Hello, 2025 has just started and we would like to update you with the progression on the game. We got a lot of things done in 2024: testing an improved playtest build with our community, finished some more areas and we even onboarded a composer! We don't post frequently on Steam, as we are only a two-person studio, and we prefer to spend as much time as possible on development. If you want to read updates more frequently, check out our Kickstarter page.

More levels

In 2024 we finished the mountain area. It has become quite big, and will offer a variety of gameplay. Your journey begins at the base of the mountain, where the air is fresh, the temperatures are mild, and the occasional madman runs past you in a panic. [previewyoutube=XzZoX2fwh7Y;full][/previewyoutube] As you move higher up the mountain, the temperature begins to drop and the winds howl relentlessly.
The trails becomes steeper and more rugged, and the gameplay will focus more on climbing instead of combat, until you finally reach the mountain's summit, where the abandoned druid temple awaits.
We won't spoil too much of what's happening in this temple yet, but the dark looming vibes will be sure to keep you on your toes.

More bosses

We worked on several bosses this year, among others this wild boar mini-boss fight. When this boar (and its rider) charges at you, you'll need to dodge swiftly to avoid its powerful head-on attacks, as direct confrontations have no effect. Additionally, the skeleton rider will make your life difficult by attacking you with his long-range Hunting Boomerang. [previewyoutube=1GNpV1Q82EQ;full][/previewyoutube]

More music

We both believe strongly in the importance of music. Whether it be classics like old school Zelda, SNES RPG's or modern hit pieces like Hollow Knight or Hades, they all have memorable sound tracks. So we set out talking to different composers to work with. Then we remembered that a lot of people actually praised the sound track of our Prologue. That sound track was mostly part of a royalty free bundle offered by a composer, so we decided to contact him as well. Long story short: John Leonard French is going to compose the score for Unsung Warriors! John has been writing music for games for more than ten years. His work includes music for Iris and the Giant, Vellum, Sovereign Tea, Keplerth, QuiVr, and many, many more, while his production music products, such as Ultimate Game Music, have been used by countless developers all over the world.
So far, John has already deliverd some formidable tracks. You can listen to the first thing he deliverd, the main theme, here.

The future

When can you play this? Unfortunately, we don't know yet. We do acknowledge that the game has been in development for quite some time, and that we're not as fast as we would've hoped. We know what it's like to wait a long time for a game. We can't go any faster than we're currently going, but do know that we took several measures to speed up development. If you're curious about our roadmap, you can read up on the details here. That's all we have to show for now. Know that you can already wishlist the full game here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/980700/Unsung_Warriors/

Cheers, Mikel & Ramon

[ 2025-02-05 15:12:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi there, We're well into 2024, time for a quick update from behind the scenes! We don't post frequently on Steam, as we have to split our attention between marketing and development, and we prefer to spend as much time as possible on development (cardinal gamedev sin). If you want to read updates more frequently, check out our Kickstarter page.

Creating levels

Currently, we're hard at work crafting the levels and environments of our game. Each level has a distinct look and is packed with a variety of enemies, challenging you to rethink your combat strategies, learn enemy attack patterns and exploit their weaknesses. [previewyoutube=kG9iomNsYE8;full][/previewyoutube] [previewyoutube=58TPUF4VWWA;full][/previewyoutube]

Boss Fights

The ultimate test of skill, strategy, and courage. We've put a lot of time and effort into creating memorable bosses, as we want them to be fair, challenging, original and suitable for both single player and couch co-op gameplay. All bosses have their own tropes. We're not gonna spill all the beans yet, but let's take a look at this golem boss.
The golem has a ground smash, leaving spikes on the ground. This way, you set up the obstacles for yourself while you fight him. So think ahead where you let him smash the ground! Every now and then, another one of his attacks will clear the arena. Boss reveal [previewyoutube=ZmG8q7ggeqk;full][/previewyoutube]

Playtesting results

In 2023 we held a first playtest with Kickstarter backers who backed for testing. In 2024 we are going to test an updated playtest with the rest of our Kickstarter backers. If you want to see an example of a playtest, this one is worth checking out. Do know that it contains spoilers though.

SPOILER WARNING!

[previewyoutube=2WdKWKfUPzM;full][/previewyoutube] Speedrunning is also already happening. Check this video to see the current record. We thought our game was pretty air tight, but somehow a community member found some major skips! [previewyoutube=oeSo66YSXAQ;full][/previewyoutube] All in all, the playtests yielded quite a bit of insight. Most importantly, people liked it! Additionally, through analysing gameplay sessions, we identified areas for improvement. As a result, we've enhanced the pace of unlocking new skills and abilities, and introduced additional support mechanisms to assist players who were getting lost in the levels. That's it for now. We hope you enjoyed this update. Stay tuned and... Keep your weapons sharp and your wits sharper!

Wishlist (the full game) here:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/980700/Unsung_Warriors/

Cheers, Mikel & Ramon

[ 2024-04-04 08:15:42 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi there! Now that 2023 has started, we'd like to update you with the state of this game. We're a dev team of 2 and we're having a lot of fun working full time on this project! We don't have a release date yet, but we can show you some of the things we've made so far. On Kickstarter we're posting blogs every two months to display our progression. We thought it would be nice to show some of the highlights here!

Start of the game

The game will start in your home town, in a small settlement somewhere in Europe during the Iron Age.
The village used to be peaceful and quiet, but has been suffering from enemy attacks ever since that fiend showed up on that cursed night of the Prologue.
You'll experience most of the story by playing and having events happen to you, but there's also some hand drawn cutscenes like the one above.

Gameplay

The game will be like the Prologue, but bigger. For example, the full game will have multiple boss fights. Even in the opening act you will see no less than 3 boss fights. And not just regular enemies with a bit of extra health, but rather proper enemies with their own distinct behavior. To give an impression, here's a boss fight that you'll see a bit later in the game. [previewyoutube=-Q6DQIt0OHk;full][/previewyoutube] Next to boss fighting, there will also be a lot of platforming and exploration. We're trying to bring a lot of variety into the game. At one moment you may be exploring a merry forest, next thing you're strolling through dark caverns like the one below. [previewyoutube=7Wvm8ZKmpPk;full][/previewyoutube] That's all we have to show for now. Know that you can already wishlist the full game here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/980700/Unsung_Warriors/ For more frequent updates, stick around on our socials.

Cheers, Mikel & Ramon

[ 2023-01-06 13:24:16 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi all, We got something interesting for you: a video showcase of the Arena in the full game! Know that what you're seeing is still subject to change, incomplete and not bug free. The arena will be a side activity in the full game, but it's very important to us early on to finetune combat mechanics. [previewyoutube=QkOVCbgv0rI;full][/previewyoutube] That's it for now. We hope you've enjoyed it, please don't forget to wishlist the full game! https://store.steampowered.com/app/980700/Unsung_Warriors/ Cheers, Mikel & Ramon

[ 2022-04-15 14:08:43 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi all, Ever since our successful Kickstarter campaign, we've been scaling up development. So in this post we would also like to highlight some new features coming to the full game.

Improved animations

We've made our animations more fluent (by improving the rendering of physics). You can see the result of this in the video below. The difference is subtle, and only visible when playing the video on 60fps. The best way to spot it is to look at the character's eyes. We've also included this feature in v1.1.4 of the Prologue. [previewyoutube=ft-tAQ0nUvk;full][/previewyoutube] By the way, the character you're looking at is called Aefa. You can choose between her and Einar at the start of the full game.

Arena Mode

One of the first stretch goals of our campaign is the Arena mode. We've been working on creating artwork for this environment. The Arena (other than being a nice new game mode) is also a good place for us to start testing the combat mechanics and to create enemies for the story mode.

Ledge Grab

We've made changes to the freedom of movement for the players and added a new ledge grab. Which makes the game a bit less unforgiving when the player misses a jump. The main characters are now able to do wall grabs and ledge grabs. Wall grabs are also a nice way to design more vertical-oriented levels.
So much for this update. Thanks for reading, we'll be continuing development and will be checking back in when we have made more progress. In the mean time, please don't forget to wishlist the full game! Cheers, Mikel & Ramon

[ 2021-10-05 07:51:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi all, This is it, our final 24 hours on Kickstarter! We're so close to reaching the next stretch goal: an added hard mode and easy mode! Any help is appreciated to bring this goal across the finish line!

Next stretch goal: hard mode

The difficulty setting can be chosen from the start and can be changed anytime you like. Story-wise the game will not change by selecting a different game mode, but we might implement a few secrets for the hard mode difficulty. Hard mode will increase the combat difficulty by giving enemies a higher attack power and faster attack animations. Another idea that we want to test is to disable the automated mana recharge and refill only when the player does damage to enemies. Additionally, savepoints will also restock your mana. This change would encourage the player to be a bit more considerate with how and when they use their magic. If our tests prove that this is a fun alteration, we will include it in the game. Easy Mode is meant for players that are new to the genre or prefer playing the game for the story and visuals, rather than the combat and the platforming.

Campaign end

We hope you consider backing, and if you have already, know that you can help by spreading the word of our campaign. For example, you can retweet our messages or post in a community you're part of, e.g. on Facebook or Reddit (if appropriate). With the finish line in sight, let's give this campaign its final boost!
Cheers, Mikel & Ramon

[ 2021-05-24 12:37:00 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi all, This is it, our final 24 hours on Kickstarter! We're so close to reaching the next stretch goal: an added hard mode and easy mode! Any help is appreciated to bring this goal across the finish line!

Next stretch goal: hard mode

The difficulty setting can be chosen from the start and can be changed anytime you like. Story-wise the game will not change by selecting a different game mode, but we might implement a few secrets for the hard mode difficulty. Hard mode will increase the combat difficulty by giving enemies a higher attack power and faster attack animations. Another idea that we want to test is to disable the automated mana recharge and refill only when the player does damage to enemies. Additionally, savepoints will also restock your mana. This change would encourage the player to be a bit more considerate with how and when they use their magic. If our tests prove that this is a fun alteration, we will include it in the game. Easy Mode is meant for players that are new to the genre or prefer playing the game for the story and visuals, rather than the combat and the platforming.

Campaign end

We hope you consider backing, and if you have already, know that you can help by spreading the word of our campaign. For example, you can retweet our messages or post in a community you're part of, e.g. on Facebook or Reddit (if appropriate). With the finish line in sight, let's give this campaign its final boost!
Cheers, Mikel & Ramon

[ 2021-05-24 12:32:06 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi all, If you're reading this, it's probably because you following our Unsung Warriors Steam page. You may have subscribed some time ago, because you liked our Prologue, thought our art style looked cool or were generally interested in the game. First of all, thanks for that :). In the past two years we've progressed a lot with the development of Unsung Warriors. We strongly believe our game needs to be finished, and we've just launched a crowdfunding to make that happen. >>> Click here to go to the Kickstarter campaign <<< In the rest of this message we'll be explaining more about the campaign.

Trailer

[previewyoutube=a07MlqTNfAo;full][/previewyoutube]

About rewards

We've done our best to create some interesting rewards. Depending on your pledge, you can receive:

• Your name in the Prologue's Cavern of Names: many Kickstarter campaigns will credit your name somewhere when the game is released. Not this game though. Get your name put up in the Prologue's Cavern of Names the moment after you've backed us.
• Windows/Mac/Linux: play our game on your favorite system through Steam, itch.io and the Atari VCS store.
• Physical rewards: for those that want something physical of Unsung Warriors on their shelves, we're releasing an art book which will show you the conception of and story behind our art.
• Get eternalized in the game: get a painting of yourself, a statue, or even an NPC in your liking in the full game.

For more info, check out our campaign page!
Cheers, Mikel & Ramon

[ 2021-04-20 13:13:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hi all, On 20 April 2021 we will be launching a brand new Kickstarter campaign. A successful Kickstarter campaign will allow us to speed up development towards an Early Access release. We'll have several rewards, and all reward tiers include having your name engraved in the Cavern of Names. You can already subscribe for a notification:
We've put live a new version of the Prologue, you can read more about that here. Besides our preparations we're working on the full game. We're adding content and fine-tuning systems. Here's a little snip of gameplay: [previewyoutube=NXjRqrup8s0;full]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXjRqrup8s0[/previewyoutube] That's it for now. If you like what you see, consider subscribing for our upcoming Kickstarter campaign, . Cheers, Mikel & Ramon

[ 2021-03-05 09:23:47 CET ] [ Original post ]