Hello Gunslingers!
Last week, we conducted closed playtests of Undead West on our Discord, and we received fantastic feedback from our players. However, we’re eager to hear even more thoughts on the game to help us improve it and make it as enjoyable as possible.
💀 Playtest
Today, we’re excited to announce that the Undead West open playtest will be launching on Steam on Monday, September 16th, and everyone is invited to join for free! It will become available on Undead West Steam page, all you'll have to do is just click "Request Access" button to automatically add a Playtest application to your library.
In the open playtest, players will gain access to the tutorial and two stages - Stage 1 and Stage 4 - each with its own unique levels, enemies, and epic bosses. Every participant will also have the chance to test six different weapons and six types of whiskey that enhance some of the abilities of the main character. We’ve already shared some insights on how these guns and whiskeys work in Undead West.
But before you dive in, it might be wise to get familiar with the main character and what led him to embark on this endless journey.
💀 Story
Welcome to Undead West, a bullethell roguelite with some of the crispiest noir pixelart and banger western tunes you’ve ever heard. First let’s start with an introduction to the story, and the main protagonist of the game.
You play as a gunslinger, who often picks up bounties to track down and bring in outlaws - dead or alive. A large reward has been placed on the head of one such outlaw known only as ‘The Man in Red’, a figure who has been going on a destructive rampage across the nearby region. Sounds all well and good, a killer who must be brought down and who better than the exceptionally skilled gunslinger that is yourself?
In the process of tracking down The Man in Red, the Gunslinger takes out various groups of bandits until he discovers the location of his target. Six-shooter revolver in hand, and a bottle of whiskey in his saddlebag the Gunslinger sets off to confront the Man in Red. In the desert canyons what he finds is not just a man, but something with pure evil behind those eyes.
You reach for your gun but the Man in Red moves with supernatural speed and you slump to your knees, blood pouring out of the bullet wound in your chest. Fire flickers in Red’s eyes, a devilish grin creeps into the corners of his mouth before that red cape turns and walks off into the dust.
The world fades to darkness and in this empty void there is nothing. A pinprick of white light tunnels your vision. It expands and your eyes focus on the shadowed skull of a stygian-robed figure grasping a scythe.
Death.
Death explains to you that the Red outlaw was no mere mortal, but a shell, a husk now possessed by a Nightmare that escaped it’s imprisonment in the Underworld. You have been given a second chance, and as such have been revived to act as Death’s vassal on the mortal plane, to return from the grave, hunt down the Nightmare and destroy it.
It will not be an easy task, for the Nightmare has the power to raise corpse and bone as undead under it’s command, and these undead will try to stop you at every turn.
Thus the journey begins.
💀 Another playtest
Next week, we’ll not only be playtesting Undead West, but also Janosik 2, another upcoming title from Retrovibe. It’s an action-platformer with metroidvania elements, inspired by the myths of the famed Slovak highlander, Janosik himself. Check it out on Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1640400/Janosik_2/
💀 UNTIL NEXT TIME!
That's all for today. Thanks for reading, and see you next time.
-koschei, lead developer and artist
Wishlist now!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2527880/Undead_West/
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