Press release

DEMO RELEASE ANNOUNCEMENT

(FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLIC USE)
Black Dragon Mage is a gorgeous light fantasy-themed, top-down, action-roguelite shooter of the "bullet heaven" subgenre, featuring 16 bit-esque retro visuals and copious amounts of relentless demonic mobs, elites, surprising boss fights and delightful build variety.
 
Datablob Studio (solo indie developer, Germany) is pleased to announce:
The STEAM DEMO for BLACK DRAGON MAGE is now available!
 
DRAGON PLUS MAGE
🐉 Fly Your Very Own Epic Dragon Companion into Battle
🔥 Level Your Elemental Magic Staff & Spells Until Overpowered
💀 Ceaselessly Slay Demonic Hordes in Kinetic Combat and...
... become the BLACK DRAGON MAGE!

 
DEMO SCOPE

 
Players have the chance to explore two of the environments in the demo:
The Desert of Legion & Graveheart Hollow.
 
Four of the main weapons are unlocked and allow players to upgrade their element of choice: Fire, Ice, Void and Lightning. Several meta-upgrades can be purchased in the Hall of Relics as a form of rogue-lite progression and combined by players on each new run.
 
INSPIRATIONS
 
The game stands on the shoulders of immensely popular titles such as Death Must Die, Vampire Survivors, 20 Minutes Till Dawn, Brotato, ARPGs á la Diablo and Path of Exile, as well as lots of classics from the SNES era - including a bomb mechanic inspired by Bomberman. The dazzling retro visuals make the most of modern, dynamic particle effects and shaders with real-time pixel lighting (normal-mapped).
 
GAMEPLAY HIGHLIGHTS
 
The epic dragon mount takes on the energy of the main staff and serves as an ultimate attack, it can be summoned temporarily by filling up the mana bar, via consuming potions.
 
Besides the unique dragon-riding ultimate attack, combat centers around player agency - attacks are manually aimed and players manage their ammo and timing carefully. Spells are triggered in real-time via the hotbar and play a core strategic role in surviving the 15:00 minute timer on the battlefield.
 
Players can pick their own combination of three spells to populate the hotbar in any desired order as they level up, gaining experience and loot drops. Spells can be defensive, magical and offensive in nature.
 
ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK
 
Black Dragon Mage features an OST produced by datablob & title theme by composer Zach Goodfellow. 


 
IMPORTANT LINKS
 
 
  • Demo: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2207230/Black_Dragon_Mage/
  • Preview Keys are available! Please reply to this email to obtain a key.
  • Contact: business@datablob.studio
  • Release: end of Q1 2024 (~ late March!)
  • Status: Active development
  • Targeted Price: TBA
  • Embargo: No
  • Platforms: Steam (PC / Steam Deck), Windows (Linux possibly at launch, works well via Proton Experimental or Proton 8.05)
  • Controls: Full Controller Support, Keyboard & Mouse
  • Language Support: English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Brazilian Portuguese