Knitewings News

[p]We’re excited to announce that sign-ups for the Knitewings™ Closed Playtest are now open! ✨
This marks a major milestone in development: for the first time, players will be able to experience a fully playable version of the main gameplay loop and directly contribute to game balancing and refinement.

Access is limited, but anyone can apply for participation through the official Steam page:
👉 https://store.steampowered.com/app/3729530/Knitewings/

[h2]🔹 What’s Included in the Playtest[/h2]

• Tutorial Stage: introduction to controls and flight mechanics.
  
• “Earth” Level (Level 4): full playable mission featuring combat, a mid-boss encounter, and progression systems.
  
• Core Systems: XP, coins, power-ups, and adjustable camera presets (Cinematic / Balanced / Arcade).
  
• Optional survey and gameplay data submission for those who want to actively contribute.

[h2]📋 How to Contribute[/h2]

After completing the playtest, you can help us in two ways:

1️⃣ By filling out a short survey to share your impressions (controls, difficulty, pacing, flight feel).
The survey will be available here:
👉 (a direct link to the survey will be added soon)

2️⃣ By sending the automatically generated game data file (kills, progress, deaths, etc.) via e-mail to:
📧 [email protected]

You can also include comments or additional feedback in the same message.

Both actions are optional, but they will greatly help us balance the gameplay and refine the overall experience.

[h2]🧭 Focus of the Test[/h2]

The Closed Playtest focuses on:

• Camera movement and flight control
  
• Difficulty balancing and gameplay pacing
  
• Performance testing and visual feedback
  
• Every session will contribute to improving the upcoming public version of Knitewings™.
  

[h2]💬 From the Developer[/h2]

“This playtest is a key milestone,” says Fabio, the game’s developer.
“It’s not just about testing Knitewings™, but about collaborating with players to perfect the feeling of flight, rhythm, and progression.”

[h2]🎮 How to Join[/h2]

Request access to the Closed Playtest directly from the Steam page:
👉 Request Access to the Playtest

And if you’d like to support development, don’t forget to wishlist Knitewings™ 💫
👉 Add to Your Wishlist on Steam

[h3]Thank you all for your support 💙[/h3]
Every bit of feedback helps us take flight.

— Profenix Studio SRLS

[p]Over the past weeks, many of you mentioned that the camera movement in Knitewings™ felt a bit too strong — especially during rolls and quick turns.[/p][p]Thanks to your feedback, I’ve refined the system to make the experience more flexible and comfortable for everyone.[/p]

[p]The camera system in Knitewings™ was designed to be highly parametric, allowing me to easily adjust its behavior without rewriting the core code.[/p][p]By tuning parameters like roll intensity, vertical smoothing, and responsiveness, I’ve now introduced three distinct camera modes that completely change the feeling of flight:

• ✨ Cinematic Mode — smooth, immersive, focused on spectacle
  
• 🎮 Arcade Mode — tighter, faster, pure control
  
• ⚖️ Balanced Mode — no roll, but softer vertical motion, right between the two
  

[p]The gameplay remains the same — what changes is the sensation of movement and immersion.[/p]
[p]🎥 Here’s a short clip showing the first two modes in action:
[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]I’m still fine-tuning the parameters, so your impressions are more than welcome![/p][p]🕊️ If you’d like to support the project, a wishlist on Steam helps a lot 🙏[/p][p]👉 Wishlist Knitewings™ on Steam[/p]

[p]Development on Knitewings™ keeps moving forward, one wingbeat at a time.
Since the announcement, the focus has been on gameplay depth and progression — expanding the core combat system while laying the foundations for the first full stage.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h3]⚔️ New Combat Bonuses[/h3][p]Two new Divine bonuses are now part of the experience, designed to reward skilled and daring players:[/p]

• [p]Divine Strike — a powerful lunge finisher that triggers when you defeat a high-HP enemy with a close-range strike.[/p]
• [p]Perfect Wave — achieved when you wipe out an entire train of at least four enemies in a single sequence.[/p]

[p]Both bonuses contribute to your divine energy and reinforce the fast, rhythmic flow that defines Knitewings™: every strike, dodge, and combo feels like part of an aerial dance.[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][hr][/hr][h3]🧩 Progression & Unlock System[/h3][p]A new upgrade and unlock system has been implemented.
Each character and stage now follows clear rules for unlocking — encouraging players to master specific challenges and replay missions with different strategies.[/p][p]This addition marks a key step toward the roguelite foundation of the game: every run is not only about surviving, but about growing stronger, flight after flight.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h3]🎮 Menus & Interface[/h3][p]Work has continued on the overall interface, including:[/p]

• [p]The Character Selection screen, now fully functional.[/p]
• [p]The main menu and unlock logic, currently being refined.[/p]
• [p]A small but noticeable tweak to the dodge effect — the camera now widens its FOV during the move, amplifying the sense of speed and motion.[/p]

[p][/p][hr][/hr][h3]☁️ Worldbuilding Progress[/h3][p]Stage 1 — Paradise — is now in development, introducing new enemy types known as the Valgrim, winged knights that embody the duality of grace and aggression.
They will appear in multiple variants, from standard shooters to melee elites capable of performing close-range attacks.[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][hr][/hr][h3]✈️ What’s Next[/h3][p]Over the next month, the focus will shift to:[/p]

• [p]Completing the Stage 1: Paradise level.[/p]
• [p]Developing the Training Stage for the upcoming public demo.[/p]
• [p]Polishing the menu flow and unlock progression for characters and levels.[/p]

[p]Each new step brings Knitewings™ closer to its first public release.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h3]🙏 Thank You[/h3][p]Thanks to everyone who’s been following the development so far — Knitewings™ is entirely built by one person, from the engine to the art and gameplay systems.
Your comments and wishlists truly help the project spread its wings.[/p][p]If you’d like to support this journey, adding the game to your wishlist means a lot[/p][p][/p][p]See you soon in Heaven.[/p]

[p]To get into the rhythm of Knitewings™, start from three simple ideas: your forward fire that opens the way, a helper that auto-locks the closest threat, and a couple of systems that work in the background while you focus on staying in the safe lane. In-game we call them Verb (primary), Manifestation (secondary), and Gifts (supports).[/p]

[h2]Verb (primary weapon)[/h2]
[p]The Verb is your main shot. It always aims at the primary target: the enemy in front of you, in the direction of travel. It “opens the way”: keeps the lane clear, wears enemies down, and lets your sister advance without losing the beat.[/p]

[h2]Manifestation (secondary weapon)[/h2]
[p]The Manifestation is your “smart” helper. It fires at the secondary target, which auto-locks the nearest enemy. You keep the lane with the Verb; it adds pressure where needed—an elite trying to slip by on the side, a drone drifting into your path, a survivor just outside the forward cone.[/p]

[h2]Gifts (automatic supports)[/h2]
[p]Gifts are systems that act on their own. Some are offensive (hit around you), some defensive (absorb/mitigate), some hybrid. Think orbiting little objects, rotating shields, fields that weaken anything that gets close. You pick two: they work in the background while you play and help you open safe windows to engage.[/p]

[h2]When the Forward Melee Lunge comes in[/h2]
[p]There’s always a moment when an enemy is right on you. The forward melee lunge is a short, decisive thrust to finish close-range threats. It’s not a dodge and it doesn’t cancel bullets: it’s an offensive move. It shines once you’ve already softened targets with Verb/Manifestation and want to close without giving space.[/p]

[p]Some bosses and some elites/minibosses can charge a frontal dash. If your lunge connects at the impact moment, you perform a parry: the hit is annulled and you gain a breath to respond. It’s all about timing and reading the tell (the brief wind-up).[/p]

• Watch the tell: wind-up, burst, trajectory.
  
• Lunge on contact: successful parry → window to strike (or use a Special).
  
• At first, practice on readable dashes; then pick up the pace.
  

[h2]Two simple examples[/h2]
[p]Clear and close. Keep the lane with the Verb; the Manifestation locks the nearest. When the elite reaches contact, lunge and you’re done.[/p]
[p]Dash read, parry done. The boss (or an elite/miniboss) charges: small adjustment to stay aligned, lunge on contact → parry lands → short burst to capitalize on the space.[/p]

[p]Want a GIF explaining the Manifestation lock-on or the parry window? Tell us in the comments. And if you like the direction, add Knitewings™ to your Wishlist. Many voices, one Song. 🎶[/p]

I’m not that young anymore:
I have a family, a past… but my passion for videogames never went away. It has always been the constant in my life, strange as it may sound.

This past year I kept remembering my childhood summers, spent in seaside arcades at my grandma’s place.
I still recall one huge arcade hall, filled with cabinets. In 1986, when I was nine years old, I saw Space Harrier for the first time — and I went crazy.
The idea of using a flight stick to move a character sprinting across endless landscapes, and above all, being able to make him fly while shooting hordes of aliens, was something that stayed with me forever.

After that experience I started dreaming: one day I would make a game like Space Harrier — frantic, exciting, fantastic.

That’s how the idea of Knitewings™ was born.

At first it was just a small prototype, a way to relive those childhood feelings — and also a way to see if I could really implement this kind of gameplay within my own engine, S2Engine.

From the very first days, even with nothing more than a scrolling plane and a character moving up and down, I felt the same excitement I had as a kid in the ’80s coming back to me.

Step by step, that feeling pushed me forward, and the project kept growing… until it became what it is today.

Along the way, I also realized that the original Space Harrier was, at its core, a very simple game. Adapting that kind of gameplay to today’s standards required a long and thoughtful rework of its mechanics. That’s where the idea came from to merge the rail shooter formula with roguelite elements — always trying to preserve the frantic pace and the arcade essence of the original.

It’s still in development, but already exciting enough to be shown to the public.

This project is more than just a game to me — it’s a childhood dream finally taking shape.
Thank you so much to everyone who takes a moment to support Knitewings™ with a wishlist or a kind word. Your encouragement truly keeps me going 🙏