile (well... almost) townsfolk, and my best friend, Domingo the fish!
Can you get rid of the demon hunters and bring order back to Darkestville? So that I, id, can make grandiose mischief to the humans again!

[ 2022-01-28 11:58:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey, minions! I, the great Cid, [strike]sneak in by a not very legal means[/strike] have been invited to a wonderful THE BIG ADVENTURE EVENT. It's from January 20 to 24 and you can come along and have a little discovery adventure with me! We'll be treated to shenanigans, riddles, and even almost major mischief! And on January 23rd at 12:00 PM CET, according to some people, we'll have a broadcast with my creators from Epic LLama! Everybody knows that I'm very cool and brilliant, it'll be interesting to see how awesome my "creators" are. And in an hour they'll be showing off their new game, Unusual Findings, so I suggest you to stay tuned after broadcast!
See you soon!

[ 2022-01-19 20:09:28 CET ] [ Original post ]

Friends, 2021 has been an outstanding year for our team. Our wish to be fully funded on Kickstarter to develop our new game Unusual Findings has come true our community has grown. Weve learned a lot and come up with some great features for the game. This past year has been awesome. We've participated in many adventures and seen a lot of support. The Vit Awards 2021 nominated our new game for Best story and narrative, Best soundtrack, Best game from overseas'' and Best art direction. We are so proud to announce that our game won the Best story and narrative nomination! The Dev Gamm 2021 nominated Unusual Findings for Best Indie Game, Excellence in Narrative and Excellence in Audio!
A huge thank you to each and every one of you for supporting us all this time. IWithout you, it would not have been possible. The year has just begun and very soon after a little holiday break we will continue to work hard on the project. We wish you in this New Year creative ideas and the strength to put them into practice. Be healthy, happy and we will see you soon! All yours, Epic Llama team. P.S. Weve made a short survey for you to know your favorite bloggers and streamers. We would be delighted if you could take a moment to go through it. P.P.S. We've decided to extend the wishlist counting time. We'll tell you the story of how the main characters meet if we collect 20,000 wishlists before the game's release.

[ 2022-01-02 09:46:34 CET ] [ Original post ]

The holidays are always fun! And what can cheer you up more than a great prank and 80% off for DARKESTVILLE CASTLE game? That's right, nothing!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/689900/Darkestville_Castle/

Join my mischievous pranks! You'll meet demons, demon hunters, naive residents of Darkestville, a huge guard dog (he doesn't bite, but rumor has it he can handle firearms...), ghosts and other cute and not so cute creatures! I promise that you will long remember your misadven... ahem, adventures! - Your demon Cid

[ 2021-12-24 22:45:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

Greetings, my dear friend! You're just in time... For today the forces of evil are celebrating, taking to the streets and committing various mischief everywhere. Don't you know how to confront them?! Ha ha! Then there's no way you can do without my game. After all, there's so much villainy in it. And how many puzzles there - can't count. Just for you, I've got a surprise 80% off:

. https://store.steampowered.com/app/689900/Darkestville_Castle/

The best Demon Self-Tutorial at the lowest price. What are you waiting for?

[ 2021-10-30 19:38:37 CET ] [ Original post ]

Have you dreamed of capturing the city for a long time? Find minions and become the most powerful demon? Then Cid's story in the Darkestville Castle quest will help you and your friends! And so that there is no doubt, Cid himself gives a 75% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/689900/Darkestville_Castle/

[ 2021-10-02 17:25:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

Are you ready for a new adventure?! Of course you are! Steam festival is about to start, so it's time to try free demo of our new game UNUSUAL FINDINGS! And we'll also launch a broadcast and will tell you a lot of interesting things, so check it out. ()*: And don't forget to add the game to your wishlist: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1605320?snr=1_2108_9__2107 Mysteries, puzzles, and hilarious misadventures in an '80s setting await you. And only your decisions determine boys fate... Will they be able to find the source of the mysterious signal? Will they be able to save the city? Explore this world steeped in nostalgia, make new friends and uncover the truth behind the alien invasion... And you can also join our DISCORD and ask us any questions! <()>

[ 2021-09-27 16:09:17 CET ] [ Original post ]

Don't be sad that summer is almost over, having flown by at the speed of a demon hunter falling from a tower! After all, it's that time of year when it's best to sit at home, in warm and cozy, wrapped up in a blanket... and go on an exciting adventure about the great me, Cid!

And to make you forget about this hot, stuffy and fleeting summer, I'll sweeten the pill and give you until September 2 70% off:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/689900/Darkestville_Castle/ Hooray for me, id! =)

[ 2021-08-25 17:02:19 CET ] [ Original post ]

PORTAL OPENED. So it's time to embark on a fabulous adventure and help our hero Lucius find his missing son. Dozens of fascinating riddles, mystical inhabitants of the Tetragon world, and a surprisingly interesting story await you ahead! [previewyoutube=2AEli6L7lPg;full][/previewyoutube] To celebrate the release of our game, we've launched a 20% discount! Looking forward to your feedback, go ahead, adventurers: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1545850/Tetragon/

[ 2021-08-13 08:18:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

Friends, fans of puzzles, secrets and mysterious worlds! We are pleased to announce that the dizzying anti-gravity adventure Tetragon has received a release date - 12 August! An amazing story about the adventures of a simple lumberjack Lucius, traveling across picturesque square worlds in search of his son, who suddenly disappeared under mysterious circumstances, is about to become available to everyone. [previewyoutube=42fcJfiuFBg;full][/previewyoutube] Do not forget to add the game to your wishlist and please all your friends with this wonderful news: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1545850/Tetragon/

You can also try out the game right now as part of a free demo!

[ 2021-07-22 14:09:30 CET ] [ Original post ]

As my demon friend used to say, "People don't enjoy anything as much as bargain prices". You are people, I need power to take over this city. And the fastest way to get this power is to gain your favor! Ha! Cid, you're a genius! ...Hmm, where was I? Oh, yes! Rejoice, my loyal fans! The story of my adventures... i mean Darkestville Castle is 75% off until the end of the Summer Steam Sale! Well done, well done, Cid!

[ 2021-06-24 22:32:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

Out of 250 Indie Celebration Competition nominees, the jury chose our game Tetragon! And now game has entered the top 60 new indie games of the season. Voting continues, and only you, players, decide which projects will become leaders. Vote now, the event will last until May 14!

[ 2021-05-13 13:53:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

As a true demon, I can responsibly declare that the only thing could be better than taking away an ice cream from a child - a big BIG discount! Especially if it's a discount on a game about me, id! And you're in luck, my dear friend. Until May 10, the Darkestville Castle quest has a 70% discount!

[ 2021-05-07 13:51:32 CET ] [ Original post ]

The brutal game Demon Skin is now available on Steam! Until April 20, there is a 10% discount: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1522140/Demon_Skin/

[ 2021-04-14 18:04:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Its Russian Maslenitsa time and were celebrating this cheerful week with the huge sale of our games here on Steam! The special offers up to 90% off for the timeless classic titles as well as for the hot new releases! Everyone will find a game to their liking. This festival event lasts for exactly 168 hours until March 14, so we strongly suggest you not to linger over making up your mind!

[ 2021-03-09 06:56:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

My dear friend, do you love the holidays, as I, the great Cid, do? And what about adventures? I thought so! No wonder I liked you. And since there is so much in common between the two of us, then so be it, I give you a 75% discount on the famous story of my life... uh, more precisely, on the exciting Darkestville Castle quest! But hurry up, because it will only last until February 15th.

[ 2021-02-11 18:05:34 CET ] [ Original post ]

Join adventure with Darkestville Castle and the demon Cid! And to make your journey even more enjoyable, we give you a 75% discount ! Find out what life is like for the most skillful, charming and powerful demon in Darkestville and help him with small troubles, which, of course, he can solve himself! He just doesn't care about them. Because he is preparing for the holidays! And he wishes you all the best, goodness and happiness ...but if you find a spider under your pillow, do not get angry :) This is Cid who expresses his ... um, his good mood! Happy Holidays!

[ 2020-12-25 16:03:39 CET ] [ Original post ]

Darkestville Castle is probably THE MOST Halloween game in recent years. This is a hilarious story of the demon Cid, filled with black humor and bright characters. In honor of the coming holiday we announce the 75% discount on this wonderful point n click adventure and wish you not to die... of laughter, of course!

[ 2020-10-30 12:35:56 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi guys! We're extremely happy to announce that Buka's Discord server is now LIVE! Join us for news of our games (Epic Llama guys will also be there!), announcements, giveaways and the general madness of our daily gamedev lives here: https://discord.gg/NNCb3dV

[ 2020-09-03 15:00:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Buka Entertainment and Epic LLama must warn all console players that todays launch of Darkestville Castle means infernal prankster Cid is now on the loose. Neither team can be held responsible for any injury that may arise from Cid tickling ribs or triggering players funny bones in an underworldly adventure filled with gags and puzzles. Watch the launch trailer, if you dare [previewyoutube=dLCuE9vasC8;full][/previewyoutube] Allow us to be a bit sentimental: Darkestville Castle is a very important project for us from a symbolic point of view. Not only is it a game in the spirit of those old pointnclicks that have always been an integral part of Buka, but it is also the very first game released on consoles exclusively by our publishing! We hope that this small step will be something really great in the future and we wish you to enjoy Cids adventures on the consoles!

[ 2020-08-14 12:56:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

So, on New Year's Eve, we updated the look of the achievements in Darkestville Castle in Steam and on mobile platforms - check out how beautiful they are now!

[ 2019-12-24 13:59:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

Anyway, Darkestville Castle is now 70% off. Dont miss the chance to play this quirky old school adventure game!

[ 2019-11-27 15:39:17 CET ] [ Original post ]

Darkestville Castle is probably THE MOST Halloween game in recent years. This is a hilarious story of the demon Sid, filled with black humor and bright characters. In honor of the coming holiday we announce the 70% discount on this wonderful point n click adventure and wish you not to die... of laughter!

[ 2019-10-29 15:23:20 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi! We're reporting about the situation with 32-bit versions of Darkestville Castle: we fixed everything and the updated version of the game is now available for 32-bit systems' owners as well. Now they can dive back into the wonderful world of Darkestville Castle!

[ 2019-08-30 13:20:05 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi! Right after the last update we've noticed another Cid prank. While we haven't looked, he has broken the 32-bit version of Darkestville Castle! We are already working on fixing everything and will try to keep an eye on Cid so that he won't ruin your game again. That's it for today, please wait for an update that will bring the 32-bit version of the game back to its rightful place, it's coming soon. See you in Darkestville Castle!

[ 2019-08-22 12:35:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

Oh dear, its summer in full swing. Way too hot out there, Id even say price-meltingly hot! Darkestville Castle is now 66% off during the Steam Summer Sale.
Lots of Tim Burton-esque gallows humor, tons of puzzles, captivating story and quirky characters youll find all of this in this amazing hand-painted world of Darkestville Castle!

[ 2019-07-02 09:46:11 CET ] [ Original post ]

Seems like Cid snuck into our office and made Darkestville Castle 60% cheaper while we werent looking. Well just pretend we havent noticed that and well let it continue until the end of this week. Lots of Tim Burton-esque gallows humor, tons of puzzles, captivating story and quirky characters youll find all of this in this amazing hand-painted world of Darkestville Castle!

[ 2019-05-31 15:43:28 CET ] [ Original post ]

Ciao amici! Weve got good news: starting today, Darkestville residents also speak Italian. Cid continues to conquer the world! But that's not the only news we've got! By popular demand, Darkestville Castle is now also available in its full glory on your iOS and Android devices. Now you can experience Cid's adventures on the go! App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/darkestville-castle/id1322417961?l=ru&ls=1&mt=8 Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ru.buka.dville01 In honor of such an event, a 60% discount on the Darkestville Castle is valid all week. If you happen to have a shortage of old school quests in your life, then lots of Tim Burton-esque gallows humor, tons of puzzles, captivating story and quirky characters of Darkestville Castle wont leave you dissatisfied!

[ 2019-03-26 11:56:38 CET ] [ Original post ]

In 1990, LucasArts, formerly known as Lucasfilm Games, released an amazing story about Guybrush Threepwood, a brave young man who dreamed of becoming a pirate. His pixelated adventures caught the fancy of players and were followed by four more games the final part of Tales of Monkey Island was released in 2009, along with the re-release of the original. Even a simple nostalgia was enough for an ordinary point-and-click game to skyrocket in the charts, leaving first-class shooters behind. And in fall of 2017, the developers of the Argentine studio Epic Llama ventured to release a new two-dimensional humorous exploration game Darkestville Castle, which followed the patterns of Monkey Island and it also brought the success. So let us discover what relations these projects have and why do they enjoy unfailing popularity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKG9ZkwPU5U

The story of one hero

Monkey Island showed us that the heart of any quest is its story, which is always tied to a protagonist. Therefore, inventing a charming playable character is already half of the success. In Darkestville Castle, this role is given to The Great and Terrible Cid, who with his charm, sense of humor and ingenuity is likely to conquer anyone. And yet he is a demon, meaning that in terms of love and affection for people he didnt go far from his senior pirate colleague who similarly, although often violated the law, evoked sincere sympathy. Cid himself admits their similarity: a single glance at the rum is enough for him to feel like a real sea dog. Stealing socks from citizens and bantering over his neighbor Dan Teapot are only part of his daily duties. By the way, minor hooliganism without any claims for universal dominance is entirely in the spirit of Guybrush Threepwood, the protagonist of the Monkey Island series once he even blew up half an island! That being said, the demon of Darkestville is not worse than the mighty pirate Guybrush: he easily pushes the story forward and doesnt lose heart before the tricky puzzles truly the Guybrush-type character!
Sometimes a storyteller wedges into Darkestville Castle and, similarly to the re-release of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, helps to face an adventure without getting out of the chair. The protagonist is surrounded by vivid minor characters, who are most likely to talk anybody to death. There are a lot of dialogues in the game, all of them being diverse, witty and making anyone smile from ear to ear. Some of Cid's interlocutors may even deliver whole lectures: for example, the werewolf Cid met on the streets of the city fights for the equality among humans and lycanthropes, and the piggy in the mayors waiting room skillfully handles legal terms. Each of them is a part of a fictional world: not only they enrich it, but also bring themselves closer to the players who live in these sometimes boring and tedious realities. But you can easily laugh at them as well! Something similar was present in Monkey Island, when the beach watchman recited the rights and duties of people at the beach in long and boring manner. As a result, a couple of extra lines in the script really made the characters sound more natural.
Sometimes the Darkestville characters behave as though they have visited the Monkey Island: for example, one of the demons wishes good luck with the search for a ring that will remove the curse (this was Guybrush's main task in the third Monkey Island series), you have to just listen closely to their squabbles. In most cases, it is their talkativeness that leaves no brick at the fourth wall. The walrus from the Romero Brothers, similarly to the pixelated one-eyed drunkard, feels that all of them are characters of an already written story. Cid continues the tradition established by Guybrush and comments on each of players actions. For example, he complains that he has to dig through the garbage way too often, or hints that the player may not have outstanding intellectual abilities. This is almost like a separate scenario technique that has grown into other projects. For example, the visual novel Stanley's Parable is fully built on the interaction of the player and the game itself: they provoke each other, and by having done something bad they both wait for a responding reaction from the other side of screen. This technique helps to build an invisible bridge between the game and the player, saving the latter from a sense of detachment in terms of what is happening on the screen it becomes much more interesting to play when the characters begin to communicate with you.
In Darkestville some characters believe that vegetables have pretty much a whole family. The communication with the viewer is also supported with the help of Easter eggs. Most of them are addressed to the ideological mastermind of the game: for example, the port Puerto Pollo (spa. Chicken Port) in Monkey Island was replaced by Epic Llama with Praia dos frangos (por. Chicken beach);they have also added a note about coriander, the most popular spice for alcoholic beverages in the biology book, and even the name Darkestville Castle, as in the case of Monkey Island, is a reference to a specific location in the game. All of this is a disguised reminder of the beautiful classical game and a tribute to its traditions, for there also were Easter eggs and in-game manuscripts. In addition, the developers have also added hints at modern games and films, such as Robot Chicken-RoboCop and MMORPG. Moreover, there was a reminder of the adventures of Indiana Jonesin the creation of Schafer. One cannot simply go without that, for another way to win the love of players is to give them a feeling of being part of the virtual world and its active resident.
Some characters of Darkestville Castle feel like having an annoying cursor before their eyes.

One click, two click

The town of Darkestville is filled with the mechanics of the old school series: even the cursor is borrowed from The Curse of Monkey Island. The interaction of objects is carried out by dragging each item has to be dragged through the whole screen. And this needs to be done fairly often, because the most obvious solution is not always right, and to find the answer, players have to try many combinations as all the laws of the genre presume. Though, there are no direct hints, as in the games about the Monkey island, you can only highlight all the clickable objects.
Monkey Island had many odd solutions as well: who would expect the saucepan to be an incredibly spectacular, and most importantly, a useful headwear!
Argentine developers also borrowed from LucasArts some aspects concerning the logic of the narration, levels, structure and even the design of some chapters and their openings. Epic Llama have also come up with several non-trivial challenges for the players. In one of them player has to perform three tasks: steal three keys from the members of the Romero brothers gang, and this task will require showing a fairy wit. It is not worse at any matter than a fierce pirate swearing battle or a competition for throwing a Scottish caber, albeit on a smaller scale. Even with the simplest mechanics, a little variability will only be for the best, and even more interesting than the usual linear quests. Boss battles are another deja vu. The whole action resembles a hunt: the furious demon chases the hero in four or five locations and can only be defeated by examining the territory and inventing something on the move, and using the right object during the short break. Such a battle is much more dynamic and even ... more dangerous! The enemy is not so easy to defeat, for they are constantly on the tail just think of the battle with LeChuck in the amusement park!
The endings for both projects are also not what they may seem.

Getting lost in the decorations priceless

It is interesting that a game with a completely different setting filled with dark humor and gloomy charm found a place in itself for the colorful scenery of a tropical islands ballad about pirates of all sorts although both worlds have their own charm. The center of the city in Darkestville may as well pretend to be the town square of the Melee island from The Secret of Monkey Island, and the bright orange domains of King Vigo to be the lava subsoil of the Monkey Island, where the bloodthirsty LeChuck kept in hostage Guybrushs beloved one. All of these are places as dangerous, as they are beautiful.
Sometimes Darkestville Castle lacks songs and rhymed humoresques, like the good old Monkey Island has. However, the motives are similar here and there. It is important that Darkestville has its own mythology.Though being the simplest, it enlivens the game world. Demons, a crew of half-decaying zombie-like deadmen, spiritual parallel universes all of these are still almost the most favorite topics among fans, even after three decades. In addition, the ideological successor of the Monkey Island is completely hand-drawn, scarce in special effects and otherwise resembles the two-dimensional Curse of Monkey Island, where the depth of the scene is determined by the size of the character, depending on his location on the screen. It is peculiar that even with incredible graphics capabilities such representation of the game world,combined with a jamming musical theme still attracts the fans of old school projects. And it happens not without a reason. When in 2000 LucasArts tried to enliven the world by adding a third dimension, the game suffered a loss in realism and became plasticine. This problem was fixed only when Telltale Games started working on the next part of the game.
Escape from Monkey Island locations became less atmospheric because of 3D-graphics. It is amazing that even now the two-dimensional quest genre can easily win more popularity than first-class shooters. The new Darkestville Castle has proved that the interest to such game format has not faded away yet. The point here is the continuity of imperishable classics: a lovable protagonist, bright companions, an exciting story and excellent humor everything that is necessary for the quest to be successful, even thirty years after Monkey Island. Being hand-drawn, both games bear strong resemblance to our world with its oddities and laws which we are somehow accustomed to. Due to this similarity one wants to hang out with Cid for longer, think hard over the puzzles and have a good laugh together. And on top of that to experience an indescribable feeling of deja vu in relation to classics. It is worth much.

[ 2019-03-25 14:57:32 CET ] [ Original post ]

More holidays? What a wonderful occasion to visit our charming trickster Cid! And then theres a 60% discount (for the first time!) now thats a gift to all classic 90s point-and-click adventure games fans out there! Lots of Tim Burton-esque gallows humor, tons of puzzles, captivating story and quirky characters youll find all of this in this amazing hand-painted world of Darkestville Castle!

[ 2019-02-06 13:28:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

We got more news for you, guys! Darkestville Castle is now available on Linux. And dont forget about 38 new achievements we added to our game game recently, so Cids adventures are now more entertaining than ever! By the way, right now you can purchase Darkestville Castle with a 50% discount great chance to jump into this amazing hand-painted world full of surprises, puzzles and charismatic habitants!

[ 2019-01-18 11:59:01 CET ] [ Original post ]

Dear friends, we are excited to announce that our fancy and atmospheric quest Darkestville Castle got 38 brand-new achievements! We hope this update will make your journey even more colourful and fascinating. Unfortunately, right after we released this update some players encountered disturbing issues with unlocking new achievemets. We fixed this problem, so you are welcome to check it out! Oh, one more thing. To make this announcement even better we decided to give you a new 50% discount! Its gonna be available starting January 17th till January 20th. Welcome to Darkestville amazing hand-painted world full of surprises!

[ 2019-01-16 14:26:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

You'd ask how Cid is doing? Well, he's just fine! Cheerful, witty and full of energy! Let's hope that Dan Tipotot won't spoil everything as usual... But we won't let that happen, right? As part of the winter sale, Darkestville Castle is available with a 50% discount. Stylish graphics, funny characters, a fascinating story and cunning puzzles - all this makes Darkestville Castle a 100% perfect Christmas gift! Treat yourself ;)

[ 2018-12-22 12:29:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey folks! Be quick to get your spooky Darkestville Castle experience with 50% discount! :D

[ 2018-10-30 08:03:07 CET ] [ Original post ]

You've asked - we are more than happy to provide! Today Darkestville Castle finally got French and German localization. Cid continues to conquer the world! steammocking Share the EVILness with your friends - show them Darkestville Castle website! steamhappy Subscribe to our twitter not to miss some exiting news about Darkestville Castle that we're going to announce soon - Buka Entertainment twitter!

[ 2018-06-21 13:36:40 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone! Today Darkestville Castle is on sale at 33% off during the Lunar New Year Sale! Also Darkestville Castle is now bundled with other quests in Buka Adventure Pack. We are sure you'd love to play all those quests during the upcoming weekend ;) And this bundle is also on sale - 57% off till th 19th of February! So hurry up and get it! Have fun, guys! steamhappy

[ 2018-02-16 12:47:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi everyone! Today Darkestville Castle is on sale at 33% off during the Lunar New Year Sale! Also Darkestville Castle is now bundled with other quests in Buka Adventure Pack. We are sure you'd love to play all those quests during the upcoming weekend ;) And this bundle is also on sale - 57% off till th 19th of February! So hurry up and get it! Have fun, guys! steamhappy

[ 2018-02-16 12:47:15 CET ] [ Original post ]

Yay everyone! Trading cards are now available. Enjoy! steamhappy

[ 2018-02-13 08:19:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

Darkestville Castle is 20% off on Steam. Happy holidays!
http://store.steampowered.com/app/689900/Darkestville_Castle/

[ 2017-12-22 13:22:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi guys! A friendly reminder, that you can buy to buy Darkestville Castle at a 20% discount till tomorrow evening! Hurry up :) Aaand, what is more, our favorite quest has all the chances to win the The World Is Grim Enough Let's Just All Get Along Award. All is in your hands - you just need to nominate Darkestville Castle here or here. Despite his bad temper, Cid will be very pleased to receive this award, so let's all vote together for his sake!

[ 2017-11-27 15:42:19 CET ] [ Original post ]

With only a few days left before Halloween, Steam sales is well under way. We just couldnt pass up such an important event. Thats why from October 26th till November the 1st Darkestville Castle, the real Halloween adventure game, has 20% discount! Also we wanted to thank our creative contest winner - Artie-K, whose artwork perfectly fits our Halloween Steam page decoration!

Trick or treat?! Hm Trick!

To celebrate Halloween, developers added a new tricky mode to the game MEOW. Just keep in mind you should activate it only if you are 100% self-confident as it drastically increases game difficulty! Were not going to reveal all the details though just try it if you dare.

[ 2017-10-27 14:14:27 CET ] [ Original post ]

It's time to pick winners of our creative contest! Weve got dozens of awesome artworks from all over the world and it was a pretty hard choice to make. Many thanks to all participants! As we promised, there will be not only one winner, but a several of them in a different nominations. Here they are:

Developers Team Choice

Grand Prize: Steam Wallet $100 Card And the winner is Artie-K!

Publishers Team Choice

Prize: Steam Wallet $50 Card And the winner is Luci!

Community Choice

Prize: Steam Wallet $50 Card And the winner is Lady Santa!

Honorable prizes

10 winners who will get their Steam Wallet $20 Card:

• Studdingsail
• Daymonica
• Ragevine
• jd_ianonym
• KARGOBOB
• Asu
• Molestika
• KotoyamaD
• Weap
• Vanyusha

All winners will receive a message with information about how to get their prizes. Therefore, we kindly ask all the winners to check if they are accessible via chat messages :)

[ 2017-10-24 14:31:18 CET ] [ Original post ]

The teams at Epic LLama and Buka Entertainment are excited to share the Darkestville Castle launch trailer with you! We hope you enjoy it and thanks for all the support and excitement during development. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKG9ZkwPU5U

[ 2017-09-21 18:11:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

CONTEST IS OVER

You will be able to send your artwork till 1:00 PM (PT - Los Angeles Time) ON OCTOBER 22, 2017. Therefore the winners will be announced at 7 AM (PT - Los Angeles Time) OCTOBER 24, 2017. CONTEST BEGAN AT 10:00 AM (PT - Los Angeles Time) on SEPTEMBER 21, 2017

HOW TO ENTER THE COMPETITION

STEP 1 Play the game or the free demo to familiarize yourself with the world, characters and the story of the Darkestville Castle. STEP 2 Create an original piece of art illustrating one of Cids nasty pranks. You can also find some creative inspiration in our crazy trailer and official artworks. Your artwork should feature your own version of a demons prank and its consequences, e.g., saddened townsfolk or giant mutant-chickens corpses all over the town or any other catastrophic consequences of Cids mischiefs. There are dozens of funny characters living in this amazing hand-painted world of Darkestville Castle and they cant wait to see what tricks Cid has prepared for them. Darkestville Castle pays tribute to late 90s point-and-click adventure games, featuring fascinating fairy-tale story and trendy visuals in Tim Burtons style. It delivers more than 7 hours of truly enjoyable gameplay to both old and new generations. Dive into the unforgettable good old-fashioned atmosphere of classic adventure games and win the grand prize that weve prepared for you. Your artwork should meet the following REQUIREMENTS: 1. You can reference but not directly copy materials from the game (no copy-paste allowed). 2. It should be your original work made for the contest and you shouldnt use stock materials from others or trademarks. 3. Artwork that you submit shouldnt be inappropriate, offensive, pornographic, sexually explicit, unlawful or plagiarized, excessively violent or offensive in any way. You may upload as many artworks as you like, however, if you upload the same art several times it will be counted as one. STEP 3 Submit your artwork to the contest by using the Upload Your Artwork button in the Artwork section here: http://steamcommunity.com/app/689900/images/#scrollTop=0. In the description type: Darkestville Castle Contest.

AWARDS

Developers Team Choice Grand Prize: Steam Wallet $100 Card Epic Llama team will choose one artwork which they like best. Community Choice Prize: Steam Wallet $50 Card Share this contest among your friends to have better chances to win people's choice award as it goes to the most liked artwork. Publishers Team Choice Prize: Steam Wallet $50 Card Buka Entertainment team will choose one artwork which they like best. Honorable prizes 10 winners will get Steam Wallet $20 Card Another 10 winners will be also chosen by Buka Team based on the quality and creativity of their submitted artworks. Good luck!

[ 2017-09-20 13:11:51 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello, would you mind introducing yourself to our readers? My name is Hernan Lopez and Im producer at Epic LLama. Since we are a small developer team I did a lot of stuff in Darkestville Castle (like editing audio, fixing some minor things on the graphics, and stuff like that). But I guess the more relevant thing I did in Darkestville Castle is write the story and design the game! Why did you decide to enter the world of videogames? How long have you been actually creating games? Well I really loved video games when I was growing up, and as a kid and as a teen we use to play a lot with our friends, we designed our own games as kids on paintbrush growing up I learned to use flash and started to make games for my friends as a hobby, then I realize Hey... I could sell flash games to gaming portals. Then I quit my job as a call center guy and started to do videogames for living and that's how Epic LLama started like almost 10 years ago! What was your first games console (or computer), and what did you like and dislike about it? My first console was a Famicom What I liked everything To this day I collect Famicom and NES cartridges. The only thing I disliked was that my mom didn't let me play it more than 2 hours a day and only in weekends and only if I had good grades So I'm not a psychologist but I guess that making videogames a prize to earn played a major role on making me a video game developer And that's why I went to my friends house to play videogames Now everything makes sense. What made you want to make video games and specifically what made you want to make Darkestville Castle? Darkestville castle is one of those games that WE ALWAYS WANTED TO MAKE, but since we made flash games for browser that was impossible don't get me wrong, we loved to make flash games but flash games are so much smaller in size on scope than FLASH got sick and his market shrunk so we as studio have to choose a new path or just leave the industry And since there is no way we are going to leave the game industry we decided to grow, to grow in a direction we always loved to make that game we always wanted to make, but we weren't able and so we starting the development of Darkestville Castle. With Fabian Peruggia Ribeiro (super mega awesome programmer of the team) we are not just colleges, we are friends from out teen years we lived a few block from each other (in fact we have moved but still live a few blocks from each other) and if a franchise made us bond a lot was the Monkey Island franchise Our favorite one Monkey Island 3. We spend hours playing it So we wanted to make something that feels as if it is the late 90s again and you are about to play a forgotten graphic adventure of that era. What is Darkestville Castle about? Could you tell us what the story of the game is without revealing any spoilers? Thats a tuff one talking about the story without spoiling But Ill do my best, Darkestville Castle is a game about being the bad guy... Cid. The character we follow, is the Demon of Darkestville Castle, he loves to do evil and evil loves him, every night he disrupt the lives of the citizens of Darkestville that are used to his presence and evil deeds, in fact, they rized Cid since he was just a cute little Demon. As every villain Cid has a nemesis Dan Teapot, and he will trigger the events that will change Cid life The rest is spoiler. What will the gameplay be like what will make this game different to other games in the same genre? The game is like a classic graphic adventure from the late 90s not only in the style, the art and tone but also in the gameplay with the 3 action verb coin, grab, see and talk! We believe you don't have to fix what isn't broken, however we added something of the new graphic adventures, a button that highlight the things you can interact with, we want the player to focus on the puzzles and not on the pixel hunt, of course this is button is optative But the main new thing here is the fully voiced story, we will be on the shoes of Cid, The Demon of Darkestville a declared villain, and he will live a pretty unusual story. I love the art style, what inspired this style in art direction and why were you drawn to this style? Is there a particular method you are following? How did you come up with the main character? Thanks! We tried to emulate the late 90s art style of Monkey Island 3, but with our own touch, so we make him a bit darker and with the perspective of the scenes a bit more twisted, matching the tone of the story. For the art we made 2D digital painting using Photoshop, Gonzalo Sayavedra is the man behind those lovely backgrounds you see in game. The artistic result ended looking like a son between Monkey Island and The Nightmare Before Christmas. To make Cid we used as basis an old nameless character I used to draw on high school the original one was more skeletical and creepy, yet had the distinctive BIG Smile Cid have for mouth, the big round eyes, the cape and the hat. We adapted that nameless character making him more likeable and easier to draw that resulted in the Cid you can see and play now. For all the characters we used vector graphics as base, that later we animated, those were drawn by Juan Arfinetti and animated by me and Fabian Peruggia Ribeiro. What game development tools are you using? The game is made in Unity, the art for the backgrounds is made with Photoshop, the vector art of the characters is made with Photoshop Illustrator and most of the animations are pre-made in Flash. What were the greatest challenges in the making of this game, and how did you overcome them? I think one of the greatest challenges on the technical aspect was handing and editing the hours and hours of voice acting the story has organizing the sessions with the actors, doing all the data entry and checking that the lines are ok, well delivered and with the right timing. On the artistic side something that was a great challenge is writing that long story. And making it funny, because the only way to test if a joke hit is to test it with people and see if people laugh humor is something really subjective so writing humor is something really subjective and there is nothing more sad that a joke that is bad. Music is such an important part of the gaming experience; what style/genre of music would you like in this game? Again, we wanted to transport you back to the late 90s graphic adventures but with our own dark twist and that detail was persistent on the music, so when you listen to the tunes of the game you surely will feel like in a spooky graphic adventure game of that era. What was your favorite game (or most inspirational game) growing up? Well I have many games that are favorite and inspirational but right now I can't stop to think on Monkey Island 3, I simple loved it and I have to admit it The first time I played it wasnt on my own PC when we were teens Fabian home was the kids headquarters, it was a time when you played graphic adventure games in local multiplayer and we played session of like 4 guys trying to save Elaine from the cursed ring! What is the most rewarding aspect of being an indie game developer? Living of the gaming industry is awesome because it was a dream so big and so impossible to reach when I was a kid that is just incredible but being an indie is more than that is following your dreams and driving your little dream boat as you think is best that is just great and when you find someone who played your game and you see that it means something to him it's just awesome. What about your thoughts on the current state of gaming? As developer I see that visibility is starting to be a problem there are so many games released every day that showing your game to people is so hard! Don't get me wrong I love the idea of a lot of people making games that's what gives that many released But that makes hard to find a public for a game! When will we be seeing Darkestville Castle and what platforms will the game be available for? In the last quarter of the year, and will be for PC and mobile devices... And I would love to see it on consoles! What does the future hold? For now releasing Darkestville Castle is the only future, is our baby we put so much effort on it, so many nights without sleep so many coffee, it's our dream game and we want to release it to the world! What games are you playing now? Which are you excited for this year? Right now I'm playing Overwatch (when I find the time) with the same guys I used to play Monkey Island when I was a kid (the magical wonders of online multiplayer) And for this year I'm excited about releasing Darkestville Castle!

[ 2017-09-20 08:27:47 CET ] [ Original post ]