Blood Reaver News

[h3]Early Access Apri 2026![/h3][p][/p][p]Thank you for all the support we've received throughout the development of Blood Reaver. It's been great to see all the new players come in throughout the Next Fest period. [/p][p][/p][p]To celebrate this milestone, we're excited to announce that Blood Reaver will be launching into early access April 2026! [/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p][/p][p]We're thrilled to announce that Blood Reaver will be participating in Steam Next fest this year, and with this a new demo with lots of exciting content is available to play right now![/p][p][/p][p]The demo gives a taste of our first map, with new areas available to explore not yet seen in previous versions.[/p][p]The demo also includes the following content:[/p]

• [p]11 Guns[/p]

• [p]8 Abilities (Including 2 powerful Ultimate Abilities)[/p]

• [p]4 Areas to explore[/p]

• [p]5 Fate revealing shrines[/p]

• [p]10 Blessings (One of which may reveal additional fates)[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Multiplayer![/h2][p][/p][p]We're too excited to show off just how much more fun it is to play Blood Reaver with friends. So we've decided to add Multiplayer to the demo.[/p][p]But be quick! Multiplayer will only be available in the demo for the duration of Next Fest, so get your squad together and claim that spot at the top of the leader board while you can![/p][p][/p][h2]Feedback[/h2][p][/p][p]We'd appreciate your feedback on this demo, if you'd like to share your thoughts with us please take the time to fill out the form below.[/p][p]https://forms.gle/FioHuqdHBiLGJqag9[/p][p][/p][h3]Reporting Demo Issues[/h3][p]
If you've experienced any problems while playing the Blood Reaver demo please let us know so we can make the final game as enjoyable as possible!

You can report issues with this link ⤵

https://www.hellbytestudios.com/bugreport[/p]

[p][/p][p]Today, during the Frosty Games Showcase we're launching our brand new demo!

The event itself is about covering Australian and New Zealand games either released or in active development. So after you've checked out the Blood Reaver demo, go check out some of the other games and spread the love.

Check out the demo trailer here:[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][h2]What to expect from the demo?[/h2]

• [p]9 powerful guns forged through the musings of a deranged madman[/p]
• [p]5 abilities you can channel though ancient relics to unleash hellish magic.[/p]
• [p]2 full areas of our first map, this should give a good idea of what the full city will look like.[/p]
• [p]An introduction to the dregs of hell's forces, if you can't handle these demons, you'll stand no chance against true chaos.[/p]
• [p]A genuine leaderboard you can use to compete with your friends and others across the globe[/p]

[p]As for how long this demo will be accessible, it be available for the foreseeable future and will continue to receive support and updates until we release the full game, at which point the demo will stay available for new players to try the game out but will no longer receive additional content.[/p]

[p]CHANGE LOG:[/p]

• [p]Fixed an issue wherein the settings menu refused to work, at all. It now does.[/p]
  • [p]For controller users, we've added controller layouts to change up how your bindings[/p]
• [p]In accordance with a security issue that unity had last month, we've updated to protect against it. (This wouldn't have impacted any of you)[/p]
• [p]Demons now have visual indicators/cues when under a status. this is most Noticeable with "Calcifer's Flame" and "Time Splitter"[/p]
• [p]Modified how the "Centrifuse" ability works. tapping the ability now fans out a series of smaller explosives in front of the player, allowing for more efficient area denial.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Note: Stayed tuned for a further update notice as we'll be accepting a number of players for the playtest soon. The following playtest update will be one pertaining to live multiplayer testing.[/p]

[h2]Hey Cultists, [/h2][p]Today, during the Horror Game Awards Showcase, we announced that we're recruiting for the next phase of the playtest.

Here's our brand-new trailer:[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][h3]Help us make the final touches and share your crucial feedback before we enter Early Access. We're opening sign-ups to a Steam Playtest slated for late 2025.[/h3][p][/p][p]So far we've been running a very limited closed beta via Discord, however going forward we will begin to use the new Playtest feature on Steam to open is up wider in the coming months. You'll find the Sign up button on the Blood Reaver store page. [/p][p]*signing up to Playtest does not guarantee access. We will select participants based on a range of criteria to make sure we get the most diverse and meaningful feedback possible. If you do not get selected for the first Playtest you may still be eligible for future rounds.[/p][p][/p][h3]What is Blood Reaver?[/h3]

• [p]A Dark-fantasy, Round-based FPS for 1-4 players[/p]
• [p]Harness forbidden magic and weaponry to shoot, blast and slice your way through endless hordes of demons.[/p]
• [p]Upgrade your arsenal and survive long enough to discover the ancient secrets of the gods of hell.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]What will you be playtesting?[/h3][p]This Playtest (or series of Playtests, to be decided) is a way for us to learn more about our general audience and which parts of our creation spark the highest highs as well as lowest lows.[/p]

• [p]Combat.[/p]
• [p]Progression.[/p]
• [p]Level design.[/p]
• [p]Cameras.[/p]
• [p]Overall QOL.[/p]

[p]Basically, the meat and bones of the game. But how does it feel when played over longer periods? What weapons get people excited and which ones get left behind? Are there elements of our levels players love more than others, or obstacles that are more annoying than fun?

We want to know and not everyone will join a Discord to tell us. Of course, we'd love it if you did![/p][p][/p][h3]When is it happening?[/h3][p]We're aiming to host the first playtest towards the end of 2025 and will keep you posted on the community hub. Anything can happen in gamedev and we want to make sure the build you test has all the appropriate bells and whistles that could use feedback.[/p][p][/p][h3][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/h3]