Hexborn News

[p]Hey everyone! Hexborn recently crossed 2,000 wishlists, which has been a huge milestone and motivator for me, thank you all for the support. I’ve been laser-focused on preparing the first playable prototype, which will be available to try on-site at DreamHack Stockholm next week.[/p][p]As the game grows, I’ll be using wishlist milestones to gauge interest and guide the next steps. But for now, here’s a look at one of the new systems going into the prototype: Active Perks.
[/p][hr][/hr][h2]⚡ What Are Active Perks?[/h2][p]Active Perks are a new perk type that give you explosive, high-impact abilities during combat. They’re powered by a Unified Power Meter that fills as you fight. [/p][p]The Power Meter appears as a half-circle ring around your crosshair, and once it’s full, it enters a Ready state. Your next specific action automatically triggers the perk.[/p]

• [p]No new keys.[/p]
• [p]No cooldown timers.[/p]
• [p]No extra UI.[/p]

[p]Active Perks stay completely woven into the FPS rhythm: you fight, the meter fills, and your next move unleashes something devastating.


[/p][hr][/hr][h2]🔥 Feature Spotlight: Firestorm (Fire Archetype)[/h2][p]Firestorm is one of the first Active Perks available in the prototype.[/p][p]It’s tied to the melee attack action. When your Power Meter is full, your next melee doesn’t swing, it summons a cursed spellbook that erupts into a spiraling fire vortex, ripping through everything around you.[/p]

• [p]Perfect for crowd clearing[/p]
• [p]Creates clutch “room wipe” moments[/p]
• [p]Rewards aggressive, up-close play[/p]

[p]For a bit of backstory: the spellbook itself is a pulp-horror grimoire in the Necronomicon tradition, bound in leathery hide, etched with crude glyphs, and screaming with trapped faces.



Firestorm lets you turn a desperate melee into a last-second explosion of survival.
[/p][hr][/hr][h2]🔧 Why Active Perks Matter for the Prototype[/h2][p]Active Perks expand Hexborn’s buildcraft in a way that stays true to the boomer-shooter heart of the game:[/p]

• [p]Tactical timing without micromanagement[/p]
• [p]Synergies between perks, weapons, and player actions[/p]
• [p]Distinct build identities (jump-focused, melee-focused, dash-focused, etc.)[/p]
• [p]Big, satisfying spikes of power during arena combat[/p]

[p]These perks are now part of the core experience and will be available in the first playable prototype.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p]Thanks for reading! And if you enjoy retro FPS combat mixed with roguelite progression, feel free to wishlist Hexborn, it really helps a lot.
[/p][p]See you in the next update![/p][p]
[/p]

[h2]💀 Inside the Perk System of Hexborn[/h2][p]Hexborn started with blood and bullets, a tribute to 90s FPS legends like Blood and Doom. Fast weapons. Crunchy feedback. Cultist guts splattered across a cathedral wall.[/p][p]But that’s only half the story.[/p][p]Beneath the gothic gore is a roguelite engine, a dynamic system that transforms every run, reshapes every room, and lets you build toward something monstrous.[/p][p]This devlog is all about the Perk System: how it works, why it matters, and how it turns Hexborn from “just another shooter” into a dungeon-sized engine of chaos and synergy.

[/p][h2]⚔️ Build Your Own Monster[/h2][p]In Hexborn, every enemy drops crystal shards, your XP. Level up, and you’ll choose from three randomized perks to evolve your build.[/p][p]These perks aren’t just flat stat boosts. They reprogram your playstyle. They stack. They interact. They spiral.[/p][p]Hexborn’s perk system comes in three core types:[/p]

• [p]🩸 Passive – Always-on effects: bonus damage, bleeding attacks, reload chaining.[/p]
• [p]⚡ Auto – Triggers on a timer: fire novas, lightning bursts, skeleton spawns.[/p]
• [p]🔥 Active – Player-triggered abilities: void bombs, blood sacrifices, blink decoys.[/p]

[p]Whether you’re summoning flame, warping space, or just reloading faster and stabbing harder, each perk alters how you move, fight, and survive.

[/p][p]🔥 Fire perks in action: Pyro Pulse triggers mid-fight, lighting up the battlefield. [/p][h2]🧠 Archetypes & Synergies: What Kind of Monster Are You?[/h2][p]Every perk in Hexborn belongs to a themed archetype, a playstyle framework that nudges you toward a particular kind of madness.[/p]

• [p]🩸 Blood – Risk-reward mastery: sacrifice HP for power, then lifesteal it back.[/p]
• [p]🔥 Fire – Chaos incarnate: ignite enemies, chain explosions, leave flame trails.[/p]
• [p]🌑 Shadow – Stealth and sabotage: blink, vanish, and ambush from the dark.[/p]
• [p]⚙️ Machine – Relentless momentum: reload faster, shoot harder, gain speed as you kill.[/p]

[p]You can specialize in one, or blend two to become something horrifying: A flame vampire that burns and feeds. A teleporting gunslinger who reloads mid-blink.[/p][p]But the real power comes when the perks synergize:[/p]

• [p]🧨 Ignite enemies. Then explode the burning ones. Then leave fire behind when they die.[/p]
• [p]🩸 Take more damage for more power. Then lifesteal on kill. Then explode in a blood nova when you're near death.[/p]

[p]These are builds you feel, not just in stats, but in how every fight plays out. Whether you plan them or stumble into them, synergies turn your run from “strong” into apocalyptic.
[/p][h2]🏚️ And it’s not just what perks you pick — it’s where you use them.[/h2][p]Survivors type roguelikes typically drop you into a big arena and let the waves come. Hexborn isn’t that.[/p][p]Each run unfolds in the Bloodstone Labyrinth: a procedurally generated dungeon of interconnected combat and exploration rooms.[/p][p]📜 That design comes from something I always loved in classic shooters like Blood and Doom: the joy of exploration. You weren’t just fighting, you were uncovering a strange, deadly world. I wanted to bring that feeling back.[/p][p]🕯️ I’ll go deeper into how exploration and pacing shape Hexborn’s world in a future devlog.
[/p][h2]⭐ Love retro shooters with a twist?[/h2][p]If you're into retro shooters and roguelikes where death can come from a corner shout and a muzzle flash, wishlist Hexborn on Steam to follow the journey.[/p]

So far I’ve been posting development updates here on Steam but this time, I want to share some really exciting news:

Hexborn was recently featured by two major Japanese gaming sites — Game*Spark (like Japan’s Kotaku) and Goo News! 🎉 It’s honestly surreal to see this little retro roguelite FPS reaching players around the world so early in development, and it’s a much-needed boost for me as the developer 🙌

📰 Game*Spark: https://www.gamespark.jp/article/2025/05/17/152711.html

📰 Goo News: https://news.goo.ne.jp/article/gamespark/trend/gamespark-152711.html

[h2]🎌 Now Available in Japanese![/h2]

As a small token of appreciation to Japanese players, I have added a Japanese localization to the Steam page.

If you’re a Japanese speaker and you notice anything that could be improved, feel free to leave a comment and let me know. I’d love your feedback to make sure it reads naturally.

[h2]🎮 And If you’re new here — welcome! [/h2]
Wishlist Hexborn on Steam to get notified when the demo drops and follow the development journey:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3313880/Hexborn/

– Sohrab / Caspian Interactive

"Zombies are fun target practice... but what happens when your prey starts shooting back?"

In this month's devlog, I want to introduce a new enemy in Hexborn, my roguelike retro FPS inspired by 90s shooters like Blood, soaked in Gothic horror and eldritch madness.

[h2]🕯️ Meet the Cultist[/h2]
Inspired by the iconic shotgun-wielding zealots from Blood, the Shotgun Cultist is designed to punish complacency. While zombies shamble toward you brainlessly, this guy sees you, chases you down, and fires on sight.



His animations are classic 2D sprite-based, in line with the rest of Hexborn’s weapons and enemies — but when paired with modern FX and sound design, he hits hard.

[h2]🧠 Behind the Design[/h2]
I wanted a ranged enemy that keeps you moving and makes you sweat, especially in tight spaces. Something that breaks the zombie rhythm and forces you to treat every encounter like a duel.

I pulled references directly from Blood's cultists, but added my own spin — a darker aesthetic, warped chants, and tighter, faster attacks. Gameplay-wise, this cultist becomes a pacing anchor. When you hear his signature shout echo down the hall, it’s time to duck or die.

The sprite art was hand-animated to feel sharp and aggressive, with just a hint of janky 90s charm — the kind that makes each encounter feel a little unpredictable.

[h2]🩸 Lore Connection[/h2]
The Shotgun Cultist is a footsoldier of the Cult of Shadows, the fanatics who have infiltrated the Bloodstone Labyrinth in hopes of resurrecting the Forgotten God. These zealots have adapted to the maze’s shifting geometry, establishing outposts and defending Bloodstone fragments through rituals and firepower.

They’re not mindless monsters — they’re here with purpose. And they’ll die for it.

[h2]⭐ Support the Project[/h2]
If you're into retro shooters and roguelikes where death can come from a corner shout and a muzzle flash, wishlist Hexborn on Steam to follow the journey.

[p]"When your triple-barrel shotgun runs dry, there’s only one thing left to do..."

In this week's feature, I want to share a melee weapon I’ve been working on for Hexborn, my roguelike boomer shooter drenched in Gothic horror and eldritch chaos.



Inspired by Blood’s pitchfork and twisted execution tools from the medieval era, I wanted something raw, vicious, and just a little cursed. That’s how the Heartseeker Stake was born — a brutal iron spike used in ancient rituals to bind demons. Now it’s your default weapon when all else fails.

[/p][h2]💀 Behind the Design[/h2][p]I knew I needed a fallback melee weapon, something the player could switch to when they’re out of ammo. But instead of a “basic” knife, I wanted it to feel like a weapon of last resort — something terrifying but effective.

To get the design right:

I referenced old torture instruments and execution stakes from the 15th century. I gave the artist a moodboard that blended religious relics, Gothic spears, and corrupted runes. We went through a few concepts before settling on a two-handed stake with ragged cloth, runic carvings, and a makeshift grip (so it actually looks usable!).

The result is a weapon that feels desperate and personal — like something you pull out when there’s nothing left between you and death.

[/p][h2]🔮 In-Game Notes[/h2][p]The Heartseeker is slower than your firearms, but extremely punchy — perfect for finishing off stragglers or holding your ground when cornered. It’s also fully tied into the lore of the Bloodstone Labyrinth, echoing ancient cult rituals meant to “pin down” corrupted entities.

🧪 Devlogs and behind-the-scenes posts are also available on Itch:
https://caspianinteractive.itch.io/hexborn[/p]