9 Years of Shadows News

Hello everyone! We hope everyone had a pleasant holiday and started the year with renewed
energy. With a new year comes a new chapter in our lives as we approach the end of the game’s development. As you know, ever since the last update, we have been working on small details, polishing, and bug fixing to have a stable build, and everything is finally coming together nicely. Take a look at how it’s looking right now:







Therefore, we have never been more excited to announce that we will be featured on IGN’s Fan Fest 2023 on February 18th, so don’t forget to check it out if you want to hear some long-awaited news!



The team is excited to share more about the development after some months of silent work and we are sincerely grateful for your patience and support. We strive to keep the community in the loop as much as possible, so rest assured that more updates will come soon.

Remember to keep up with our socials – especially our TikTok if you want to see the team inaction – and stay tuned for more!

We hope to see you all soon!

Hello everyone, we hope you’re doing well and starting the holiday season in high spirits. With the launch date rapidly approaching, we wanted to craft this update a little bit differently.

[h3]Our current state[/h3]

As the game's development progressed, the whole team put their heart and soul into the project, dedicating the entire week and weekends to meet deliveries and fix bugs, often giving up rest for the sake of the game. After people from all over the world tried the 9 Years of Shadows demo on Steam Next Fest, we gathered valuable feedback and noticed relevant issues that need to be addressed as soon as possible but that aren’t easy to solve.

If you have followed our journey closely, you’ll know that we are committed to delivering a worthy product, and while we know no game is perfect, we are confident we can do better. Our publisher has been very understanding of our situation and has supported our choice to regroup, take care of the team, and handle any lack of resources that due to our pipeline.

[h3]Release date[/h3]

It is with a heavy heart that we have decided to delay the launch of our game a few months into 2023. This is an announcement we do not make lightly.

Our loyal community has been a driving force for every member of Halberd Studios, and delaying the game again is something that pains us greatly. However, in order for us to continue, we must ensure the well-being of the devs and reassess how we will approach the obstacles ahead. Rest assured that this is the last time we will resort to a delay, and are determined to finally release the game as promised.

We also want to reassure you that 9 Years of Shadows’s content and features are virtually finished, and the additional time we will take is going to be focused directly on polishing.

In fact, we would love to share a couple of things that have been in the works for a while. Firstly, take a look at the preview of Master Hibino's song, The Serpent Prince. If you have been enjoying Bayonetta 3's soundtrack, his collaboration in 9 Years of Shadows is just for you.



Also, we wanted to share a glimpse of an interesting area. What do you think this is?



To our loving community



From all of us, we earnestly thank you for the lasting support and good wishes for these past couple of years. There is nothing more we could ask of this wonderful community but to hang in there just for a little longer. In the end, it all comes down to a matter of time, and with it, we know your patience will be worth the wait.

As always, we will keep you posted on our progress with regular updates and through our social media, so make sure you follow us to stay in the loop

In genuine appreciation,
The Halberd Team

Hello everyone!
Your support throughout Next Fest so far has been amazing! Please keep the feedback coming! We've got another patch today to continue out efforts of giving you all the best expereince. If you want to talk with our dev team or just join the community, please join our Discord! We'd love to hear from you all 😊

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed a visual bug regarding bloom/saturation that would significantly break the overall experience and readability.
  
• Fixed a visual bug that upon dying and respawning at the save room, the background decoration wouldn't load correctly.
  
• Fixed a bug regarding the Xilos Paladin (enemy for the Shield and Armor quest) were the player would sometimes get stuck its shield.
  
• Fixed a bug were players that died after obtaining the Grace of Zeus upgrade, would still have have it unlocked upon respawning at the save room
  

[h3]Adjustments[/h3]

• In order to balance the Xilos Paladin fight, Apino projectiles no longer damage the Xilos Paladin's shield.
  

Hello everyone!
Thank you all so much for your support so far throughout Next Fest! We're excited to bring you all our first update to the demo fixing up a couple things to hopefully bring you all the best experience possible.

[h3]Adjustments[/h3]

• Added "Controller recommended" splash screen
  
• Added SFX explosion when defeating a mid boss
  
• Removed extra confirmation window upon saving the game
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed a bug in which triggering the pause menu in the middle of a dialogue would disable input
  
• Fixed various visual bugs with the decoration
  
• Fixed mid boss soundtrack from not triggering correctly
  
• Fixed a bug in which Michiru Yamane's soundtrack in Degollado Theater wouldn't play correctly
  
• Fixed a bug in which the Dwarven Guard mid boss would get stuck on the ceiling at the beginning of the fight
  

Hello everyone!

We're excited to be participating in the Steam Next Fest! Catch our livestream with Halberd Studios on Oct 6th at 2pm ET, where they will be showing off the latest demo.

For more follow us on Twitter, Tiktok and join our Discord!

This stream is pre-recorded and will be looped through the duration of Steam Next Fest.