San Diego, CA. (June 9, 2025) - Solo developer and YouTuber Blargis, whose game development videos have racked up more than 4 million views, is overjoyed to announce that vampire melee runner Bloodthief is now participating in Steam Next Fest with an updated demo. Blargis is also hosting a speedrunning challenge, allowing players to vanquish virtual foes and real-life records.
In Bloodthief, you are a merciless and powerful vampire, unleashing your wrath on the terrible enemies that inhabit these medieval castles and dungeons, while uncovering the dark secrets that lay within their walls. With both your abilities and your speed powered the blood of your foes, hack, slash, and drink their crimson nectar with glee so that you can set a path and uncover shortcuts and secrets as fast as possible.
In the demo update, released for Steam Next Fest, an additional level, weapon, and three secret artifacts required to unlock that weapon, have all been introduced. The demo takes 1 hour to complete, or up to 20 hours to 100% for curious crypt-dwellers to find all powerups, enemy types and more.
To celebrate, Blargis is also announcing a Bloodthief speedrunning competition. To prove you’ve got the fastest fangs out there, participate by completing a “Full Game Inbounds” run between June 9, 2025 at 10AM PST and June 16 at 11:59PM PST, 2025.
The top 5 winners will receive Steam gift cards each, from $100 USD to $25 USD, while everyone who submits a run via Speedrun.com will receive a Discord role and an in-game leaderboard badge once the full version has been released. More info can be found on the game’s Speedrun.com page here. The competition is sure to be an absolute slasher, so make sure you take part!
Key Features of Bloodthief
-
Gotta Go Fast: The need for speed is real with this one as you wall run, vault, and jump between environments and enemies, drinking blood to propel you faster and keep the destruction going.
-
Bloody, Brutal, and Beautiful: Bloodthief is the ultimate melee free-for-all as you unlock a variety of bladed weapons to cut through your enemies like butter, or just kick them into orbit at high speeds.
-
What Darkness Lies Beneath?: The medieval dungeons and castles you’ll explore seem to hum with a dark and uncertain energy. Explore each level, taking branching paths and shortcuts to unlock powerful loot, new abilities, and to uncover the secrets of this fantasy world.
The Bloodthief demo is available in English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese (BR), Polish, Russian, Chinese (Simplified), and Japanese.
Bloodthief will be released in 2025 on PC via Steam.
For more on the game, follow Blargis on Bluesky, X (Twitter), and join the Blargville Discord.
A full press kit, including logo, screenshots, key art, and trailers can be found here.
About Blargis
Blargis (Jake Bedard) is a former software engineer turned game developer, having left his day job in 2024 in order to pursue his passion for making games. He has also developed a dedicated and loyal following on his YouTube channel, where he shares devlogs on the progress of Bloodthief, his first commercial game, with a release slated for 2025.
###
PRESS CONTACT
Jasmine James
PR on behalf of Blargis