Greetings, Kinfolk,
Earlier this year, we shared our latest dev update during Future Games Show's Spring Showcase, where we gave a closer look at some new finishers, weapons, environments and heard directly from a few members of the team.
If you haven’t seen it yet, you can check it out here:
What is Blight: Survival?
With our presence at Future Games Show, we’ve also seen a big wave of new wishlisters joining us, and with that, a lot of questions around what Blight actually is.
Blight: Survival is a mission-based, PVE action-horror co-op game set in a world overrun by the Blight, an infection ravaging the world and turning humans into monsters.
You begin each run in your stronghold (the hub) where you gear up and prepare before heading out into the infected lands.
From there, each mission drops you into a handcrafted area where you’re free to explore, scavenge, take on side objectives and push deeper toward your main goal.
Along the way, you’ll be managing resources, dealing with unpredictable encounters, and making decisions on the fly. Whether you choose to leave early and secure what you found or risk pushing further for better rewards, the choice is yours.
While fully playable solo, teaming up with friends opens up tactical possibilities through loadout synergy and teamwork, but no matter how you go in, the world is meant to feel harsh, tense and unforgiving.
The World and Environments
Throughout development, we’ve shown glimpses of open fields, but we’re continuing to build out the world in all directions.
That includes tighter, more enclosed spaces like castles, corridors, dungeons, caves and settlements. Areas that shift the pace and feel of encounters.
World design has been a major focus for the team, especially as we work to balance the scale with density, and build a world that supports both solo and multiplayer experiences without losing tension.
These interior spaces are also intended to contrast with the more open, expansive areas you’ve seen so far, which helps create a world that constantly shifts in tone and pressure.
Below is a glimpse of two of the many areas that our artists are currently working on.
The Blight
The team is also continuing to expand the systems that drive how the Blight spreads across the world and its environments. Below is a snippet of a work in progress tool that lets us control the number of Blight tendrils spreading through the environment, as well as the speed at which they spread. This is a visual placeholder but we will have new Blight visuals to share in the upcoming months so stay tuned!
Weapons and Combat
In our latest trailer we showed a few different weapon types, each offering their own strengths and playstyles. The goal remains the same: brutal, weighty melee combat that rewards timing, positioning and feels great in solo and co-op.
One-handed swords are faster and more reactive, and will shine in close quarters. Daggers take this even further, trading reach for speed and precision, and a personal touch on unsuspecting enemies.
We also revealed the Zweihänder, marking the first time we’ve shown a two-handed weapon in Blight, and we’re continuing to expand on the variety of weapons you’ll be able to use in Blight (including ranged weapons).
Combat continues to be one of the biggest areas of focus for the team. Over the past several months we've made significant improvements as we continue refining the overall feel, flow and pacing of encounters.
Our goal is to create combat that feels grounded, responsive and satisfying to master, while still encouraging teamwork, positioning and smart decision making rather than simple button mashing.
Make your own Rock Contest
If you’re a member of our Discord, you might notice a familiar landmark, the legendary community-designed rock with a crack, the winning submission of our Design a Rock content.
It may not be the most conventional addition, but after all the submissions (and passionate debate amongst the team), we couldn’t resist giving the winning design a home in our newest biome.
Playtests
We've continued running small scale playtests with members of our Playtest Squad as we iterate on core systems and gather feedback, and we plan to open things up more broadly as development progresses later this year.
If you're interested in taking part down the road, make sure to join our Discord and sign up for the Playtest Squad. That's where we'll share more details whenever new opportunities become available.
We’re incredibly grateful for the support, and we’re looking forward to sharing more as things continue to take shape!
Until the next one,
-The Blight: Survival Team