Vambrace: Cold Soul - Where Eastern Art meets Western Storytelling
Story Trailer available now!
02 May 2019Vambrace: Cold Soul is a perfect example of what global collaborations are capable of creating. The game weaves the beautiful, handcrafted illustrations of Korean artist Minho Kim with an epic narrative from American writer and game designer, T.L. Riven. The result of this worldwide collaboration is a truly unique fantasy-adventure featuring the best of western game design principles with eastern aesthetics. If you’re into strategic gameplay Vambrace’s story-rich roguelike mechanics will keep you on edge for hours of dungeon delving mayhem.
Take on the role of Evelia Lyric as you embark on several expeditions that will truly test your mettle as a leader. Before departing, visit the recruiting board to assemble your team. Each member brings their unique strengths and abilities to combat and the expedition itself. Craft new items from old loot, make sure your party is properly equipped, and journey to the surface to fulfill your objectives. The path ahead will be fraught with difficulties, but every one of the game’s seven chapters offers unique challenges emphasizing different party combinations and a high level of replayability.
The recruitment board in Dalearch features up to 10 unique character classes.
Lyric comes into ownership of an ancient relic known as the Aetherbrace, after her father’s passing. She then embarks from the human realm of Edena on an expedition into the frigid, Dwarven kingdom of Dokkheim. It is there she hopes to find answers that may reveal more about the strange artifact and her father’s mysterious past. Be sure to check out the game’s Story Trailer for an introduction to Vambrace: Cold Soul as Evelia Lyric makes her fateful journey to the cursed city of Icenaire.
Concept art featuring the Dalearch, your underground base of operations, and a Dwarven native of Icenaire.
Vambrace: Cold Soul is set to release on PC on the 28th of May. The release dates for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation® 4 and Xbox One are planned for Q3 2019.
“Fromto” Open Beta starting today - join it alone or together with your friends!
Fromto\'s insane multiplayer madness will unleash your inner child again
02 May 2019Later today, at 9pm CEST / 3pm PST, every PC gamer will be able to try out the upcoming 2D multiplayer madness of Fromto at your home for the very first time. You like unpredictable things happening in games? Come in! You like to play and laugh locally or online with your friends? Give it a try then! You would rather like to try it on your own first? No problem - join the Beta and test the single player mode!
Fromto is about being creative - or just experimental - and unleashing your inner child. When we presented the 2D racing game at PAX East recently it was a good crowd puller - its unpredictability will please you and perhaps others who will watch you playing too.
If you are interested in playing Fromto, just can get one of the 1500 free Beta keys either at the game's Discord Channel or by using bit.ly/Fromto_Beta instead. The Beta will run one week, ending on May 9th. All public keys will be made void then; only press and influencer keys will remain valid.
More specific Beta information:
- 25 single player levels
- 10 insane multiplayer levels
- Lots of secrets
- Destructible terrain
- Over 50 different parts to manipulate the levels!
- 10 different cars to unlock
- Unseen art style partially made by the dev’s young kids
- Super high replayability
Fromto is mainly made for multiplayer madness, so as a journalist please just let us know if you need more keys by email. For more information about the Open Beta of Fromto please check out our Discord Channel or the Steam page updates.
Vambrace: Cold Soul Now Releasing This May
The Roguelike RPG Adventure Game Will Come to PC on May 28th
11 April 2019 Headup Games today announced a new release date for their upcoming roguelike RPG adventure Vambrace: Cold Soul, which will now release May 28th on PC. In Vambrace players are tasked with exploring the cursed city of Icenaire. Assembling teams and outfitting them for dangerous expeditions is a core aspect of the gameplay.The game was recently showcased at GDC and PAX East. Its unique blend of narrative driven gameplay and punishing dungeon crawling missions garnered critical praise and heightened fan anticipation at the events. The team was originally aiming for an April release, but decided to spend some additional time fine-tuning the title following feedback gathered at the showings. Devespresso Games and Headup remains invested in delivering the best immersive experiences to players. As such, the team is focused on providing as much of a bug-free experience as possible.
The teams are also proud of the impressions the game has made so far and is excited to share the adventures of Evelia Lyric and her companions through the icy, gothic-fantasy realm of Icenaire. The release dates for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation® 4 and Xbox One are still set to Q3 2019.
Trüberbrook two time winner at German Video Games Awards (DCP)
The adventure achieves ‘Best German Game’ and ‘Best Staging’
11 April 2019 At the glamorous gala of the German Video Game Awards 2019 (DCP), Trüberbrook shined in not just one, but two categories. The adventure game was first awarded with ‘Best Staging’, and in the end of the show also was crowned with ‘Best German Game’. This category is every year's most anticipated award of the German gaming industry.The developers of the game, btf (bildundtonfabrik), achieved the unique look of their game through a complex and lengthy process. In the beginning they built all of its scenes in miniature models – by hand and with masses of glue. In addition, to give the game its realistic look, they illuminated each scene in a cinematic way with real lighting in different moods. These scenes were then subsequently digitized trough photogrammetry and refined. Afterwards, the digitized world got further enriched by reflections, real-time shadowing, particle effects, and depth of view.
After The Inner World won in 2014, Trüberbrook is the second adventure game published by Headup which was awarded with the title of 'Best German Game' at the DCP. On a side note, the two accomplishments for Trüberbrook won btf and Headup a total of €150.000 in prize money. The German Video Game Awards have been part of the German gaming industry since 2009, this year with the biggest total prize pool ever of €590,000.
Trüberbrook is already available on Steam and GOG, console adventurers will start their journey next week. It will be digitally available on the PlayStation®Store, the Nintendo eShop and the Microsoft Store on April 17th. Collectors who would like to buy the retail version, which also includes a 24-page long travel guide, can purchase this adventurous vacation to a 1960's parallel universe two days later on April 19th. Enjoy!
Fromto release date announced
Coming to PC, Mac & Linux in early June, Switch following in Q3 2019
11 April 2019 After many insanely fun playing sessions at PAX East and a Team Choice Award Award from Marooners Rock, we are happy to announce the first fixed release date of our upcoming party game. Fromto will be released on PC, Mac and Linux on June 4th. The version for Nintendo Switch will follow later this year, in Q3 2019.Fromto results quickly in hilarious fun, laughter and yelling because so many random unforeseen and crazy impossible things will happen: After all players collected their vehicle of choice by foot in a short mini-game-like-lobby, they will start the first phase in a quite wild, but pre-set level. All players try to first reach a checkpoint and then the finish line. But this probably won’t happen in the first attempt, it’s more for checking out the level.
After all players finished their try, the magic happens in the second phase: All the little cars turn into helicopters and you’re going to collect different, randomly dropped crates which contain new track parts to place in the pre-set level: This can be helpful things like new platforms, ramps and jump pads or hindering elements such as obstacles and traps for your opponents, or just fun things like a cannon that shoots small bubbles of glue.
In addition to those random pieces, there is a shop for every player where you can buy even more ‘helpful’ things with points earned by performing stunts. Overall, there are more than 50 different parts that can be placed. A time limit will stop your creativity after 60 seconds and the next round will start.
All of this comes with a very special art style, as the game was created by the developer and contemporary artist Erik Habets, together with his two kids Niki (5) and Joep (2). Do not be mistaken, although the game might look childish, Fromto is not only for the young ones. This is a game for kids from ages 8 to 108 - and specifically for the grownup kids (and influencers)!
At PAX East, there was so much laughing and yelling at the Fromto corner of our booth, it was sheer fun to watch people playing.
Wanna be part of Fromto's Public Beta soon? Join the Discord Channel!
Open-world adventure Windscape available now
Explore the floating islands of Windscape today on Nintendo Switch™, Xbox One and PC
05 April 2019 March 27th 2019, Dueren, Germany - After a long time in Early Access the day has finally come to release the beautiful adventure game Windscape. Dennis Witte's homage to "The Legend of Zelda" came to Steam Early Access three years ago and many new locations were added over the course of that time.Now you get the chance to enter the beautiful world of Windscape and accompany the young protagonist Ida to save that wonderful world via PC, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One. It's available on Steam, the Microsoft Store and the Nintendo eShop for the price of $19.99 / 19.99€ / £15.99. There will even be a 20% release discount in the Microsoft Store and on Steam!
Windscape is a first-person exploration adventure set in a lovely world made up of floating islands in the sky. The game is highly reminiscent of the The Legend of Zelda games as well as Secret of Mana and Golden Axe Warrior of which the developer is a huge fan of. As such Windscape combines the spirit and flow of these genre classics with elements of modern exploration, crafting and survival games. The result is a unique game with a fresh blend of genres.
Meet peaceful NPCs each island's overworld and vicious monsters in the dungeons and lairs you uncover along your journey. While the islands work in a non-linear manner, the dungeons are more puzzle and combat driven - each with its own style and atmosphere. However, brute force won't get you far in larger boss fights. Tactics and figuring out your enemies' combat patterns are key to defeating larger foes such as ghosts, ogres and dragons. Your effort will be rewarded of course - there are many valuable items to loot!.
The long creation history of Vambrace: Cold Soul
How the makers of "The Coma: Recut" for many years put much love into their Strategic Roguelike RPG Adventure
14 March 2019 Vambrace: Cold Soul has been a long time coming. That is, the original concept is nearly 19 years in the making. In his youth, Minho Kim, lead artist and CEO of Devespresso Games, often worked on the conjured world of Icenaire as a form of escapism. He populated the realm with a variety of interesting characters and dramatic events.Most elements were loosely connected, while others found more solid form through discussions in Korean online forums. In there, he shared his art with other high-fantasy enthusiasts. They eagerly contributed to this ever evolving patchwork world. He even illustrated avatars for the most dedicated participants. Through the years, he honed his skill with pen and pencil. And though he would work on many new projects, Icenaire would remain a fond one. He eventually moved into the esoteric realm of game development.
Tristan Lee Riven, game designer and COO at Devespresso Games recounts the dramatic shift. "I somehow managed to convinced Minho to join me in this harebrained attempt to make our own game. That's despite the fact we had no experience or knowledge of how to do so under our belts."
The two had met in Seoul, South Korea, when Tristan happened to walk by and see Minho working on some drawings. "I invited him for a coffee and we had a discussion about his art and some of my own ideas. Everything clicked right away. We both just enjoyed the creative process of making new worlds together," Tristan recalled. The team eventually managed to figure out the complex logistics of shipping an actual game. After completing their first title, The Coma: Cutting Class, Minho's new priority was returning to the land of Icenaire he had been working on for so long.
"When we sat down and started discussing this world, I was amazed by the volume of art that he had already made. He had hundreds of sketches and colored pictures of settings, characters, creatures, and items. It was easy to get a grasp of this place that had, for the most part, only existed in his imagination," Tristan said.
Tristan began work on a solid story within this setting. The most important features he wanted to weave into the new game were the underground city of Dalearch, the frozen city of Icenaire, the Green Flame (the game's primary antagonists), and certain key characters (such as Zaquard). He tactfully incorporated these elements into the narrative and then worked with Minho to craft the world's update look.
Vambrace: Cold Soul is the culmination of all this effort. The team takes great pride in the fact they have chosen to focus on narrative-driven, hand-illustrated games. But one need only look at some of the old art to see what inspired the atmosphere and style of the soon to be released game thanks to Headup and Devespresso Games. The roguelike fantasy adventure will come to PC and Mac on 25th April, with Nintendo Switch, PlayStation®4 and Xbox One following in Q3 2019.
Trüberbrook - The adventure starts TODAY on Steam, GOG and more!
Launch Trailer for Trüberbrook is available now.
12 March 2019 Today is a day many adventure fans have long waited for: Trüberbrook is going to release globally on PC, Mac and Linux. Enjoy an adventurous vacation to a 1960's parallel universe! A Sci-Fi-Mystery Adventure Game with handmade scenery.The mysterious adventure game will be available on Steam, GOG and other platforms for 29,99 € / 29,99 USD / 24,99 GBP, starting today (March 12th) it can be purchased with a 10% release discount.
The brand-new Launch Trailer will give you the last pieces of information you need for your relaxing journey to Trüberbrook. In addition, you will get a sense of the abnormal events that will take place in the small German health resort. Check it out now!
In mid April, console players may start their journey to Trüberbrook as well, it will be available digitally on PlayStation®4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One on April 17th. Collectors who would like to buy the retail version, which also includes its 24-page long travel guide, can purchase it two days later on April 19th.
On a last note, we are super thrilled to see the first reviews coming in, stay tuned!