Dev Update #1 - Elemental Combat

Hello everyone!
As we near the end of Q3 of our development, we have wonderful news we’ve been dying to share with our amazing community.

As you may know, we’ve recently changed our pixel art to pixel perfect, which means a huge performance improvement for the game. That also means we upgraded Europa’s run and combo animations to fit this new style. Keep in mind your attack variations! Alternating between light and heavy attacks can knock an enemy off balance, and if you use a heavy attack as a finisher, it’ll become stronger!


But these are more than just combos; Europa’s elemental abilities are vital to progressing the game, as they unlock special areas and are also designed to battle specific enemies. For instance, enemies like these can only be destroyed through lightning, fire, water and earth respectively.


Speaking of enemies, we have also been working on some of the backer enemy designs you guys came up with! Now, Talos Castle is full of lore-infused characters that will make the story that much more interesting - and challenging as well!


Keeping the diverse elemental advantages and disadvantages in mind will be crucial to interact with your surroundings and be ready for combat at the same time, especially knowing how to switch between them to make the most out of Europa’s powers.

And we couldn’t have an update without some gorgeous art pieces from a couple of Talos’ areas; here’s a glimpse of the castle’s entrance and the water area, where Europa's journey will take many twists and turns!


Speaking of twists, there’s nothing that gives us bigger goosebumps than the newest fire area track. You can feel just how the stakes get higher for Europa and Apino as they venture into this blazing labyrinth while time is ticking. Check it out!

Tracks like this get us extremely excited, especially knowing we’ll be working with talents of Manami Matsumae, Michiru Yamane and Norihiko Hibino’s caliber! Do you like what their characters look like in-game?


Lastly, make sure you’re on the lookout for Future Games Show, Gamescom edition this Thursday, and tune in during the event for a special treat!


If you’re as thrilled about Europa’s adventure as we are, don’t forget to wishlist 9 Years of Shadows! You can also join our Discord where you can talk with other fans.

Stay tuned for more updates coming soon!

The Halberd Team