NARON is now live on Steam
First, a quick introduction: I'm Lars, I'm making NARON on my own, and this is the moment I've been both dreading and looking forward to for months. The Steam page is live. You can finally take a look at the game.
NARON is a co-op mining roguelite for 1-4 players. You descend into a dying moon aboard a drillship, pushing through twenty depths. Each depth comes with an objective. Complete it, and the ship drills deeper. If the crew goes down, the run is over - and you start again with everything you've learned.
What you do down there
Lower the ramp. In front of you is a cave that didn't exist a few seconds ago.
Complete the objective. It's your ticket to the next depth - the ship won't move until the job is done.
Take what matters. Ore, side objectives, and any equipment a previous crew no longer needs.
Get back and seal the hatch. At the route table, the crew decides where to descend next.
Why I'm making it
The shortest pitch I have is this: Deep Rock Galactic meets the route map from Slay the Spire.
I wanted to make a co-op game where the decision before the descent matters just as much as everything that happens afterward. That's why the route table exists: You can see two depths ahead, including the biome, objective, and hazards waiting for you - then the crew votes on which path to take. The safer route offers less. The harder one offers more. Once you've chosen, there's no turning back.
I've spent more time on this system than anything else, and it's the part I'm most excited to see people play.
What NARON is not, however, is a horror game. It gets cramped and stressful, but the moon isn't trying to scare you. It's simply collapsing - and you're standing inside it.
What happens next
[p>A playable demo is coming in October. The full release is planned for 2027 - yes, that's still a long way off. I'm making NARON alone and alongside everything else in my life, and I'd rather do it properly than rush it. Better to be honest now than quietly delay it later.\[/p]
Until then, I'll be posting regular updates here about what I'm currently working on.
Three things that genuinely help
1 - Wishlist NARON. I know every developer says this. But without a publisher, wishlists are what make the difference between being seen and being overlooked: Steam uses them as a signal when deciding which games to show people. You'll also be notified automatically as soon as the demo is available.
2 - Join the Discord. I share things there much earlier, ask for feedback on balancing decisions, and look for people to join playtests. If you want to break the demo before anyone else gets to play it - that's where it happens.
3 - Share it. If you know someone who has played Deep Rock Galactic or Lethal Company to death, send it their way. Honestly, a screenshot dropped into your group chat helps me more than anything I can post myself.
Thanks for reading. The core keeps collapsing - see you down below.
- Lars