Trials of Enkidu News

[p]Hello everyone!
I’m Stefano Terry, Co-Founder/CEO/Lead Game Designer at LA2079 Studios, and we’re beyond excited to announce that The Trials of Enkidu Alpha Playtest is LIVE on Steam![/p][p]Starting today, you can download and play the demo and experience The Trials for yourself.[/p][p]This playtest is a work-in-progress build, so you may encounter bugs and missing features — and that’s the point: we want your feedback to help us tighten and improve the game before Early Access.[/p][p]What we want feedback on[/p][p]Combat feel & pacing • Controls • Difficulty & balance • Enemy behavior
Gear + Lotus Shards buildcrafting • Companion system • Progression flow[/p][hr][/hr][p]What’s included in the playtest:[/p]

• [p]World 1: Stages 1–3[/p]
• [p]Companion: Kragor (recruit him by talking to him in the Nexus Hub)[/p]
• [p]20+ weapons available (we want you experimenting!)[/p]
• [p]Gear + Lotus Shards drops to test buildcrafting[/p]
• [p]Blacksmith Shop (buy/sell Gear + Shards)[/p]
• [p]Streamlined progression / objectives (1 objective per stage for the playtest)[/p]

[p]What’s NOT included:[/p]

• [p]Story content (this test is focused on gameplay and systems)[/p]

[hr][/hr][p]Join us on Discord![/p][p]We’d love to hear your thoughts in the dedicated alpha playtest feedback channels:
Join Discord → say you’re a playtest player in #welcome and we’ll get you set up!
[/p][p]Discord:[/p][p]https://discord.gg/FnCbXbGE[/p][p][/p][p]Thank you all so much for supporting The Trials of Enkidu! We can’t wait to hear what you think![/p][p]See you all in The Trials!
Stefano[/p][p]Steam Page: [/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink] [/p][p]Lady Akira Takamura of the Takamura Clan[/p]

[p]Hello, everyone, and Happy New Year! I hope you've all had a wonderful, safe, and happy holiday season, and that 2026 is treating you well! [/p][p][/p][p]I just wanted to give an update on the status of the Alpha Playtest, and share some new screenshots and art! [/p][p][/p][p]In Alpha Playtest news, we are addressing a few critical issues that popped up over the break, and once those are resolved, we'll be launching the Alpha Playtest. I'll post the specific date in a future update here! [/p][p][/p][p]I'll go into more details about the playtest around that time, but in short, the playtest will feature a small slice of what The Trials of Enkidu will offer when it launches in Early Access in 2026! [/p][p][/p][p]The playtest will feature World 1, comprised of Stages, 1, 2, and 3, as well as the Kin of Ki faction. [/p][p][/p][p]There will be no story content in the alpha playtest, as this test is focused on gathering feedback on the core gameplay systems and mechanics. [/p][p][/p][p]Aside from the 3 stages, you will have access to all 23+ current weapons, a host of Lotus Shards and Gear to experiment with, and the Blacksmith Shop, which allows you to buy/sell Gear and Lotus Shards. [/p][p]We truly can't wait for you all to get to experience what we've been working on these past 2 years, and your feedback will be critical in shaping The Trials of Enkidu as we work to make it the best game we can possibly make. [/p][p][/p][p]Thanks once again for all of your support, and we'll get the playtest into your hands as soon as possible! [/p][p]Till next time! [/p][p][/p][p]Stefano - Co-Founder/CEO/Lead Game Designer - LA2079 [/p][p][/p][p]And, as promised, here is a screenshot of World 3: Winter Stage, featuring a few members of the Takamura Clan, rival faction to the Domen Shogunate, the ruling faction of the Shogunate Era of World 3: Monkey Spearman, of the Kin of Ki.[/p]

[p]Hello, everyone! I hope this holiday season has you all in good health and good spirits!

While we're currently still hard at work on preparing the alpha playtest for you all to get your hands on soon, I'm very pleased/excited to share this little update on the overall progress of the Early Access build of the game!

This past week, we've officially begun implementation of the tilesets and enemies for Worlds 2 and 3! Each World in The Trials of Enkidu is set in a particular era of the Lands of Expanse's history. The tileset and map generation for World 2, Stage 1 and 2, and World 3, Stage 1, 1B, 2, and 3 is now implemented, and we are refining the map generation, as well as WIP balance tuning and setup for the new enemies that will be appearing in those worlds!

World 1 takes place in an era of pre-history, dominated by the Kin of Ki, a Beastlike tribe with attunement to nature. The 3 stages that represent this era are The Tribal Lands, The Cavern of Lost Children, and The Moonlit Grove.

World's 2 and 3 take place in two new Eras, also featuring 3 stages each. I won't spoil too much, but it's been absolutely exciting to finally see some of these stages coming to life, with their respective enemies (and their unique strengths/weaknesses) shaking things up and forcing me to consider what Gear/Lotus Shards I should bring into the stage, and what weapons I should prioritize to best exploit the new foes!

And of course, there's the music! Our composer, m.lin.k, has done such an incredible job in bringing a unique soundscape to each of these stages, and seeing it all come together has been incredibly rewarding and beyond exciting!

We're also continuing to fine tune, polish, and balance our Gear, Lotus Shards, Weapons, and Enemies, and we can't wait to get the alpha playtest into your hands so we can receive your feedback. We'll have news on when the playtest will be available soon!

In the meantime, here is a WIP screenshot from World 2, Stage 1, featuring a few of the Agni Covenant, a new enemy faction Enkidu (and you), will have to overcome as his journey to unravel the mysteries of The Eternal Lotus ripples across time!

Til next time!

Stefano - Co-Founder/CEO/Lead Game Designer - LA2079
High Priestess Lyra, a member of the Agni Covenant[/p]