Astral Throne II Announcement

[p]If you're wondering why news has been a little slow recently, it's because we've been throwing all our ideas into one big pot. We found that things we wanted to do either came at too high a cost, or would change too many things.[/p][p][/p][p]So, we're excited to announce the fruits of our labour: Astral Throne II: Age of the Phoenix![/p][p]Check it out here, and add it to your Wishlist![/p][p][/p][h2]What is Astral Throne II?[/h2][p][/p][p]Age of the Phoenix is a fully-fledged (get it?) sequel, or well, prequel to Astral Throne. [/p][p]It's a bit of a different take on the "Strategy RPG Roguelike" that leans a little more into the Roguelite realm, but it still retains Astral Throne's core promise of a unique strategic experience. [/p][p]Its ulterior purpose is to be a much easier beast to tame, which will allow us to make more content and to provide faster and more substantive updates after release. It's a little bit like The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, a souped-up, ground-up rework of the engine that allows us to work on it better.[/p][p]...And also it maybe even has native mod support ;)[/p][p][/p][h2]So What's Different?[/h2][p][/p][h3]Art Style[/h3][p]The first thing you'll probably notice is the change in art style, from a fully 3D low-poly look to a hybrid 2D-3D pixel art approach. We find this is more in line with what people want out of the genre and it's easier for us to make characters, maps, and animations.[/p][p]The UI is also getting a rework, with a focus on controller support first and foremost! Astral Throne's UI was built for mouse first, everything else second, which led to some fundamental problems on controllers. We aim to get this new game Steam Deck Verified instead of just Playable.[/p][p][/p][h3]Run Structure[/h3][p]As mentioned, Astral Throne II takes steps in the Roguelite direction. The runs will be shorter (1 act instead of 3), the maps will be smaller and have less units on the field, and there is more of a focus on metaprogression.[/p][p]This is to help make way for a greater sense of long-term progression and to allow more variety between runs, since you'll be spending less time in them.[/p][p]However, despite this, we're still focused on our core promise of not letting you grind to get stronger. The heart of the strategy genre is to overcome challenges with your brain, and we hope to still keep that promise! You'll see what we mean once you get your hands on the game.[/p][p]Regardless, metaprogression also allows us to have fun with the next thing...[/p][p][/p][h3]New Story[/h3][p]We're very happy to announce that Astral Throne II's story will be written by the award-winning fantasy novelist Shami Stovall. Shami is a huge fan of Strategy RPGs and has written many fantasy books, ranging from traditional and urban fantasy to LitRPG. Check out her series Frith Chronicles, Chronos Chronicles, or whatever else might strike your fancy.[/p][p]The story will be more linear, with progress made through metaprogression. There will also be a support-like system where you build relationships and have conversations between characters in-between runs.[/p][p][/p][h2]So is Astral Throne over?[/h2][p]Close, but not yet! There's still some important bugs to squash and we want to put the demo back up. There will be a patch up shortly.[/p][p]Aside from that, part of the reason we wanted to make a sequel is to preserve Astral Throne, since the changes being made are so fundamental. We don't intend to replace Astral Throne; we think the games can exist side-by-side.[/p][p][/p][p]Regardless, thanks so much for being there with us throughout Astral Throne! Thanks for playing the beta, thanks for reporting bugs, thanks for dissecting and discussing as much of the game as you possibly can. We couldn't have asked for a better community, and we hope you all enjoy Astral Throne II: Age of the Phoenix! [/p][p][/p][p]The first demo will be available to play in the first quarter of 2026.[/p][p]Wishlist Astral Throne II: Age of the Phoenix[/p]