- How I Draw & Paint the Characters of Apprentice of Darkness - 20 September 2026
Ever wondered how the characters in Apprentice of Darkness are made?Every character in the game is drawn and painted by hand, and I recorded several days of the process while creating some of them.I sped everything up and condensed roughly 3 days of drawing and painting into just 3 minutes, from the first sketches to the finished characters.Check out the full process below! There are still plenty of characters left to create, so back to drawing for me! _theRaven Solo Developer of Apprentice of Darkness
- The Apprentice of Darkness Demo Is OUT NOW! - 14 September 2026
The wait is over.The Apprentice of Darkness demo is officially available now on Steam!And the timing couldn't be better, Apprentice of Darkness is also participating in Steam's Party-Based RPG Fest, running September 14–21.If you've been waiting to step onto the wrong side of the battlefield, now's your chance.Download the demo and play for free today!Play the Bad GuysIn Apprentice of Darkness, you're not here to save the world.You're here to conquer it.Build a party of monsters, battle the forces of good in grid-based turn-based combat, capture your enemies, and sacrifice them to harvest Darkness Points that can be used to strengthen your Tower of Darkness.What's Included in the New Demo?If you played the earlier version of Apprentice of Darkness, you'll find that quite a lot has changed.⚔️ 7 New Characters Expand your forces and encounter new enemies across both sides of the conflict.…
- Apprentice of Darkness Demo Launches September 14 - 31 August 2026
The wait is almost over!I'm excited to announce that the Apprentice of Darkness demo will officially launch on September 14, alongside Steam's Party-Based RPG Fest.And to celebrate the announcement, I've also released a brand-new gameplay trailer showing the latest version of the game:In Apprentice of Darkness, you're not here to save the world.You're here to conquer it.Build a party of monsters, battle the forces of good in grid-based turn-based combat, capture your enemies, and sacrifice them to gather Darkness and strengthen your Tower of Darkness.A Much Bigger & Better DemoSome of you may have encountered Apprentice of Darkness during its earlier playtest. Since then, I've been working hard on expanding the game, improving its presentation, and polishing many of its core systems.The September demo includes some of the biggest changes I've made to the game so far:7 New CharactersSeve…
- The Playtest Ends June 30... But Something Better Is Coming - 24 June 2026
Greetings, Apprentices!The Apprentice of Darkness Playtest will officially conclude on June 30, 2026.Over the past month, hundreds of battles have been fought, countless captives have been sacrificed, and a tremendous amount of valuable feedback has been collected. Thanks to your participation, I've gathered the data and insights needed to continue improving the game and preparing it for the next stage of development.Because of this, the current Playtest build will be taken offline at the end of the month.But don't worry, this isn't the end.In fact, it's the beginning of something much bigger.I am already working on an upcoming Demo, which will feature a more polished experience and include many of the improvements, fixes, and adjustments inspired by your feedback during the Playtest period.I'll have much more to share about the Demo in the near future, but for now we wanted to give eve…
- The Public Playtest Is Now Live! - 29 May 2026
The gates of darkness are finally open.After years of development, testing, balancing, bug fixing, and countless late evenings spent working on this project alongside my full-time job, I'm excited (and a little nervous) to finally welcome players into the world of Apprentice of Darkness.The Public Playtest is now live on Steam.As a solo developer, this playtest is one of the most important stages of development so far. No matter how much testing I do myself, nothing compares to seeing real players experience the game in their own way. Every battle fought, every bug discovered, every suggestion shared, and every piece of feedback helps make Apprentice of Darkness a better game.If you decide to try the playtest, I would greatly appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to fill out the feedback form available directly from the game's main menu. Whether your experience was positive, neg…
- Public Playtest Sign-Ups and Launch Time - 28 May 2026
After a long period of development, testing, balancing, bug fixing, and probably sacrificing my own sanity to the Tower of Darkness...I’m finally preparing to open the Public Playtest of Apprentice of Darkness.The playtest build is planned to go live on:May 29 — 12:00 PM EDT (Eastern Time)If everything goes according to plan (and no demons escape containment), everyone who requested access through Steam will be able to download the game and begin their descent into darkness.As a solo developer working on this project alongside a full-time job, this moment honestly means a lot to me. Finally being able to share this world that I’ve been building for such a long time with more players is both exciting and slightly terrifying.One small note; during the Public Playtest, only English language support will be available. Other languages will be included in the full version of the game.Thank yo…
- The Gates of Darkness Are Opening Soon - 20 May 2026
Hello, my name is _theRaven and I am the solo indie developer behind the game "Apprentice of Darkness",The closed beta phase of Apprentice of Darkness has begun, and the ritual is almost ready for a wider audience.Very soon, the Public Playtest will open on Steam, allowing more players to enter the world of darkness, command forbidden powers, sacrifice enemies, recruit sinister allies, and help shape the future of the game before the public demo.Apprentice of Darkness is a dark fantasy turn-based strategy roguelike where every battle, sacrifice, and upgrade pushes you deeper into the Tower of Darkness.During the upcoming Public Playtest, you will be able to experience:Tactical grid-based battlesDark fantasy characters and enemiesTower of Darkness upgradesSeasonal battlegroundsSacrifice mechanicsRoguelike progressionA growing world shaped by player feedbackThis playtest is not just about…
- Closed Beta Sign-Ups Are Now Open - 12 May 2026
The gates of darkness are opening soon.I am preparing a small closed beta test for Apprentice of Darkness, and I am looking for players who would like to help shape the game before the public demo release.The beta will focus on:Gameplay feedbackBalance testingBug reportsGeneral impressions & atmosphereIf you enjoy dark fantasy, turn-based strategy, roguelikes, or simply want to help improve the game during development, you can now sign up for a chance to participate.🩸 Closed Beta Sign-UpHere is the trailer of the game if you haven't seen it yet;Please note:Spots will be limitedNot everyone may receive immediate accessWishlisting the game on Steam helps the project tremendouslyThank you all for the support so far. Seeing people interested in this strange dark world honestly means a lot.Stay tuned.
- Official Gameplay Trailer Released and Demo Coming Soon! - 6 May 2026
Hello everyone,After a long time of development, I’m excited to finally share the first official gameplay trailer for Apprentice of Darkness upcoming demo! Check it out from below!Apprentice of Darkness is a dark fantasy turn-based tactics game where you play as the “evil” side — commanding dark forces, fighting against humans and fantasy creatures, sacrificing enemies, and expanding the power of your Tower of Darkness.The new trailer showcases: ⚔️ Turn-based tactical combat 🔥 Powerful magic abilities 🩸 The sacrifice & resurrection system 🏰 Tower progression and upgrades ❄️ Seasonal battlefieldsI’m also happy to announce that a playable demo is coming soon!The demo will allow players to experience the core gameplay systems and get an early look at the world of Apprentice of Darkness.If the game looks interesting to you, please consider wishlisting it on Steam, it helps a lot and supp…
- How to make a Dark Ritual Game? - 3 August 2025
I love talking about games in general, so I thought why am I not sharing my vision with others? Obviously, I don't expect to get millions of views, but as I've said talking about games, design, art etc. I love this stuff, so as a hobby I've decided to use my Youtube channel a bit more actively. If you love these sort of stuff, check out this video below and give me your thoughts!Also a little update, there will be a "Beta" testing soon for my game, so stay tuned for that. I am almost there!See you soon cultist friend!
- Apprentice of Darkness Demo is Almost Ready! - 5 July 2025
Hey there Servant of Darkness! I am _theRaven, solo developer of the game called "Apprentice of Darkness" and today I have some news to share with you!First of all, I would like to announce that a demo is on it's way and I have also completed most of my checklist before the demo, get done with the core mechanics and the visuals that I need for the game, but I've also made some crucial decisions and changes to the game design. I am a solo developer who works in a full time job, so the progress is a bit slow, but we are getting there. Are you ready? Let's dive in!1- Winning/Losing SystemMaybe the most important thing I've cleared up my mind regarding to the game design is the "Winning/Losing" logic. To be honest, it was also the hardest one to deal with, because in a rogue-like game, even though you are investing into the game, the rewards and the setbacks are crucial regarding to the bal…
- Welcome Apprentice of Darkness! - 8 April 2025
Welcome Apprentice of Darkness! This is my evil little passion project. It’s a turn-based strategy game where you don’t save the world—you corrupt it. You lead hellish armies across a continent, spreading darkness, capturing enemies, and sacrificing them (sometimes dramatically) to power up your Tower of Darkness. Also, the weather changes every few levels. Not because it affects gameplay much, just because I thought it would look cool. Priorities. There’s dark humor, terrible decisions, and a lot of Very Bad Things. It’s all going on Steam, and if anything in the trailer makes you chuckle or go “oh no” in a good way, a wishlist would genuinely help a ton. Here’s the trailer! Let me know what you think, or tell me I’m going to strategy hell. I accept both.
