EQI News

What a beautiful day outside! On a day like this, folks like us should be playing some games! Today marks the start of the Steam Spring Sale and Hyperstrange has prepared some hyper-entertainment and hyper-discounts for you!





Bundles, you know 'em, you love 'em. Some of them have already stolen your hearts and if not, maybe these ones will:

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/28819/The_Good_The_Bad_and_The_Low_Poly/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/31157/Git_Gud_at_FPS_games_with_RAYZE__KovaaKs/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/30877/Ancient_Defenders/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/30993/Warlords__Generals_vol_4/

Many more great deals to discover in our sale page!



If you are hungering for more '90s FPS shooters and feeling nostalgic for beautiful stylized pixels, then look no further, for GHOSTWARE: Arena of the Dead and Supplice will just hit the spot. Add them to your wishlist so that you don't miss them as they are right around the corner:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1893370/GHOSTWARE_Arena_of_the_Dead/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1693280/Supplice/

Hyperstrange-developed POSTAL: Brain Damaged, the action-packed DOOM Eternal-like spin-off of the POSTAL series is finally here, and if you own any of the eligible RWS or Hyperstrange titles, or some other staple throwback-shooters like DUSK, Hedon, or Nightmare Reaper, you can get PBD with an additional discount added on top of -20% release discount via one of the special bundle deals.

Plus, we're happy to report it really SLAPS! With more than 1100 reviews it currently enjoys an 'Overwhelmingly Positive' rating, with more than 95% players recommending the game.



Yes, Hyperstrange really pulled this one off. The game is good and the release has been relatively bug-free despite the 2-week delay made explicitly to implement some bugs and stay on-brand. But it wouldn't be a POSTAL release if something haven't gone wrong. Many of you were waiting for the release of the POSTAL: Brain Damaged Official Soundtrack. The wait is finally over! The OST has arrived, and you can get it separately or bundled with the official Art Book in the POSTAL: Brain Damaged - Connoisseur Edition.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]



The Hyperstrange Dev team is very grateful for the amazing reception of PBD. This gives them even more motivation to improve and expand the game post-release. Here's what to expect soon:

• Post-release fix - an update taking care of the known issues reported by the players, that slipped into the full release (ETA: One week)
  
• Balancing update - some players, as well as some internet micro-celebrities, have brought to our attention that the game offers way to much ammo if you explore the levels 'Quake-style', and far too little if you prefer to push on 'Doom Eternal-style'. The update will take care of that issue, allowing everyone to enjoy the game in their preferred playstyle. The update will also reconfigure some of the enemy positioning, spawns, and behavior. (ETA: One month)
  
• New playmodes - With that taken care of, the dev team will proceed to expanding the game itself, introducing an oft-requested horde mode, as well as another playmode offering a new, and replayable PBD experience. (ETA: This summer)
  
• More to be announced!

Hyperstrange and RWS are both extremely pleased with the reception of POSTAL: Brain Damaged. We're as excited as you are, to see what the future will bring to this explosive and twisted spin-off.

Your true friends and family,
[h2]Hyperstrange & RWS[/h2]

As Steam Next Fest draws to a conclusion we want to thank everyone for stopping by and trying out our demos. We've had tens of thousands people playing the featured games, hundreds joining our community Discord to offer feedback, and posting on social media!

Many of you have been asking "will I be able to keep playing the demo after Next Fest ends"? Steam suggests all Next Fest demos should be timed, to create a sense of urgency and make sure the players wishlist the game. But this is simply not the Hyperstrange way. We're old enough (well, some of us) to remember shareware times, when demos came on floppies and lasted forever (well, some of them). Cutting to the chase: the demos stay, at least until their respective games get released. Here's what you can play, in case you missed some of them:


[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
RAYZE is a genre-defying hyper-paced music-filled first-person AIM RACER. Hit a target to accelerate. Miss and you slow down. Hit a wall and die. Find the fastest route. Get to the finish line. Simple? Yes. Easy? Hell no. Who said training to be your own aim-bot can't be fun? Welcome to your new casually hardcore obsession!

The DEMO consists of the entire first sector of the game, that's 5 tracks for you to figure out and master, one bite-size FPS speedrun at a time. Achievements to unlock, global leaderboards to compete with friends and strangers... Just two more weeks until full release! Ready? 3... 2... 1... Let's RAYZE!


[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
BLOOD WEST, an immersive Wild West FPS where a revenant desperado takes on the twisted demons and eldritch horros in a cursed, desolate mining town. Hell is empty and all the devils are here! Plan your steps, be stealthy, gain advantage, manage your resources, and paint the world dark red! Blood West was the second most-played Hyperstrange demo in Steam Fest, and there's already many players telling us they cannot wait for the release, despite the game being brutally hard! If you missed the DEMO, you can still try, and if you like the experience of being the Revenant desperado, please remember to add the game to your wishlist!


[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Supplice is a stylish throwback shooter that made a lot of people happy during the Steam Next Fest. inspired by the mid-90s FPS glory days and the legendary Doom modding community. Mixing the retro stylings of 90s era shooters with colorful graphics and frantic gameplay, it creates an experience that's ever so familiar but also exciting and fresh. The team behind the game is a real hot pot of Doom modding and FPS development legends, starting from Brett 'Mechadon' Harrell, the project founder, through Aleksander 'Cage' Kowalczyk, the lead artist also known for his work with Ion Fury, to James 'Jimmy' Paddock, the lead composer, known from his midi soundtracks to Sigil, Prodeus, and many other talents. Please check out the DEMO and follow & add the game to your wishlist if you want to stay up to date with its development.


[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Skullstone is a true to its form dungeon crawler with grid-based movement, real-time tactics combat, and first-person view. Lead a party of adventurers into the under-realm, looking for glory, gold, and a solution to the ancient evil plaguing the town above. A real stand-out in the FPS action-focused Hyperstrange catalog - why not give it some appreciation by playing the DEMO and wishlisting this pure-blooded classic RPG.



[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Last, but in no way the least in our Steam Next Fest lineup, POSTAL: Brain Damaged dominated the First-Person Shooter category, reaping the most wishlists and getting over 20 000 demo downloads. If by some strange twist of fate you're here but you don't know what is POSTAL: Brain Damaged... it's a spin-off of the Running With Scissors cult series, firmly rooted in the POSTALVERSE, but taking more gameplay cues from modern shooters such as the latest DOOM, than the fan-acclaimed POSTAL 4, the latest entry in the main series. This time around the story follows POSTAL DUDE on a journey through the dark and bizarre landscape of his own mind, which gives the developer a chance to explore new depths of weirdness, madness, and gore. The gloves are off! See for yourself - play the DEMO and make sure to hit that wishlist button hard! (Please note that as we focus on developing the game, we won't be able to update the demo, so it will reflect the state of development in September 2021, even if you play it in May 2022, when the game is getting released. Expect improvements and changes!)

As we wrap-up the event, we feel immensely grateful to the wonderful Steam player community who show us so much appreciation. Please keep your feedback coming - if you have any to offer, please join our community Discord. We strive to make your live stranger and filled to the brim with good old action, and it's such a rush to see that you enjoy what we bring to your screens. That is it for today, be excellent to each other!

Yours truly,

Hyperstrange was one of the most notable studios/publishers at Realms Deep 2021. True to our roots, we treat the "boomer-shooter con" as our main event of the season. Yes, with the amazing help and support we've received from the organizers (3D Realms, New Bloods, and others), Realms Deep is our E3 this year. And it wouldn't be a E3-styled event if we didn't announce a whole lot of stuff. Did you miss it? Here's what went down!



[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
BLOOD WEST, an immersive Wild West FPS where a revenant desperado takes on the twisted demons and eldritch horros in a cursed, desolate mining town. Hell is empty and all the devils are here! Plan your steps, be stealthy, gain advantage, manage your resources, and paint the world dark red! Wild West FPS games are few and far apart, so if you enjoy this setting and gameplay type, please support Blood West by adding it to your wishlist!


[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
RAYZE is a genre-defying hyper-paced music-filled first-person skillrunner. Godlike FPS precision & superhuman reflexes are welcome, but not required. Welcome to your new casually hardcore obsession. Adrenaline rushing, dopamine pumping, electronic pulse beating! 3.. 2.. 1.. Let's RAYZE! If you like a challenge, please consider adding the game to your wishlist, but you can also check it out right now, as there's a DEMO available!



[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Supplice is a stylish throwback shooter inspired by the mid-90s FPS glory days and the legendary Doom modding community. Mixing the retro stylings of 90s era shooters with colorful graphics and frantic gameplay, it creates an experience that's ever so familiar but also exciting and fresh. The team behind the game is a real hot pot of Doom modding and FPS development legends, starting from Brett 'Mechadon' Harrell, the project founder, through Aleksander 'Cage' Kowalczyk, the lead artist also known for his work with Ion Fury, to James 'Jimmy' Paddock, the lead composer, known from his midi soundtracks to Sigil, Prodeus, and many other talents. Please add the game to your wishlist if you want to stay up to date with its development.


[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Skullstone is a true to its form dungeon crawler with grid-based movement, real-time tactics combat, and first-person view. Lead a party of adventurers into the under-realm, looking for glory, gold, and a solution to the ancient evil plaguing the town above. Well, adventurer? Get crawling! Or, actually, let's start by wishlisting Skullstone, so you don't miss the demo that's heading to the October Steam Next Fest.



[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Jupiter Hell is a turn-based shooter from the depths of cosmic hell, built on a classic roguelike framework updated with modern 3d graphics. Rip and tear zombies, demons, and heavy metal monstrosities with chainguns and chainsaws. Like chess... with shotguns! This spiritual successor to Doom Roguelike launched in full on August 5 to both player and media acclaim. “A Turn-Based Triumph - Jupiter Hell is an engaging and commendable recreation of DOOM's style in turn-based roguelike form that will please just about everyone.” writes Screen Rant, giving the game 4,5/5 stars, while Kotaku calls it "an absolute gem".



[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
POSTAL: Brain Damaged is our flagship in-development title that we create as an original IP based off the infamous POSTAL series, under the watchful eye of MikeJ, Vince Desi, and the rest of the Running With Scissors crew. First announced at Realms Deep 2020 in early pre-alpha stage, it quick became somewhat of an obsession with the POSTAL community, and there's a lot of people who have been asking, no, demanding to see some final-quality gameplay footage. That's exactly what we delivered at Realms Deep 2021... plus something extra. If you are a POSTAL fan or a general boomer-shooter enjoyer, please add Brain Damaged to your wishlist and follow the project, so you don't miss the chance to play the Demo that will be featured on Steam Next Fest this October!



[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
While Frozenheim, our serene Norse city builder with RTS combat, didn't make the cut for the already lengthy stream, there's an announcement that we're stoked to make. Today marks the 100 000 Steam purchases milestone for Frozenheim. That's one hundred thousand Vikings in our Frozen North! This is the second game in our catalog to reach the 100k player tier, following our debut title, ELDERBORN, which - as per our Realms Deep announcement is coming soon to Xbox (alongside our bite-size FPS, CROSSBOW: Bloodnight)

All this is a huge step for Hyperstrange (or a whole marathon, actually), as a small indie studio with just one game published a year ago, to a... slightly larger indie studio that's becoming a hub of game development and publishing. If you're reading this - please know, that you have our utmost gratitude - we couldn't have done any of this without the tremendous support our games are receiving from the Steam community! That is it for today, be excellent to each other!

Yours truly,

PS. Thank you, Ty!

In the celebration of Chinese New Year EQI adds Chinese language support!

Other minor changes:

• One extra checkpoint added to the 'Long Bridge' level
  
• Differnt music on the said level
  
• Altered background on the said level
  

Enjoy!

[END COMMUNICATION]