Inayah - Life after Gods News

We’re excited to announce that INAYAH – Life After Gods will be part of Steam Next Fest starting February 24! Get ready to explore a beautifully hand-drawn world and battle fearsome enemies in our new exclusive demo.

What’s in the Demo?

• Three Boss Fights – Test your skills against powerful foes, each with unique mechanics.
  
• Two Biomes to Explore – Journey through breathtaking environments filled with mystery and danger.
  
• Three Weapon Forms – Switch between Blades, Fists, and a Flail, each with unique abilities, combos and an individual progression tree.
  
• Upgrades for your character – find enhancements for your injector and implant system to improve your abilities.
  

Press & Content Creators

Press and content creators can get access to the new demo right now! If you’d like to try INAYAH before Steam Next Fest, contact us at [email protected] for access.

Join the Community!

We’d love to hear your feedback! Share your thoughts and connect with other players in our Discord.

Don’t miss your chance to experience INAYAH during Steam Next Fest. Add the game to your wishlist and don’t miss the demo on February 24!


https://store.steampowered.com/app/3199390/INAYAH__Life_after_Gods/

At ExoGenesis Studios, we put our hearts and souls into every visual detail, making sure that each one adds to the enchantment of the world we’re building.



[h2]Frame-by-Frame Animation[/h2]

We focus a lot on frame-by-frame animation, only using procedural effects like particles and distortion when absolutely necessary. Most of our VFX are meticulously hand-drawn on "ones" — an animation technique where every single frame is created from scratch without reusing duplicates.

Stages of Creating 2D Smoke VFX for Altar Save Points:



While this approach is more time-consuming and demanding, the payoff is undeniable: ultra-smooth, fluid animations that players frequently describe as "incredibly smooth" in online discussions.



[h2]The Art of Loops and Tiles*[/h2]

Creating 2D VFX for a game comes with unique challenges. Many of our effects need to loop seamlessly, but an even greater challenge lies in designing tileable environmental animations — like electric beams, water surfaces, or rain.

These not only need to loop perfectly but must also transition smoothly at the edges of the tiles. It’s a complex and time-intensive process, but the result is worth it: immersive, visually striking effects that truly bring the game to life.

(*note: tile is a repeating image element that can be placed next to itself without visible seams. In gamedev, tiles are often used to create backgrounds, textures, or animations.)

There are two things you can watch forever: smoke and the waterfall in INAYAH

[h2]Attack Animations & Lore of the Enemies[/h2]

Although this Devlog focuses on VFX, we thought you might enjoy a deeper look into the game’s lore. Below, you'll find a short entry about some of INAYAH’s enemies, along with examples of their attacks in battle:

The ancient gods are long dead, but their iron servants still walk the world. It is said they played a role in their masters' downfall—and now, they seek to wipe out humanity as well. The scorching heat of the Scorched Lands forced people underground, but it does nothing to deter the iron servants. They prowl the sands and ruins, hunting for prey. The relentless heat has only melted their armored shells, making them appear even more monstrous.



Humans fear the iron servants, and fear breeds superstition. The Sand Marauders, desert raiders who stalk travelers, believe that the Many-Faced, One-of-Many can protect them from their iron brethren… if they offer him sacrifices. Whispers speak of a massive altar, built somewhere near his domain.



The iron servants exist only to hunt, driven by an insatiable thirst for blood. Yet, some have begun to act… strangely. They wear the clothes of the fallen. One deranged wanderer swore he had seen an entire village of iron servants, ruled by a Chieftain wielding a gleaming hammer.




We’re excited to keep sharing more about the development of INAYAH. Stay tuned for future articles where we’ll dive into how we create music, trailers, cutscenes, and much more. Follow us and add the game to your wishlist to make sure you don’t miss any exciting updates!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3199390/INAYAH__Life_after_Gods/

We are pleased to announce a global publishing and distribution partnership with video game publisher Headup. https://www.headupgames.com/


This collaboration follows a successful Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for the game and will bring INAYAH to PC and consoles worldwide in 2025, marking a significant step for the studio.

Headup, leveraging its multi-platform publishing and distribution expertise, will collaborate closely with us to bring the game to players worldwide. This partnership includes handling INAYAH’s distribution and supporting its launch across multiple consoles and PC.

Be sure to check out their publisher page on Steam and explore their incredible lineup of games!

“We’re pleased to partner with Headup for the release of INAYAH – Life After Gods,” said Konstantin Okorochkov, CEO of ExoGenesis Studios. “Their understanding of the game’s core genre and extensive expertise in console publishing makes them an excellent partner to help bring our vision to players around the world.”

“We are excited to support ExoGenesis Studios in bringing INAYAH to players everywhere,” said Dieter Schoeller, CEO of Headup. “The team at ExoGenesis has created a strong narrative and gameplay experience, and we are proud to be part of its journey to reach a global audience.”

INAYAH — Life After Gods is set for a Q1 2025 release for PC and will arrive later in 2025 for Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox.

[h2]Speedrun Challenge Reminder[/h2]

Alongside the publishing announcement, we have introduced a demo Speedrun Challenge for the game. Players are invited to record themselves racing through the current demo and submit their best times for a chance to win prizes! Full rules and requirements can be found here.

The Inayah – Life After Gods demo is here, and it’s time to show off your speedrun skills! Think you can complete the demo faster than anyone else? Let’s find out!

How to participate:

1️⃣ Download and play the Inayah demo.
2️⃣ Record your speedrun and capture your fastest completion time.
3️⃣ Send your video, along with your final time, to our discord channel (#clips-and-videos)
4️⃣ Submit your entry by January 23rd, 2025!

🏆 Prizes:
🥇 1st Place: Exclusive Inayah T-Shirt.
🥈 & 🥉 Runners-Up: Inayah Merch Bundle + shoutout on our socials.

Important: By participating, you agree that your footage may be used in future Inayah trailers or promotional content (full details in the Terms & Conditions).

The clock is ticking! Show us your skills and become the fastest player of the Inayah demo. Good luck, speedrunners!

Check out the complete run on Youtube:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Terms and Conditions:
This festive giveaway will run until 23.01.2025, 23h59. The winner with the fastest time will be selected and announced shortly afterwards. Open to anyone over 16 years of age (Exogenesis Studios employees excluded). If a winner does not respond within 24 hours, we reserve the right to draw another name. This giveaway is not affiliated with Steam, Youtube, X, TikTok or Meta.

Hello, everyone!
As we near the end of the year, it's time to reflect and plan ahead. This festive post is dedicated to what 2024 brought us and what awaits INAYAH in 2025.

[h2]The Transformation of INAYAH This Year[/h2]
This year has been incredibly challenging yet immensely productive. Much of what you see in the game today was created over the past 12 months. We revisited approaches, tested ideas, and reshaped the world of INAYAH.

[h3]Jungle Biome a Year Ago:[/h3]


[h3]Jungle Biome Now:[/h3]


[h3]Mines Biome a Year Ago:[/h3]


[h3]Mines Biome Now:[/h3]


We continue to polish existing content while completing the rest of the game. All this has been possible thanks to the incredible efforts of our fantastic team. We’re proud of the results and hope you’ll enjoy them!




This year, we connected more closely with our community by launching a Kickstarter campaign and receiving much-needed support.

Thank you for your enthusiasm - adding INAYAH to your wishlist, following the project, and helping us move forward. Your support is invaluable!

[h2]Plans for 2025[/h2]

[h3]Demo Update[/h3]
We’re thrilled to announce our participation in the upcoming Steam Next Fest with a brand-new demo of INAYAH: Life after Gods! Expect significant changes: refined mechanics, more levels to explore, an expanded arsenal, and much more. We've taken player feedback into account to make the demo even better!

And there’s more! Based on the current demo, we’re creating a special Boss Rush mode, which will be available shortly after release.

[h3]Release Date Coming Soon[/h3]
We’re preparing to announce the exact release date very soon. What we can share now is that the game will launch in the first half of 2025!

[h3]Animated Cutscenes[/h3]
We’re adding a lot of new content to the game, including animated cutscenes to immerse you even deeper into the world of INAYAH. Stay tuned for details in future devlogs!

[h3]Epic Bosses and Progression[/h3]
We’re working on over 20 unique bosses, each offering a distinct challenge. While more than 15 are already available in the early version, we’re focusing on balance and uniqueness for the remaining ones.

Additionally, we’re developing a robust progression system with over 200 passive talents, 50 implants, and 10 Injector flowers, giving you endless build possibilities and ensuring every playthrough is unforgettable.

[h3]World Exploration[/h3]
Our levels are brimming with secrets and hidden items for you to discover. These will soon be available for beta testers and in the new demo.

[h3]Post-Launch Plans[/h3]
After release, we aim to provide long-term support for INAYAH, including porting the game to all major console platforms, developing DLCs, and continually improving the game based on your feedback. Who knows - maybe we’ll even create a sequel someday!

[h2]Happy Holidays![/h2]
Our team is taking a short break to return in January refreshed and full of ideas. From all of us at INAYAH, we wish you happy holidays and a wonderful New Year! Thank you for being with us, and see you in 2025!