Greetings, Exorcists!
As promised, to celebrate our showcase at Gamescom 2026, the global Steam Playtest for Karma Exorcist is OFFICIALLY LIVE!
Simply head to our Steam store page, click "Join the Playtest", and you can download the build and start playing immediately.
Since our initial reveal back in April, the team at Cyclos has been working around the clock. This Playtest build isn't just about showing off a new area—we’ve completely overhauled the core gameplay experience based on rigorous internal iteration.
🔥 What's Included in this Playtest Build:
New Areas: Includes the full Tutorial Area and the complete Area 2—Ghost Gate (鬼门关).
Fierce Encounters: Prepare to face off against 4 challenging Bosses. Get your parries ready.
Artifact Hunting: Discover and collect 7 unique Artifacts.
New Mechanics: Introducing the "Relic Traits" system, adding a brand-new layer of build variety and combat strategy.
Audio Upgrade: Massively overhauled Sound Effects (SFX) for combat/environment, alongside brand-new original BGM.
🛠️ How has the game evolved since the April Reveal?
Massive Combat & Movement Overhaul
This was our main focus over the last few months. We have completely remade the attack modules for the Relics and significantly expanded their attack patterns. Furthermore, the protagonist’s core movements—running, dodging, rolling, and jumping—have been deeply optimized. The controls are now significantly tighter, smoother, and far more responsive.
Level Design & Environment Polishing
We’ve adjusted the overall level layouts and the pacing of resource drops to make exploration feel much more natural. We also iterated on various trap and obstacle mechanics, and fully remade several environmental art assets to deepen the dark, atmospheric immersion.
Enemy & Boss Upgrades
To match the protagonist's upgraded combat capabilities, we rebuilt several enemy 3D models from scratch and rebalanced combat across the board. Most importantly, we deeply iterated on Boss movesets, drastically increasing the tension and strategic depth of these encounters.
💬 We Need Your Feedback!
As an indie hardcore action game, player feedback is our most valuable resource. After playing the demo, if you feel a specific attack is clunky, a boss is unbalanced, or if you encounter any bugs, please let us know!
Join our official Discord community to share your thoughts directly with the devs: https://discord.gg/WgFFd84pGb
Lastly, if you enjoy the Playtest, please consider adding Karma Exorcist to your Steam Wishlist! It helps our small team out tremendously.
Draw your blades, Exorcists. We'll see you at Ghost Gate.
Cheers,
Cyclos