2025 YEAR-END DEVELOPMENT UPDATE
As we pass the 11th year of development, it's time to provide yet another update. COMPLETED The game is 99% complete and only missing some final musical and text elements as outlined below. All game elements (levels, cutscenes, menus/systems, etc.) have been merged together into
As we pass the 11th year of development, it's time to provide yet another update.
COMPLETED
The game is 99% complete and only missing some final musical and text elements as outlined below. All game elements (levels, cutscenes, menus/systems, etc.) have been merged together into a single, fully-playable build. This is a significant milestone to have a fully playable beta.
Voiceover underwent a casting call and final recordings of NPC characters to complete the roster for cutscenes. All scenes are now fully voiced in English. There are no plans at this time to have cutscenes voiced in other languages.
Final voiceover selections have been completed and are now in the core game. Across all cutscenes, there were over 6 hours of voiceover that required review and editing for final-use composites. This was a staggering undertaking from an editing perspective.
Sound effects have been added to cutscenes.
Hundreds of hours have been dedicated across in-house testing, polish, balancing, optimizing code, and addressing bugs.
REMAINING ITEMS TO COMPLETE
A handful of cutscenes are now ready for musical elements to be composed now that imagery, sound effects, systems and flow have been finalized.
Voiceover will soon undergo final mixing, mastering and effects processing such as reverb, etc. This should be a relatively simple effort and will simply overwrite current audio.
Tomes (5 hidden throughout each level) will need final writing and implementation. These further expand on the lore and world of Anathema. The system for these is already programmed and ready, and simply needs the final text to be inserted into the core game.
Journals (unlocked after completion of each level), similar to Tomes, need final writing and implementation. The system for these is already programmed and ready, and simply needs the final text to be inserted into the core game.
Once a build with all remaining audio/text elements is available, we can aggressively expand on bug-testing and further balancing efforts. There is no benefit in external testing at this phase as we want a complete build of all remaining to-be-completed elements to ensure true and complete testing notes.
A marketing strategy will need developed leading up to release. This will include an updated demo to replace the previously deactivated 2017 demo. We have no date to announce for a new demo at this time, but rest assured that will in advance of release as part of a marketing strategy.
Discuss the potential of console ports with publishers. This won't necessarily slow down the PC/Steam release and most likely will occur after initial release on PC/Steam.
We are not prepared to announce a release date at this time. We've long maintained the stance we refuse to give a release date we don't feel confident we can meet and that remains true. That said, with the game 99% complete, we're closer than ever and no one wants this game finished and out in the wild more than us, but there is still more work to do.
With life events and general day-job obligations becoming increasingly more complex and demanding in recent years, along with the expected burn out of an 11 year development cycle, development unfortunately was slowed significantly. It may be a crawl, but we're almost to the finish line.
Where to begin? If you've kept up with prior development updates, you're aware we are working on this project around our day jobs with our free time. When Covid hit earlier this year, our employers responded like most - reduced work schedules or even furloughs. In a way, this was somewhat of a blessing in disguise because it allowed extra time to make significant milestone progress.
Since March of this year, we have completed all level's designs, layouts, and art assets. I repeat - 
Anathema's backstory revolves around the fallen Angel, Azrael, who unleashed a terrible sickness known as "Devil's Plague." This (un)fortunate soul was able to survive the Devil's Plague only because it was also infected with Lycanthropy.
In the deepest catacombs of the main continent lie the ruins of a misunderstood civilization that was exiled. The outskirts of the Exiled's rubble are teeming with creatures adapted to the hostile volcanic landscape. This demon will certainly scorch any to ashes that dare enter its domain.
In the opening of the Anathema demo, we mention a cult known as "The Black Dawn." These cultists blindly pursue the rebirth of Azrael after his defeat at the hands of Aurora's father, Corbin Delacroix. There are various roles the cultists play - sentries, alchemists, priests, etc. This particular cultist is adept with the art of alchemy and uses it with explosive results, albeit with a headstrong nature.
We would love to show more of the enemies, but also don't want to spoil everything in the game ahead of its release. But don't worry! We will show more as we near the finish line!
***Please note these are not final names, just what we use to refer to them internally.
As mentioned above, we've made two major milestones in 2020 that bring us two very big leaps closer to completing the development of this game. We want to finish this game and get it in your hands as soon as possible, but there are still some things left to do. Currently, development is focused on bosses and cutscenes. These are the final two remaining major milestones for the game. After that it's minor things like revamping the Inventory screen, adding the hidden Tomes that expound on the lore of the game, rounding out the final sound design (even though most is handled as we go), and the level select screen.
It feels really good to be able to say the end is finally in sight. There are still things left to do, but the hardest parts of the development cycle are now done and behind us. I am extremely confident in saying that Anathema should be ready for release sometime in 2021, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
We hope everyone has a safe and Happy Halloween!!!
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In last month's update we shared images of the work-in-progress for the newest level we've been developing - The Ossuary. In this video, we share a brief look of this level in motion, including one of three mini bosses you will encounter. The player can progress through this level's three routes in any order they choose, but must defeat all guardians before they are allowed passage into the next area - the Vampyr Den. Feast your eyes and let us know your thoughts!
[previewyoutube=MzgMBTFNVzU;full][/previewyoutube]
To change things up this month a little bit, our resident composer has whipped up a special remix just for you. For those that have played the demo, you will be familiar with the tune this remix is an arrangement of - Gravekeeper's Hollow. When thinking of games' stage 1 music, it's important to hook the player with a catchy, hummable melody that (hopefully) can get stuck in your head. When Anathema releases, we definitely want to have a bundle that includes the OST for the game. Whether or not it includes remixed versions of tunes from the game is up in the air as of now, but companion pieces are always great to have. Let us know what you think.
[previewyoutube=rCluzhbuN_0;full][/previewyoutube]
There will be more to show in future updates. We will post them here but you can also follow us on Twitter at 
We would like to start by unveiling the re-design of the sprite for Aurora Delacroix. When development of Anathema began in October 2014 we began using pre-made, royalty free assets available on the web to make pre-rendered sprites. As development has progressed we became disenchanted with the design currently in the demo. We knew that it was important to give Aurora some original flair of our own design.
Around May 2018 we reached out to our friend, 
For good measure, here is a comparison of how Aurora's design has evolved throughout the years. As you can see, the design has changed almost entirely since the original concept in 2014, but some design elements were developed into the 2015 revision and maintained into the final design.
We have also redesigned the boss that challenged quite a few players we saw on YouTube Let's Play videos - Aeron, the First Vampyr. The original design was something that just no longer fit the vision for the game, so it needed to be updated as well! Gone is the silly purple/red hair color and odd body-wrap she once wore. This look is much more streamlined and in-line with the character's story.
A proper development would be incomplete without a look at a brand new level you've not seen. There were a few glimpses of upcoming levels at the end of the demo, but this is the first time we've publicly showcased this new level we've been hard at work making.
This is the Ossuary - the level you will find yourself in immediately after the confrontation with Aeron as seen in the demo. When developing ideas for levels, we would always try to come up with elements that would help set it apart from prior levels. The graveyard is basically the training ground that lets players become accustomed to the game's mechanics. The forest begins to test those skills with some tight platforming in the treetops. The swamp slows the player down with jumping between vines and the log ride. What sets the Ossuary apart is it is a non-linear level, unlike the prior three stages.
Anathema is quite often mislabeled as a metroidvania because it is assumed since it has visual elements similar to Castlevania, it must be a metroidvania. In order to be such a game, it would have to be designed for the player to obtain new abilities to access areas they previously could not. Anathema is nothing like this - it is a classic style platformer that plays more like the NES and SNES Castlevania, Ghosts 'n Goblins, MegaMan and Ninja Gaiden games. There are no mechanics that require you to backtrack to access previously inaccessible areas. Players can return to previously completed levels to obtain powerups they previously missed if they wish, similar to Mega Man X, but it is not required for the progression of the game. However, in the Ossuary, players are free to take any of the multiple routes they wish in any order, but they must all be completed before the player can progress to the next area. Each route has a switch that will unlock the exit, guarded by a powerful Vampyr Elder. Throughout the Ossuary are new enemies the player has not previously encountered that we hope will challenge and keep the player's heart rate up. The Weeping Angel can be especially surprising...
As you can see in the above screenshots, the player HUD has been completely redesigned as well. We gained some great feedback from the demo release and used that to make the HUD more intuitive and simplified. The HUD now maps the corresponding buttons the player designates in the controller setup to the corresponding mechanic.
The bottom box with the deathbringer will only be visible once the player obtains their first deathbringer powerup. As the player amasses more in their inventory they will be able to switch between them on the fly in-game. Deathbringers will still operate on a cool-down mechanic like in the current demo which was changed from the original release that consumed souls that were shared with subweapons.
As we move into the five year anniversary when development began, it goes without saying that this game is taking quite a while to make. There are three main people working on this game consistently in our spare time outside of our day jobs and family lives. Game development is difficult and elongated, but it's fun and rewarding as well. We ask that you please be patient with us as we continue to hammer away at the game. We're making great progress and have even set an internal goal for a release date; but since that is an internal goal and not concrete we can't share that now. We don't want to make promises we can't keep (sometimes consistent development updates are hard enough to keep up with), but rest assured once we know a solid release window we're going to share it!
Currently we're dividing into different tasks to cover more ground. The voice-over for the script has been recorded and cutscenes are in their pre-visualization stage. There will be a Story Mode as well as an Arcade Mode that skips the story and focuses solely on the gameplay, but the story is quite hefty and was a monumental task in of itself to write, edit and direct the voice over. Just look at the size of the script with standard script formatting...
We appreciate all the feedback and anticipation Anathema is receiving. It's truly humbling and rewarding that people are interested in playing this game that we have devoted the last five years of our spare time making. Sometimes life gets in the way and makes it hard to make the progress we want to make, but in the end we think it will be worth the wait and hope you will too.
We have plans to release an updated demo in the future, but aren't quite certain exactly when that will be. Most of the update work has been completed, but there will be a new area added before where the demo currently starts which will be developed in the coming weeks along with updated cutscenes.
Thanks everyone for your support and engagement. We really do appreciate it and hope you stick with us the rest of the ride!
We have more things to show on this level but don't want to show all our cards just yet. You'll just have to stay tuned for further footage as development progresses for a more in-depth look. ːsteamhappyː
Thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!
See you in June!
-Matt
Here are a couple stills for better quality also.
Thank you all for reading. I hope you enjoyed this look behind the scenes at a new enemy and how this will allow for a more fully realized vision of the game working with Craig. Please stop by and check out his game, Survival: The Living Dead Redux. It is quite an addictive game and helped forge our working relationship together. I even did some music for his game.
You can find it here: