Chained Beasts News

[p]Gladiators, are you ready? The Chained Beasts Steam demo is now available! Don your beastly visage and choose your sword, spear, mace or flail as you enter the brutal Carthage arena while chained to your friends in this co-op gladiator roguelike.[/p][p][/p][h2]👍 Drop a review on the demo page[/h2][p]If you've been with us since our first Steam playtest, or if it's your first time experiencing Chained Beasts' brutal gladiatorial combat, the best way to show your support is to leave a review on the Steam Demo page:[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][h2]⛓ What you'll experience in the demo[/h2]

• [p]Learn the basics of combat as you attempt to escape your Roman prison camp in the tutorial[/p]
• [p]Survive 5 days of battles in the scorching Carthage arena[/p]
• [p]Level up and choose from dozens of brutal upgrades[/p]
• [p]Dozens of physical and mental afflictions to endure as side effects of healing potions[/p]
• [p]Face off against the fearsome rhino-mounted boss in the demo's climactic showdown[/p]
• [p]Unlock a fifth playable Beast with a unique starting twist[/p]
• [p]Beat the demo's boss to unlock a higher difficulty with special modifiers[/p]
• [p]All of this is playable in singleplayer or with up to 4 players in local and online co-op![/p]

[p][/p][h2]💬 Team up on the Featherweight Discord[/h2][p]If you're looking for others to enter the arena with, join the Featherweight Discord and post in the co-op crew channel to find other gladiators ready and waiting: https://discord.gg/3qKKQ52P4W[/p][p][/p][h2]💌 Send us your feedback[/h2][p]Help make Chained Beasts the most brutal co-op gladiator roguelike it can be by sending us your feedback after playing the demo: https://forms.gle/RFBpFcqsDEncQaKi7[/p][p][/p][h2]⭐ Wishlist on Steam[/h2][p]Be sure to wishlist Chained Beasts on Steam to be notified about any upcoming news, and about the game's release next year![/p]

[h2]📅 Demo Date Announcement[/h2][p]Gladiators, prepare for your first battle! The Chained Beasts demo will be available on Steam on November 12, 3pm PDT. [/p][p]This demo includes the tutorial and five brutal battles in the Carthage arena, and culminates in a showdown with the first boss who charges into battle on a Rhino mount![/p][p]Visit the demo page here: [/p][h2][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/h2][p][/p][h2]⭐ Wishlist on Steam[/h2][p]Be sure to wishlist Chained Beasts on Steam to be notified when the demo launches![/p][p][/p][h2]💬 Join the Discord[/h2][p]The Chained Beasts demo can be played with 1-4 players, so start putting your crew together. To find other gladiators to brave the arena with online, join the Featherweight Games Discord here: https://discord.gg/3qKKQ52P4W[/p][p][/p][h2]👕 T-Shirt Giveaway[/h2][p][/p][p]Each day from now until the November 12 demo release date, we're giving away 5 Chained Beasts t-shirts to lucky community members![/p][p]All you need to do to enter the giveaway is join the Featherweight Games Discord and react to this announcement with a ✅. Each day we'll be posting new announcements to react to, giving you multiple chances to win, with a total of 35 t-shirts being given away![/p][p]Winners will be contacted directly via Discord to organise size and shipping details. Good luck, gladiators![/p]

[p]The Chained Beasts public playtest has come to a close. As the roar of the crowd dies down, we want to thank each and every gladiator for taking the time to participate in the Chained Beasts public playtest on Steam. We had just under 10,000 gladiators stepping into the arena throughout the one week playtest, which is far more than we imagined seeing![/p][p]We want to thank everyone who took the time to leave us feedback through our survey, Discord, and the playtest Steam discussion forum. We are taking that feedback into account and wanted to give you a sneak peek at just two of the many changes we are working on, and what's next for Chained Beasts. That news in brief:[/p][p][/p][h3]I) Shields are now pickups with durability, will stun enemies when they attack while you’re blocking, and you can block cancel out of attacks
[/h3][h3]II) The Trainer is now interactive, and if you train too hard to unlock a perk, you may also get injured
[/h3][h3]III) We’ll be exhibiting Chained Beasts at SXSW Sydney in October
[/h3][h3]IV) A Chained Beasts Demo is coming in November with higher difficulties unlocked[/h3][p][/p][p][/p][h2]🛡️ SHIELD CHANGES[/h2][p]Previously, every player started with a shield, and you can use them to block indefinitely - as long as you had enough stamina. Blocking a hit slightly reduced your stamina, and continuing to hold your shield up reduced the rate at which your stamina recharged.[/p][p]We have changed this so that now, you do not start with a shield, and shields are instead items you pick up. There is no longer any stamina cost to blocking, and each attack you block will briefly stun the enemy that hit your shield. However, each hit your shield takes will reduce its durability, until eventually, the shield will break. You can pick up a replacement shield from any enemy you kill in the arena who carries one.[/p][p]We made this change as we would like shields to feel overall less punishing to use from a stamina perspective, but still act as a resource you need to manage. You will need to be mindful of your shield’s durability during combat, but the extra bonus that comes from briefly stunning an enemy by blocking their attack allows you an opportunity to follow up with your own attack that previously didn’t exist. And to make combat feel a little more fluid, you will now be able to cancel out of attacks by blocking, instead of needing to wait for the entire attack animation to finish.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]💪 TRAINER CHANGES[/h2][p]Something else we’ve changed is the way the Trainer levels you up in between battles. In the playtest, the trainer would automatically level you up each time you visited him, and give you the choice between a few different perks.[/p][p]This will still be the case on the lowest Pleb difficulty. But beyond that, it won’t be so easy you’ll need to break a sweat! Above that difficulty, visiting the Trainer means you will actually need to decide how much you are going to train, in pursuit of that level up. You do this by opting to do a randomly decided number of reps - between one and three each time you opt in. Each rep you do will gradually fill up the experience bar - as will any reps from other players, too! You are all working together to fill up that bar, and when it is full, all of you will level up.[/p][p]However, each rep you do will also increase the amount of pain you are experiencing individually. If you do too many reps, you will receive a new injury - like a broken toe that hampers your movement, or a dislocated shoulder that affects how well you throw, or a punctured lung that makes you run out of breath.[/p][p]Just like a real workout, you’ll want to push yourself to do as many reps as you can, without going too far into injury territory. But don’t slack off, or no-one will level up! Perhaps you’re all so close to levelling up, and one player decides to take one for the team and injure themselves by doing the last reps needed to ensure everyone gets to pick a new perk. Much like drinking potions from the Healer, we want decisions in Chained Beasts to always have pros and cons that you need to weigh up, and this is just one new avenue for us to achieve that goal.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]📅 SXSW SYDNEY[/h2][p]We are thrilled to announce that Chained Beasts will be playable at South By Southwest Sydney, on Friday October 17, and Saturday October 18. If you’re nearby, come and get your hands on Chained Beasts and the many other quality indie games we’ll be exhibiting alongside. Plus, Chained Beasts will be played live on-stage by local content creators on Saturday October 18![/p][p][/p][h2]🎮 DEMO ANNOUNCEMENT[/h2][p]Didn’t check out the Chained Beasts playtest in time? Check out this great playthrough from YouTuber GohJoe to see what you missed out on:[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]But despair not! We are thrilled to announce that there will be another opportunity for you to get your hands on the game before release, as a Chained Beasts demo will be available this November, complete with an extra new difficulty level to unlock and challenge yourself with.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Gladiators, the time has come for all who seek glory to take their first steps into the arena! The Chained Beasts Public Playtest is now live, and can be accessed be pressing the Join Playtest button on the Chained Beasts Steam Store page.[/p][p][/p][p]Chained Beasts is a co-op gladiator roguelike for 1-4 players, combining brutal combat with teamwork and slapstick moments. Can you gather your friends, crush your enemies, win the crowd and gain your freedom? [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]This playtest will see you battling for survival in the Carthage Arena. You’ll need to survive 5 brutal battles in an extended version of the full game’s Act I and beat the first boss who rides in on a rhino![/p][p][/p][p]We are interested in hearing any and all feedback, as this will be the first time Chained Beasts will be shown to outside players. [/p]

• [p]Tell us what parts of the game you find fun. [/p]
• [p]Let us know if anything was hard to understand. [/p]
• [p]What don’t you like? [/p]
• [p]What would you like to see more of?[/p][p][/p]

[p]Join the Featherweight Discord to find other Gladiators to battle alongside
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