Greetings,
Today is the start of the Deckbuilder's Fest here on Steam. With that, we are so excited for you all to experience the brand new demo we’ve built for this event, if you’re reading this, the new demo is out and available now! The team has put in a ton of work, updating this demo from our previous version. We've focused a lot of attention on redesigning and overhauling the combat, the deck building and card crafting menus, adding new indicators and information, updating the HUD and UI, and adding additional content!
Today, you can also join Rob and Felipe from Ganymede Games as they stream the new demo, right here on Steam, to talk through some of the design philosophy and updates made in this latest iteration. They’ll also walk you through some of their favorite builds!
We’re excited to hear your feedback on the new demo. Join us on Discord to get development infights, post suggestions for the game, and chat with the devs!
In the meantime it would help us a LOT if you could wishlist the game:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1454960/Dark_Sky/
With the new demo and update there are a lot of changes, too many to list, but here is a short tally of some of the major changes, updates, and overhauls from the previous version.
New content in demo:
- New level called ‘The Shipyard’. This is where the demo begins now, it's the first level of the game, where we set up the story, present Squig and Norton, and teach the basic mechanics of Dark Sky.
- The Shipyard also features 3 brand new enemy units, the Guild’s Security (or GSEC) bots.
- New level called ‘Moros’. After the party leaves the shipyard, the player arrives at the Town of Moros. This is a purely narrative level where players will experience a series of conversations that move the story forward and set up the mission for Act 1. Agama is introduced here, as well as some new NPCs. Finally, the player can access a new feature here, the Blueprint Shop, where they can buy card blueprints to craft new cards for their decks.
- Wolf Hollow has had some tweaking in the general flow of the level, and the conversations in it. The Boss battle has been slightly tweaked with new mechanics as well.
Major Demo Feature Updates:
Combat:
- Added a new combat mechanic called Ignite Reaction - players can use it by combining Static or Poison, with Burn, which can then deal a large burst of damage as a combo.
- New and improved movement system using ‘Movement Points’
- Improvements made on enemy abilities - targeting and intent indicators mostly.
- Improved card range indicators.
- Added a Mr. Squiggles Card for Squig
Dialogue:
- Have added an auto-play mode that can be turned on/off.
- Dialogue scenes can now be skipped.
- The conversation log can now be hidden.
Overworld:
- Improved interactive objects indicators.
- Changed player avatar movement to be point-and-click based.
- Improved visual feedback of looted objects.
Deckbuilding & Menus:
- Added 2nd tier upgrade for each character, allowing you to further customize your build
- Redesigned the Deckbuilder menu and the Upgrade and Crafting functions within it.
- Added more customizable options to the Options Menu.
- Added the Quest Menu and quest logs.
We hope this change list provides a look into the updates and redesigns we've made and our drive to make Dark Sky the best it can be!
In the meantime, if you want some help on putting together some builds within Dark Sky we've enlisted the help of the team to put together a nice build guide to help provide just a glimpse of what you'll get later this year with the full release of Dark Sky. Included in this guide are detailed breakdowns of each card's capabilities, optimal pairing suggestions with other cards, their upgrades, and tactical advice to maximize their potential.
Build Guide
These builds include cards that you will receive at the card shop in the second demo level (Moros), and we’ve indicated the priority order of cards to craft and upgrade. Be sure to gather all of the resources in the overworld so that you can craft every card. Lastly, these builds are created with level 7 in mind so that they can be used to take on the final fight in the demo!
Keep Calm and Recycle
Build Overview
This build is based entirely on Flashbang and its Recycle upgrade, which gives Squig one Power and two Vulnerable stacks when the card is discarded. Power stacks are especially deadly when combined with Laser Burst, since Power stacks increase the damage of every hit from an attack. In one deck rotation (3 Power stacks gained), your upgraded Laser Burst will deal a whopping twenty damage!
The main DPS in this composition is Squig, who will stay in the back at all times to avoid taking damage. Norton is using a defensive build, though he has two strong attack cards in Chain Lightning and Shocking Claw, which can turn around a combat should Squig fall to long range damage. He should be placed in the middle grid slots, since the front will be handled by Agama. She has three fully upgraded Evade cards to stay alive as long as possible while Squig gains Power stacks, and she also speeds up that process with three fully upgraded Quick Wits, which are very helpful when trying to cycle through the deck. Be very careful with Flashbangs though, they are Volatile! If you end your turn with one copy in your hand it will be removed for the rest of the combat.
Squig
Laser Burst (x3)
- Tier 1: - EP Cost (1st)
- Tier 2: Damage (4th)
Flashbang (x3)
- Tier 1: Push (2nd)
- Tier 2: Recycle Effect (3rd)
Shine a Light (x2) (Obtained via Card Shop)
Norton
Block (x3)
- Tier 1: Block per Charge (2nd)
- Tier 2: Charge on Hit (3rd)
Charge (x3)
- Tier 1: Charge (1st)
- Tier 2: Card Draw (4th)
Chain Lightning (x1)
Shocking Claw (x1) (Obtained via Card Shop)
Agama
Evade (x3)
- Tier 1: Evasion (1st)
- Tier 2: Movement Refund (4th)
Quick Wits (x3)
- Tier 1: - EP Cost (2nd)
- Tier 2: Encore (3rd)
Push (x2)
Ride the (chain) lightning
Build Overview
This build centers around Norton and his attack card Chain Lightning, which deals more damage the more Charge stacks he has. With three fully upgraded Charge cards to maximize the Charge gained, this attack can cause a lot of mayhem on any combat!
The main damage dealer will be Norton, who will stay on the back row gaining Charge stacks until he has enough to defeat a couple of enemies. This build is more defensive, since it takes a while for Norton to gain the necessary Charge stacks. Agama and Squig will be placed at the front of the battlefield in order to prevent Norton from taking damage. They are loaded with defensive cards like Block, Evade, Mending Mesh and Flashbang in order to gain as much time as possible for Norton to ramp up.
One very important card is Shine a Light, which lets you stun an enemy without downsides when fully upgraded. Finally, we round out the build with three fully upgraded Quick Wits to cycle through the deck faster and get Norton more Charge stacks.
Squig
Block (x2)
- Tier 1: Block (2nd)
Mending Mesh (x2) (Obtained via Card Shop)
- Tier 1: Block (5th)
Flashbang (x1)
- Tier 1: Push (1st)
Shine a Light (x3) (Obtained via Card Shop)
- Tier 1: - EP Cost (3rd)
- Tier 2: Effect (4th)
Norton
Charge (x3)
- Tier 1: Charge (1st)
- Tier 2: - EP Cost (3rd)
Block (x2)
- Tier 1: Charge (2nd)
Chain Lightning (x2)
- Tier 1: Range (4th)
Shocking Claw (x1) (Obtained via Card Shop)
- Tier 1: Range (5th)
Agama
Quick Wits (x3)
- Tier 1: - EP Cost (2nd)
- Tier 2: Encore (3rd)
Evade (x3)
- Tier 1: Evasion (1st)
- Tier 2: Movement Refund (4th)
Push (x2)
The Roof is On Fire
Build Overview
This build takes advantage of the Ignite reaction to deal lots of damage really fast. Squig can cause the Burn status with all of his attacks, Norton can inflict Static with Sparky Jack and Agama can Poison with all of her attack cards. This build is a little more RNG heavy than the previous two since you need to draw different cards from all characters to cause the Ignite reaction, so the redraw mechanic is especially helpful here.
Squig has the Burn upgrade on both Attack and Laser Burst to Ignite. We don’t carry three copies of Laser Burst because it’s an expensive card and the Burn upgrade blocks us from taking the cost reduction upgrade. Norton has the extra target upgrade on Sparky Jack for more Static Clouds. We don’t take Norton’s Attack cards with the Static upgrade since that would leave us without Skill Points to upgrade our defensive cards. Agama has the Poison Cloud upgrade of Poison Grenade to be able to target any field on the grid and the Poison upgrade on Attack. Finally, we upgrade Evade because Agama will be the dedicated frontline for this build, Squig and Norton are less tanky and benefit from the range.
Squig
Attack (x3)
- Tier 1: Range (1st)
- Tier 2: Burn (2nd)
Laser Burst (x2)
- Tier 1: Burn (3rd)
Block (x2)
- Tier 1: Block (5th)
Mending Mesh (x1) (Obtained via Card Shop)
- Tier 1: Regen (4th)
Norton
Sparky Jack (x3) (Obtained via Card Shop)
- Tier 1: Range (2nd)
- Tier 2: Target (3rd)
Charge (x2)
- Tier 1: Charge (1st)
Block (x3)
- Tier 1: Block per Charge (4th)
Agama
Poison Grenade (x3) (Obtained via Card Shop)
- Tier 1: - EP Cost (1st)
- Tier 2: Poison Cloud (2nd)
Attack (x2)
- Tier 1: Poison (3rd)
Evade (x2)
- Tier 1: Evasion (4th)
Quick Wits (x1)
- Tier 1: - EP Cost (5th)
Pest Control
Build Overview
This build focuses on the Poison status effect inflicted by Agama’s attacks. Every turn, it deals damage to the enemy affected by it equal to the number of stacks. By applying a lot of Poison with Agama’s Poison Grenade and Attack, this can snowball very quickly and lead to +20 damage per turn passively.
In most builds Agama is the frontline thanks to her incredibly useful Evasion, but here we actually want to position her behind Squig. He will be doing all of the tanking thanks to his insane Block + Regen when stacking multiple upgraded Mending Mesh cards. We’ll also be taking advantage of Mending Mesh’s double target upgrade to place Norton on the frontline, so he can both tank for Agama and gain Charge via Block’s upgrades. This will help him tank better but also charge up for a big Chain Lightning or Shocking Claw finisher if it ends up being necessary. From the second row, Agama can move back and forth depending on if she needs to use a melee Attack or a ranged Poison Grenade. She’ll have all of the space required for it since Squig and Norton will remain on the frontline.
Squig
Mending Mesh (x3) (Obtained via Card Shop)
- Tier 1: Block (2nd)
- Tier 2: Target (3rd)
Flashbang (x3)
- Tier 1: Push (1st)
- Tier 2: Range (4th)
Shine a Light (x1) (Obtained via Card Shop)
Block (x1)
Norton
Charge (x3)
- Tier 1: Charge (1st)
- Tier 2: - EP Cost (3rd)
Block (x3)
- Tier 1: Block per Charge (2nd)
- Tier 2: Charge on Hit (4th)
Chain Lightning (x1)
Shocking Claw (x1) (Obtained via Card Shop)
Agama
Attack (x3)
- Tier 1: Poison (2nd)
Poison Grenade (x3) (Obtained via Card Shop)
- Tier 1: Poison (1st)
- Tier 2: Retain (3rd)
Quick Wits (x2)
- Tier 1: - EP Cost (4th)
Attack of the Clones
Build Overview
This build revolves around Squig’s Mr Squiggles card, which creates a holographic clone on a chosen field in front of him. With the Turret upgrade, every clone creates a Turret Attack card at the start of the turn. Playing the card causes all active clones to attack in a line in front of them. Combining this with Mending Mesh to keep the clones alive, we can have an army of clones that can deal damage to the entire board!
You might think that the smart play here would be to keep the clones on the frontline, but since we actually want them to stay alive to deal damage the best play here is to keep Squig on the backline and place the clones right in front of him. The frontline will be handled by Norton and Agama, who are using defensive builds to better protect the clones. The only outlier is Norton, who’s carrying a double upgraded Chain Lightning that can chain through himself. This is because the clones deal a lot of AoE linear damage, so there will usually always be an enemy left at the backline that won’t get hit by the attacks. This is what the Chain Lightning solves. Squig is also carrying some defensive utility in the form of two Shine a Light cards, that can really help for some of the stronger attacks that need to be stopped at all costs. The build’s plan is to spawn the clones, give them block if necessary and then start spamming Turret Attacks.
Squig
Mr. Squiggles (x3) (Obtained via Card Shop)
- Tier 1: Clone Armor (1st)
- TIer 2: Clone Attack (2nd)
Mending Mesh (x3) (Obtained via Card Shop)
- Tier 1: Block (3rd)
- Tier 2: Target (4th)
Shine a Light (x2) (Obtained via Card Shop)
Norton
Charge (x3)
- Tier 1: Charge (1st)
- Tier 2: - EP Cost (2nd)
Block (x3)
Chain Lightning (x1)
- Tier 1: Range (3rd)
- Tier 2: Conduit (4th)
Shocking Claw (x1) (Obtained via Card Shop)
Agama
Push (x3)
- Tier 1: - EP Cost (1st)
- TIer 2: Retain (4th)
Evade (x2)
- Tier 1: Evasion (2nd)
Quick Wits (x2)
- Tier 1: - EP Cost (3rd)
Attack (x1)
- Tier 1: Poison (5th)
Conclusion
We hope the build guide and change notes give you a starting point to try out in the demo! Let us know how these builds worked out for you!
And remember, this demo only contains some of the cards for the characters, there are more cards for each character to unlock, craft, and upgrade! If you thought chain lightning was cool, wait till you learn about Norton’s thunderstorm ability and Agama’s Thousand Winds. When you combine that with three new characters beyond the trio of Squig, Norton, and Agama -- there’s a ton of synergies and powerful builds to uncover in the full game release!
The demo is available now on Steam, so please let us know if you have any thoughts or feedback. You can join our Discord to give us feedback directly, or head over the Steam Discussions section and let us know what you think.
-Ganymede Games & Midwest Games