Greetings Wanderers!
We've been overwhelmed with the initial response to our Announcement Trailer; both Polish fans of Jarosław Grzedowicz's novels and gamers not familiar with the source material seem to be really interested in the project and want to learn more details about the game itself.
I am Pawel 'Devizz', Game and Design Director of The Night Wanderer, here to shed some light on the general direction we're taking and what kind of game we're actually making.
1. Why a Soulslike?
First off we'd like to share our thought process behind choosing to make a Soulslike. Personally I am a huge fan of From Software, having played most of their games. I've spent hundreds of hours in all Dark Souls installments (in some cases close to a thousand).
Soulslike means something different to every player, to some it's about the nuanced gameplay mechanics and boss fights, to others it's the level design. In my mind the experience of being a lonesome wanderer exploring an unknown land is just as important. This is very much in line with what Vuko goes through upon arriving in Midgaard.
He's thrust into this alien world and overwhelmed by it, realizing magic, in some sense, is actually real. He has to come to grips with a new reality unfolding before his very eyes. Which brings us to another pivotal component of any Soulslike; overcoming hardship.
It never ceases to amaze me how Hidetaka Miyazaki was capable of innovating on the Action RPG formula by taking a step back and coming up with mechanisms which would seem not optimal given the trends. Souls games combine fast paced combat with tactical, methodical decision making which would seem contradictory. We seek to replicate that.
At the same time we want to introduce a wider audience to the genre. Which is why we utilize solutions that will make the game more accessible, especially to those that have not played Soulslikes before. That means an improved UX (User Experience) which provides more information via HUD (Heads-up Display) and other means, a less forgiving fail state, gameplay tools that mitigate difficulty spike blockers, soulsborn-level challenges being fully optional and more.
Not too fond of soulslikes? We get it, the market can feel a tad bit oversatured at times. Perhaps you gave them a go but stopped playing after a couple of hours? Then The NIght Wanderer is for you!
We're trying to lower the barrier of entry and make the formula less confusing during the initial hours of playtime. With that being said, if you're a hardcore Soulsborne player familiar with those games and expect to be pushed to your limit, you won't be disappointed; optional, intense challenges will lurk around every corner.
2. Unique Features
First off, Cyphral. You've seen a glimpse of it in the trailer, as Deirdre implants it into Vuko. Cyphral intertwines all the gameplay features, affecting multiple sets of systemic logic. It will aid you in battle, making an otherwise extremely difficult encounter trivial but potentially at a long-term cost; you'll also have to decide when to actually trigger Cyphral in combat since the resource utilized by it is limited.
If you feel confident in your skills as a warrior, you can choose to use Cyphral to aid you in exploring Midgaard instead, unlocking additional shortcuts, uncovering secrets, putting you on the most optimal path and providing additional information on fauna and flora.
Cyphral is also an integral part of your very being and has the potential to change the course of the narrative. Dialogue options can be influenced by Cyphral and the choices you make will have drastic consequences. It will also affect the player progression and other aspects of gameplay but we're not quite ready to reveal more in that regard.
Then there is Corruption which is caused by Midgaard's magic, weaving its way through everything on the planet, including Cyphral. We're merging sci fi with fantasy tropes and magic is an inherent part of our game world. Also, one of the game's central themes is the allure of absolute power that is bound to corrupt those with human-like desires.
Corruption, like Cyphral, will be tied to multiple gameplay systems and mechanics, often forcing you to make difficult but meaningful choices. You might stumble upon a unique upgrade that will force you to choose between its two variants; one of them will be more effective but will permanently raise Cyphral's Corruption which can lead to other, unwanted outcomes.
Finally, The Night Wanderer's Quest Design is unlike in any other Soulslike; world of The Lord of the Ice Garden is extremely rich and complex and to give it justice we have a full fledged narrative team commited to crafting questlines akin to those seen in story-driven RPG games. Emotional engagement of the player is something really important to us and as such all quests are written with mature, not so black and white motifs taken from the most pressing issues we face in everyday life. Cyphral's Corruption will also tie into this.
3. Game Structure & Level Design
It goes without saying that Level Design is one of the defining factors of any Soulslike. Few can achieve what From Software did with its masterful skill in that specific area, making the exploration more engaging and rewarding than in any other game.
When we began pre-production, one of the first things we asked ourselves was whether we can step up to the challenge and craft levels on par with those seen in From Software games. We've spent a lot of time studying various blockouts and their pacing, teaming up with senior level designers well versed in Metroidvania-style design.
In The Night Wanderer, exploration is a key component of the gameplay loop. Other than the hand crafted, well-thought geometry itself, we also want to bring something new to the table. Each level in the game has unique environmental gameplay mechanics that force the player to adapt their playstyle accordingly.
From Software levels are a set of Interconnected mazes and while we are NOT creating an open world type structure of multiple Metroidvania levels as seen in Elden Ring, we will deliver a non linear gameplay flow with actual agency on what part of the world to delve into first.
Our levels and combat arenas will have multiple approach points, interconnectivity, shortcuts and optional paths. All of this will culminate in a boss fight that is followed by a moment of respite with some cool stuff tied to progression. Elevation also plays a pivotal role in achieveing this since it is smoothly interjected into the looping aspect of the level and the previously mentioned shortcuts.
4. Production Approach
Making a Soulslike, or rather a good Soulslike is not easy. In fact, it is extremely difficult as any experienced game developer will tell you.
We took our time analyzing nuanced Soulslike mechanics; we want to get the essence of the formula right so that the gameplay feels as polished as possible. Any good Soulslike needs meticulous animations and hitboxes since the combat itself operates on frames which in turn was inspired by old school fighting games.
As a player you have to pay close attention to patterns and learn the exact timings of enemy attack animations; a single frame can mean the difference between death or victory.
Within this formula, EVERY AI enemy melee attack has inherent movement included in the attack animation itself, also known as root motion - this is due to the player character constantly being on the move, adjusting their positioning.
If there was no such motion, the player would rarely actually get hit by incoming attacks resulting in a poor gameplay experience.
Each animation is also divided into three distinct phases, the first signaling to the player an incoming attack, the second being the attack itself with an active hitbox and the third a downtime if you will when the player can take advantage of the static enemy to deal damage to them.
We created our own custom set of technical tools to be able to freely speed up/slow down timings of all these phases as we fine-tune gameplay balance and feel. One of our main design goals for early prototypes was that the combat needs to be intuitive and responsive.
With our animation studio 'Mroya', we feel confident in delivering animations of an extremely high fidelity and quality.
The above is just one example of how we approach production, taking our time with prototyping such solutions.
Stay tuned for more updates as we reveal more about the game itself and gameplay features teased in this post! Be sure to join us on our discord server to discuss the contents of the dev log with the community.