- 🎮The DreamHack Beyond Gaming Awards🎮 - 14 December 2023
GLOOMLINGS! We are excited to announce that DOOMBLADE is part of the DreamHack Beyond Gaming Awards! For those who might not know, DreamHack Beyond is a one-of-a-kind hybrid festival that merges the immersive world of gaming with a physical event. Taking place both on-site and virtually, this event is a fantastic opportunity for gamers and developers alike. We are proud to be a part of DreamHack Beyond's Steam event, which runs from December 15th to 21st. We congratulate all nominees for their incredible Indie game projects. We are holding our breaths with anticipation! Follow us on Twitter and join our Discord if you haven't already. Until next time, Muro Studios
- Blog Post #9 - Enemy Design - 7 September 2023
Enemy design was the most enjoyable and challenging task in DOOMBLADE. This is because the interaction with the game’s enemies is fundamentally different from other games in the genre. Instead of approaching an enemy by walking into range for an attack while trying to avoid getting too close, in DOOMBLADE, the player simply clicks on the enemy to launch themselves at the enemy's face to perform an attack. This means that enemies have to be approached differently in terms of design. For most enemies in DOOMBLADE, the design process started with the mechanical aspect. There was no visual look or lore in mind for the enemy - just boxes you would fight against. The design would begin with the enemy's purpose in mind. Is this enemy meant to help the player navigate the game world, or is it meant to be a challenge? Or rather, where does the enemy fit on this spectrum? For example, we have Sha…
- Patch Notes #2 - Bestiary Update - 7 September 2023
(Redacted parts contain spoilers!) Bestiary: - The in-game menu now features a new page that displays descriptions of monsters you've encountered. - Monster entries are primarily unlocked by damaging the monsters. - There are over 80 entries available in the Bestiary. Miscellaneous Improvements (some of these were previously implemented): - Unread Atlas entries (as well as Bestiary ones) are now highlighted with an exclamation mark until they are read. - Added a "Mouse and Keyboard Recommended" text element in the main menu, which is displayed if a controller is being used, to guide players towards the optimal experience. - Addressed a highly requested improvement by providing guidance in the late game for finding Gloomsouls. Once the Gloomsouls have been freed, speaking to Voidchild in the Chapel of Doom will reveal the locations where the souls can be found. Bug Fixes: - In-game menus…
- Save & Sound - A celebration of music in games - Live Sept 11 to Sept 14 - 29 August 2023
Get ready! Join us September 11 - 14 right here on Steam for one of the largest digital expos about audio and music in games. Save & Sound features concerts, deep-dives, and mashups from 70+ developers from around the world! Starting at 10am PDT / 7pm CEST, a 3-day live show from September 11 - 13 will showcase original content made just for Save & Sound. Brian Skeel, composer of DOOMBLADE's soundtrack, has prepared an audio deep dive where he talks about the music of DOOMBLADE. He demonstrates how he perfectly blended the lush atmosphere and crushing aggression to fit the game. In DOOMBLADE, where innocence and vengeance form an unlikely pair, the music blurs the lines between organic instrumentation and synthetic sound design, reflecting an environment where ancient lands and advanced technology coexist. Don’t miss out on updates! Set a reminder to be notified when Save & Sound will g…
- Blog Post #8 - The Void - 20 July 2023
The world of DOOMBLADE features a plane called The Void. It is a dimension integral to the story of the game and it also has a very important mechanical function: it is the realm of fast traveling. Very early on in development, we knew we wanted the game to have an area called The Void. There was no particular reason for this - we just thought it would be cool to have a dimension of vast emptiness. At that point, we didn’t know what The Void would look like, we didn’t know how it would fit in the story, and we didn’t know how it would be used in the game’s design. In the first drafts of the game’s story (which were pretty much scrapped as Andrew Adams, our game writer, got on board) The Void was the source of the game’s monsters. Somehow, it was also the source of power for DOOMBLADE, the game’s titular sword. The final story did retain some of those elements but in a very different for…
- Blog Post #7 - The Art Progression - 6 July 2023
From Shadow Bug to Gloom Girl The Art of DOOMBLADE When we started the development of DOOMBLADE we were still thinking it was going to be some sort of a sequel to our earlier Shadow Bug game. So in all of our early concept art, we have Shadow Bug as the main character. The very first concept art for DOOMBLADE. The core idea was there though. We wanted the game to be really fast as the core game mechanic allowed us to create super tight action sequences in the game. Early concept art demonstrating the tight action gameplay. We also wanted it to be a Metroidvania from the very beginning of development, so it needed to have beautiful environments and a distinctive art style to differentiate it from all other Metroidvanias. This early concept art demonstrates the Doom Drop power up in use. I was also experimenting with the animation style and the technical aspects of how we should try to cr…
- Blog Post #6 - The Movement System - 22 June 2023
Aim, Fly, Kill The Origin Story Originally, the core gameplay mechanic of DOOMBLADE started forming in my head when I was watching an episode of Attack on Titan. In the show, heroes fight gigantic titans by shooting wires on them and then pulling themselves up on the titans so they can reach their weak spots. The action scenes in the show are incredible and I found myself thinking how cool it would be to be able to move like that in a game. To fly through the air to your target so effortlessly. And with such power. Gloom Girl, the heroine of our game, doesn’t need wires to attack enemies, instead she is propelled through the air by the sheer power of DOOMBLADE. This is our core mechanic - so called flight attacks. You click on an enemy and Gloom Girl flies fluidly through the air to kill it. Not only is this a great way of defeating enemies, but it’s also a convenient way of moving arou…
- Map Markers Addition and Speedrun Update! - 15 June 2023
Patch Notes #2: (Redacted parts contain spoilers!) We are excited to present an update with the changes that many in the community have been asking for and hopefully can greatly improve the gaming experience. You requested, we delivered. Let us know what you think! ⚔️❤️ Map Markers: - Players can now mark locations on the map with Map Markers - The maximum amount of Map Markers placed on the map is 20 Speedrunning Updates: (Check out more below if you'd interested in speedrunning!) - An in-game stopwatch can now be enabled under Options --> Video Settings - Game time is now saved even when dying or quitting to main menu. - While a room change is in progress, game time is not running anymore Level Design: - Updated level design in a room in which some players were experiencing navigation difficulties: After receiving Shadow Form, it was not that clear that you could pass a wall in the ro…
- DOOMBLADE receives stellar reviews! - 8 June 2023
Greetings Gloomlings, We couldn't be more thrilled to share how DOOMBLADE has been received by the community. The response from both players and critics has been nothing short of phenomenal. Today, we're excited to announce that DOOMBLADE has now also achieved a high current Metascore rating of 85, cementing its status as a must-play title. From the moment we embarked on this journey, our team poured their hearts and souls into creating an unforgettable gaming experience. It was an ambitious endeavor, drawing inspiration from the beloved Metroidvania genre, while infusing it with our own unique twist. We are overjoyed to see that our efforts have resonated with players and critics alike. Your support and enthusiasm have been the driving force behind our success, and we are immensely grateful for your dedication. We are also listening to our community about ways we can still improve on t…
- Patch Notes #1 - 8 June 2023
Patch Notes #1: (Redacted parts contain spoilers!) Miscellaneous Changes: - Final Boss Fight changes to accomodate the controller experience better. The experience with Mouse and Keyboard is largely unaffected. Dread Lords cannot be attacked anymore when their shields are up. Being attackable while shielded added nothing meaningful to the gameplay. When playing with a controller, you could far too easily attack a Dread Lord by accident, because of aiming between so many attack targets on the screen while a lot of action was taking place. - Typo fix in a dialogue. The shop keeper in Wilderwood had a typo in their dialogue. They said 'midjudged' instead of 'misjudged'. While hilarious, this was not intended and has now been fixed. Bug Fixes: - Small collision fix. The room left from the blue tristone piece had a poorly positioned collider which allowed the player to throw Nightmare Onions…
- DOOMBLADE — OUT NOW! - 31 May 2023
UNLEASH DOOMBLADE Greetings Gloomlings, The big day has finally arrived. Join Gloom Girl and free the long-imprisoned DOOMBLADE, a relentless weapon yearning for revenge. Dive into a vengeful quest and unlock extraordinary powers to annihilate the Dread Lords in this atmospheric 2D Fly&Slash Action Metroidvania. Innovative Movement Mechanics With the power of DOOMBLADE at your disposal, you can soar through the air with unmatched agility, launching lightning-fast assaults on enemies with precision. Master the art of aerial combat as you target foes directly, unleashing the full wrath of DOOMBLADE to vanquish them with ease. Seek hidden demonic shrines to regain strength, wield the fearsome arsenal of skills such as Doom Drop, Wicked Wind, or the Nightmare Onion, and instill paralyzing fear in your enemies. Jaw-dropping Art Style and Mesmorizing Melodies DOOMBLADE boasts a beautiful and…
- Bringing DOOMBLADE to the Steam Deck! - 25 May 2023
Our Goal: DOOMBLADE Steam Deck Verified! The Path to getting there... We’re huge fans of the Steam Deck and because of that we wanted to make sure that DOOMBLADE was playable for all our fellow fans from the get-go. Hence our announcement: Our Fly & Slash Metroidvania DOOMBLADE is striving for Steam Deck Verification as close as possible to its release on May 31st! We're thrilled to announce that after creating the controller support and internally testing DOOMBLADE on the Steam Deck it has been performing exceptionally well, delivering a seamless and immersive gaming experience. 🎮 We are doing everything we can to make sure you will be able to soar through the skies and unleash your slashing skills out of the box and with ease. ⚔️ So for the more technically interested people around us that want a peek behind the curtains, we would love to take you on the journey of how we work hard t…
- Blog Post #5: The Music - 19 May 2023
Omnipotent Music Wizard Introduction When it comes to music in DOOMBLADE, the most important thing we wanted was to bring the music to the foreground. We didn’t want the music to just be a supportive element in the back, instead we wanted to have the music take the player’s hand and lead them on an adventure. And for this, we found the perfect man for the job: veteran music producer and composer Brian Skeel. Brian's Style Brian has been making sounds and music for DOOMBLADE from very early stages of development. We are quite thankful that he has been able to be a part of this journey for such a long time. While Brian is a total omnipotent music wizard in our eyes, he is particularly skilled in creating heavy sounds of rock and metal. This isn’t to say that the game’s soundtrack is a constant mosh fest, but when the gameplay gets heavy, so does the music. Across Oceans It’s pretty amazin…
- DOOMBLADE - Coming May 31st! - 10 May 2023
Attention Gloomlings! We are thrilled to announce that DOOMBLADE, our highly anticipated atmospheric Fly & Slash Metroidvania, will be released on Steam on May 31st! DOOMBLADE is a game like no other, combining the thrilling action of Metroidvania with a sleek and innovative movement system. Journey through a mysterious world teeming with danger and intrigue, as you wield DOOMBLADE to guide and protect you. As you progress through the game, you'll uncover new abilities and weapons, unlocking new areas to explore and uncovering the secrets of the game's world. The gameplay is challenging but rewarding, with a variety of enemies and bosses to face off against. DOOMBLADE features stunning graphics and an immersive soundtrack that will draw you into the game's world. The art style is distinctive and breathtaking, creating a truly memorable and visually stunning experience. We can't wait for…
- Blog Post #4: Why a Metroidvania? - 4 May 2023
We Made a Metroidvania Introduction DOOMBLADE is a Metroidvania. This is realized via a large interconnected game world which keeps opening more and more as the player finds new power-ups that allow them to access new areas. But why make a Metroidvania in the first place? Kim's Experience I, Kim the Coder, was first introduced to Metroidvanias in an ancient time in which the term was still to be coined. In elementary school I got to experience the most influential Metroidvania ever made: the 8-bit Nintendo Metroid. The game really stuck with me. All the secrets to be found and the atmosphere of the unknown. Something about this combination was absolutely magical. Naturally, I kept playing Metroidvanias throughout the years with Metroid Dread being the latest of the bunch. My favorites in the old classics are probably Super Metroid and Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. Of the modern ones, I l…
- Blog Post #3: The Origins Story - 27 April 2023
The World of DOOMBLADE Introduction For this blog, we want to go into a little bit of how DOOMBLADE came to be. This includes the beginnings of the ideas that became the game as well as the people that helped us along the way. DOOMBLADE got its start from a concept image created by Juha, the game’s artist. The style of the image is quite different from the aesthetic direction we ended up taking, but the idea of the highlight of the image - a powerful sword - had caught our imagination. The sword became the seed for the world of DOOMBLADE. Origins of the Blade The very first thing we had lorewise was the blade. The name DOOMBLADE came up very early as well, as there was something intriguing in focusing on a sword that would not represent light or hope unlike many other fantastical swords. Instead, our blade became a manifestation of something darker. We wanted to make DOOMBLADE into a se…
- Blog Post #2 Meet the Devs: Juha - 25 April 2023
A Colorful Square and a Dark Vortex: Part 2 This is the second part of our blog on introducing the devs of DOOMBLADE. For this post, you will be meeting Juha the Artist! JUHA: I do all sorts of stuff for DOOMBLADE in design and development but my bread and butter is art and animation. Back home, we always had some sort of computer with games on it. The first we had was Commodore 64. I have a photo of me as a tiny toddler messing around with the C64 while my older brothers were trying to play some game on it - annoying little brother haha! (I have three older brothers and one younger brother.) I remember that sometimes almost all the kids from the neighborhood (it’s a tiny farmside village in Finland) were at our place gathered around that magic machine competing in Summer Games 2, Hat Trick, Barbarian and other hardcore 1vs1 joystick killer games. I was also fortunate to have access to…
- Blog Post #2 Meet the Devs: Kim - 20 April 2023
A Colorful Square and a Dark Vortex: Part 1 For this blog we are going to tell you who exactly is behind DOOMBLADE: Juha the Artist and Kim the Coder. We will be breaking the blog into two parts, the second part of which will be released early next week! For the first part, we will be focusing on Kim. KIM: I’m the coder / lead designer of DOOMBLADE. I’ve been working with Juha the Artist for quite awhile now. I think our ten year anniversary of making games together is quite close, though I’m totally lost on the exact date. I hope Juha won’t be upset! But to get back on track, in this blog post I’m supposed to write about myself, not anniversaries. My path in making games started in the nineties when I was in elementary school, but it sort of took a detour after that. When I was in first grade, my dad bought us the 8-bit Nintendo. I was immediately hooked. In third grade, we got a PC an…
- Blog Post #1: Biomes - 13 April 2023
Trees and Machines Introduction Today we are going to look at two biomes from our game: New Wilderwood and the Power Sector. These two biomes represent two very contrasting settings found in our game world. New Wilderwood is lush, vibrant, and thriving with different kinds of trees and plants. It is a good representation of how the world of DOOMBLADE used to be. In contrast, the Power Sector is completely devoid of anything natural and is instead filled with machines, which represents the corrupting influence the game’s antagonists have had on the world. In level design terms, the world of our game consists of small pieces we call “rooms”, connected together into larger cohesive sections we call “biomes”. Each biome has its own strong identity defined by distinct visuals, enemies, NPCS (non-player characters), sound design and atmosphere. New Wilderwood The idea of having a forest in ou…
- DOOMBLADE PAX Demo Live — now with controller compatibility! - 23 March 2023
Greetings Gloomlings, Today is the first day of our showcase of DOOMBLADE at PAX East, and with that we are very pleased to announce that you can now play the demo with added controller support! Try it today and let us know what you think. 😉 While you are at it, our board is still up on Speedrun.com, can you be even faster with a controller? Beat our highest scores and upload your run today. Have Gloomgirl running around the map at speeds never seen before! Come see us at PAX booth #13109 and enjoy the new update. We have a lot more exciting news coming soon for DOOMBLADE, so stay tuned! Click here to sign up now: https://www.speedrun.com/auth/signup For access to the Doomblade leadership board: https://www.speedrun.com/doomblade?h=Demo_Any&x=z27999od DOOMBLADE DOOMBLADE Twitter Muro Studios Twitter Instagram Iceberg Interactive Twitter Facebook YouTube Steam Publisher Page
