[p]We are one month into 2026, and I just want to share with you what we have been working on.[/p][p][/p][h3]Tentative plans for Ghostlore[/h3][p]Ghostlore has sold over 50k copies to date. It is the effort of myself(Andrew, artist/founder), and Adam, a programmer/solo indie game developer who joined me after finding out about my game on Reddit. We coincidentally have the same last name, Teo, but we are not brothers or related in any other way.[/p][p][/p][p]We've made no secret that our lofty ambition was to create some sort of spiritual successor to Diablo II, a game we both enjoyed in our youth. Based on sales and reception, I believe we have mostly succeeded. However, in my mind there is yet something that keeps Ghostlore from being a true spiritual successor: Online multiplayer.[/p][p][/p][p]The main reason why Ghostlore does not have online multiplayer was 1) Multiplayer features are tough to implement and we did not know how well the game would do to justify adding it and 2) The gaming landscape has changed significantly since Diablo II's heyday - 'online' used to mean something special, but now that we are all more online by default, it may not have been that strong of a selling point.[/p][p][/p][p]Given that there have been multiple requests for online multiplayer, perhaps in hindsight we should have implemented it. I have discussed with Adam, and It is not impossible to do so now, but it would be trickier, much more so than if it was factored in right at the beginning. It would've been tricky to do even back then anyway. So it has to be worth our time and effort.[/p][p][/p][p]Ghostlore has been selling, slowly and steadily. But it would take a pretty strong resurgence of interest, let's say hitting 1000 reviews, to make it so that coming back to implement online multiplayer would be worth our time. It's not completely off the table. But in any case, even if that does not happen, I have still other ideas that I would like to explore in a new Ghostlore game. If Adam and I work on a new Ghostlore game, we will have online multiplayer for sure.[/p][p][/p][p]In the meantime, I am proud to introduce two new games that we are working on:[/p][p][/p]
Ruin and Rebirth
[p]Ruin and Rebirth is a fantasy open-world factory building game with creature taming and breeding, a playable creation myth where you harness the power of creation to bring life back to a barren, shattered world where the gods have died. Unlike in Ghostlore, this time Adam is steering this project and leading the game design, while I am taking more of a back seat and focusing on the art and world-building. [/p][p][/p][p]Based on comments by members on our
Discord, we believe there is a significant overlap between fans of ARPGs like Ghostlore and fans of Factorio-likes like Ruin and Rebirth. Both genres feature deep and complex gameplay with a heavy focus on number-crunching and optimization gameplay. [/p][p][/p][p]Creatively, our MO remains the same as that of Ghostlore. Just as how Ghostlore is at heart Diablo-style ARPG but with Southeast-Asian flavour to make things feel fresh, Ruin and Rebirth is at heart a Factorio-style game, but with a bold artistic direction to make it stand out from the crowd. [/p][p][/p][p]The setting is primal and surreal. Visual inspirations include the psychedelic landscapes found in prog-rock album covers, as well as famous illustrators whose panoramic, otherworldly vistas have graced the pages of Heavy Metal magazine. These dreamy landscapes help capture the unique feel of this 'post-divine apocalyptic' world.[/p][p][/p][p]I encourage all who are interested to wishlist this game, and join the beta playtest here:[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]
Shadow Rush
[p]For the action-RPG purists, here's something that I am working on as a solo side project, that might tide you over before our next Ghostlore game. Shadow Rush is a isometric RPG with roguelite elements that is focused on fast-paced combat, quick runs, build experimentation and re-rolling.[/p][p][/p][p]Controls are simple: WASD to move, Left-click to attack, right click to dash. BUT, every time you attack OR dash, you will cycle through 4 'phases': I,II,III and IV. At each phase, spells will automatically trigger depending on your build setup - Spells come in the form of collectable, equipabble 'Shards' that you can swap between your 6 characters to create the ultimate build. [/p][p][/p][p]The goal behind this system is to have something more streamlined than an action RPG where you have to juggle multiple hotkeys. However, you still have to manually attack, so it isn't like Vampire Survivors where it is a nearly hands-off experience. I played a ton of games like Vampire Survivors and Hades during the development of Ghostlore, so this was inspired by them. But I want to capture the 'just one more round' feeling of those games without copy-pasting the mechanics of those games wholesale. [/p][p][/p][p]As a game developer who is passionate about the craft, I want Shadow Rush to be highly intentional in its game design. My hope is that every game mechanic in Shadow Rush exists because it needs to, and if someone asks "why did you design this game mechanic like that?" I can give an answer.[/p][p][/p][p]However, this also means I must set an expectation here: This will be a smaller game than Ghostlore. Instead of multiple systems of customization like Glyphs/Equipment/Skills, there is only one system here, the Shard system. Not just because I am doing it solo this time, but also because Ghostlore's design had a lot of throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. I deliberately avoided making my new action-RPG a Ghostlore sequel because I wanted a clean slate to express a more focused, coherent, design philosophy. Accordingly, I will eventually price this game cheaper than Ghostlore, tentatively half the price since I only need to support one person (myself).
You can try a demo online here and see if it is your thing.[/p][p][/p][p]Finally, on a personal (and perhaps slightly cringe) note,
the 6 characters that you can play as in the game are my OCs that I came up with during my teenage years. The game basically exists as a way for me to give them a place to live after all these years of being with me. If you feel that Shadow Rush looks like the videogame adaptation of an edgy 00s shounen anime that doesn’t exist, it is because said anime DOES exist, just in my head as elaborate fight scenes whenever I listen to Linkin Park...fellow millennial unc nerds will probably get what I mean.[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][h3]Conclusion[/h3][p]We are very grateful to all our players who have made Ghostlore the success that it is, and we hope that you will join us on our new journeys. My games are not cynical, calculated cash-grabs made only to ride the coattails of popular trends. They are a true expression of what I personally think is cool, and they will live and die based on how many other people also think it's cool. [/p][p][/p][p]In that way, it is a risky endeavor, because ultimately, I've got no control over whether or not people think my stuff is cool. Some people think they can somehow make others interested in their stuff by hustling, pandering, blindly following trends, gaming algorithms or other ways of artificially inflating their numbers. But I don't think any of this works. You have to remain true to yourself, because it shows when you don't.[/p][p][/p][p]IMO the only thing we really have any control over is our own choices, and this is what we choose to do: to keep on making games. [/p]
