Rack and Slay News

Trying to stay as on top of things as possible during launch week, so here's the next update already! This one comes with a couple balancing tweaks, some quality of life improvements for contoller / Steam Deck and a bunch of fixes. Thank you so much for reporting issues and suggesting improvements! Please keep them coming via the Steam forums our swing by the Discord!


Launch is going well so far! We've seen quite a few streamers and YouTubers showcase the game (among others Retromation & Wanderbots). I'm super excited we reached the 50+ reviews milestone (with 98% positive!) too. For a tiny indie project like this, every single review makes a big difference! So here's a big shoutout to everyone who reviewed the game! 🙏

[h2]Patch notes (v1.03)[/h2]

• Balancing:
  
  • Rusher item now grants 2 gold per remaining shot (instead of 1).
    
  • Drunken Master challenge now grants +3 health (on top of +3 shots).
• Controller improvements:
  
  • Using digipad left / right on controller now rotates aim (faster than LT/RT).
    
  • You can now slow down analog stick aim speed (and not just speed it up). Find the setting via: Main Menu → Settings → Advanced Options → top right button
• Fixes:
  
  • Fixed weird interaction of Extra Bullet and Second Wind challenge.
    
  • Fixed performance issues when levels containing rotating items were left running for a very long time.
    
  • Fixed a couple rare visual glitches.
    

Hi! I just pushed a first post-launch update live. This one just has a couple fixes for some immediate issues that came up, but rest assured I read every bit of feedback and am taking notes on balance, feature suggestions, and quality of life for future updates!

Launch has been a wild ride and I want to give a big heartfelt thank you to everyone who picked up the game already! And if you even left a review, you're among my personal super heroes anyways! ❤️

[h2]Patch notes (v1.02)[/h2]

• Fixed wall collision issue in Drunken Master challenge.
  
• Fixed Collector achievement not working.
  
• Fixed Looter achievement counting too quickly.
  
• A few more minor fixes.
  

[h2]WE ARE LIVE! ːsteamhappyː[/h2]


The full-version of Rack and Slay is out now for $5.99 with a 10% launch discount!

The game is filled to the brim with fun content to explore:

• 111 game-changing items, with 50+ of them unlockable through playing any mode you like (and yes, in good Slice & Dice tradition there is an "unlock all" option).
  
• 20 difficulty levels to unlock in packs (no need to go 1-by-1 if you're that good).
  
• The full 10-level Crawl Mode for your good old ~30-minute roguelike runs.
  
• The shorter Delve Mode with half the levels, but double the item drafts.
  
• The one-level Raid Mode with random items for a quick burst of mayhem.
  
• Daily Mode featuring a unique set of game-changing run modifiers every day.
  
• Wild Mode for random (and sometimes extra crazy) sets of modifiers.
  
• A set of Challenge Runs featuring pre-defined gameplay variants that will often drastically change the way you play the game.
  
• A full Item Compendium to track your unlocks and collect badges for the highest difficulty you beat using each item.

I am so incredibly excited to finally bring this passion project to life and in a more awesome version than I could ever have imagined. Special shoutouts to Graeme of 2 Left Thumbs and artist extraordinaire Victor aka Estivador who took the project to the next level with their hard work and input.

[h3]Bundles[/h3]
If you're into bundles, you have a few bonus options to get the game!

The 2 Left Thumbs "We Like Roguelikes" bundle:
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/34319/We_Like_Roguelikes/

A bundle with none other than the modern classic Luck be a Landlord:
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/41926/Rack_and_Slay__Luck_be_a_Landlord/

My personal dev bundle featuring my previous game WikiArena:
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/41913/Ludos_Collection/

[h3]Creator Shoutout[/h3]
Also many thanks to the lovely creators who showcased the game leading up to launch. Here's a YouTube playlist featuring those I came across the last couple weeks.

Special shoutout to GothicLordUK who already featured the demo throughout multiple videos half a year ago and now returned for the full release! And German indie veteran wildfremd even is 18 episodes deep into a series already!

[h3]Next Steps[/h3]
The top priority post-launch will of course be fixing any bugs players manage to find and recording all the feedback for future polish and balancing updates.

Depending on how well things go, I would also love to add additional content in the future. I already have long lists of ideas for new items, enemies, power-ups, modifiers and level elements. So if you like the game and want more, please leave a review and tell your friends about it. For a tiny indie dev project like this, every little bit makes a huge difference! ❤️

The same is true for one or the other port by the way, but all in due time.

[h3]Links and Stuff[/h3]
If you'd like to learn more, get involved or follow, here's a few links for you:

• Join the Ludokultur Discord full of roguelike fans and indie devs who I would personally say are exceptionally cool and smart!
  
• Join the 2 Left Thumbs Discord! Graeme has a great eye for unique indies and features many roguelikes in his growing Steam catalog!
  
• Follow me on Twitter (yes, that's its name) for development news, game design tidbits and indie / roguelike recommendations, or check out my website featuring my games, writing and more!
  

Hope you enjoy the game! Looking forward to your feedback and suggestions!

All the best,
Fabian

[h2]GORGON SHIELD[/h2]
Your friendly neighbourhood Publisher here, Graeme!

Looking for my creative, genre-blending roguelikes? Check out the upcoming Gorgon Shield, from the creator of Swords and Sandals. It's a party-based RPG, arcade, roguelike. And I can guarantee you haven't played another quite like it!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2446920/Gorgon_Shield/

There is large demo for you to play around in. And please be sure to add it to your Wishlist!

Reminder: Rack and Slay will release on MAY 27, 2024 (1 week from today)! I wrote about everything the full version will entail in a previous post.

Today I'm excited to report the first release candidate for version 1.0 is now in testing. As usual, improvements to existing content are live on the demo version as well.

[h2]Patch notes (v1.0 RC)[/h2]

• Added the initial set of achievements (only active in the full version).
  
• Most explosion-buffing items now spawn a guaranteed bomb, so they’re more useful on their own.
  
• The on-defeat explosion of Boomy enemies now scales in radius if the enemy size increases (via healing or power pick-ups).
  
• The Demolisher item (obstacles explode on touch) now shows a little bomb indicator as a reminder in your collision prediction while it’s active.
  
• Lots of wording improvements all around.
  
• Countless minor tweaks and fixes.

Shoutout to the awesome Discord folks who suggested many of these improvements! ❤️

Also big thanks to everyone who has been checking out the demo for the first time during Endless Replayability Fest last week. As usual, please consider wishlisting the game so we can really get this ball rolling next week!

Reminder: Rack and Slay will release on MAY 27, 2024 (that is exactly 3 weeks from today)! I wrote about everything the full version will entail in a previous post. Today marks the last content update before release. The rest will all be polish, tweaks and finalizing the achievement system for launch.

The highlight of this patch are new boss enemy variants:


[h2]Patch notes (v0.99)[/h2]

• Doubled the number of boss enemy variants. Enjoy! (Yes, they're also in the demo.)
  
• Added subtle shaders to many more objects, including most collectibles.
  
• Added low-health warning overlay to the edges of the screen when at 1 health.
  
• Decoupled some visual-only animations from fast-forwarding, so they always play at the same speed (e.g. opening treasure chests).
  
• Tweaked the wording of several menus and info screens.
  
• Various minor fixes.
  

By the way, if you'd like to help out a tiny indie endeavor and haven't wishlisted the game yet, know that every single click helps a lot! Thank you!