Dewborne Dawn

The world of Ephemore and its inhabitants have been ravaged by a cataclysmic plague known as the Spiritblight. Even the gods, who descended from the heavens to fight the curse, succumbed to the catastrophe. With their dying breath, these deities created the Final Bastion, a land free from the Spiritblight, or so they thought. Rumors have spread that this living corruption has somehow broken through this last haven. You awaken inside this sanctuary as Dew, a strange creature with seemingly no past, and an equally strange weapon that is able to resist the scourge.

While not every race survived the Spiritblight, those that did exist in an uneasy alliance, living in constant fear that the barrier to the Final Bastion could go down at any moment. Despite this, they continue to hold on to the smallest threads of hope. With the gods apparently dead, and the Spiritblight as aggressive as ever, these threads are slowly being cut. You are the last line of defense that can tip the scales. It is up to you to explore the Final Bastion, discover the secrets that the gods left behind, and fight against the onslaught that aims to end it all.

Find your own path forward, instead of the game itself directing the roads you take.
Locate hidden hallways, strike breakable walls, and discover subtle entrances that lead to meaningful discoveries.
Experience gorgeous, immersive hand-painted environments, including layers upon layers of parallaxed background, middleground, and foreground elements to truly make the atmosphere come alive.
Piece together a deep narrative in a lore-rich world, and in a number of unique ways. Go out of your way to learn the language of the gods, take on side quests for NPCs, battle through optional bosses, all to discover the meaning behind your existence.

The heart of any good metroidvania is finding your own path forward, instead of the game itself directing the roads you take. It's finding that one cave behind a breakable wall, leading to a powerful upgrade. It's looking at the undiscovered parts of your map and theorizing what could possibly be located there. It's finding that one subtle doorway that opens up to a massive new region. We never want there to be a singular path or method to experiencing progression.

Conflict is a key part of any good narrative, and that is no different in Dewborne Dawn. This conflict takes the form of Spiritblight, who aim to stop you at every turn. Whether its small beasts that can be dealt with from a quick slash of your blade, or elite bosses that require strategic approaches and quick reflexes, you will constantly need to stay on your toes to survive in this post-calamity world. Luckily, with your divinely-appointed blade, arcane powers, and reluctant guide, you should be well equipped to hold your own in a fight. We wanted to give players a variety of options on how to approach the fights, to cater to the different playstyles that each individual prefers. One way we are utilizing this approach, is by giving enemies not only health, but stamina as well. When performing combos, parrying, and generally pressuring an enemy, you can attempt to break their stamina instead of just depleting their health. By completely depleting the Stamina gauge, it opens the enemy up for a special One-Hit Kill.

One of our most exciting additions, that I think sets us apart from many other metroidvanias, is our focus on the recruitment of party members, which help in various ways in combat. These allies aren't simply just combat tools. They each have a deep connection with the lore of the world and the narrative of Dew's journey. Sometimes they will simply join you as you progress through the world. Other times, you will need to actively perform specific quests in order to gain their trust. Each of these potential friends have their own stories to tell, and their own conflicts that need resolution. Every single ally provides something unique in combat, and attempting to befriend them all will be more than beneficial to your cause.

Create free-flowing combos with a variety of attacks, specials, and maneuvers. Let loose your aggression with full rushdown assaults, or launch the enemy in the air and bombard them while they're vulnerable.
Customize your playstyle even further by unlocking skills through a dynamic skill tree system. Uncover new branches as you discover new parts of the world.
Whether its utilizing a flurry of sword strikes to take out a mob of small beasts, or elite bosses that require strategic approaches and quick reflexes, there is never one way to approach combat.
Health isn't the only resource that you can aim to deplete. Deplete the stamina of enemies as well, to open up the ability to exhaust the enemy. Once the enemy is exhausted, perform a devastating One-Hit KO technique!

Spread throughout the world are shrines that give you access to new abilities and equipment, allowing for the player to enter previously unreachable locations.
Whether its a grappling hook, giving you the chance to reach new heights, or a magic drill, allowing you to descend to the darkest depths, all obstacles can be cleared with the right equipment.
These upgrades not only aid in your navigational needs, but can also be used in combat to provide even more avenues for victory.
For the majority of these upgrades, there is no set, linear way to discover them. One upgrade that a player finds last in their journey, another player could grab it near the beginning, causing a completely different path to progression.

Meet a plethora of unique characters that survived the Spiritblight invasion. Learn their stories and aspirations, and help them resolve their own conflicts.
Take up quests for these characters which, upon completion, will allow you to recruit these characters to your side. Each of these new party members contain exclusive, one-of-a-kind skills unique to just themselves.
Find which of these party members compliment your playstyle the most, and summon them in combat to extend your combos, cover your weaknesses, and give you the upper hand.
By recruiting certain NPCs in your party, cutscenes and dialogue options may change in ways that provide different perspectives on current events in the Final Bastion, as well as the overall narrative of your adventure.