Update Notes for August 18, 2026
Fixed rendering issues on Steam Deck. Engine upgrade.
- Fixed rendering issues on Steam Deck.
- Engine upgrade.
Ringlorn Saga
- Released
- Nov 7, 2022
- Platforms
- Last updated
Updates & announcements
- Developer postOriginal post
Developer postAnnouncement of Dragon Ruins II: Aftermath
We're excited to announce Dragon Ruins II: Aftermath, a standalone expansion for Dragon Ruins II. Since it'll be a long time before a sequel enters production, we've decided to develop a standalone expansion for those who want more. KEY FEATURES Assemble a party of 4 adventurers
Original postWe're excited to announce Dragon Ruins II: Aftermath, a standalone expansion for Dragon Ruins II.
Since it'll be a long time before a sequel enters production, we've decided to develop a standalone expansion for those who want more.
KEY FEATURES
- Assemble a party of 4 adventurers from an expanded roster of classes
- Fight, loot, and explore your way through 15 new dungeons
- Enjoy two new weapon types (Greatswords and Spears) and a reworked upgrade system
- Shape your party into an unstoppable force with 20+ new skills
- Track down and hunt WANTED monsters for extra rewards
- Enjoy an expanded soundtrack with over an hour of new music on top of familiar tracks
Wishlist now:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3819770/Dragon_Ruins_II_Aftermath/
Developer post2024 in Review and Future Plans
Hi everyone, 2024 was a transformative year for the studio, as we finally achieved relative stability and adequate resources to expand the scope of our projects and develop them at a healthy pace. Thank you for supporting us through this journey and the growing pains. I'd like to
Original postHi everyone,
2024 was a transformative year for the studio, as we finally achieved relative stability and adequate resources to expand the scope of our projects and develop them at a healthy pace. Thank you for supporting us through this journey and the growing pains.
I'd like to share my thoughts about our releases in 2024, as well as games the studio contributed to, and plans for 2025.
Dragon Ruins
As a long-time fan of David Allen's work (Mordor, Demise), I was surprised that no one created a successor to his games, so I decided to do it myself. Dragon Ruins started as a jam game to test the core gameplay and then reworked into an enhanced commercial version to test the waters.
It became a hit for us and showed we weren't alone in wanting another game like this. We released a follow-up in January 2025, which also sold very well.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2929540/Dragon_Ruins/
Ringlorn Saga Gaiden
The original game shipped with a bonus mode called "The Tower of Rebirth" where you possessed enemies to reach the top floor. Ringlorn Saga Gaiden was created to develop this mode into a standalone open-world experience and work as a quick spin-off to keep fans busy until Ringlorn Saga: Book Two arrives.
The idea took a few failed attempts, cuts, and shifts in design to make it work. Sadly, slower sales and prolonged development mean it's unlikely to break even anytime soon, but Book Two will still happen at some point in the future.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2262980/Ringlorn_Saga_Gaiden/
SKALD: Against the Black Priory
SKALD was developed by High North Studios and published by Raw Fury. I worked on it as a composer from 2019 until I finished my work in 2023. The game finally came out in 2024 and garnered a positive reception.
Personally, I was surprised by how often the music was praised in reviews. Some of the later work was composed while dealing with blackouts, and I'd like to extend my thanks to the Kim family for providing me with a place to unwind, recharge my devices, and guzzle unhealthy amounts of kimchi jjigae.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1069160/SKALD_Against_the_Black_Priory/
Hazy Mind
I contributed some music to Hazy Mind in late 2023. To be honest, I'm yet to play the final version of the game, but the beta I played to get the feel for it had an amazing style.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2380340/Hazy_Mind/
2025 and Future Plans
We've released Dragon Ruins II in January. Since the original sold much better than initially anticipated, we had a decent budget to work with and enough time to research and develop features that we wanted to incorporate in the sequel.
It sold much better than expected, and we're currently working on a standalone expansion to provide more stories for tired DRPG fans.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3293490/Dragon_Ruins_II/
Hanako's Flower Shop (by FantaJI) is coming out on April 25. I assisted with the QA, including checking the game on Steam Deck and checking the release candidate for errors.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1529640/Hanakos_Flower_Shop/
Apart from that, we are working on a big update for Demon Lord Reincarnation. Its commercial success took us by surprise, but internally, we were unsatisfied with the way it turned out, and player reviews reflect that.
Since then, we've been quietly reworking the game from scratch, fixing elements that didn't work, and incorporating content and features that were cut to meet the deadline.
There's no ETA yet, but it's progressing at a steady pace. Once the update ships, the original version will be available on a beta branch.
Console Releases
You might've heard this before, but we are no longer working with Xitilon and are in talks with a new console publisher to handle our games. This means there's no ETA for future console releases until the deal is signed.
Again, thank you for your support.
--Romanus Surt of Graverobber Foundation
Developer postAnnouncement of Dragon Ruins II, our new game!
We're excited to announce Dragon Ruins II, our new project. Due to the positive feedback and demand for a deeper game, we've decided to make a new game and apply a few ideas we've wanted to execute for quite some time. KEY FEATURES Take on various quests, from clearing the baseme
Original postWe're excited to announce Dragon Ruins II, our new project.
Due to the positive feedback and demand for a deeper game, we've decided to make a new game and apply a few ideas we've wanted to execute for quite some time.
KEY FEATURES
- Take on various quests, from clearing the basements to facing ancient dragons
- Grow stronger through automatic battles with new twists
- Find new equipment and balance between power and speed
- Unlock new passive skills to get an edge over enemies
- Use Synergy attacks to get out of dire situations
- Revisit completed quests to see new stories unfold
Wishlist now:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3293490/Dragon_Ruins_II/
Developer postAnnouncement of Demon Lord Reincarnation Gaiden, our new game!
We're excited to announce Demon Lord Reincarnation Gaiden, our new game. Originally, this scenario was planned for a sequel, but it took off in its own direction and became an Ultima-style game with a new story. However, the initial draft was too good to abandon, so we turned it
Original postWe're excited to announce Demon Lord Reincarnation Gaiden, our new game.
Originally, this scenario was planned for a sequel, but it took off in its own direction and became an Ultima-style game with a new story. However, the initial draft was too good to abandon, so we turned it into a standalone expansion, similar to how Wizardry II was to the original Wizardry.
KEY FEATURES
- Enjoy a new scenario with new character classes and improved game systems
- Survive through brutal turn-based battles, where poor judgment can result in the permanent loss of a party member
- Unlock new skills in the heat of the battle, from devastating attacks to underhanded moves
- Inventory system with a variety of consumable items to buff, improve and customize your characters, including the ability to cheat death
- Come up with new party builds using new character classes and skills
- Find safe spots to regain your health and make sure the monsters won't get a drop on you
- Enjoy stylish visuals supported by atmospheric music and rocking battle tunes
- Read the manual, it's there for a reason!
Wishlist:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2783400/Demon_Lord_Reincarnation_Gaiden/- Developer post
Ringlorn Saga Postmortem is Up
Earlier this month I started a personal blog called "Diary of a Graverobber" to share development stories and talk about game design and various things that inspired our games. You can find the Ringlorn Saga postmortem here . Enjoy!
Original postEarlier this month I started a personal blog called "Diary of a Graverobber" to share development stories and talk about game design and various things that inspired our games.
You can find the Ringlorn Saga postmortem here.
Enjoy!
Developer postDer Geist series turn five years old today!
Das Geisterschiff and Der Geist series turn five years old today. In these experimental dungeon crawlers, you play as a mech pilot and complete dangerous missions in a dying world. These games offer unique wireframe-style visuals to simulate the "visual sensor" of your Robotic Co
Original postDas Geisterschiff and Der Geist series turn five years old today.
In these experimental dungeon crawlers, you play as a mech pilot and complete dangerous missions in a dying world.
These games offer unique wireframe-style visuals to simulate the "visual sensor" of your Robotic Combat Suit and atmospheric electronic music in the style of 80's electro-industrial.
The series enjoyed limited success, but these games remain special to me, as they started my career as an indie game developer.
All games are 66% off on Steam right now.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/975230/Das_Geisterschiff__The_Ghost_Ship/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1217070/Der_Geisterturm__The_Ghost_Tower/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1581240/Der_Geisterjger__The_Ghost_Hunter/Also, we are making a new Der Geist game. It's in the early stages of development.
Thank you for your support over the years.
-- Romanus Surt of Graverobber Foundation
Developer postAnnouncement of Ringlorn Saga Gaiden, our next project!
We're excited to announce Ringlorn Saga Gaiden, our next game. Due to the warm reception and interest in the Temple of Rebirth bonus dungeon in the original game, we've decided to make a standalone RPG based on the possession mechanics. Ringlorn Saga Gaiden is an adventure RPG in
Original postWe're excited to announce Ringlorn Saga Gaiden, our next game.
Due to the warm reception and interest in the Temple of Rebirth bonus dungeon in the original game, we've decided to make a standalone RPG based on the possession mechanics.
Ringlorn Saga Gaiden is an adventure RPG inspired by the Japanese PC classics. After dying in a decisive battle, your spirit is separated from your body, and you must exact your revenge on the Dark Lord by possessing his minions.
- A short-but-sweet Action RPG that won't hold your hand, nor waste your time
- Fight enemies to get stronger, possess their bodies, and use their abilities to survive
- Explore an open world, find items that will strengthen your spirit, and complete objectives in any order
- Simple but nuanced game mechanics and controls
- MSX-inspired 8-bit sound
- CRT filter for an authentic retro experience
- If you lose your way, pray to Morrigan
Wishlist:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2262980/Ringlorn_Saga_Gaiden/- Developer post
Japanese Localization Available!
Hi everyone, As promised, the Japanese localization is finally available. The game design took a lot of inspiration from Japanese PC classics, such as Hydlide, and thus it's only natural that the game should be accessible to Japanese players. We want to thank Ryu Ito for his work
Original postHi everyone,
As promised, the Japanese localization is finally available. The game design took a lot of inspiration from Japanese PC classics, such as Hydlide, and thus it's only natural that the game should be accessible to Japanese players.
We want to thank Ryu Ito for his work on the localization and for delivering it as quickly as possible.
Please, enjoy the game, and don't hesitate to share your impressions with us.
Thank you for your interest and support,
Graverobber Foundation Team - Developer post
Japanese Localization Coming in 2023!
Hi everyone, First, we'd like to thank you for your support and interest in Ringlorn Saga. This game was an unexpected success for us, leading to the best launch in our entire history, and it became our second-best-selling game in less than two months. Second, we're working on th
Original postHi everyone,
First, we'd like to thank you for your support and interest in Ringlorn Saga. This game was an unexpected success for us, leading to the best launch in our entire history, and it became our second-best-selling game in less than two months.
Second, we're working on the Japanese localization, as the game was inspired by the Japanese PC classics, and it's only natural that it should reach as many Japanese players as possible.
Since we follow the "do it well or don't do it at all" mentality, we've partnered with a veteran translator Ryu Ito (@Ryu_Ito1976) to ensure that the translation remains faithful to the original, while offering the quality that only a native speaker could achieve.
And last, but not least, we're looking into the possibility to localize the game in more languages and let the community join the fun. If you want to see the game localized to your native language and you're willing to help to make it happen, please let us know.
Happy Holidays!
--RS - Developer post
Update Notes for 22/12/01
Added Ukrainian localization. Special thanks to Bunker Indyka, Urizchenko Alexander, and TellerySpyro for their help with editing. Implemented harsher checks to fix the enemy despawning issue for those who still experience it. Minor script fixes, including an embarrassing mistake
Original post- Added Ukrainian localization. Special thanks to Bunker Indyka, Urizchenko Alexander, and TellerySpyro for their help with editing.
- Implemented harsher checks to fix the enemy despawning issue for those who still experience it.
- Minor script fixes, including an embarrassing mistake in the intro and ending.
- Implemented localization support. This may lead to localizations to other languages in the future.
- Developer post
Update Notes for 22/11/14
Fixed a critical bug that allowed you to save the game during the boss battle and made you unable to progress if you loaded that save, requiring you to restart from the latest autosave.
Original postFixed a critical bug that allowed you to save the game during the boss battle and made you unable to progress if you loaded that save, requiring you to restart from the latest autosave.
- Developer post
Update Notes for 22/11/13
Fixed issues related to enemy despawning. Thanks to muffins4life for reporting this issue.
Original postFixed issues related to enemy despawning.
Thanks to muffins4life for reporting this issue.
- Developer post
Update Notes for November 10, Part 3
Fixed bugs caused by the workaround related to the inability to advance dialogue with certain controllers. However, the keys used to advance the dialogue are now limited to Space / Enter on the keyboard and the A (Xbox Controller / Steam Deck) / Cross (PlayStation Controller) / B
Original postFixed bugs caused by the workaround related to the inability to advance dialogue with certain controllers.
However, the keys used to advance the dialogue are now limited to Space / Enter on the keyboard and the A (Xbox Controller / Steam Deck) / Cross (PlayStation Controller) / B (Switch Pro Controller) buttons. This was made to prevent accidental advancement of the in-game dialogue, e.g. while taking screenshots.
Thank you for your patience and cooperation.
- Developer post
Update Notes for November 10, Part 2
Added analog stick support for character movement based on user requests. Have fun!
Original postAdded analog stick support for character movement based on user requests. Have fun!
- Developer post
Update Notes for November 10
Added a potential workaround for certain users who were unable to advance dialogue when playing with a gamepad. Earlier, some users managed to solve this issue by disabling Steam Input. If the issue persists, please let us know.
Original postAdded a potential workaround for certain users who were unable to advance dialogue when playing with a gamepad.
Earlier, some users managed to solve this issue by disabling Steam Input.
If the issue persists, please let us know.
- Developer post
Update Notes for November 8
* Talking to the Bartender should no longer softlock the game * Improved cursor (un)locking while alt-tabbing in and out of the game Special Thanks to Wulden and Oleksandr Urizchenko for reporting these issues.
Original post* Talking to the Bartender should no longer softlock the game
* Improved cursor (un)locking while alt-tabbing in and out of the gameSpecial Thanks to Wulden and Oleksandr Urizchenko for reporting these issues.
Developer postDevLog #3
Hi everyone! In this DevLog we’ll continue talking about the game design of Ringlorn Saga. Please keep in mind that this post will share some information about the inner workings of this game, so if you want to go in blind, consider reading this post after playing the game. World
Original postHi everyone!
In this DevLog we’ll continue talking about the game design of Ringlorn Saga.
Please keep in mind that this post will share some information about the inner workings of this game, so if you want to go in blind, consider reading this post after playing the game.
World Design
Since the beginning, we knew that we wanted to feature an open world, but it provided its own sets of challenges, such as the world size and content density. If the world ended up being too large, the content density might end up not being high enough to work well with our plan to make the player’s curiosity the main beacon throughout the campaign.
That’s why we’ve decided to look at our main source of inspiration (Hydlide) and use the screen-based world structure and settle on the 5x5 world size for the overworld and the underground area and made the world wrap around itself to tease players with key locations, but create natural obstacles in reaching them. Then, we designed key areas of various sizes, placed them across the world world, and represented them via miniatures on the world map.
This ended up being a nice compromise between the world size and density, as the world never felt too big to the point it takes forever to reach an area that’s teasing you from across the river, yet it allowed for tense dungeoneering experiences through key areas.
We’ve also decided to spawn new enemy types on the world map based on the player level to ensure that the player faces new challenges even if they get lost, and use fixed enemy rosters for dungeons to create the desired difficulty for this area. This eliminated the need to implement easy modes, as the player could always level up a bit on the world map if they found the next story dungeon too challenging.
Scenario Design
Due to the small scope of this project, we’ve decided to settle with a linear story structure, but keep the design as non-linear as possible — instead of running from Point A to Point B in a defined straight line and enjoying a cutscene between each run, your curiosity is your main guide through the game.
This meant that there was little to no space for lore dumps for the sake of lore dumps, and the line between the “main” and “side” content should be either blurred or erased completely. Almost every line of dialogue that contains a bit of lore should lead you somewhere if you decide to look into it, help you reach your next goal, or provide additional context for your actions.
It may seem counter-intuitive at first, as we didn’t want to spell out the exact actions that players should take to reach their objective, but testing showed that some people found these leads easy to follow, while others took longer to figure them out, but found them very rewarding when they did. In both cases, we’ve noticed that testers were surprised that the lines they assumed to be pure flavor text carried actual substance in the game itself.
In the next DevLog, we’ll talk about the technical aspects and tools used to create this game. If there’s anything you want to see in the next DevLog, please let us know.
- Developer post
DevLog #2
Hi everyone! In this DevLog we’ll talk about the game design of Ringlorn Saga. Please keep in mind that this post will share some information about the inner workings of this game, so if you want to go in blind, consider reading this post after playing the game. Initial Game Desi
Original postHi everyone!
In this DevLog we’ll talk about the game design of Ringlorn Saga. Please keep in mind that this post will share some information about the inner workings of this game, so if you want to go in blind, consider reading this post after playing the game.
Initial Game Design
When we started the project, we already had several constants in place: Action RPG, open world, and real-time bump combat. The number of character attributes was also decidedly limited to just three: Health, Strength, and Defence.
This leads to a simple, generic premise: you explore an open world and fight enemies by bumping into them. Your strength determines the power of your attacks, your defence determines the damage reduction of enemy attacks.
Here comes the first challenge: how to make an interesting game out of this?
Combat System
First, we’ve added a switch between the Attack/Defence mode. In Attack mode, you attack at full strength but your defence is halved, and in Defence mode, your strength is halved, but your defence is full.
The next step was to prevent the player from attacking mindlessly. We’ve added a power bar that gets depleted with each attack and recharges over time, which enforced more tactical play: find a moment to land a strong attack or overwhelm the enemy with quick attacks. The recharging speed depends on the percentage of the player’s Health: the lower it is, the faster your power will recharge.
Damage types were added later and the combat system was adjusted toward finding ways to kill enemies faster and exploiting this knowledge. For example, bashing attacks will make Skeletons go down faster, but they will be ineffective against Slimes.
Directional damage was added to reward players for sneaking up on enemies, and retaliation/blocking was added to punish them for mindless frontal attacks.
Additional nuances and details were added along the way to spice up the combat system, but these details are learned best while playing.
Magic System
The ability to use magic was planned since the beginning but only came into the picture later, once the combat system solidified. The magic system was designed to expand players’ options while keeping melee combat the primary focus.
We’ve decided to limit the player’s spellbook to a handful of AoE and support spells, such as stunning all enemies on the screen for a short time or healing the player character’s wounds faster. Even with these limitations, it added more options to get out of a tough situation alive.
The magic bar also depletes after casting a spell and recharges over time, depending on the last spell cast by the player — certain spells can block spellcasting for up to 4 minutes. This is quite a lot, so to prevent magic from feeling “too little, too rare” the magic bar gets a small bump whenever the player kills an enemy.
In the next DevLog, we’ll continue talking about game design. If there’s anything specific you want to see in the next entry, please let us know.
Developer postDevLog #1
Hi everyone! In our first DevLog, we'd like to introduce our new project "Ringlorn Saga" and talk about the thought process behind this game. What is Ringlorn Saga? It is a top-down adventure RPG with an open world that wraps around itself and the bump combat system. As Prince Ge
Original postHi everyone!
In our first DevLog, we'd like to introduce our new project "Ringlorn Saga" and talk about the thought process behind this game.
What is Ringlorn Saga?
It is a top-down adventure RPG with an open world that wraps around itself and the bump combat system. As Prince Gerhard the Brave, you explore the world, crawl through dungeons, find useful items, talk to NPCs for additional information, and slay fiends to get stronger. Your goal is to find your father and investigate the appearance of a magical barrier.
It’s a simple concept, but effective for what we are aiming to do — an RPG that anyone can pick up and play, but spend quite some time finding everything it has to offer, and still wonder if they’ve found everything the game has to offer after finishing it.
Its main source of inspiration is the Hydlide series, a classic series in Japan that got poor reception in the West for a variety of reasons, but mostly due to poor timing — the NES port came out three years after the original, and by that time Legend of Zelda came out and surpassed it.
Why an 8-bit style Action RPG?
Our fans will notice that Ringlorn Saga is a bit of an oddball in our portfolio, as it’s our first project that doesn’t rely on vector / polygonal graphics. It’s also an Action RPG, which is another new thing for us, as prior to that the only action games we’ve developed were Phantom 3D and NeuroWorm.
To put it simply, we’ve decided to try something different. Despite having tons of ideas for the DG series and the DRPG genre, after dedicating 5 years to it with minor distractions, we felt that we were falling into the trap of incremental improvements between games as we didn’t have the resources to make huge leaps forward like we initially planned to.
There are so many games out there, what’s special about this one?
RPGs tend to focus on epic stories that can easily take up to 60+ hours of your time. Ringlorn Saga is aiming towards a short-but-sweet adventure that will keep you occupied for about 6 hours, without any meaningless padding.
And yet, Ringlorn Saga also aims to bring back the feeling of wonder that many of us have experienced while playing these old games. Like seeing a structure in the distance and working our way there, wondering what awaits us inside, wondering if this journey will bring us closer to our goals.
This is what, in our opinion, makes it special.
In future DevLogs, we'll discuss the game and world design. If there’s anything you want to see in the next DevLog, please let us know.