July 30th! That's the day, mark it on the calendar!
Anyway, onto the devlog:
On this day 5 years ago, Melon and I released Contract Rush, a short action web game that we had created as part of a personal game jam. Somehow, the game did pretty dang good! It's a little simple and rough around the edges, but I think the hook and style was enough that people generally enjoyed their time playing it.
We had then thought "Okay, this is a simple concept that we can expand to a few more levels and release on steam. We can even add a few more playable characters! surely we can finish it in 6 months!"
And thus started a 4 year journey that is finally coming to a close...
Now with 6 main levels, intro and ending level, revisit quests for all main levels, 5 playable characters, 24 drinks, 2 endings, and 29 sub-contract levels... the game will be released JULY 30TH, 2025.
It will run you a crisp $20 bill, though it should have a launch discount set up! Frankly quite the steal in today's game market... Some testers DID suggest a $30 price tag, but I'd rather have many people play the game for cheaper, than fewer for more expensive. Also I rarely buy games past 20 bucks so i have to make a game I'D BUY!
We seriously hope you all enjoy the game when it releases, it's been a labor of love for so long and theres a LOT put into it. As you might've seen in the trailer, the FIFTH and final playable character was revealed, Bullet! She is a powerhouse character that rides in a mech, and uses a heavy sniper rifle for powerful charge shots.
She's one of the trickiest characters to learn, but also one of the most rewarding! The game is set up to where it's very fun to hop back into levels on a second playthrough as different characters, as they all approach the game differently. Her inclusion is one of the latest, and so I've been enjoying replaying a lot of the older content as a brand new character. Changes the whole thing up!
Also, one more thing to reveal before launch...
Contract Rush DX: Art Contest
July 16th - July 29th
We will be holding a fanart contest for the game, over on the site Newgrounds!
Submissions will start on the 16th, and end as soon as it hits the 30th. Then, we will judge the entries and reveal the winners at the same time as I post a "game released" devlog on Newgrounds on the 30th!
Prizes are not yet fully decided, but there will be game keys! The contest officially starting on the 16th is just so there's time for us to prepare for it (and you could even prepare your drawing ahead of time), so make sure to wait until then to post your drawing on Newgrounds.
More details on this (such as the tag to post art with, and additional character references) to come on the 16th!
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Who woulda thought we'd actually make it to this day... The game is, as I'd put it, 99.6% complete. Everything is in, it all works, and is just receiving some final bits of polish on top.
Somehow, we got it pretty close to being done a while before launch, so it actually ISN'T a month full of crunch leading to release day. Our crunch was the months leading to today, but July should hopefully be pretty chill!
Thank you for waiting so patiently, playing the demo, playing Mission Sin, or even just watching from the side lines.
I hope the game pleases everyone!
- Figburn
DISCORD SERVER
TWITTER