08/03/2020 - Rochester, New York
Live now on Indiegogo, Stoutheart is a roguelike, souls-inspired 3D character action game built upon the concept of enemy possession. As a lingering spirit with a hardened will, you traverse an ever-changing steampunk island populated by once-human machines. Each opponent you encounter can be possessed to inherit their unique abilities, provided that you have fought hard enough to break its will. Become your enemy. Master their potential.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/1Jvbm9b3cxY
Key Features:
Enemy Possession
Souls-Inspired Combat
Roguelike Elements
Steampunk World
In this game, you control a disembodied spirit that has been granted the ability to take control of bodies via possession. Each robotic body, or Vessel, you encounter in this game is puppeteered by a human soul, and that control is tied to their strength of will, or Resolve. The Resolve of an enemy can be temporarily broken within combat, which leaves you the opportunity to possess them, inheriting all of their abilities and attributes. Your playstyle is dependent on the Vessel you choose to possess.
Every fight in this game is intended to require careful and deliberate combat, and our base mechanics are heavily inspired by that of From Software’s Dark Souls series. Each enemy has their own attacks and abilities that can pose a constant threat if the player is unable to react. Over time, and with enough patience, players should be able to recognize the patterns of their opponents and understand the abilities of their current Vessel well enough to adapt to the fight at hand. Planning your attacks, dodging to avoid threats, and utilizing your Vessel’s powers is key to your survival.
Each area the player explores throughout the game is intended to be a unique experience. The level layouts, enemies within them, and the items that can be found along the way are randomized, which we believe will add a lot of replayability to our core gameplay. Through exploring these levels you could come across secret rooms, hidden passages, and unlock completely new paths, as long as you survive the encounters along the way!
The world of Stoutheart is one that has pursued steampunk technology and as a result lost most of its humanity. Its inhabitants have chosen to have their souls placed within robot bodies to preserve life. As they went to greater extremes, one rose above the rest to exert influence over all Vessels, creating a Hive Mind that exercises near-total control, robbing the island’s transposed inhabitants of their free will. Believing this new, robotic form of life to be greater, this Hive Mind continued to spread its influence, forcing those who were opposed to robotic conversion, into Vessels.
Indiegogo: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/stoutheart-broken-spirits--2/x/24288191#/
To get in contact with us at Dark Ring Studio email: accounts@darkringstudio.com
Starting as a passion project by 5 college students in Spring 2020, this game is built upon our team’s love of the rogue-like genre and the combat experience of games like From Software’s Dark Souls series. After a few months of independently-funded full-time development, we want to take this project one step further and publish to Steam early access so we can continue to work towards bringing this game out into the world.