Infernax News

Hey dudes,

When we announced the update, we said we’d be back to talk about Cervul’s deal, and because time marches on beyond the control of mortal men, that time has come. In an attempt to keep this from turning into an insanely long post, we’re going to break it in half and cover the first set of tools Cervul has at his disposal. The next post will break down what Cervul can do if you decide to walk a darker path.



[h2]Cervul: A Dude[/h2]
From the very beginning of planning for Deux or Die we knew that we didn’t want to do something like create a copy of Alcedor, change the colors, and call it a day. The idea of making a second character with his own set of skills, abilities, and challenges was the first thing that we wanted to be a big part of the update. So we settled into giving Cervul not just his own attack style, but changing all of the secondary abilities like spells into something different and interesting for Cervul.



[h3]Axe you a question[/h3]
The differences in play style start right off the bat with an entirely different basic attack style. Where Alcedor has a shield and mace always at the ready, allowing him to go toe to toe with foes, Cervul has a more indirect ranged attack that requires more careful distance placement, and works great in addition to Alcedor’s more up front attack style. You can control the arc of Cervul’s attack to some degree by crouching, pressing forward, etc. The skilled player will be rewarded for practice, as there’s a lot of versatility in the way the Axes are used.



[h2][h3]A Tool for Every Job[/h3][/h2]
Cervul doesn’t get access to spells and potions throughout the game, and instead is equipped with an arsenal of tools that unlock abilities that help both players on their quest. Though all of Cervul’s tools have a benefit for him directly, their true power comes from the fact that they can provide utility for both players at the same time, and careful combination of their abilities can give you the edge in tough fights and to deal with the difficulty of the game that’s been rebalanced to challenge two players.



[h3]Pavise:[/h3]
A smart person explained that this is, in fact, a shield. A very big shield actually. It’s large enough that Cervul carries it with both hands, which means he can’t attack while carrying it, but it’s tall enough to block both high and low attacks at the same time, unlike Alcedor’s shield which needs to be positioned properly. In addition to being carried, the Pavise can be placed on the ground to provide a persistent barrier to attacks that Cervul can attack over, and can shield both players from incoming projectiles. One of the interesting upgrades allows Cervul to hold the Pavise overhead, not just blocking downward projectiles but also serving as a platform for Alcedor.



[h3]Crossbow:[/h3]
The crossbow is a ranged attack that can be used over and over, needing only to be reloaded momentarily. It allows Cervul to attack directly forward in addition to providing support fire to Alcedor. The upgrades to the Crossbow increase its range, damage, and turn it into a formidable weapon for Cervul’s arsenal.



[h3]Banner:[/h3]
It’s actually illegal to make a game with a squire and knight without including a banner. They’ll send you a sternly worded letter, it’s a whole thing. The banner is a held item that provides a speed and attack speed buff to both players in an area of effect. When upgraded the banner itself can be used as a short range melee attack while being held by Cervul. Where the banner gets interesting is that like the Pavise, it can be placed on the ground to continue providing an effect while Cervul is free to attack or use his crossbow.



[h3]Bandages:[/h3]
You’ll never be able to guess what these do. Just kidding, they’re bandages, they heal you. But the bandages not only heal Cervul, but they can be used to heal Alcedor as well. The upgrades allow each bandage to heal more when used, as well as increasing the total number of bandages that Cervul can carry at a time. Since options to heal are quite limited on longer dungeon runs, they make a welcome addition to survivability for the more difficult sections of the game. The bandages automatically refill any time Cervul is near a save shrine, or sleeps at an inn.

Well hopefully Pt. 1 of the rundown of the plucky new squire has you excited to return to Upel and crack some demon skulls. We’ll follow up with the next installment soon that’ll cover Evil Cervul’s abilities.

Take it easy,
Berzerk Team

Greetings Dudes,

The time foretold is finally upon us, we can tell you what we’ve been working on! We’d actually started the process of this new update before even starting the Halloween update last year, because as it turns out, video games take time to make, and major updates take longer.

So here it is, our upcoming update to the game: Infernax: Deux Or Die.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]It's Time to Duet[/h3]

This Spring, return to the lands of Upel as the Duke Alcedor, this time joined by your trusty squire Cervul as you attempt to regain control from the forces that plague your dutchy. The new mode is playable as a standard 2-player local co-op (with support for Steam remote play) or as one player hot-swap mode that allows a single person to control both characters by switching on the fly.

We've beefed up the forces of evil that plague the land to give an appropriate amount of challenge for a team, as well as integrating Cervul into the story of the game. We've modified the castles to provide additional challenge as well, so that returning players and first-time players will both find something interesting waiting for them. (By interesting, we mean very deadly.) Of course, like all other updates to Infernax we've released, this will be available free to all owners of the game, and included in all future purchases.



[h3]Introducing: Cervul The Squire[/h3]

Cervul is so much more than a copy of Alcedor, in fact he plays entirely different. Unlike the straight-forward mace and shield that Alcedor carries, Cervul is equipped with thrown weapons that give him the ability to be a great support in fights, as well as allowing him to attack in ways Alcedor can’t. Though he has abilities that allow him to attack directly forward, Cervul will find it challenging to go it alone, so teamwork is essential to success.



[h3]Equipped for Battle[/h3]

Unlike the spells and potions that Alcedor unlocks throughout the game, Cervul has an extensive set of tools that expand his capabilities. In fact there are two sets of both tools and basic attacks for Cervul, depending on which morality path you follow in a playthrough. In a future post we will break down Cervul’s abilities to give you an even better idea of what kind of gameplay the squire brings to Infernax.



We hope you’re as stoked as we are to expand Infernax not just with a new way for anyone to play, but as a game that you can enjoy playing with a friend (or foe, we don’t judge) just like the good old days. You might want to make sure you don’t give player 2 your s#!%&y loaner controller though, you’ll need them in tip-top form.

Take it easy, and we'll be back soon with more details!
-Berzerk Team

Happy Infernax Day. Nothing else going on today, just us.

Can you believe it’s been a year already? I sure as hell can’t. Feels like just yesterday we were trying to figure out how to make a pixel RPG in Flash, and now you’re trying to tell me that it’s already been out for a year now?

I refuse to believe it, because that would make me ten… eleven years older and that’s not happening. I am a spry young man not a day older than 25…

Alright, maybe not 25. Maybe it HAS actually been out for a year, but I don’t have to like it.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

It took us ten whole years to make Infernax the game we wanted it to be, and while that might seem like a long time to make a video game, watching people’s reactions and reading their comments made it all worth it; so much so that we decided to spend another year post-launch to create more content, and the biggest chunk of it has yet to come.

Stay tuned for more Infernax news, sooner than later too.

Again, Happy Infernax day, may you find someone who loves you the way Harold loves his job.

-Your pals, the Berzerk team (but specifically Mike this time)

Six games are leaving Xbox Game Pass, and if you are interested in them, you'll want to download the titles as soon as possible.

Microsoft announced the following games will leave the service in the next couple of weeks: Recompile, Skul: The Hero Slayer, The Last Kids on Earth and the Staff of Doom, Besiege Console, CrossfireX: Operation Catalyst, and Infernax.

Developed by Dear Villagers, the atmospheric, Metroidvania-inspired hacking adventure game Recompile lets you take control of a semi-sapient program struggling against deletion. Within the 3D world of the Mainframe, you will engage in intense combat, 3D platforming, super-powered abilities, and an environmental logic-based hacking mechanic.

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Someone dragged us out of our cave, and after being horrified at the brightness of true sunlight, we realized the Steam Awards are here and don’t you know, we want one.

“Which one?” you, the reader of this blog post hypothetically ask in the scenario I’m creating; let's call you Steve.

Why “The Best Game You Suck At” award of course dear Steve. We’re not greedy, we know what we made. If you want to nominate us for Game of the Year, or Outstanding Story-Rich game, legally we can’t stop you, but again we know a lot of people died endlessly beating the game, so it just makes sense.



So all we’re asking of you, our hypothetical Steve, is to throw us a nomination if you have a chance. It’ll make our publisher happy, and then we won’t have to fight them in a one-on-one deathmatch to prove our prowess as game developers. Our contract is wild, don’t worry about it.

Thanks for the support, we’re looking forward to sharing more Infernax next year with y’all. Once we have a firmer idea on dates we’ll let you know, but stay tuned because we think it’s going to have been worth the wait.

-Your pals, the Berzerk Team