8-Bit Adventures 1: The Forgotten Journey Remastered Edition news & patch notes

Calling all players! The 2023 Steam Awards have begun, and it would mean the *world* to myself and our whole team if you would nominate 8-Bit Adventures 2 for the Outstanding Story-Rich Game award by clicking the link below 😊 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/733110/view/3782520875866065175 And if you've never played 8-Bit Adventures 2 before, now's a great time to jump in! As part of the Steam Autumn Sale, the game is 30% Off - our BIGGEST discount ever! 🥳 https://store.steampowered.com/app/733110/8Bit_Adventures_2/ 8-Bit Adventures 1 is also 60% Off too! https://store.steampowered.com/app/370300/8Bit_Adventures_1_The_Forgotten_Journey_Remastered_Edition/ The Steam Awards began in 2016, one year after 8-Bit Adventures 1 came out. And then 8-Bit Adventures 2 was in development for 7 years. So this year marks the first time that a big game I've developed has ever been eligible to participate in the Awards! And we only get one chance (because 2023 is our year of release). As many of you know, it's been incredibly difficult to draw attention to 8-Bit Adventures 2. I've tried everything I can think of, but one of the most common comments I receive from new players is still "Why haven't I heard of this game before?" The Steam Awards are, quite genuinely, a life-changing opportunity for us to bring 8-Bit Adventures 2 to a mainstream audience. If you've enjoyed the game and want to support our future endeavors, I would be *immensely* grateful for your support in nominating 8-Bit Adventures 2 for the Outstanding Story-Rich Game award. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/6240fdf937c2c5ae4e1b866e7159a06f68562dea.png Sebastian, Jerram, Sufyan, and I poured everything we had into making this game, so seeing players enjoy it and connect with the story has been one of the most satisfying experiences of my life. I'm immensely proud of our Very Positive rating on Steam - which is entirely thanks to players like you. If you're wondering why we're targeting the Outstanding Story-Rich Game category, Steam only allows us to select one award to be nominated for. While several other options were considered, 8-Bit Adventures 2 is - ultimately - a story-focused game, in a story-focused genre. And based on comments from players, it's a story that's really connected with people - which I couldn't be happier about. But don't take my word for it. I want to share some public-facing quotes from players about why our game is Story-Rich - and why 8-Bit Adventures 2 is worthy of your nomination 😊 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/41cf45a9b0da63ab81f65fe7f95737ec087760fd.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/daa91f116c8efdff6c2ab423af1601bb91940955.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/e5a311fdc0e8b32df72ae5028040827789338cc9.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/437e19a10222ea693cbecef9d49ec7cd375ec60d.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/126f114e13d718ccd9711476c66c16d6cdca32d6.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/fc4fc5d4da90142676cef1cc3e95b5f757547d7b.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/a4508cc6f6c49445e3e979b80f148ad97cbe5c66.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/9a126261e605481b5d5c2b5f3648bd93019d9d03.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/b2fd24ce40fe46c7dce7299f4c8ff8a657c50428.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/02d4ef0f13515b3e2ef7b52eab8a4524de4d1d5a.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/e29556b6e7ef7feb77a1a9b6f61733310789bda9.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/69a3fccc7e11659c68c41e1bbed5792dde615355.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/15f623f4ef3276848263244289b521ee6451c648.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/6f15044451f327d1198dc6131132ee29a6600592.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/2d254ac94b0921f97b1edaef1c0fb757b0fe474d.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/75bee0d673a8b57e128b35570842f602072b1159.png This is only a very small selection of spoiler-free comments I've received from players. Thank you SO much to everyone who's taken the time to share their thoughts on the game. It makes my day every time I read one, and it's sincerely a big help! So if you think we deserve it, please take a moment to nominate 8-Bit Adventures 2 by following the link below 👇 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/733110/view/3782520875866065175 I'll be doing a proper update post in December, as well as releasing a new game update with bug fixes, a restored April Fools' boss, and something fun for the Holiday Season. And the game's Free DLC is progressing very well! But for now, please show us your support - and let's make 8-Bit Adventures 2 a success together! 🥰 ~ Josh For more information and updates, please:

• Visit our Official Website
• Follow us on Twitter
• Subscribe to our Official Youtube Channel
• Listen to Music Samples on our SoundCloud
• Join us on Discord
• Buy 8-Bit Adventures 2 on Steam

Hi everyone! I'm thrilled to announce 8-Bit Adventures 2 has been selected for Sydney SXSW's Indie Showcase! 🥳 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/f89ff1a01c55b805077cbd1b86415ffec4cb41cf.png And since this event is in Australia (and in my home state), I (Josh) will be manning the booth in person. And not only that, but our wonderful artist Jerram will also be attending the event! So if you're coming to SXSW in person, please stop by the Indie Showcase and say g'day! 😊 Times (in AEDT) and location are listed below, but for more information, please visit: https://schedule.sxswsydney.com {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/3d587a4f1c203c1dfece147ba2598829ec5b9390.png The event will also be accompanied by a discount on 8-Bit Adventures 2! So if you haven't picked up the game yet, it's a great time to do so 😁 I'm sorry that I've been so quiet recently. I've been trying to balance a lot of spinning plates in the background, and put several plans into motion. So there's a LOT happening that I think you guys are going to enjoy next year - I just can't announce any of it yet 😅 But if you're going to be at Sydney SXSW, I sincerely hope to see you there! ~Josh For more information and updates, please:

• Visit our Official Website
• Follow us on Twitter
• Subscribe to our Official Youtube Channel
• Listen to Music Samples on our SoundCloud
• Join us on Discord
• Buy 8-Bit Adventures 2 on Steam

Hi everyone! It's been a little while, but I'm back with a new update to celebrate the Steam Summer Sale! We'll cover the latest deals, some fresh news, and a tiny tease of the future... But first, I'm excited to announce that 8-Bit Adventures 2 has now sold over 3000 copies! 🥳 It's a solid start, and what's most exciting is that more than a third of those copies were sold *after* the game's launch month. To me, this shows that 8-Bit Adventures 2 is a game with legs - and that's absolutely thanks to the great word of mouth and positive Steam reviews from players. Thank you all so much for that - your passion and support mean the world to me 🥰 Our next goal is to reach 500 Steam Reviews and receive an Overwhelmingly Positive rating - that way, we'll get more attention from Steam's algorithms. We're already at 114 reviews, so if you enjoyed the game and want to support us, please consider leaving one of your own! 😊 Now, onto the Discounts! (News and Teases are further below) {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/e55df4a353c80f95091c28e7e9d33a5d8f760c79.png

8-Bit Adventures 2

From now until July 13th at 10am PDT, you can get 8-Bit Adventures 2 for 20% Off ($15.99 USD)! https://store.steampowered.com/app/733110/8Bit_Adventures_2/ You can also get the incredible Soundtrack for 20% Off ($7.99 USD), or the Game + Soundtrack Bundle for just $23.99 USD! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2281060/8Bit_Adventures_2_Soundtrack/

8-Bit Adventures 1

While you can jump into 8-Bit Adventures 2 without any prior experience, I've learnt that a lot of players really want to get the full story. So for the next twelve days, you can also get 8-Bit Adventures 1 for 60% Off ($3.99 USD)! https://store.steampowered.com/app/370300/8Bit_Adventures_1_The_Forgotten_Journey_Remastered_Edition/ The first game's wonderful Soundtrack is 30% Off ($3.49 USD), or you can get the 8-Bit Adventures 1 Game + Soundtrack Bundle for only $6.59 USD! https://store.steampowered.com/app/387170/8Bit_Adventures__Soundtrack__Composers_Selection/

Tales Across Time

Finally, you can also get our experimental, short-story RPG Tales Across Time for just $2.39 USD! This game was like a testing ground for ideas I was considering for 8-Bit Adventures 2 after finishing 8BA1. https://store.steampowered.com/app/461710/Tales_Across_Time/

Behind-the-Scenes News and Updates

So what's been going on since we last caught up? Well, there's been great progress with the 8-Bit Adventures 2 console ports going on at Ratalaika Games. In fact, I'll be receiving a new test build in the coming week - which I'm very excited about! 😁 Because I'm not handling the porting process myself, there's not much that I can share beyond that; but there has been a LOT of progress (in the past month especially), so the project is definitely on-track!

Free DLC

What I *have* been working on myself is the upcoming Free DLC for 8-Bit Adventures 2! The sprawling dungeon that this content takes place in has now been completed. It's over 50 Maps in size - divided into 9 Areas across 3 Tiers - and every area is different. The format of the dungeon is much more open and free-flowing than normal, so I'm excited to see what players think! It even has a town inside it - which you can see just a little of below. It has ties to a location in the main game, so I'm curious to see if anyone recognises it 😉 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/416bdeec374966fb173bc28c9043dcda57aed93c.png Sebastian has also been hard at work on some music for the Free DLC, and just recently completed a new boss battle theme which I think chiptune fans are going to really enjoy! Truth be told, after seven years of development on 8BA2, I've been feeling pretty burnt-out since the Steam release (as well as all the post-launch bug fixing that we did). And this Free DLC ended up being much more ambitious than I originally intended - so I apologise for the wait! But I want to make it as special as I can, as thanks to everyone who's enjoyed the game 😊 Next up I'm working on the boss battles, and then I'll be implementing the story content (which currently exists in Word document form haha). 8BA2's long development taught me the dangers of showing off content too early, so please stay tuned for a proper showcase later this year! But here's a little silhouette tease of the two totally new bosses in the Free DLC 😁 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/d9c658e09f07b3614c42b901f9f39dd8b0710784.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/1e75a09271bb87c3faf90b46b106e811e07670c5.png

Future Project

Finally, I've also been working on the game design plans for our next project, which two incredible artists have already begun preparing assets for as well! The idea is that we prepare as much as can in pre-production, so that once I'm ready to begin active development, we already have a lot of what we need ready to go 🥳 I won't be able to announce what this project is for a while yet, but the goal is to have a short turn-around on this one (around a year and a half of development), so you probably won't have to wait *too* long 😉 In general, I want to start designing and developing projects which can be released in a much more reasonable space of time (e.g. less than 3 years, as opposed to 8BA2's 7+ years). That will require a smaller scope than 8-Bit Adventures 2 (at least, in some respects), but my hope is that with a more focused game we can continue to push the production values higher. Don't worry about a lesser or altered experience though - I definitely want to keep making more story-driven, Japanese-style RPGs with turn-based combat and a World Map! I just want to find a way to do it that provides more regular content for players, and doesn't totally consume my life haha. All of this will depend on my finances - as most things sadly do - but I'll do my best! 😁 ~Josh For more information and updates, please:

• Visit our Official Website
• Follow us on Twitter
• Subscribe to our Official Youtube Channel
• Listen to Music Samples on our SoundCloud
• Join us on Discord
• Buy 8-Bit Adventures 2 on Steam

The Steam Spring Sale is on now, and if you're an RPG fan who hasn't yet played 8-Bit Adventures 1 or 2, now's a great time to pick them up on a discount!

First off, I've been absolutely thrilled with the immensely positive response that 8-Bit Adventures 2 has received - from an 86 on Metacritic, to a 90 on OpenCritic, to our Very Positive rating on Steam. If you love the kind of games that Square and Enix were producing on the NES, SNES, and PS1, then you’re the type of player that 8-Bit Adventures 2 was made for! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/a02acf70cd66b41778a1d2907184de1241887e71.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/25985e31a962aa1cd9a1943a05f32b92b89bf8b3.png

8-Bit Adventures 2

From now until March 23rd at 10am PDT, you can get 8-Bit Adventures 2 for 20% Off ($15.99 USD)! https://store.steampowered.com/app/733110/8Bit_Adventures_2/ You can also get the incredible Soundtrack for 20% Off ($7.99 USD), or the Game + Soundtrack Bundle for just $23.99 USD! https://store.steampowered.com/app/2281060/8Bit_Adventures_2_Soundtrack/

8-Bit Adventures 1

And while anyone can jump into the sequel without any prior experience, I've learnt over the last month that a lot of players really want to get the full story. So for the next week, you can also get 8-Bit Adventures 1 for 60% Off ($3.99 USD)! https://store.steampowered.com/app/370300/8Bit_Adventures_1_The_Forgotten_Journey_Remastered_Edition/ The first game's wonderful Soundtrack is also 30% Off ($3.49 USD), or you can get the 8-Bit Adventures 1 Game + Soundtrack Bundle for only $6.59 USD! https://store.steampowered.com/app/387170/8Bit_Adventures__Soundtrack__Composers_Selection/

Tales Across Time

Finally, you can also get our experimental, short-story format RPG Tales Across Time for just $2.39 USD! https://store.steampowered.com/app/461710/Tales_Across_Time/ If you love classic Japanese-style RPGs, then I sincerely hope you'll take a look at 8-Bit Adventures 2 and our other games! For existing players, I'll be releasing a minor bug fix and balance adjustment update very soon. And on the horizon, we also have the Free DLC that I'm working on - as well as the console versions! But more on all that in the coming months ;) ~Josh For more information and updates, please:

• Visit our Official Website
• Follow us on Twitter
• Subscribe to our Official Youtube Channel
• Listen to Music Samples on our SoundCloud
• Join us on Discord
• Buy 8-Bit Adventures 2 on Steam

It's been one month since 8-Bit Adventures 2 launched on Steam & GOG 🥳

Honestly, writing that feels a little surreal! Thank you so, so much to everyone who has supported the game in that time 🥰 While we're still working towards financial sustainability, the response from players and reviewers has been incredible. We've had 77 reviews from players on Steam so far, and achieved a Very Positive rating! This has really helped us a lot; I noticed that Steam started sharing the game a lot more when we initially hit Positive, and then again at Very Positive. So a massive thanks to everyone who's taken the time to share their thoughts! They've been a genuine joy to read 😊 And now, thanks to a new review from RPGFan (check it out by clicking on the link), we've also achieved an OpenCritic Rating of Mighty (the highest a game can receive), placing us near the top of their Best Video Games of 2023 list. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/2336c9b9f0989aaf1ff0b4b59dde22354a5e3a1f.png And that's not all! We've also received a Metacritic Score of 87, which should appear on the Steam page soon too 🥳 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/24c1375e8a674ea13d22b1f255a6cd4a65af72e3.png But most of all, I've been especially grateful for the people who have reached out and told me how much they've enjoyed the game - whether for its story, its characters, its music, its visuals, its combat, its sense of exploration, etc. It's been incredibly humbling and gratifying, and so I just wanted to express my gratitude. The community around 8-Bit Adventures 2 has been absolutely wonderful to interact with, and that's thanks to all of you 😊 https://store.steampowered.com/app/733110/8Bit_Adventures_2/

Steam Deck Verified!

I'm thrilled to say that, as of February 9th, 8-Bit Adventures 2 has been classified as Steam Deck Verified by Valve! It was totally out-of-the-blue, but since so many players were asking about Deck compatibility, I'm really glad that it happened so soon after launch. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/00bf2737f05b3e9d60c4541b0b0adb63381d013a.png I've also now had many reports from players that the game is working really well on the Steam Deck! So if that's your preferred platform, 8-Bit Adventures 2 is ready and waiting for you 🥳

Text Speed Options

One of the most requested additions to 8-Bit Adventures 2 since its release was more text speed options. And I'm happy to say that these were included in the February 16th Update! While the way the game is set-up made large changes difficult, we were able to take feedback on-board and incorporate some new features. First off, you no longer need to hold the Confirm button to speed up the text; one simple press will speed it up now. Additionally, the speed up function will now cut off at the end of the current text box, preventing you from accidentally skipping through multiple boxes. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/4a68ca31dd31d74b4e019fad07424fa27bb80fbf.png Finally, a new Option has been added, allowing the player to choose between Normal text speed and Fast text speed. Essentially, the Fast text speed makes our current optional speed-up function automatic and always on. I still recommend Normal text speed, as this is timed with the choreography of cutscenes, and provides a stronger narrative experience in my view. But for anyone who wanted faster text, I hope these options address your concerns! Please note that, while the speed-up function has been thoroughly tested, the Fast text speed system may have some unforeseen issues in certain cutscenes. They should only be minor issues at most, but if you run into any, please do let me know!

Community Guides

I wanted to take a moment to shout-out two members of the community who created some excellent guides for players. Note that both guides contain spoilers! The first is the Court Room Guide by the awesome dragon_blade. This guide will help you to achieve a "Not Guilty!" verdict, and gain the best possible rewards. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2928255212 And the second is "Augments and You, a Party Build guide" by the wonderful SupahVi! She'll teach you one way to build a super-powered RPG party in 8-Bit Adventures 2, including Augments to Equip and character combinations to use. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2929560492 Thanks to dragon_blade and SupahVi for creating these for the community! 😊

Bug Fixes and Updates

Over the past month, Sufyan (our programmer) and I have fixed dozens of bugs reported to us by the community. Thank you very much for all of your feedback; it's been a big help. In fact, as of this past weekend, we've finally exhausted the list of reported bugs! So the game should be incredibly solid at this point (famous last words 😋). {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/e57d6752c393fe9cda5b3ef570c15821953253a1.png This included everything from the addition of an ultimate Axe weapon that had been accidentally left out of the game, to balance changes and bug fixes (including one fight that became unwinnable if you followed a particular order of actions), to an additional shop added before a boss fight, to an overhaul of the turn-speed calculations to make sure that every build was viable and enemies weren't getting an unfair number of turns. If you want to see what's changed, please check out the patch notes on the 8-Bit Adventures 2 Steam Community!

Interviews

Finally, I wanted to share a couple of new interviews with everyone! First off, we have an interview that our composer Sebastian Cruz did with the DeltronZ Youtube Channel, all about composing for 8-Bit Adventures 2: Del has been a massive supporter of the game. He interviewed me in late January, and has actually been doing a full playthrough of 8-Bit Adventures 2, which is really enjoyable! But the interview with Sebastian is really good, and I highly recommend it - even I learnt some new things! 🥰 And then we also have another new interview that I recorded LIVE with NinjaGuyX and Gladiator50n on Youtube: It was a ton of fun, and I think we talked about some interesting topics (including the future), so I hope that anyone interested might enjoy checking it out. Finally, there's a written interview I did with Kosuke Seki from a media outlet in Japan called Game*Spark! It's entirely in Japanese, but for any fluent speakers, I thought you might find it interesting: https://www.gamespark.jp/article/2023/02/28/127507.html A big thanks to Del, NinjaGuyX, Gladiator50n, and Kosuke for getting in touch and making these happen. I really appreciate the support 😊 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/f07395216d5a455821c9c0b2f76e8f06c876ec35.png Thanks so much for reading this update everyone! As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to share them on the Steam forum, on Twitter, via my email ([email protected]), or by joining up to our Discord linked below (which has a great RPG-loving community)! Finally, I mentioned last time that there's a hint towards the Free DLC in the game already, but I've only seen a couple of people mention it so far 😉 ~Josh For more information and updates, please:

• Visit our Official Website
• Follow us on Twitter
• Subscribe to our Official Youtube Channel
• Listen to Music Samples on our SoundCloud
• Join us on Discord
• Buy 8-Bit Adventures 2 on Steam

It's been a big week.

8-Bit Adventures 2 is finally out on Steam & GOG, and we've had an incredible outpouring of support from so many. I've been genuinely touched by the number of kind, considerate, and uplifting messages folks have sent me, and reading them has absolutely made the last 7 years of work feel worthwhile. Especially since my dear grandmother has had to go into a nursing home this past week, due to Alzheimer's, and that's taken a big emotional toll on my family and I (along with all the work involved). She was always one of my biggest supporters, and it's been a little sad to have finally reached the release of 8-Bit Adventures 2, but with her now unable to understand what I've done. So with that going on in the background, receiving your messages has been especially meaningful for me, and it's made me feel very appreciative of our community. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all of your kindness and support - it genuinely means the world to me. https://store.steampowered.com/app/733110/8Bit_Adventures_2/ I'm also thrilled to say that we've had over 1000 sales, and have nearly recouped the cost of the game's development! We've even made it onto the top of the JRPG New and Trending list this week 😊 That's a wonderful start and I'm immensely grateful to everyone who's bought a copy of 8-Bit Adventures 2. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/726943cfd7794b4f5dabd9c6131b042d25428ada.png We've still got a long way to go to make the game a success and earn enough money to fund future projects, but I'm confident that we'll get there in the long-run. I've already seen lots of people sharing the word with friends and followers, and that sincerely means a lot! Word of mouth is an indie developer's biggest support 😁 The only other thing I'd ask is that if you're enjoying the game, then please consider leaving us a review. If we can get to 50 positive reviews, we'll earn the Very Positive status - and that's a big help on Steam! Anyway, with all that out of the way, I wanted to talk about what's going on at the moment, and tease the future of 8-Bit Adventures 2! (The Free DLC Tease is further below)

Updates and Fixes

Unfortunately like any game launch, there have been some bugs which snuck through our rigorous testing. I'm sincerely sorry for these issues, and for any impact they may have on your experience with 8-Bit Adventures 2. I've updated the game every day since launch, and am trying to respond to issues as quickly as possible. The same goes for our fantastic programmer Sufyan, who's worked to fix some of the particularly nasty issues! Please check the Patch Notes for a rundown of what's been fixed so far. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/88ca065f919d05d29464c6c6c55f6b51fda0f480.gif Pictured above is the good ol' humping glitch. This was fixed years ago, but is still one of the funniest bugs we encountered! If a problem arises, we'll do whatever we can to fix it. So please let us know if you run into any issues via the Steam forums, Twitter, or our Discord (linked at the bottom of this post).

Soundtrack Available Everywhere!

While I'm sure everyone knows that you can purchase the 8-Bit Adventures 2 Soundtrack on Steam, you may not have realised that you can also listen to the Soundtrack on Spotify, Youtube Music, iTunes, Deezer, Pandora, Facebook/Instagram, TikTok, iHeartRadio, and more! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/e36b41b41c3ee851e1946d29b96156038aa40053.png The Soundtrack includes 78 songs pulled from the game, plus 7 dramatic orchestral arrangements - all composed by the wonderful Sebastian "Carfonu" Cruz! So wherever you listen to music, please check it out and show him some love 😊

More Reviews!

Since my last post, there have been even more reviews for 8-Bit Adventures 2. If anyone's still on the fence, please check them out, as I think they're all very well-written & interesting looks at the game.

• RPGLMNTZ Review - https://rpglmntz.com/2023/01/31/8-bit-adventures-2-rpg-review/
• Turn-Based Lovers Review - https://turnbasedlovers.com/review/8-bit-adventures-2-brings-back-the-classics-impressions/?amp=1
• Chalgyr's Game Room Review - https://www.chalgyr.com/2023/02/8bit-adventures-2-pc-review.html
• Tech-Gaming Review - https://www.tech-gaming.com/8-bit-adventures-2/

Steam Deck

Since I've had a lot of people ask me about Steam Deck, I just wanted to explain the situation. Essentially, Valve wouldn't give me access to the Steam Deck tools, or consider approving the game for Steam Deck. And since I live in Australia, I can't buy a Deck to test the game on myself. As such, I relied on the testimonies of a couple of reviewers, who both very kindly gave me feedback on the performance and informed me that the game has issues like lag, frame drops, and long loads. But now that it's out, I'm hearing reports from players that the game is actually running quite well. We have fixed a couple of memory leaks around launch, so that could be helping with the Deck performance as well. So if you'd like to play on Steam Deck, my recommendation is to try the free demo, and see how it performs for you. Hopefully I'll be able to get an official stamp of approval from Valve sometime in the future!

Trading Cards and Community Items

Valve requires that newly released games reach a certain number of players and be out for a certain number of days before Trading Cards and Community Items can be implemented. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/9a61988b22f3b763e8c68b55222177613bb030b8.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/a1d0058be36feaf871bda41b25624506c6e5c7f7.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/d1563e4835ae0f970bf2614b11fb513ac0bb80bd.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/5f0e2354c0b45d1c91f199ac6106fe64eb4f1d75.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/f0c1da018f6c064c16cea87b233cc156dc4e821d.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/2bd615087fe09bf4f121555d4dd8d48602efa3ca.png I'm happy to say that Valve have just today granted me the ability to send our Trading Cards and Community Items to them for review, so they should hopefully be added to the game this week!

A New Place to Buy - Itch.io!

At the suggestion of a good friend, I've now made 8-Bit Adventures 1 and 2 available on Itch.io! So if you prefer that storefront, then please check it out. 8-Bit Adventures 1: https://criticalgames.itch.io/8-bit-adventures-1 8-Bit Adventures 2: https://criticalgames.itch.io/8-bit-adventures-2 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/8587c6ce7374ac3d9a98094ddfac3ad3396159d1.png

8-Bit Adventures 1 + 2 Bundle

Due to requests from players, I'm working on an 8-Bit Adventures 1 + 2 Bundle which will sell for a small discount and include both games. This bundle is scheduled to launch on Steam and GOG on the 10th of February at 6am PST!

Free DLC is on the way!

Finally, I wanted to offer a small glimpse at what’s to come. As some of you may know, I’ve been planning and developing some Free Post-Game DLC for 8-Bit Adventures 2. While I’d wanted to get the Free DLC released only 1-2 months after release, there’s still a lot left to do. And to be completely honest, the last couple of months have been extremely intense, ‘round-the-clock work with constant late nights; so I feel I need to recharge and take it slow for a little while. Seven years is a long time to go without a break 😅 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/faaaef479b02da8b4a54aaa8858baf742b047097.png (Check our Twitter for the animated version - Steam's file size restrictions wouldn't let me upload it) The Free DLC begins with you discovering a new location, sequestered deep in the woods. Called the Shrine of Slumber, it will force you to face foes old and new in high level challenges – all while unravelling a story from the ancient past, long lost to conscious memory. There might even be a hint to the Free DLC hidden in the game already 😉 Thanks for reading everyone - and for all of your support! I'll have even more news soon, so please keep an eye out for it 😊 For more information and updates, please:

• Visit our Official Website
• Follow us on Twitter
• Subscribe to our Official Youtube Channel
• Listen to Music Samples on our SoundCloud
• Join us on Discord
• Wishlist 8-Bit Adventures 2 on Steam

I'm thrilled to announce that 8-Bit Adventures 2 is available NOW on Steam! 🥳

https://store.steampowered.com/app/733110/ If you're on the fence, please check out our epic new Launch Trailer below: I'm sincerely grateful for the amazing support that, honestly, everyone has shown my team and I over the long development of 8-Bit Adventures 2. The project's been surrounded by so much love and positivity, and that's meant so much. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting so long, but I truly believe we've been able to create something special - and that's in no small part thanks to your support. So THANK YOU! To everyone who's left a comment, shared the game, played the demo, wishlisted 8-Bit Adventures 2, and so much more these past seven years! And, of course, the biggest thank you has to be for everyone who buys and supports the game now that it's out! Getting this far has been incredibly difficult, but our success or failure is firmly in the hands of players now. My fondest hope is that everyone enjoys our labour of love 😊 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/05acc19f2c7a93bec96cbbfa44074b13113abf1c.png And if you need anything at all or run into any issues in the game, please don't hesitate to ask me on Twitter, on our Discord, or here on Steam! Over the last few days, we've also had a ton of amazing reviews from journalists and content creators, so I wanted to share their amazing work here too! I'm immensely grateful for the high praise that 8-Bit Adventures 2 has received so far, and I'm looking forward to seeing what players think.

Written Reviews

10/10 from GameGrin - https://www.gamegrin.com/reviews/8-bit-adventures-2-review/ 8.5/10 from Tech Raptor - https://techraptor.net/gaming/reviews/8-bit-adventures-2-review 9/10 from Lords of Gaming - https://lordsofgaming.net/2023/01/8-bit-adventures-2-review-a-bold-and-brutal-joy-ride/ SUPERJUMP Magazine's Review - https://www.superjumpmagazine.com/8-bit-adventures-2-review/ Jill Grodt's (spoiler-lite) Impressions on Indie Informer - https://the-indie-in-former.com/2023/01/30/8-bit-adventures-2-impressions-fresh-familiar-memory/

Youtube Reviews

Click the button below to see them all! LibraScope's amazing analysis of the game's story concepts and thematic goals - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbXx9ot9K0k Noisy Pixel's Review on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMB5vHf5Qt8 Feiito Gaming's Review on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay8nhXkhBsQ Davidvinc's Review on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBeHkLA4ZOo SilverSerpahym's Review on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIIUjaKBpTk Backlog Battle's Review on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCDgmNJAdkA Solo Wing Fury's Review on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5qhfJqloyU Indiesgraça's Review on Youtube (for Portuguese-speaking fans) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58L-h9C3Gvg {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/33949356439e3e04338d8c28927188fd631b5740.png I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but thank you SO much for your support everyone! The reason I say it so much is because it genuinely *does* mean the world to me. I went into game development because I wanted to make people happy - to uplift others in the same way that games like Final Fantasy, Legend of Dragoon, and Chrono Trigger had uplifted me. So whatever the outcome - whatever lies ahead - I hope that 8-Bit Adventures 2 achieves that goal 😊 ~Josh For more information and updates, please:

• Visit our Official Website
• Follow us on Twitter
• Subscribe to our Official Youtube Channel
• Listen to Music Samples on our SoundCloud
• Join us on Discord
• Wishlist 8-Bit Adventures 2 on Steam

Guess what, everyone? We're now just 3 DAYS away from 8-Bit Adventures 2's big launch on PC (Steam & GOG) on January 31st! (With console versions coming later this year) 🥳 If you want to support our work and help us have a successful launch, then please consider wishlisting 8-Bit Adventures 2 here on Steam using the button below. It's been making a massive difference for us behind-the-scenes, and I'm now really hopeful that we can make it to the front page of Steam! https://store.steampowered.com/app/733110/8Bit_Adventures_2/ I'm back again to share a fourth and FINAL round-up of info, screenshots, and music samples from 8-Bit Adventures 2 that I've been posting on social media (this time from January)! But first, it's time for our final new video - the Airships and World Map Trailer! To no one's surprise, it focuses on exploring our World Map - both on-foot and via your very own Airship! 8-Bit Adventures 2 features a richly detailed World Map, filled with secrets & optional areas to discover! Our world's full of the character-driven Side-Quests and challenging Super Boss battles that RPG fans expect 😊 That's the last of the four trailers we've released this month, so I really hope everyone enjoyed them =) If you've missed any of them, please check out my past posts!

Party Swapping

In 8-Bit Adventures 2, you can swap allies into battle at any time – without even wasting a turn! Low on HP? Swap! Can't take advantage of enemy weaknesses? Bring in someone who can! Swapping means you always have access to all 7 party members in battle!⚔️ {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/46af0fb2f7e232d1bb081ff9c4165aaef6aca627.gif It's hard to show in a single post, but Swapping adds an extra layer of strategy to combat in 8-Bit Adventures 2, and makes late game battles feel very dynamic! Plus everyone in the party always earns full EXP from battle 👍

Combo and Trio Abilities

8-Bit Adventures 2 lets party members team up & unleash powerful Combo or Trio Abilities! These include Abilities which both heal & boost Defence, allow single target Magic to hit all enemies, freeze & instantly K.O a foe, or summon a giant Meteor! There are 11 Combo & Trio Abilities in total, and we tried to make them all unique. Trio Abilities make you feel like you’re really giving everything you’ve got! 💪 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/33783d363ee12796e8a6d1bba6f20e8d33f5d329.gif

Music Sample #7

This energetic music sample follows last week's trailer, which showed a war-torn industrial realm called the Processor 🎵 Each area of this dungeon has its own theme. This song accompanies a deadly train ride as you fight your way across the carriage roofs! The full 8-Bit Adventures 2 soundtrack features 85 songs and it launches alongside the PC release (Steam & GOG) on January 31st 2023!

Cinematic Shots

The story of 8-Bit Adventures 2 features numerous Cinematic Shots like these - detailed pieces of art which show the world from a new perspective. Sprinkled throughout the narrative, they ensure that epic moments have a big impact! 🤩 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/00fae3901b1118b448b71151af7bb14f82b3128d.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/235141d158ca90dcce7ab87b426a4b9d1e774d6e.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/09c82c1d075317223125e82fd119f1c317051542.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/fe7be18d9ae2ed52eea294b7c982c7f21898f888.png Our approach to these images was inspired by cutscenes in the NES Ninja Gaiden trilogy, as well as in classic Phantasy Star games 😊

Glade of Graphics

The Glade of Graphics is a hidden valley with Art Deco style. Here, an eccentric group of robot artists endeavor to imitate humanity - in order to perfect their craft. But a death in the Glade kicks off a murder mystery that no one wants to solve… {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/f8e8d7880d8272c0b254d479ad350b0df14c1563.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/0e10b05d9e94dc26baa4400d9e742fa66195e76a.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/400f7bbd26369709c183b71d60c5a9dcd000ff74.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/c44053ae4c6e54ab8d3e37cb538e5b17379f3970.png

Endgame Optional Content

8-Bit Adventures 2 has many Endgame side-quests, including: ⏱️ A time-hopping mansion with emotional stakes! 🤿 An underwater lair explored via diving suits! 🤖 A grim prison guarded by insane robots! 🏝️ A giant Titan who wanders the World Map! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/50ee1787ffbc3081b8d807d1332337bfa04acbbf.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/b6980142ab82c87903fc0cb8f7d39f0da0790b83.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/c787bedfb8e25d1f2bb59b72a2c869d623d52ea5.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/da2160a5061a9ba7e4003437cd4afc1f01b9e70a.png

Airship Info

In 8-Bit Adventures 2, the Airship is your high-in-the-sky home! You can fly across the World Map & reach the Floating Continent, walk on the deck to chat with party members, buy items from an onboard shop, and play the Airship Battle mini-game! 💥 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/41c55f0e0dc68cf20bd6fd366a70a63acc5cf664.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/16b6fe7858ae3515fd6eeb3a4f0adf308819a2dd.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/c3a00697ee6b547aa4ba53b0bb9b2c13dff5c342.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/983370c44d524370a086b5c974890a96917230ca.png

Music Sample #8

Our final music sample before 8-Bit Adventures 2's launch next Tuesday is the exciting, dramatic theme from our popular Gamescom 2020 Trailer! 🎵 This song *does* appear in the game, but its real name and placement is a big spoiler 😉 And that's it for our showcase series of posts! Thank you very much for taking the time to read through this post, and if you haven't already, please don't forget to wishlist 8-Bit Adventures 2 by clicking the button below. We're just 3 days away, and I'm immensely grateful for everyone's support so far. I know that together, we can make 8-Bit Adventures 2 a success 😊 https://store.steampowered.com/app/733110/8Bit_Adventures_2/ For more information and updates, please:

• Visit our Official Website
• Follow us on Twitter
• Subscribe to our Official Youtube Channel
• Listen to Music Samples on our SoundCloud
• Join us on Discord
• Wishlist 8-Bit Adventures 2 on Steam

A NEW trailer - featuring an EPIC orchestral arrangement by our wonderful composer Sebastian Cruz (Carfonu) - just debuted at the New York Game Awards! We're now just 2 weeks away from 8-Bit Adventures 2's big launch on PC (Steam & GOG) on January 31st! (With console versions coming later this year) If you want to support our work and help us have a successful launch, then please consider wishlisting 8-Bit Adventures 2 here on Steam using the button below. It genuinely makes a massive difference. https://store.steampowered.com/app/733110/8Bit_Adventures_2/ I'll be back next week with one last mini-trailer before the big launch, so please keep your eyes locked to Steam or our social media! For more information and updates, please:

• Visit our Official Website
• Follow us on Twitter
• Subscribe to our Official Youtube Channel
• Listen to Music Samples on our SoundCloud
• Join us on Discord
• Wishlist 8-Bit Adventures 2 on Steam

I hope everyone's 2023 has gotten off to a great start! We're now just 3 weeks away from 8-Bit Adventures 2's big launch on PC (Steam & GOG) on January 31st! (With console versions coming later this year) If you want to support our work and help us have a successful launch, then please consider wishlisting 8-Bit Adventures 2 here on Steam using the button below. It genuinely makes a massive difference. https://store.steampowered.com/app/733110/8Bit_Adventures_2/ I'm back again to share a third round-up of info, screenshots, and music samples from 8-Bit Adventures 2 that I've been posting on social media (this time from December)! But first, it's time for another new video - the Adventures in Anbu Trailer! It focuses on a small section of the game's story, in which you fight to save the tranquil Anbu City from an undead uprising. In the land of Anbu, dead revolutionaries rise from the grave lead by a legendary Samurai. Adventure awaits as the Glitch toys with life and death, stoking old hatreds to restart a long-ended civil war - with you right in the thick of it! I'll be sharing a new video showcasing 8-Bit Adventures 2 each week in January, so please keep your eyes on Steam or social media!

Music Preview #4

This week's music sample is from a dungeon called The City of Sounds 🎵 Here, the music starts off simple, but grows bigger & bolder as you activate the Melody Bells - evolving from melancholic to exhilarating over 5 distinct versions! The full 8-Bit Adventures 2 soundtrack features 78 songs, and it launches alongside the PC release on January 31st 2023!

The Leviathan

The Leviathan is a fearsome foe with poison fangs, who stalks the oceans of 8-Bit Adventures 2. It will periodically begin thrashing around, & this is your cue to shield up, as it’ll summon a deadly Tidal Wave on its next turn! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/fd56d3183b78ea856be7a12c91722836a7736d4e.gif

Music Preview #5

This music sample is the theme of a Legendary Samurai, filled with heartbreak and determination 🎵 He failed his mission in life, but after rising from the grave, he's been given a second chance...and the only thing standing in his way is *you*!

Augments

Throughout the world of 8-Bit Adventures 2 you’ll find dozens of equippables called Augments. These let you customise your party members' stats and grant them special effects in battle - like Auto Sharp, Anti-Poison, or Emergency Barrier! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/8310d7617de57c1714d01b190f1b2ba844bcd690.gif Each character has 5 Augment slots, plus an Accessory slot, so there’s lots of freedom for RPG fans to create their own builds! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/ebc4746be64a3991536e2434f4cf4b38a13653d8.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/1f1c7a8765604c8d62a1f6bb09f175a9b740514b.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/cd222ebf43f7a0288f172abb39d150b602d881dd.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/0bd6b52c270a00e132d8b266d93b275d9b45ed4d.png

Ship Graveyard

Many a sailor met their end on the icy shores of the Ship Graveyard. This coastline is littered with shipwrecks, and is said by the people of Niveus to be populated only by ghosts, sirens, & spectres. Your party is split-up in this dungeon - so beware! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/8779f60e57fc4b068a724cda51966c96cea6b8aa.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/1eaa158f5fdbc1d7966800304e82083e16aaf246.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/d879549995701b23582d539204dab72492ca0813.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/6c201008576357f1f85269328639f952d947117a.png

The Arena

8-Bit Adventures 2 features a secret Arena where you can fight powered-up foes for spectacular prizes. Arena matches have 4 rounds, with each final round introducing a new boss! You can also chat with monsters here and learn the Arena's hidden history... 😉 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/dcd4c07ceee0e3a757b754bb9c73b15d58758431.gif

Music Preview #6

Today's music sample is titled A World of Adventure! This sweeping, upbeat theme accompanies the player as they explore the World Map in 8-Bit Adventures 2. A world full of stories, secrets, monsters, and Airships awaits!

The Sky Forge

The Sky Forge is an immense tower built by the Dwarves. A rogue experiment forced them to retreat into their mines for centuries. But now they’ve reclaimed their ancestral Forge, and the lost knowledge of their ancient kin - like Airship construction! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/9ca2dd946f7524cdb670daff2a4ae3fc6eaa3629.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/59c9734f0d1f2be6cbe9a799259f18203087d26a.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/3daf92b8a00e40a4707d62285333a41e743da2d4.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/00c560243d753429502e300ae5c7425eae9036f3.png And that's it for another week! I'll have another collection of posts like this coming very soon, and please check back next week for something special! Thank you very much for taking the time to read through this post, and if you haven't already, please don't forget to wishlist 8-Bit Adventures 2 by clicking the button below 😊 https://store.steampowered.com/app/733110/8Bit_Adventures_2/ For more information and updates, please:

• Visit our Official Website
• Follow us on Twitter
• Subscribe to our Official Youtube Channel
• Listen to Music Samples on our SoundCloud
• Join us on Discord
• Wishlist 8-Bit Adventures 2 on Steam

Happy New Year everyone! It's 2023, and that means 8-Bit Adventures 2 is launching on PC (Steam & GOG) this month, January 31st! (The console versions are coming later this year) If you want to support our work and help us have a successful launch, then please consider wishlisting 8-Bit Adventures 2 here on Steam using the button below. It genuinely makes a massive difference. https://store.steampowered.com/app/733110/8Bit_Adventures_2/ But with that out of the way, I'm back again to share another round-up of info, screenshots, and music samples from 8-Bit Adventures 2 that I've been posting on social media (this time from November)! First up is something brand new - the Panic in the Processor Trailer! It should look very familiar to anyone who's played the 8-Bit Adventures 2 demo. The Processor is a realm of steam-powered industry - concealed for centuries, now under assault from the Glitch’s clockwork army. Fight your way through the city, survive a deadly train ride, and reach the great Foundry to put an end to the siege! I'll be sharing a new video showcasing 8-Bit Adventures 2 each week in January, so please keep your eyes on Steam or social media! But you can explore the Processor NOW by playing our Free Demo!

Niveus

Welcome to Niveus – a cozy hideaway in the harsh Frozen North, with indoor heating, sentient snowmen, & a Hot Chocolate item which grants the Regen status! Visiting Niveus is optional, but who could resist the chilly charms of this tundra town 😊 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/f50f7567051ad4276622e91528bd1086e30c4495.gif

Charlie

Charlie’s a quick-witted, impulsive young man whose big mouth often gets the better of him. One of four orphans saved by the Thief, he grew up idolising her. Now Charlie lives in Pheopolis Castle, & he's spent the last two years training to be just like his hero! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/f0f97ba1df56fd44f2afe1d941bd91bc1e661298.png

Battle System

8-Bit Adventures 2's battles are inspired by Final Fantasy X’s combat system. This means every character takes turns individually & the order of turns is always visible onscreen. Seeing the turn order allows players to plan ahead & think strategically! Like FFX, we also put a big focus on swapping party members in the midst of battle. More on that in a future post! 😎 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/59c9734f0d1f2be6cbe9a799259f18203087d26a.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/e191c4da6f2538679bf5e7df2f5bb5543cf3b1d7.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/0e89924095640e762e6e8df589630303bc050d30.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/71ed7aa3cd7e6bc61edfc3d0c122f79dd5201f4d.png

Emma

Emma can seem timid, but she’s a skilled Martial Artist with immense inner strength. An accident claimed both her sight and the lives of her parents, but she was taken in and trained by her Grandpa. Now, Emma yearns to spread her wings & discover her purpose! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/b73945aead92ba9615e6ddae06ebbce8f740f2f6.png

Music Preview #3

This week's music sample is the 8-Bit Adventures 2 boss theme - No Escape! 🎵 This exciting track accompanies many of the 35+ challenging Bosses you'll battle in 8-Bit Adventures 2, and encourages you to give these fights everything you've got! ⚔️ The full 8-Bit Adventures 2 soundtrack features 78 songs, and it launches alongside the PC release on January 31st 2023!

Omega Burst

In 8-Bit Adventures 2, you can unleash a powerful Omega Burst attack when the gauge at the bottom of the screen fills up. In our game there's one gauge for the whole party - so when it's full the player can strategically choose who they want to use it! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/a7dfd9830d3b8884357ddcfe412075441cfbeeda.gif

Robot

Built by the Computer, the Robot is equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry & tasked with hunting down any anomalies which threaten the safety of the world. A warm, stalwart companion with a logical exterior; he always says whatever’s on his mechanical mind! FYI, the Robot, Warrior, Thief, and Mage are all characters named by the player in 8-Bit Adventures 2 😉 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/981ea4adad2a312f4738627e578625e4f432680d.png

Robot's Parts System

The most unique character in 8-Bit Adventures 2 is the Robot. He doesn’t use an Attack command or Abilities menu. Instead, he equips Parts – 3 in total - which determine the attacks he can use. And since Robot has no MP, they can be used infinitely! 🤖 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/248ddabafc32aa7f17c0b5de05f0a1eb606df0b6.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/5bb7ad0142578e7216568af8567b0b78999d533e.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/c7c130a6c471c6f7d75cf070e251a91c15382cf5.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/ded05af1d263d76da5b6cdaaf96c161e217d02c5.png

The Factory

The Factory is a bizarre structure, hidden from the world and devoid of humanity 🏭 Run by upbeat robots, it is the seat of power for the mysterious Computer, and is highly coveted by the villainous Glitch. There’s nowhere else quite like it! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/52f4a9b78ffe45f5a67d1ad9e56a731cae1dc8fb.gif {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/d836f49aa829bb02d41d83ab7cf062e569df9a0d.png

Personal Skills and Abilities

Everyone’s got a special skill & the same is true in 8-Bit Adventures 2! Personal Abilities (like Speed Boost) are passive bonuses unique to each character, while Personal Skills (like Steal) are techniques that can be used in battle & have no MP cost! Personal Abilities include always getting the first turn, perfect accuracy, & the chance of reflecting damage. While Personal Skills can be stealing items, regenerating MP, or breaking an enemy’s defences! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/b942549e13321a6e5905286866eb57fff4e6ba8b.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/6ef8d0b5b008a0f435e13074acb399eef49fa178.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/612fb20e31c98c850e64e19ce7c45d008618f0e4.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/3d79634c1929450b19b51deb198d0bfcfa2a97f1.png And once again, we'll leave it there for now! I'll have another collection of posts like this coming very soon. Thank you very much for taking the time to read through this post, and if you haven't already, please don't forget to wishlist 8-Bit Adventures 2 by clicking the button below 😊 https://store.steampowered.com/app/733110/8Bit_Adventures_2/ For more information and updates, please:

• Visit our Official Website
• Follow us on Twitter
• Subscribe to our Official Youtube Channel
• Listen to Music Samples on our SoundCloud
• Join us on Discord
• Wishlist 8-Bit Adventures 2 on Steam

For the past couple of months, I've been sharing info, screenshots, and music samples from 8-Bit Adventures 2 on social media. So now I've gathered the first set of them (from October) together for everyone on Steam! But before we begin, I just want to remind everyone that 8-Bit Adventures 2 is launching on PC (Steam & GOG) on January 31st, 2023! (The console versions are coming later that same year) If you want to support our work and help us have a successful launch, then please consider wishlisting 8-Bit Adventures 2 here on Steam using the button below. It genuinely makes a massive difference. https://store.steampowered.com/app/733110/8Bit_Adventures_2/ I also wanted to let you know that IndieDB's annual "Indie of the Year" competition is now on, and I'd be thrilled if you'd consider giving your vote to 8-Bit Adventures 2! With our launch so close, IndieDB's competition is a great opportunity for us. Your vote would be a big help in getting us some more attention ahead of launch, so if you want to go above and beyond in supporting 8-Bit Adventures 2, I'd sincerely appreciate it. To vote, you can follow the link below and click the Vote Now button! You don't need an account or anything =) https://www.indiedb.com/games/8-bit-adventures-2 With all that said and done, strap in - because we've got a LOT of posts to catch up on! ːOrbGetWarriorː ːOrbGetThiefː ːOrbGetMageː

Music Sample #1

Music’s an essential part of any JRPG, so I wanted to begin sharing some tracks as we approach 8-Bit Adventures 2's release 🎵 First up, it’s "The Adventure Begins!" This theme accompanies our game’s prologue, as you fight your way across a twilight desert~ The full 8-Bit Adventures 2 soundtrack features 78 songs, so if you like NES-style chiptune music, you're in for a treat! ☺️

The Warrior

A hero who saved the world, the Warrior is a kind-hearted soldier who grapples with fear & insecurity. Having settled down with the love of his life, he thought his adventuring days were over. But after an attack on his hometown he suddenly disappears... {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/720fac1c5d01725bcb346e487a9529ab56b1b1b0.png To be clear, the Warrior, Thief, Mage, and Robot are all characters which are named by the player in 8-Bit Adventures 2 😉

Azureus

Azureus is the central shipping hub of the world – a role its people work hard to maintain. There’s not a merchant who hasn’t passed through the marble gates of this scenic port town! The Azureus Guard are always on patrol, but rarely face any danger 😅 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/542e5c8242abb890b4440701fbd8d92e2e4ce719.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/8261b0da5da85654dcfbc25afa02f5f7fd9d56be.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/398333aa4d131e88ff1ed618053dc72de6b665f3.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/f97f11ad6ed55e5d37d80474f76f14d263befbbf.png

Music Sample #2

The small coastal village of Driftwood is the first town you’ll explore in 8-Bit Adventures 2. While its sunny shores seem pleasant, pickpockets prey on travelers, and rumors of a Black Market abound. Driftwood's catchy theme captures that duality🎵

The Pyramid

The Pyramid was built by an ancient civilisation whose homeland was transformed into a desert by a great catastrophe. The last King of Ra Heru once took refuge here – but it ultimately became his tomb. What secrets still hide beneath the Pyramid? 🤔 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/d17b434ae33e6be3548a8ecfa6c09bff310e22e5.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/c9627ec3d999be71942a1a99c4c646ded29b4144.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/79c1b046ac7ef5c339c33583754ff1db835d02e2.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/4ec30102f211652837d3aa86a373ae1e13cc11d8.png The Pyramid was a mandatory dungeon in 8-Bit Adventures 1, so it was fun putting a new spin on it as an optional dungeon in the sequel!

The Enemies of 8-Bit Adventures 2

The world of 8-Bit Adventures 2 is filled with foes both strong & strange, so I wanted to showcase a few! These include the All-Seeing Idol, Overweight Snake, Self-Obsessed Squid, Gallivanting Grave, Kamikazbee, Regal Rat, & Grinning Ember 👹 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/c805a123a3b0e3f4d5900f7178401c5e3597c11f.png Including bosses, 8-Bit Adventures 2 features 98 of the toughest and weirdest foes around. And since they wander the overworld, there are no random battles!

The Thief

Growing up on the streets of Pheopolis shaped the Thief – yet her sharp tongue can’t hide a heart of gold. She spent years caring for orphans like herself, but has since built a new life with the Warrior. When he suddenly disappears, she begins a quest for answers… {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/49d108176b432c566bf7fdd5edf6129db5cd48f1.png

Menus!

This one's for the hardcore JRPG fans – let’s look at menus in 8-Bit Adventures 2! We wanted to retain the old school vibe, but ensure a snappy experience without any sluggishness. Ultimately the goal was to create a UI that’s classic, yet convenient. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/5ee8008c38590d5ea21fd83cb322fec195ffe83a.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/5e872c60341b69c30a325bc8d3438d8e1fee2a18.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/bd06151fe1e9266073fe95a37455100d96f23053.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/a133ce204e0041d160cad8588275e3cf48363632.png And just for fun, here's a bonus pic of the Augments menu - where you can equip powerful Augments to influence your party's stats and abilities! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/e85cfd1d322f08a4fe12f526120f0d0733706587.png

Pheopolis

The Royal City of Pheopolis is made up of 4 man-made islands, suspended above a lake. It's a city where obscene wealth & abject poverty exist side-by-side - overlooked by a golden castle where young Queen Elena works to change her city for the better. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/6dc4b2c0b567fa11351d6418069b367392dde772.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/7f456e9b1c551e9b0186043bfc9f4f6a789ab8f3.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/534d49793926d9c0791af3ba909eda8f8760744b.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/764e9a2c7567c468bfc7864c698b4e140da583c5.png Pheopolis was in the first game too, but this time players will get to explore the full city, including the gritty Merchant District & the opulent Gold District!

Estriatus Ruins

The idyllic forest town of Estriatus has been transformed into a ruin by the Glitch. Clear water is now poison sludge, spiked vines burst from the ground, and earthquakes tear apart the land. The houses are empty, so what happened to the people? 😱 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/a6a21949aa7f05400cc119a87008b22e12e06f4b.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/d0407bc9cca4c77ac2ca0d4737cf92b94b058631.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/6bb1db5c4e0a492900fa5f9e3635a1790f96440f.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/c8ac5da3778d57e87b60303caa9d0975bb93bba7.png Estriatus was just a normal town in the first game, so figuring out how to transform its layout into a fully-fledged dungeon for 8-Bit Adventures 2 was a lot of fun.

The Bosses of 8-Bit Adventures 2

8-Bit Adventures features more than 35 challenging Bosses, each with unique mechanics and powerful attacks to overcome! So let’s meet a few less spoiler-y ones, including the Glitch, Bandit Bros, Beaming Inferno, Leviathan and Experimental Titan! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/37aa2e608b8706738559415942f2ae4dbf78e9b4.png 8-Bit Adventures 2 features 98 of the toughest and weirdest foes around in total!

The Mage

The Mage is centuries-old; the last in a long line of magic users. An experiment gone wrong ended his Father’s life & changed his fate forever. Formerly known as the Red Mage, he cast his title aside after saving the world, to start anew with his life-long love. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/d37be9c511240d4e8032ef52e5b68b185479ed73.png And we'll leave it there for now! I'll have another collection of posts like this coming very soon. Thank you very much for taking the time to read through this post! For more information and updates, please:

• Visit our Official Website
• Follow us on Twitter
• Subscribe to our Official Youtube Channel
• Listen to Music Samples on our SoundCloud
• Join us on Discord
• Wishlist 8-Bit Adventures 2 on Steam

After seven years of hard work and anticipation, I’m overjoyed to announce that 8-Bit Adventures 2 will launch on PC (via Steam and GOG) on January 31st, 2023! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/c5c01efe30deb837964e1f90130a39515d2eaa67.png It’s finally happening, everyone!! =D And while I really wanted to hit 2022, at least we’ll only be one month out ;) If you’d like to help make 8-Bit Adventures 2 a success, then please wishlist the game and spread the word to friends or on social media! While it may not seem like it changes much from the outside, it genuinely does make a massive difference for us, and is sincerely appreciated. https://store.steampowered.com/app/733110/8Bit_Adventures_2/ If you want to inquire about review codes or coverage, you can contact me via [email protected] And please CC Post Horn PR on all messages via: [email protected] A gigantic thanks to Day of the Devs, Double Fine, and iam8bit for the opportunity to signal boost this announcement through their wonderful event! A unique version of the 8-Bit Adventures 2 demo with Airship and World Map gameplay will be showcased today at Day of the Devs in San Francisco, California, from 3pm until 7pm PDT. Attendance is free, so if you’re in the area, please go and check out this incredible event! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/cc5fcd42cf1c1b4d9c50a3bda58611101e7686d8.png But that’s not all! The online 8-Bit Adventures 2 demo on Steam and GOG has also been updated to reflect the more polished and finalised state of the full game too. While anyone who’s played the demo before probably won’t notice much of a difference, I wanted to make sure that future demo players would have the best 8-Bit Adventures 2 experience possible – short of playing the full game =) I’ve also been doing multiple weekly posts on Twitter and Instagram over the last month, and these will be continuing right through to release (with some of the most exciting ones saved for January!). But I also plan to do regular recaps on Steam, collecting my Twitter posts and sharing them with everyone here - so stay tuned for that too! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/6dc4b2c0b567fa11351d6418069b367392dde772.png But what about console players? Well, to reiterate from my previous news post, while Ratalaika Games have been making some great progress on porting, the whole process has taken significantly longer than anticipated due to some unforeseen challenges. When you add console lotcheck on top of that (the approval process to be launched on each platform), the months pile up. And so, after talking things over with my team, Ratalaika Games, Post Horn PR (a pro-bono marketing team who are very graciously supporting 8-Bit Adventures 2) and several other developers (whose input I’m very grateful for), I’ve ultimately decided to launch the PC version first, work on any bug fixes and updates necessary (updating a game is a lot easier on PC than on console), and then release the console versions as soon as everything’s ready. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/488b15417c209b93bbba70e67c67cbf55baf57cf.png I sincerely apologise to console players for this delay, as the plan was always to launch PC and console on the same day. I’ve stuck to and fought for that plan as long as I could (until about the last month and a half); but after speaking further with Ratalaika, it became clear that things had to change. My hope is that console players won’t have to wait too much longer than PC players – and on the bright side, they’ll also receive the Free DLC as part of the base game package, along with any extra fixes and updates for the smoothest and most complete experience. And just to show you that things are moving ahead, here’s a picture of a (slightly older) development build of 8-Bit Adventures 2 running on a Nintendo Switch console (big thanks to Adrian from Ratalaika for taking this photo for me to share)! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/2e4c67b1a970e15d40f4987ebf128e30f91f1e71.jpg As for PC players, I know that some of you have been waiting for 8-Bit Adventures 2 since late 2015, and so I didn’t feel it was right to delay any longer. Taking this approach comes with some challenges, but I think it’ll be worth it to get the game in your hands. Thank you very much for your patience & support. I absolutely cannot wait for you all to get your hands on 8-Bit Adventures 2! There are so many big moments, fun characters, challenging battles, and little details or secrets in this game, and I know Sebastian, Jerram, Sufyan, and I are all desperate to share them with you. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/d0407bc9cca4c77ac2ca0d4737cf92b94b058631.png 8-Bit Adventures 2 is coming to PC and GOG on January 31st 2023, so please wishlist and spread the word if you’d like to support us! And thank you SO much for all the support that we’ve been given so far! The people who reach out to me about 8-Bit Adventures 2 are always the most wonderfully kind folks I could ever hope to meet, and I’ve pretty much only received polite and positive messages these past 7 years. Given how unpleasant the internet can be, that’s an incredible achievement – and it’s entirely thanks to all of you! Everyone’s kindness has helped me reach the finish line, and for that I am immensely grateful =) ~Josh For more information and updates, please:

• Visit our Official Website
• Follow us on Twitter
• Subscribe to our Official Youtube Channel
• Listen to Music Samples on our SoundCloud
• Join us on Discord
• Wishlist 8-Bit Adventures 2 on Steam

I am thrilled to announce that 8-Bit Adventures 2 will be featured at the Day of the Devs 10th Anniversary Celebration on November 5th! Day of the Devs is the ultimate indie event, and as a massive fan of Double Fine, Tim Schafer, and iam8bit, participating there has been a dream of mine for years. Find out more by clicking on the link or picture below: https://www.dayofthedevs.com/events/ {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/cc5fcd42cf1c1b4d9c50a3bda58611101e7686d8.png If you’re able to attend the in-person event at the Midway in San Francisco, you’ll be able to check out a brand new section of the demo which allows you to freely explore the World Map in an Airship! Explore cities and dungeons, battle bosses, and just see what you run into. Lots of tweaks were made to avoid major spoilers, and the idea was to give attendees a sense of the game’s immense RPG world. Unfortunately I won't be attending the event myself (living in Australia as I do, there's a lot of travel costs involved that I can't cover), but the wonderful folks at Double Fine and iam8bit will be running the demo in my stead. A massive thanks to them - without their support, this opportunity wouldn't be possible. But that’s not all! On the same day, we’ll FINALLY be announcing the PC (Steam and GOG) release date for 8-Bit Adventures 2! Even the cast can't believe it! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/0e81764b4b1dc0e9774a4292a7ef1a64b35e62d5.png Now, I did say the PC release date specifically and there’s a reason for this. While Ratalaika Games have been making some great progress on porting, the whole process has taken significantly longer than anticipated due to some unforeseen challenges. When you add console lotcheck on top of that (the approval process to be launched on each platform), the months pile up. And so, after talking things over with my team, Ratalaika Games, Post Horn PR (a pro-bono marketing team who are very graciously supporting 8-Bit Adventures 2) and several other developers (whose input I’m very grateful for), I’ve ultimately decided to launch the PC version first, work on any bug fixes and updates necessary (updating a game is a lot easier on PC than on console), and then release the console versions as soon as everything’s ready. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/f97f11ad6ed55e5d37d80474f76f14d263befbbf.png I sincerely apologise to console players for this delay, as the plan was always to launch PC and console on the same day. I’ve stuck to and fought for that plan as long as I could (until about the last month and a half); but after speaking further with Ratalaika, it became clear that things had to change. My hope is that console players won’t have to wait too much longer than PC players – and on the bright side, they’ll also receive the Free DLC as part of the base game package, along with any extra fixes and updates for the smoothest and most complete experience. And just to show you that things are moving ahead, here’s a picture of a (slightly older) development build of 8-Bit Adventures 2 running on a Nintendo Switch console (big thanks to Adrian from Ratalaika for taking this photo for me to share)! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/2e4c67b1a970e15d40f4987ebf128e30f91f1e71.jpg As for PC players, I know that some of you have been waiting for 8-Bit Adventures 2 since late 2015, and so I didn’t feel it was right to delay any longer. Taking this approach comes with some challenges, but I think it’ll be worth it to get the game in your hands. Thank you very much for your patience & support. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/79c1b046ac7ef5c339c33583754ff1db835d02e2.png With all that said, please stay tuned for specific details on November 5th! I just wanted to take this opportunity to set expectations and be transparent about what’s going on, as I’d hate for anyone to be disappointed by the actual release date announcement. On the very, very bright side, 8-Bit Adventures 2 will have a set-in-stone, come-hell-or-high-water release date! AND we get to participate in the ultimate indie event at Day of the Devs - how cool is that?! We’re nearly there everyone =D ~Josh For more information and updates, please:

• Visit our Official Website
• Follow us on Twitter
• Subscribe to our Official Youtube Channel
• Listen to Music Samples on our SoundCloud
• Join us on Discord
• Wishlist 8-Bit Adventures 2 on Steam

Hi everyone! Sorry I’ve been so quiet this year, but thank you very much to everyone who’s checked in with me or offered their support =) I’ve spoken to a lot of you individually on Steam, Twitter, Discord, and so on, but I’ve refrained from doing a major update post because I’ve been waiting until I could announce a release date and start promoting the game’s launch.

However, that hasn’t happened, and you all deserve an explanation as to why. So that’s what this update is for!

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/26375847173da41de8a0c1dfcf8c4fdb0067a158.gif First of all, the good news for anyone who hasn’t heard – 8-Bit Adventures 2 is complete. Every cutscene, every battle, every environment, all 100% finished, polished, and tested. I’ve played through the full game from beginning to end multiple times, and it will take players around 30-40 hours to complete – give or take, due to a wealth of optional content (including a Developer Room with behind-the-scenes info and early assets!). I’d also like to thank Benedikt Geierhofer (@RealLeogrim on Twitter) for his help testing the game in recent months! Please check out his upcoming pixel-art RPG “For a Vast Future”, just announced to be releasing in November: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1544000/For_a_Vast_Future/ So if 8-Bit Adventures 2 is finished, why is it not out yet? Well, that’s because we’re waiting for the console ports to be ready. Ratalaika Games have been working really hard on the porting process, despite dealing with a lot of challenges over the past year. But unfortunately, 8-Bit Adventures 2 has taken a lot longer than I expected to be ported – partly due to the size of the project and the very large number of plugins used in the game (all of which need to be manually converted). Ratalaika have been making consistent progress and doing their best to get the game ready, but it's one of those jobs that just seems to take as long as it takes. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/94cbceb21a744115513a208d28d14b6856e8311d.gif Porting is something that I have no control over (it's totally out of my hands), and so I’ve spent the last several months waiting along with all of you. However, I’ve been using this time as effectively as possible. Not only for testing, but also to make numerous improvements to 8-Bit Adventures 2; combing over every line of dialogue, smoothing any difficulty spikes, testing out more battle configurations and crazy combinations, etc. I’ve now reached the end of that process, but I believe having that extra time to take a deep breath and look over the game as a completed project has resulted in a greatly improved product – in a lot of small ways that really add up. Beyond that, I’ve also been starting working on the game’s Free DLC, which has consequently become more substantial than originally planned thanks to this extra time, as well as working on more promotional content (such as mini-trailers highlighting specific sections of the game, and updating the Steam page), and also future top secret plans for releases beyond 8-Bit Adventures 2. While that last one’s a bit premature and relies on 8BA2 selling well, I’m trying to plan ahead so that I can release a game every 2 years, rather than once every 7 years =P {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/6bfb93d4414524262d54026e5af08aa4582267ca.gif I know that information is cold-comfort for everyone out there eagerly anticipating the release, but you all deserve an explanation and that’s the honest situation. I’ll be providing updates as I’m given news myself, and once we've passed certification I'll be shouting a release date from the rooftops! But on the very bright side, 8-Bit Adventures 2 is finally done and, in my opinion, it’s turned out to be a great game and something really special. Obviously I’m the most biased person in the world when it comes to this project, but I’ve also been taking a hyper-critical eye to the game for the past seven years, so I think I can at least say that anyone who loves JRPGs like I do will have a lot of fun. I’m really, really proud of 8-Bit Adventures 2 – and so grateful to everyone on our team who made it possible! There’s not much I can do to tide you over while we all wait, and I know a lot of people don't want any spoilers beyond what I've shown so far. BUT for anyone who’s interested, here’s a sneak-peek at the “Adventures in Anbu” mini-trailer – focusing on a small section of the game where you battle a legendary Samurai and his undead army in a distant land inspired by medieval Japan. The video’s unlisted, so it’s just a bonus for anyone who read this =) {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/467a0422507b4362b76e5d534959d83fa2134bbc.png Anyway, I just wanted to make sure that everyone knew what was going on, and where we're at. Essentially, I'm waiting like everyone else now. But I'm also trying to plan and think ahead so that - if 8-Bit Adventures 2 does well - I'll be able to provide you guys with a steady stream of fun content in future. But for now, thank you very much for all of your support; it really means the world to me! ~Josh For more information and updates, please:

• Visit our Official Website
• Follow us on Twitter
• Subscribe to our Official Youtube Channel
• Listen to Music Samples on our SoundCloud
• Join us on Discord
• Wishlist 8-Bit Adventures 2 on Steam

I'm thrilled to announce that 8-Bit Adventures 2 is participating in Steam's latest Next Fest event - and to celebrate this, the 8-Bit Adventures 2 Demo has received a big update! What does it do? Let's dive in! For anyone who's already played the previous demo, this latest version features all of the same content. You can once again choose between playing through the game's Prologue, battling your way through an exciting Dungeon, and exploring a Town with a hidden boss battle. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/f657334118884ff0517d9be5dd5f3d3fccb8a44a.gif However, this latest update includes a TON of changes, fixes, and improvements. Simply put, this update makes the demo run and play like the final, release-level product! But how about some specifics?

What's New in the Demo?

• A massive performance boost, bringing the game up to near rock-solid 60fps performance (this boost accounts for most of the increase in file size, in case anyone was curious!) {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/920058c191da252dfd2a1dbc0c53447070b7eaa2.gif
• Dozens and dozens (and dozens) of bug fixes which make battles run smoother and ensure everything works as intended. And the game's balance has been improved too!
• Enhanced UI elements, such as indicating to the player what percentage their HP/MP is currently at through the use of colour, displaying a character's Max HP/MP when you go to use a restorative item in battle, as well as the addition of an icon which indicates which enemies have rare steal-able items which you don't currently possess! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/183df24c4e2829f3303e1bb7dfafa6cc38bc18a0.gif
• Improved support for high refresh-rate monitors.
• A Quick Menu button which allows the player to bring up a specific menu with just one press. The exact menu that's brought up can be customised in the Options menu.
• The Tutorial sub-menu, which details the game's mechanics, offering an easy refresher if the player ever forgets something. More tutorials are unlocked as you progress through the game.
• A new Sprint Mode option that allows the player to choose between Holding a button down to sprint, or Toggling running/walking speed with the press of a button. I'm a Hold mode kind of guy myself, but options are all about figuring out what works best for you!
• A Battle Status menu that can be brought up during combat to display a complete summary of the player's party (detailing Equipment, Augments, Statuses, etc.), designed to be a handy reference. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/f54891642a0d8e96a96336b61164aefb0c7721b3.gif
• Improved Ability/Item descriptions (and animations in a handful of cases) which clarify details which may have been more obtuse or poorly handled in past releases.
• Scrolling text in battle! The text displayed at the top of the screen during battle now scrolls as player/enemy actions play out, providing more relevant details. For example, say that there's an attack which deals damage and poisons an enemy. Some flavour text will appear about the attack, followed by a description of the damage dealt. But then the text will scroll down to also state that the enemy was poisoned. This is much more elegant than before.
• The Equipment and Augment menus now display character portraits, making the currently selected character easier to discern at a glance. Additionally, Shop menus now also feature character graphics for the same reason.
• The game will now pop up "Immune" text if an enemy (or ally) is unable to be inflicted by a particular Status Ailment.
• If you get a Game Over, you can now choose to Open the Menu before retrying a battle, allowing you to change up your Equipment/Augments, or heal a character with low HP/MP. This way, you don't have to reload & re-watch any cutscenes if you want to change up your approach to combat.

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/ade21325c9cd4b97293c6f872b80991ef96df6d9.gif Honestly, I could go on forever - like how the Warrior's Strong Attack now has an increased Critical Hit chance, the Exit Game menu now allows you to load a save file without returning to the main menu, the healing sub-menu now takes up less space and leaves the currently selected column of the Item menu visible, if an enemy has two damaging Status Ailments affecting them at once the damage numbers will no longer overlap, etc. Truth be told, I doubt I could even remember *everything* that's been fixed or changed haha. So while on the surface this will seem like a very familiar demo to long-time fans, the goal was to raise the overall polish and quality-of-life features to the standard of the full, release-level game.

Development Progress Update!

On that note, while I can't give as much of an update as I wanted to (and I know you all want), I *can* talk about where the game is at! I probably have a little under a month of work left on the game myself (although I naturally won't stop testing until release). 8-Bit Adventures 2 is playable from beginning to end - with every battle fully functional and all the gameplay content tested and polished. I've just got to finish up on some cutscene work for the end-game side quests and epilogue, as well as put together the hidden Developer Room (that's been left 'till last as it's extraneous to the core experience). {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/3535063b8d8ebc9376c1f464bbe60bef43769988.png In case you missed it, while I originally thought that 8-Bit Adventures 2 would be a 20 hour game during development, it's turned out to be a jam-packed 30+ hour adventure (including side quests). And none of that time is spent on filler or grinding; I've tried to make the game wall-to-wall content, so it's been a really big project. So despite how quiet I've been recently, things have been going really well! I'm at the point where a lot of things are beyond my direct control, so please bear with me; because I'll be delivering every bit of news to you the moment I'm allowed to deliver it!

Some BIG Thank Yous

First of all, I'd like to give a MASSIVE thank you to Sufyan Noor, our wonderful programmer who's implemented all of the above ideas with me. He's done an AMAZING job, and I'm really grateful for all the work he's put in. No matter how hard the challenge I pose to him, he always finds a way to pull it off! Secondly, a TON of gratitude to Peter Ruibal, otherwise known as fmoo on the Something Classic Discord server. He helped me with a last-minute Steam issue that threatened to derail this demo, completely out of the kindness of his heart. So thank you very much Pete! He's working on an upcoming JRPG called Quartet, which I *highly* recommend you check out because the team behind it are some of the nicest, smartest, most talented developers I've ever met! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1307960/Quartet/ Finally, I wanted to thank everyone who's played the demo in previous years. And especially those who gave feedback! There are several items on the list above which I added to the game *specifically* because of player feedback. Even if something doesn't end up being implemented, I do take everything on-board, so thank you all for taking the time to share your thoughts with me! We're at such a late stage now that not much else will be able to change, but I'll definitely be updating the game post-launch so please do feel free to offer feedback if anything stands out to you =D

Wrapping Up

If you've played the demo before, this update might not seem like a big deal - for which I apologise. I didn't want to spoil any more of the game than I've already put out there. And I also know a lot of people haven't played the demo before, so I didn't want to take development time away from the main game to build a whole new demo (which would've probably taken 3 weeks to a month). However, everything that's been added in this new update demonstrates a giant step forward for 8-Bit Adventures 2. We're at the point now where the game plays like a final, release-level product - even better than I originally envisioned - and that's incredibly exciting to me! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/85d93b57e815191065350a322eeef875ac8da203.gif And don't forget to check out all the other amazing demos included in Steam Next Fest! If you're interested in 8-Bit Adventures 2, I'd say games like For a Vast Future, Jack Move, and Absinthia might be right up your alley =) Anyway, my journey nears its end, and yours is soon to begin - so please keep your eyes peeled for news. I'll probably give everyone an update on porting progress next time I post (just to keep you all in the loop), and then the one after that will be the release date announcement - followed by the actual release! =D ~Josh P.S. I'd sincerely appreciate it if you could add 8-Bit Adventures 2 to your wishlist, as this genuinely helps us out (particularly during Steam Next Fest and at launch)! Our most adorable enemy - a puffball named Eek - *really* wants you to do it =P {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/a07bdb555df99139ab23c7b48d1c6b02cd464b74.png For more information and updates, please:

• Visit our Official Website
• Follow us on Twitter
• Subscribe to our Official Youtube Channel
• Listen to Music Samples on our SoundCloud
• Join us on Discord
• Wishlist 8-Bit Adventures 2 on Steam

Hi everyone! I hope you're all doing well, and that your 2022 has gotten off to a great start. This is just a quick update to let you know that 8-Bit Adventures 1, 8-Bit Adventures 2, and Tales Across Time are participating in this week's RPG Maker Festival - a celebration of all things RPG Maker! As you might expect, 8-Bit Adventures 2 is highlighted on the Coming Soon page (more info on that game's new demo update coming soon), but 8-Bit Adventures 1 and Tales Across Time are available now with special discounts!

Festival Discounts

From 10AM on February 14th (today) through to 10AM on February 21st (Pacific Time), you can get 8-Bit Adventures 1 at 60% off! That means you can own it for just $4 USD! You can also get the fantastic Remastered Soundtrack 30% off ($3.50 USD), or the Game + Soundtrack bundle 45% off (that’s only $6.60 USD)! https://store.steampowered.com/app/370300/8Bit_Adventures_The_Forgotten_Journey_Remastered_Edition/ Additionally, my most recent game Tales Across Time is also participating in the sale, making an already cheap game even cheaper! You can now get it 20% off - that's just $2.39 USD! https://store.steampowered.com/app/461710/Tales_Across_Time/ As I've said before, these discounts won't get any lower in the future, so now's the time to buy if you're interested in checking these games out and supporting the final phase of development on 8-Bit Adventures 2!

RPG Maker Memories

I was really grateful to be invited to participate in the RPG Maker Festival event. RPG Maker is a big part of the reason I became a game developer; as a kid, it gave me the ability to experiment, create, and learn the basics of development, which I spent countless hours delving into. Some childhood project highlights being a Kingdom Hearts 1 sequel (which nonetheless focused on Cloud and Sephiroth XD), a Final Fantasy VII Advent Children fan game, a very unfinished Pokemon Gold/Silver remake called Johto Legends, some high school projects (I genuinely managed to submit a video game for a P.E. assignment, which might be one of my proudest accomplishments!), and an "original" work called Paladins vs. Dragoons about star-crossed lovers (taking heavy inspiration from Final Fantasy's jobs haha). As an adult, RPG Maker has given me a way to tell stories and create the kinds of games I love, despite my very limited programming abilities. It's because of this that I think it exceeds any limitations that it does have. So thank you RPG Maker - and here's to many more years of empowering creators! =D Stay tuned for more news next week! ~Josh

Console Announcement Sale!

As a special promotion, from 10AM on October 13th (today) through to 10AM on October 20th (Pacific Time), you can get 8-Bit Adventures 1 at 60% off! That means you can own it for just $4 USD! You can also get the fantastic Remastered Soundtrack 30% off ($3.50 USD), or the Game + Soundtrack bundle 45% off (that’s only $6.60 USD)! https://store.steampowered.com/app/370300/8Bit_Adventures_The_Forgotten_Journey_Remastered_Edition/ Additionally, my most recent game Tales Across Time is also participating in the sale, making an already cheap game even cheaper! You can now get it 20% off - that's just $2.39 USD! https://store.steampowered.com/app/461710/Tales_Across_Time/ As I've said before, these discounts won't get any lower in the future, so now's the time to buy if you're interested in checking these games out and supporting the final phase of development on 8-Bit Adventures 2!

8-Bit Adventures 2 Console Announcements

I’ve been pretty vague on the topic of consoles for 8-Bit Adventures 2 for a while now, but no more! I’m ecstatic to reveal that 8-Bit Adventures 2 will be available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation®5 (PS5™), PlayStation®4 (PS4™), Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One consoles – simultaneously alongside the Steam and GOG releases for PC! After our game was showcased at gamescom last year, we received a tremendous number of requests to bring 8-Bit Adventures 2 to consoles. While it’s added a *lot* of extra work to a project that’s already been in development for over 5 years, my goal is to make sure that *everyone* can enjoy this classic JRPG adventure – no matter where you prefer to play. So I sincerely hope that fans on every platform are going to be really happy about this news! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/18d7102f705e12c72879d12e93f59db4078f465b.png Look at all those logos! ;) The console versions are being ported by the incredibly talented porting company (and publisher) Ratalaika Games. To put it simply, RPG Maker MV games like 8-Bit Adventures 2 are tremendously difficult to bring to consoles, and without Ratalaika Games a simultaneous release would not have been possible. The technical wizards there have developed their own tools to achieve this, and it even allows me to keep a hand on the wheel – fixing bugs, testing the console versions, and developing any future content updates. It was fan support that has ultimately allowed us to take this project further than I ever imagined. I’m genuinely thrilled to be bringing 8-Bit Adventures 2 to every major console platform, and I hope the Nintendo, PlayStation®, and Xbox communities will enjoy discovering the grand, character-driven story, dynamic turn-based battles, and ‘familiar yet fresh’ experience that awaits them in this epic new adventure. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/fd56d3183b78ea856be7a12c91722836a7736d4e.gif For PC players, I realise that all of this console talk probably hasn’t been the most exciting news. Console work has taken up a *ton* of my time this year (along with something ambitious that I took a chance on because I felt it would help the game, but sadly didn’t pan out. I am currently unable to elaborate on this), and it has taken that time away from development on the game. And for that, I apologise – PC players are the ones who have been waiting the longest, and I fully recognise that! But just to be clear, there’s not a finished PC build that I’m holding back from release until the console versions are done or anything crazy like that. There’s just one core build that I’m trying to complete, and each release spirals out from that. I’m not actually allowed to announce a release date until certain obligations have been fulfilled (and I’ve learnt a lot about best release practices and timings), so there’ll probably only be a month’s notice before the game is released. What I *can* tell you, though, is that we currently have 21 hours worth of completely finished and finalised 8-Bit Adventures 2 – along with a ton of quality-of-life changes and under-the-hood improvements since the last demo was released. I’ve also got some more big announcements to make in the not-too-distant future (one of which in particular I think will make people very happy), so please stay tuned! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/0f114ed51141ae87670edd2eb96b8e62cf47d841.png On a personal note, I will admit that this year’s been…exhausting haha. There’s been so much to keep track of – both in terms of development, and everything else surrounding the game – that it’s felt tremendously overwhelming. Probably a little too much for one person in retrospect XD At the end of the day, I’m a creative who likes to tell stories and design fun game mechanics, so the business, marketing, and management aspects of development over the last year and a half have required a lot of learning. Going back into lockdown for the past several months definitely hasn’t helped matters either haha! It’s been an incredibly tough couple of years for everyone, though, and I’ve really had it easy - so I’m saying this to explain where I’m currently at, rather than to complain. After all, while it may be more work for me, it’s good news for the game! I’m lucky that every time I work on and play 8-Bit Adventures 2, I still feel genuinely excited and enjoy the experience very much – despite how tedious game development can sometimes get. Crafting the best possible experience for all of you is what keeps me plugging away, and I’m so, so happy with how the game has turned out. And now that we’re coming to consoles, it really feels like we’re not leaving anything on the table. By the time 8-Bit Adventures 2 releases, I’ll have done literally everything I possibly can to make the game a success – and that’s a good feeling =D {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/01e2b0225d07bd7609fd15d5b03a8fab876aaf39.png I’ve also been thinking a lot about what comes next. Put simply, I have no intention of doing a 5-6 year project again (I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone haha XD), and so I’ve been toying with two ideas that would provide content-rich experiences and keep me doing what I do best (making RPGs), but would also allow me to release two full games within a 2 and a half year window. I’m also planning at least one free content update for 8-Bit Adventures 2 after it’s released, which I will hopefully be able to begin development of at some point during the porting process (I’d like to release it around a month after launch). This is an idea I’ve had for several years now, and I think it’s a fun basis for optional, bonus story content. But sticking firmly in the present, I’ve just revamped the old Critical Games Youtube Channel. It now has current trailers and branding, as well as a playlist with over 21 minutes of Music Samples from the 8-Bit Adventures 2 OST! All future 8-Bit Adventures 2 videos will be uploaded here, so please check it out and subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/user/CriticalGamesDev {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/a652f8e2c6fa7d672541c13597dacf731933da55.png Anyway, the future is looking very bright! If you’re a long-time follower of 8-Bit Adventures 2, thank you so, so much for your support – I’m sincerely, immensely grateful. And if you’ve only just discovered 8-Bit Adventures 2, then welcome! I’m over-the-moon that you’re taking an interest in the game and I can’t wait to hear your thoughts =D Talk to everyone again soon! ~Josh For more information and updates, please:

• Visit our Official Website
• Follow us on Twitter
• Subscribe to our Official Youtube Channel
• Listen to Music Samples on our SoundCloud
• Join us on Discord
• Wishlist 8-Bit Adventures 2 on Steam

Hi everyone! I’m excited to reveal that 8-Bit Adventures 2 is a part of DreamHack Beyond – and the event begins TODAY! https://dreamhack.com/beyond/ What is DreamHack Beyond? It’s a fully digital, online convention that’s styled like a point-and-click adventure game. It features demos, cosplay, tournaments, game booths, and even a story-driven adventure – all rolled into a unique online multiplayer experience with a gorgeous, Cartoon Network-inspired art style! Seriously, I’ve gone hands on with my booth area, and I’m incredibly impressed with what they’ve built. If you like JRPGs and chatting with quirky NPCs in games, I think you’ll really enjoy this. In fact, I’m an NPC in DreamHack Beyond too! So you can chat to "me" about 8-Bit Adventures 2 inside the game ;) Speaking of which, you can find my doppelganger at the 8-Bit Adventures 2 booth in Hive 3! To join the event, all you need to do is claim your FREE ticket here: https://dreamhack.com/tickets/dhb1 I am incredibly grateful to have been invited to show 8-Bit Adventures 2 at DreamHack Beyond, and I honestly think this is one online convention you won’t want to miss. Especially if you’re currently in lockdown like I am here in Australia!

DreamHack Beyond Sale!

To celebrate the event, I’m also running some discounts! From 10AM on July 24th through to 10AM on July 31st (Pacific Time), you can get 8-Bit Adventures 1 at 60% off! That means you can own it for just $4 USD! You can also get the fantastic Remastered Soundtrack 30% off ($3.50 USD), or the Game + Soundtrack bundle 45% off (that’s only $6.60 USD)! https://store.steampowered.com/app/370300/8Bit_Adventures_The_Forgotten_Journey_Remastered_Edition/ Additionally, my most recent game Tales Across Time is also participating in the sale, making an already cheap game even cheaper! You can now get it 20% off - that's just $2.39 USD! https://store.steampowered.com/app/461710/Tales_Across_Time/ As I've said before, these discounts won't get any lower in the future, so now's the time to buy if you're interested in checking these games out and supporting the final phase of development on 8-Bit Adventures 2!

General Updates

I’m very sorry for the radio silence; I haven’t wanted to do any big updates for a while, as I’ve been working at a really good pace. That said, I’m still responding to everyone that leaves me a comment here or on social media, and am active on Twitter (@CriticalGamesAU) and our Discord channel. But I know plenty of people don’t look at those, so I’ll be sharing some of the updates I’ve made there in this post. But just before that, I apologise for how quiet I’ve been on announcements this year. A whole big string of them is on the horizon (lots and lots of things I’ve been trying to plan and organise finally coming to fruition), but I’m trying to find the best time to do so. 8-Bit Adventures 2’s development is going really well, though! I'm waiting until the game is actually finished to announce a release date, as the last thing I want to do is disappoint anyone again. But I know how frustrating that is for all of you – and I don’t for a moment take your patience and support for granted. I’m incredibly lucky to have such wonderful people looking forward to 8-Bit Adventures 2, and I’ll always be upfront and honest about things whenever I’m asked =) However, I can say that I have 15 hours of completely finished, polished, bug tested, finalised game - with the remaining hours partially finished (I'm predicting around 23-24 hours, depending on the player - but a lot of the late game content is a little more free-flowing and player driven, as you have the freedom of an Airship, and can tackle a bunch of sidequests, so it's easier on development - compared to the more scripted, heavily directed content that comprises the bulk of the game). So the last few months have been extremely productive! I’m honestly feeling a bit exhausted haha, but I feel like I’m making constant, significant progress, so that’s a great feeling =D Anyway, onto sharing some of those updates! First up, let’s look at a new addition to 8-Bit Adventures 2: the Battle Status Window! With the push of a button, you can view the whole party's details in a handy little window; Stats, Equipment, Augments, and current Status effects (as well as how long those Status effects have left before they disappear)! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/f54891642a0d8e96a96336b61164aefb0c7721b3.gif When you have a six or seven character party, this window can really help you stay on top of who has what, and will help you decide which allies to swap in or out. Next up is the Autosave system! While not the most visually exciting thing to show, it’s essential to a modern RPG. So whatever happens, you’ll always have a back-up! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/e6b16863a63b49a431ad97891dac8d3b59ab2672.png For something a little bit different, here’s an update I posted about running around in the large, neon-lit City of Sounds - one of the 29 dungeons featured in 8-Bit Adventures 2. Here you'll face electrified guitarists, enemy-buffing backup drummers, and tone-deaf singers with killer vocals! Unfortunately, I can't share this one directly as the GIF file is too big for Steam, but you can check out the tweet here: https://twitter.com/CriticalGamesAU/status/1396106620954824711 And finally, back in May, 8-Bit Adventures 2's performance got a big boost! The game now has a rock-solid 60fps frame rate, and this has made a tremendous difference to the feel of the game. For example, enemies spotting you on the World Map used to cause a lag spike, but not anymore! Note: I had to compress and cut this one a little to fit it on Steam - sorry about that! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/920058c191da252dfd2a1dbc0c53447070b7eaa2.gif All of these improvements are thanks to our amazing programmer Sufyan Noor, so a round of applause for him please! He’s doing amazing work adding this last coat of polish to the technical side of the game, and implementing the Quality of Life elements I’ve designed. Lastly, I also wanted to share this awesome, adorable piece of fan art that Starzee posted on our Discord! It's the 8-Bit Adventures 2 cast if they were made into plushies, and I absolutely LOVE it (and want to buy them haha)! Thanks so much for creating it and letting me share your work Starzee =D {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/3cd280d5467ac9eb3f56437d1468e28820dfa39c.png I'm sorry I don't have more to announce, but there's a lot to come (I've got announcements related to seven different companies in the long-term!). I'm so, so incredibly grateful for all of your support - every comment truly means a lot to me. But please, don't forget to check out DreamHack Beyond - I'm very grateful to be a part of it, and I genuinely think it's going to be something special. I'm looking forward to hopping on myself! =D ~Josh For more information and updates, please:

• Visit our Official Website
• Follow us on Twitter
• Listen to Music Samples on our SoundCloud
• Join us on Discord
• Wishlist 8-Bit Adventures 2 on Steam

Hi everyone! It’s been a while, but I’m back to share some news and highlight a very exciting playable event that 8-Bit Adventures 2 is taking part in!

The IWOCon Digital Indie Convention Begins!

8-Bit Adventures 2 has appeared at Gamescom and Toyko Game Show, but it’s never been at an event like this. IWOCon is a fully digital, online, playable game convention – basically a playable theme park for Indie titles! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1422300/IWOCon_2021/ You can download the game here on Steam, using the link above! Create your unique pirate character and set sail for the IWOCon Islands with your very own vessel (you can even fire the cannons, or dive your vessel underwater to see what lurks beneath the convention!). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3PUfCkByP8 Every island features a variety of Indie Game Booths, and you’ll fill up your in-game passport as you explore all of the different titles that the convention has to offer. 8-Bit Adventures 2 has an awesome 3D booth situated on the Love Islands (clearly the event organisers recognised our game’s romantic soul haha), but you’ll have to discover it yourself in the IWOCon app to see what it’s like (no spoilers here!) ;) {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/521dba869bbdb0dd1d31f2dd075155cc8e3439a8.png The event will be live from March 26th through April 2nd (during which a bunch of great streamers will be covering it), but the IWOCon game on Steam will remain online even after the event is over. You can find a bunch of the amazing indie games featured in the event at the link below – some of them are even discounted, too! https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/indieworldorder/sale/IWOCon2021 If all goes according to plan, I’ll be in the chat for an 8-Bit Adventures 2 Demo Stream being held by CDI Arcade on Twitch at 11:30 PM on Monday EST. So come on by to say hello and asks questions if you’re interested! =D https://www.twitch.tv/CDiArcade It’s truly incredible what the team behind IWOCon has achieved, and they’ve done it all completely for free and purely to support indie developers. It’s the most unique and creative convention I’ve ever seen, and I’d sincerely appreciate it if everyone would check it out and support them! They really deserve it. So download the IWOCon game on Steam and set sail for adventure! =D

IWOCon Sale!

From 10AM on March 27th through to 10AM on April 3rd (Pacific Time), you can get 8-Bit Adventures 1 at 60% off! That means you can own it for just $4 USD! You can also get the fantastic Remastered Soundtrack 30% off ($3.50 USD), or the Game + Soundtrack bundle 45% off (that’s only $6.60 USD)! https://store.steampowered.com/app/370300/8Bit_Adventures_The_Forgotten_Journey_Remastered_Edition/ Additionally, my most recent game Tales Across Time is also participating in the sale, making an already cheap game even cheaper! You can now get it 20% off - that's just $2.39 USD! https://store.steampowered.com/app/461710/Tales_Across_Time/ As I've said before, these discounts won't get any lower in the future, so now's the time to buy if you're interested in checking these games out and supporting the final phase of development on 8-Bit Adventures 2!

A New Milestone!

I’m sorry I’ve been so quiet this year – I’ve had my head down working very hard, and we’ve also had a bit of a family health scare, so things have been a little bit hectic haha (not to mention the Steam Festival that we participated in earlier this year). Before we get onto the progress update, though, I want to say a massive THANK YOU to all of you. Not just for your continued support and kind words, but for helping us hit a new milestone. 8-Bit Adventures 2 has now been Wishlisted by more than 13,000 players!! That’s an absolutely incredible number, and far beyond what I ever imagined when I first put the game’s Steam page up (I remember I was amazed when we broke 100 haha). {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/ae9529e08326c1db81504bcb085b44522b72731c.png I know wishlisting seems like a small thing, but it makes a massive difference – the more wishlists a game has, the more opportunities it gets for visibility on Steam once it’s released. So hopefully we’ll continue to grow even more from here, but the 13,000+ Wishlists we have puts us in a really good position. So thank you everyone – it really means a lot! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/b384a5fea6b651112627035ac172635003b44fc4.png

Progress Update!

So first things first; a lot of my time so far in 2021 has been spent sorting out arrangements to get 8-Bit Adventures 2 onto consoles. It’s involved a lot more time and work than I’d originally expected to get each platform organised (I’ve filled out a *lot* of paperwork =P), but I’m happy to say that we’ve been even more successful than I’d hoped! Please be patient a little longer for the announcement of the exact platforms, but I can say with confidence that no matter where you play, everyone will be really happy with what we’ve achieved. I think we’ve managed to meet pretty much every player’s request, so I’m really excited about revealing more =D {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/c6db5f0e9a1209f50ffe068335047462af24eb5e.png Our team has also invested a lot of time recently working on something pretty special…that we may or may not ever be able to share with all of you haha =P I realise that’s incredibly cryptic, but I unfortunately can’t say anything more. It’s something we’ve all put a lot of hard work into for a long time now, is related to 8-Bit Adventures 2, and would be absolutely incredible if we could make it a reality for players. There are just a lot of very difficult factors at play, and it all depends on whether or not things work out. But stay tuned – we’re working hard on a lot of things and trying to make the release of 8-Bit Adventures 2 as special and successful as we possibly can! As for the game itself, new fixes and tweaks are getting introduced, player feedback is being implemented, and it’s in a really good state – it just needs more balancing, polishing and play-testing. The main issue has been that I’ve been trying to do a bunch of these massively involved, extra jobs and have been spreading myself very thin (especially dealing with family as well). But with consoles just about sorted out, I’m looking forward to hunkering down and getting this last portion of development finished and the game (finally, FINALLY) ready for porting and release! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/b76b4c9ede70473f52b04164b3d9f66431ec7cd2.png So we should have a lot of exciting announcements as the year goes on. We’ve been able to take 8-Bit Adventures 2 further than I ever imagined when I started development five years ago, and that’s largely thanks to everyone who’s supported the game. It’s because of your comments and wishlists and enthusiasm that we’re able to get the game released on consoles - so from the bottom of my heart, thank you everyone! =D {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/578e97ae327649cc3399407ed498489e7676b3ca.png I know it’s been an incredibly long wait, but we’re going to make this release worthy of your faith, patience, and support - I promise! In the meantime, please give some of that amazing support to IWOCon this week and I hope to talk to you all soon! If you ever have any questions or comments you’d like to share, please don’t hesitate to hit me up ;) ~ Josh For more information and updates, please:

• Visit our Official Website
• Follow us on Twitter
• Listen to Music Samples on our SoundCloud
• Join us on Discord
• Wishlist 8-Bit Adventures 2 on Steam

Sorry for the lack of updates everyone! I’ve been incredibly busy, and I felt like my time was better spent on the game rather than writing updates at this point (especially as I don’t really want to spoil anything more than I already have XD). But I have returned to deliver a final round-up for 2020 and explain what’s going on, as well as deliver some (hopefully) exciting news about getting 8-Bit Adventures 2 onto console! It’s a big update, so let’s start off by getting the easy stuff out of the way!

Steam Autumn Sale

There’s just 11 hours left (sorry I’m so late!), but you can get 8-Bit Adventures at 60% off! That means you can own it for just $4 USD! You can also get the fantastic Remastered Soundtrack 30% off ($3.50 USD), or the Game + Soundtrack bundle 45% off (that’s only $6.60 USD)! https://store.steampowered.com/app/370300/8Bit_Adventures_The_Forgotten_Journey_Remastered_Edition/ Additionally, my most recent game Tales Across Time is also participating in the sale, making an already cheap game even cheaper! You can now get it 20% off - that's just $2.39 USD! https://store.steampowered.com/app/461710/Tales_Across_Time/ As I've said before, these discounts won't get any lower in the future, so now's the time to buy if you're interested in checking these games out!

How Do I Jump Podcast Interview

I also wanted to shout out the How Do I Jump Podcast who interviewed me back in September! If you're excited for 8-Bit Adventures 2, or just love RPGs, please check it out here: https://www.spreaker.com/user/how_do_i_jump/8-bit-adventures-final {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/9cba1fa10ec7015ba5d8ddfc75f65bb0fd151e28.jpg We talk a lot about 8-Bit Adventures 2 and RPG design, but I also get to ramble on about Final Fantasy and Legend of Dragoon! Talking with Peter about this stuff was a ton of fun, so I hope you all enjoy it =D

Vote for 8-Bit Adventures 2 in the IndieDB Top 100!

IndieDB is currently holding their annual Top 100 Indie Games of 2020 competition, and if you’re able, I’d sincerely appreciate it if you’d consider voting for 8-Bit Adventures 2 =) The competition is designed to “make sure great games get the attention they deserve, without being buried under a mountain of asset-flips and achievement grabs” and in an increasingly oversaturated market I think that’s a fantastic idea! 8-Bit Adventures 2 actually made into the Top 100 last year thanks to your votes and it gave us some extra exposure and visibility. So if you have a moment and would like to support the game, I’d be ecstatic if you could head over to the 8-Bit Adventures 2 IndieDB page and click Vote Now before December 11th! https://www.indiedb.com/games/8-bit-adventures-2 {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/d30516a0c15b3a4f733011598eb7408973c217c4.png You can also win some PC games like Chivalry, Total War Warhammer, Subnautica, and many more just by voting. So whether you vote for 8-Bit Adventures 2 or someone else’s game, I’d definitely recommend getting involved!

Changing Plans, Releasing the Game, and Consoles

Okay, so with all that out of the way, let’s talk about what everyone really wants to know. If you’ve been following 8-Bit Adventures 2 over the course of this year, you’re fully aware that things haven’t gone as planned. This has been a very busy year, and lots of things have taken a toll on development. That includes some not so nice things like the death of a close family member at the start of the year, the whole 2020 pandemic situation, a team member contracting COVID (he’s okay now, thankfully!), and so on. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/d5a7500bb62116339fe9ec0a45652db5ab508c62.gif But it’s also included some really wonderful and exciting things – specifically a bunch of online opportunities which 8-Bit Adventures 2 never would’ve had under normal circumstances. We released a brand new demo in the Steam Summer Festival, participated in Gamescom where I debuted the game’s final trailer on IGN (and was interviewed by German gaming website Gamestar), 8-Bit Adventures 2 got selected to take part in the Tokyo Game Show, and we’re participating in IWOCon in the near future (an indie focused digital convention that you can actually explore like a game)! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlDLMlHeGMM Before this year, I’d never been able to participate in any kind of events (as I live in Australia, so the cost of travel and set up made this sort of thing impossible). And what I learnt is that events like this take a *tremendous* amount of work – far more than I ever expected! I went from creating a polished demo in May/June (along with preparing for the event, setting up a Discord, etc.) to preparing multiple videos and a demo update for Gamescom in July/August (which also required dozens and dozens of lengthy emails to organise things), to handling Tokyo Game Show in September (and my first brush with translating promotional material for 8-Bit Adventures 2). I’ve also tried to respond to every single comment about the game that I’ve been able to find, so that’s taken some doing (especially since Youtube kept marking my replies to the several hundred comments on the IGN videos as spam, so I had to rewrite them all three times XD). And that doesn’t even include the six or so other events that 8-Bit Adventures 2 didn’t get into (but all of which required a lot of time to submit – for example, putting together submission videos or writing pages and pages about your game). {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/3127aab58add5d5084ea3de171a66e5097c52f59.gif There’s also been a ton of behind-the-scenes work and communication on things that I can’t share yet - but hopefully will be able to at some point ;) To be clear, none of that’s me complaining – I am BEYOND grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given this year! The fact that over 100,000 people saw the IGN videos and social media posts combined genuinely blows my mind – especially since almost every response I’ve seen to the trailer and demo has been highly positive =D It’s all just to say that this year has seen me taking on a lot of new jobs/challenges, and consequently a massive amount of time was spent on taking advantage of these promotional opportunities rather than actually developing and finishing the game. On the one hand, I’m incredibly frustrated with myself for not being finished yet. Truth be told, I’ve been afraid of writing this, as I sincerely hate letting everyone down – especially those of you who have been so incredibly patient with me these past 5 years since 8-Bit Adventures 1 came out. To all of you, I am deeply sorry. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/b4d5117a75469775bc444bf3abcd7668a3fb7bfd.gif But on the other hand, there is a silver lining. Thousands more people know about 8-Bit Adventures 2 now and are interested in the game, and that’s going to lead to a much more successful launch. Additionally, I received a massive number of comments and messages from people requesting a console release. Switch was definitely the most popular, but Playstation and Xbox had plenty of interest too! Consoles had always been a long-term hope of mine, but I figured that stuff would have to wait until after the PC version was released. Thing is, after getting all of that extra attention, I’ve started to rethink that approach. As a small developer with a few games under my belt, I know that if you get any chance to make your game a success (through reaching games media, Steam algorithms, etc.), you only get one - and that chance comes at release. Obviously there are some games like Among Us which get a second go around, but you definitely can’t count on that. So having 8-Bit Adventures 2 available on consoles *as well as* PC on day one would mean that everyone interested in the game can immediately pick it up and play it. I’d also say it increases the likelihood of reviews and media coverage quite significantly. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/e4038ff4b1a06d13cdf03d70fea88301742d6635.gif As such, I’ve been speaking to a porting company, who have developed specific software for transitioning games developed in RPG Maker MV from PC to console and have very reasonable turn-around times. Additionally, the way they approach the conversion means QA testing and bug fixing for the ports shouldn’t be nearly as big a challenge as it otherwise would be.

So my goal is now to release 8-Bit Adventures 2 in 2021 on both Console and PC, on the same day.

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/8060323f1e84963e2156af259bd129b20dd560fa.png To be clear, this isn’t an announcement of specific consoles (I’m not able to do that yet); rather, a statement that this is my goal and I’m working on making it a reality at the moment. Now I know that the things I listed above are all really business reasons about why this approach is better. If you just want to play 8-Bit Adventures 2 on PC, there’s not really a benefit for you to this change, and that really sucks – I know =/ I’ve felt a bit stuck between a rock and a hard place on this one. I sincerely don’t want to disappoint anyone, but after spending 5 years of my life on 8-Bit Adventures 2, I also want to reach the maximum number of players and make it the biggest success I possibly can. Especially since that’s the only way I’m going to be able to continue making games in future =P {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/a6e9a7355fcc27af2b4975309b3f021b052e29bd.png The responses I’ve had from players and fans this year has convinced me that 8-Bit Adventures 2 has the potential to be a success, and I’m *SO* grateful for that. All I can ask is that you all please give me the extra time needed to finish the game once and for all, as well as get it on as many platforms (and to as many people) as possible. And if you want to get in touch and let me know your thoughts, please feel free to do so! You can reach me on email, Twitter, Discord – wherever! Time zone troubles aside, I’m pretty much always around =) Anyway, I sincerely apologise for any disappointment and trouble this might cause. As always, I’m honestly just trying my best. And you know, I’m actually pretty excited about this – we’re going bigger with this launch than I ever imagined! It’s crazy to think of how far we’ve come since the first game’s release in 2015…and I sincerely owe it all to you guys for your incredibly kind words and support, without which I wouldn’t have even made a sequel! Thank you everyone =) {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/b34f3b5e56df7b61d5977c677b842465a1c0a273.gif Regardless of current circumstances, I hope you all stay safe, healthy, and have the best possible December 2020 you can. Let's all put the year behind us and make 2021 something special! ~Josh

I'm thrilled to announce that 8-Bit Adventures 2 was selected as one of the indie games to be exhibited at Tokyo Game Show 2020! Operating as a digital event, TGS will run for the rest of the week - from the 23rd to the 27th of September (Japan Standard Time) - and there'll be a ton of great games on show, everything from indie to AAA! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/123844642d39cc1bb6754cf0906916f12b442dc1.png It's a genuine honour to be selected for TGS, a game show that - especially as a fan of JRPGs - I've excitedly followed every year since the early 2000s. Its always been one of the most storied events in the industry, so I hope you'll check it out! You can learn more about TGS 2020 here: https://tgs.nikkeibp.co.jp/tgs/2020/ Or check out the 8-Bit Adventures 2 Exhibitor Page: https://tgs-online.eventos.tokyo/web/portal/309/event/1214/module/booth/33324/21477 And don't forget - anyone can play the 8-Bit Adventures 2 Demo, available on Steam right now! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/a6e9a7355fcc27af2b4975309b3f021b052e29bd.png

TGS 2020 Steam Sale

Steam's also holding their own Tokyo Game Show 2020 event, and in celebration of this I've put several of my old games on sale! From 10AM on September 24th through to 10AM on September 28th (Pacific Time), you can get 8-Bit Adventures at 60% off! That means you can own it for just $4 USD! You can also get the fantastic Remastered Soundtrack 30% off ($3.50 USD), or the Game + Soundtrack bundle 45% off (that’s only $6.60 USD)! https://store.steampowered.com/app/370300/8Bit_Adventures_The_Forgotten_Journey_Remastered_Edition/ Additionally, my most recent game Tales Across Time is also participating in the sale, making an already cheap game even cheaper! You can now get it 20% off - that's just $2.39 USD! https://store.steampowered.com/app/461710/Tales_Across_Time/ As I've said before, these discounts won't get any lower in the future, so now's the time to buy if you're interested in checking these games out!

Soundtrack Samples

I'd also like to give a quick plug to the 8-Bit Adventures 2 SoundCloud page! So many people loved the music in the recent 8-Bit Adventures 2 trailer and wanted more. Well, we have 20 music samples for your listening pleasure already on our SoundCloud, so please feel free to check them out: https://soundcloud.com/8bitadventures2 The soundtrack is composed by the wonderful Sebastian Cruz (also known as Carfonu). He composed the music for the first 8-Bit Adventures as well, but he's absolutely outdone himself this time - creating a phenomenal 78 song soundtrack. If you like 8-bit or RPG music, you won't want to miss it! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/edc7a6ef9be6ee2b2fb69684d5e5623658d3919e.gif Finally, if you’d like to support 8-Bit Adventures 2, please consider adding the game to your Steam wishlist – it might seem small, but it genuinely makes a big impact on Steam’s algorithms and will help us gain more visibility as we approach release! Thank you all very much for your support (especially after the Gamescom trailer launch - that's been amazing!) and I hope you all enjoy TGS 2020! I'm excited to see what the week brings =D ~Josh For more information and updates, please:

• Visit our Official Website
• Follow us on Twitter
• Listen to Music Samples on our SoundCloud
• Join us on Discord
• Wishlist 8-Bit Adventures 2 on Steam

You can watch the premiere of the brand new 8-Bit Adventures 2 trailer LIVE on August 30th at 7:40am Pacific Time, exclusively on IGN's Gamescom Studio show! For the full schedule, you can check this link here: https://www.ign.com/articles/gamescom-2020-schedule-date-start-time-how-to-watch?sf127367411=1 If you miss the reveal, please check out the video above (it'll go live after the trailer airs on stream). I couldn’t be more excited about this opportunity, so I hope you’ll all watch along with me if you’re able! And for German speaking fans, 8-Bit Adventures 2 was featured on Webedia's Gamescom stream – presented by the wonderful Ann-Kathrin Kuhls, with new footage and a message from me talking about the game's art direction/what we hope to achieve. After watching, don’t forget to check out the 8-Bit Adventures 2 Demo, available on Steam right now! https://store.steampowered.com/app/733110/8Bit_Adventures_2/ And if you’d like to support 8-Bit Adventures 2, please consider adding the game to your Steam wishlist – it might seem small, but it makes a big impact on Steam’s algorithms and will help us gain more visibility close to release! Thanks so much for all your support! It’s been a lot of work to prepare for Gamescom 2020, but I absolutely can’t wait for everyone to see the trailer! Let me know what you think ;) Click on the blue button next to this news post to set a reminder for the trailer premiere time. I hope to see you there! ~Josh For more information and updates, please:

• Visit our Official Website
• Follow us on Twitter
• Join us on Discord
• Wishlist 8-Bit Adventures 2 on Steam

Hey everyone, it’s been a while! Sorry for the radio silence. I’m wearing a few too many hats at the moment and have been struggling with time management – most of which I can’t talk about, but it’s all related to 8-Bit Adventures 2 (fingers crossed everything will work out and I’ll be able to explain in future!). Regardless, I didn’t want to miss the July Monthly Update! …In August, just like always ;)

Gamescom 2020 + Upcoming Trailer!

But let’s start off with some exciting news – 8-Bit Adventures 2 is going to be showcased at Gamescom 2020, as part of their digital event! I’m sure most people reading this already know, but Gamescom is one of the largest gaming events in the world. It normally takes place in Cologne, Germany, but due to the current situation was moved online. Not only did this mean that I could submit 8-Bit Adventures 2 (normally travel costs would make it impossible for me to participate), but the move to digital also means that Gamescom 2020 is completely free for everyone to attend! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/a6240bc29606fd277636bf1136adf3af75832eee.jpg I’ll also be debuting a brand new trailer for the game! Making a meaningful, exciting trailer that shows off new stuff and keeps the spoilers to a minimum is tricky, but I’m doing my best haha. There might be some overlap with past trailers for anyone that’s been following the game since the early days, but there’ll be plenty that’s new as well. I’m really excited to finally show off some of the animations for Trio Abilities ;) {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/badb3019cebc1963268000b472df0a9c6d24a9ef.gif The event runs from the 27th to the 30th of August, so I hope you’ll check it out and consider showing some support for 8-Bit Adventures 2! =D

Interview with BG4G!

I also want to say a special thank you to an awesome fan - @Zepht on Twitter and Steam – who shared a link to my Twitter account with a website looking for indie games to spotlight. Because of that, I’ve now had the pleasure of doing an interview with the wonderful @Gamey_Jamie of ‘By Gamers 4 Gamers’ (BG4G). We talked about 8-Bit Adventures 2, indie dev challenges, what I learnt from making the first game, how Jerram approached the art design, and more! I always like to speak fairly candidly, so I hope it’ll be interesting to read =)

UPDATE:

The interview is out! If you want to get a peek behind-the-scenes of 8-Bit Adventures 2, please check it out here: https://www.bg4ghub.com/8-bit-adventures-2-interview-with-critical-games/ {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/1e129bc3b28cfdbf9b498e81491bb219f895e1d3.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/5c167ca40d0b5d882a440b914ec867ead86d5545.png

Demo Updates

Also a big thanks to everyone who’s streamed or recorded videos of themselves playing the demo! It’s been really helpful and insightful to see other people actually play the game. I learnt a few things, but the most important was that a lot of people out there have way more modern, powerful set-ups than I have access too! XD {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/a56a297a3d38197e4d9325ad0813a1ebf1e47626.gif Several videos show the game running super fast, and this seems to be related to the refresh rate of the player’s monitor. There is an option that fixes this in the Options menu called ‘Synch Monitor FPS’, however no one turned it on haha. So I’ll be updating the demo to turn this feature on by default. This won’t change existing players’ configuration settings, but anyone new who downloads the demo will have this option turned on for them. If you notice any issues, this can be easily turned off from the Options menu, but theoretically turning this on should just result in a smooth, correct-speed experience for everyone - without any detriments for players with lower tier hardware. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/ae1dc8a8f02b4670d83b98520f5fb1cf27ffacaf.gif This upcoming update will also fix a bug with the Defend command, as well as make a couple of adjustments to the Prologue’s organic tutorials (these tweaks were also inspired by watching recorded playthroughs). None of this really makes much of a difference if you’ve already played the demo, but I just wanted to let you know! These changes will be made in the coming weeks, prior to Gamescom. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/918eb8175edddee436029e73bb9e7b5e94e37eb5.gif

See you Soon!

To make sure you don’t miss any news in future, I recommend following @CriticalGamesAU on Twitter, as that’s the best way I’ve found to keep up-to-date! You can also check out the 8-Bit Adventures 2 Website for more info and screenshots, or check Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/CriticalGamesDev And don't forget to visit the Critical Games Creator Page: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33038547 Follow that page or wishlist the game to be notified when 8-Bit Adventures 2 is finally released! Finally, you can also join us on the official 8-Bit Adventures 2 Discord server: https://discord.gg/aKf2tr4 As always, thanks so much for reading this everyone. I know I didn’t talk about the game itself that much, but rest assured - I’m working on it. Hopefully the images, animated GIFs, and upcoming trailer make up for that. I hope to see everyone at Gamescom! =D ~Josh

8-Bit Adventures 2 is featured in the Steam Game Festival from June 16th to June 22nd. In celebration of this, a brand new Demo has been released for the game, and we’re holding our first ever AMA on our Discord channel, June 17th at 7pm PDT! https://store.steampowered.com/app/733110/8Bit_Adventures_2/ Download the 8-Bit Adventures 2 Steam Festival Demo and enjoy up to 2 hours of RPG action! It's divided into three levels - Prologue, Dungeon, and Town - so you can play them in order, or jump into any one you like. Enjoy strategic, turn-based battles, challenging boss fights, unique dungeons, an unforgettable soundtrack, and vibrant 8-Bit inspired visuals. If you love turn-based JRPGs, and want more than a throwback, you won't be disappointed. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/8798587/2b914aa8e7763bfe17ea0c927aa7327ecbd516f0.gif Once you're done with the demo, please join us on Discord, on Wednesday June 17th at 7pm PDT for the first ever 8-Bit Adventures 2 AMA! And in another exciting first, it looks like we might have all 4 members of our development team on the AMA too! So if you have any burning questions about art, music, or programming, you can ask the experts =) The AMA will go for roughly 2 hours. You can ask questions, give feedback, get demo tips, or just chat RPGs - whatever you'd like! I'll also be available for questions throughout the whole Summer Festival - either on Discord, Twitter (@CriticalGamesAU), or here on Steam. I'm always happy to chat, so please feel free to say hello! ~Josh {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/8798587/d1f802af02a639ee8131ddfc96f43e4d1ecdd6c4.png

I hope everyone’s been doing okay this past month, and that you and your loved ones have stayed safe and healthy in these difficult times. I’m sorry this update’s a little late, but I’ve got some exciting news to share about an opportunity for us and a new demo for all of you. So let’s dive right in!

Steam Game Festival

8-Bit Adventures 2 will be participating in Steam’s upcoming online festival! Here’s what Valve themselves say about the event: The Steam Game Festival is an event that shines a spotlight on games set to be released within the next year. From June 9th - 14th, check out upcoming releases, try them out with time-limited demos or short playable experiences, connect with the developers behind the games, and add games to your wishlist for a reminder when they release! Basically, it’s a great way to fill that E3-shaped hole in your schedule by actually *playing* upcoming games, rather than just watching them! This type of digital event is still a bit of a new frontier for the game industry, but as someone who lives in Australia (and wouldn’t ever get to attend the big physical events) I’m really interested to see how this goes. It’s also a good excuse for me to update the game’s Steam page, so I’m in the process of changing the descriptions and replacing old screenshots with nice, shiny new ones. So what’s the 8-Bit Adventures 2 demo going to include? Well, RPGs are a little hard to demo, as they’re designed to be more of a slow burn, where you settle into the world/characters/mechanics. So to try and convey as much as possible, I’ve divided this demo into 3 separate “levels” – the Prologue, a Dungeon, and a Town. These can be selected from a menu at the start of the demo, so you can jump into whichever section you want! Although I do recommend playing them in that order =P {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/f657334118884ff0517d9be5dd5f3d3fccb8a44a.gif The Prologue is the opening sequence of 8-Bit Adventures 2. It’s a short, dangerous trek through a desert at sunset, which eases you into the basic controls and mechanics, making it a great place to start your journey! Next up, the Dungeon should be very familiar to players of the First Look Demo from 2017, as it once again features the Processor. However, a lot of changes have been made since then, and so I hope returning players will enjoy seeing how far we’ve come! For anyone who’s never played it, the Processor is a gritty, industrial-era town currently under the occupation of an army of clockwork soldiers. Steam-powered tanks roll through the streets and your journey from the open City to the carefully-guarded Foundry will be a perilous one. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/ec35aecb329eb94df3ed299e2d8e11ba3cf26655.png Finally, the Town provides a more peaceful slice of 8-Bit Adventures 2, allowing the player to relax, explore, and talk to the weird and wonderful people which inhabit Stonecrest. I’m still working on it, but I’m considering transplanting an optional boss from a different town into this one, just as a fun bonus for the demo. Finally, if you try to leave, you’ll get a scene which shows an overview of the World Map that awaits in the full game. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/5e5c6f17bc41bc278df292f248fc0e6941b8e5bf.gif All up, I’d say there’s around 1½ to 2 hours of content in this demo, so I hope you enjoy it when it launches with the Steam Festival on June 9th. I’ve really wanted to get something playable out for a while now for all of you; it’s not the full game, I know, but I hope it helps to make the wait a little easier =)

Ye Olde First Look Demo

This new demo means that the First Look Demo will be taken down very soon. I’m planning to still archive it on my website: www.8bitadventures2.com but it will no longer be accessible via Steam (because I have to use the same Demo page to upload this new one). I apologise for any inconvenience this causes. I’m sure some of you are probably wondering about your save file from the First Look Demo, which the game told you to hang onto. Back when I put it together in 2017, I thought I’d set everything up correctly; that save file would activate a trigger in the full game before starting normally from the opening sequence, and the player would receive a small bonus in their inventory as a thank you for being a long time fan. Unfortunately, I apparently didn’t set it up well enough. As the game has changed so much since that 2017 demo, that save file messes with all kinds of things and just doesn’t work properly. So, naturally, I don’t want anyone to start the game with it. As recently as March I thought I could still get it working, but after further testing, it doesn’t seem to be possible (although if I have any ideas, I’ll keep trying). {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/d291ff39b771236082022c55a815662b8cfc115a.gif So I’ve been trying to think of a different way to reward long time fans, but I haven’t been able to figure out the right approach yet. I’m really, really sorry about this; I know some of you have been holding onto that save file for years, and I wanted to reward you because it really does mean a lot to see that. If anyone has any ideas of what they’d like to see in that regard, please do let me know! I guess this is kind’ve like my own version of Banjo Kazooie’s Stop-n-Swop…never thought I’d have to say that =P

Progress in April

In terms of progress, a lot was achieved in April. I can now say that Act 1 of the game (if you break 8-Bit Adventures 2 up into the standard 3-Act structure) takes roughly 7 hours to complete, particularly if you’re exploring and chatting up NPCs. This Act includes 5 towns, 7 dungeons (+ the prologue), 11 boss fights, and a bunch of stuff in-between. So hopefully that gives you an idea of the pace of the game – there’s a lot of content, and not really any wasted time or filler. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/c31acfde71991c8dd1e36b4f9cb68a00a6382c22.gif With all the data from these first 7 hours, I also completed implementing and balancing the Augment system – which allows players to equip various special bonuses and passive abilities. It’s always been functional, but a system like that needs a lot of testing and planning (and also needed to be made distinct from Accessories and other equipment), and that’s the hurdle we’ve crossed. Augments include passive effects like increasing your stats by a percentage, making healing items more effective, boosting the critical hit rate, protecting allies from damage, adding status ailments to your normal attacks, counter attacking, blocking certain ailments entirely, automatically adding buffs to the party (either at the start of battle or in an emergency on low HP), and so on. Each character has a total of 5 Augment slots that unlock as they level up, meaning 35 slots accessible across the whole 7 character party. There are 69 Augments available in the game; so all up, you can equip half of that total. I’m really curious to see what interesting combinations players will come up with – I’ve found a few fun ones that I didn’t expect myself! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/a3c0abf41e09bd2864e075abc64ca33cf9a091c1.gif I’ve also been really happy with how useful characters’ various Abilities have proved during testing. For example, there’s a dungeon with explosive enemies which are protected by their fellow foes. So before you can damage the explosive enemy, you need to defeat its allies (and you don’t always have much time before it blows up!). However, while those allies block *damage*, they don’t block status ailments. So if you use one of Charlie’s recently acquired Abilities to inflict the Berserk status, it prevents the explosive enemy from blowing up, giving the player time to defeat the other monsters without the risk of major damage. I believe that kind of utility is one of the most satisfying things about a JRPG move-set. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/edc7a6ef9be6ee2b2fb69684d5e5623658d3919e.gif In fact, I think Naoki Hamaguchi said it best in a recent interview about Final Fantasy VII Remake: If you only give the player one method of doing something, they don’t really get the impression that they’re playing, right? They’re just doing what they’re told. Having multiple options available, and multiple things that a player can do, is very important. It means that when they pick the right one, they feel clever and skilful as a result. That feedback cycle is very important. RPG combat provides lots of opportunities to make decisions - from the different abilities, to how they use them on different enemies. When you make the right one, it makes you feel good - I think that’s always important to think about when designing battles. Honestly, that perfectly sums up what I’ve tried to achieve with 8-Bit Adventures 2, and what I’m hoping will make the combat feel satisfying and fun to RPG newcomers and veterans alike.

That’s All Folks!

To make sure you don’t miss any news in future, I recommend following @CriticalGamesAU on Twitter, as that’s the best way I’ve found to keep up-to-date! You can also check out the 8-Bit Adventures 2 Website for more info and screenshots, or check Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/CriticalGamesDev And don't forget to visit the Critical Games Creator Page: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33038547 Follow that page or wishlist the game to be notified when 8-Bit Adventures 2 is finally released! I sincerely hope everyone stays safe and healthy in the months to come. It’s been difficult watching the news and seeing all the awful stuff that’s been happening around the world, but you’ve all been in my thoughts. I hope the demo is something to look forward to, and I’m really excited for you all to go hands-on (and to get your feedback!). As always, thank you all so much for your understanding and patience with me. I hope 8-Bit Adventures 2 can add at least a small bright spot in 2020 =) Please do your best to stay safe and healthy and I’ll see you at the start of June! Oh, and May the 4th be with you! ;) ~Josh

Hey everyone, it’s been a while! We all know what’s been going on in the world, so I’ll just say that I sincerely hope everyone out there is safe and healthy; and hopefully not going too stir crazy from being stuck at home. My thoughts go out to everyone at this difficult time, but I know that we’ll get through this. 2020 doesn’t have to be a “wasted” year, nor does it have to belong to some virus. Circumstances are difficult around the world, and I don’t want to minimise that for a second; but there’s still a lot of good to be found – even if you’re stuck indoors! I’ve had a lot of opportunities to help family members and other people I know over the last month, which has been time consuming (sorry 8-Bit Adventures 2 fans!) but also very much worth doing. On the fun side of this, though, was buying Animal Crossing to play with my Grandmother – partly to try and give her more activity and mental stimulation. She has trouble with the controls, but she did surprisingly well – especially seeing as the last game she played was Kirby 64’s multiplayer mini-games in 2001! We got her camp set up, gave her tools, and I made her a birdhouse =P I don’t know when we’ll get to do it again due to current restrictions, but she genuinely seemed to enjoy it and said it made her use her noggin, so it was definitely worthwhile haha. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/96bb6f8fa1274e8f17e98c725242542aa00dd666.jpg And honestly, I think this situation is a time for video games to shine. Not just for keeping us all connected and interacting with each other, but also for helping us stay positive and happy. I always approach game development with the perspective that a game is a kind of “conversation” between the developer and the player. The developer presents ideas or mechanics, and the player decides how to perceive and utilise them; there’s this moment-to-moment back and forth, as the game shifts from player directed to developer directed over and over. I’ve been playing Threads of Fate on PS1 recently (a pretty obscure Square Soft title from 1999) and that game’s just a sweet, earnest, feel good adventure – with way more narrative depth than I expected at the start. It’s not exactly what I’d call a good game mechanically, but its charm wins out over any flaws, and it always left me feeling cheerful and optimistic. And that’s what I adore about video games! I’ve played so many titles like that over the years; and right now, I think we could all use a bit of that =) So my personal recommendation? Hunker down with some old favourites – ideally anything which features a cheerful vibe, whatever makes you happy – and see what messages those developers left for you. I personally have always found games like that to be really helpful in lifting my spirits and bringing a positive attitude to the people around me! Anyway, with that tangent out of the way, let’s get out onto some 8-Bit Adventures 2 talk! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/d66fb65d297dedc658fcaeed0e212049d4b27972.gif

The March of Progress

So March was, once again, a slightly compromised month. The first week featured the memorial service for my Aunt, so the start of the month was really still about supporting family and getting back into routine. Zepht, Klara, Pierre, Seamus – thank you all very much for your condolences and consideration; it was sincerely appreciated! Hopefully I didn’t miss anyone! And then, with everything else that’s gone on, and trying to be helpful and supportive to people I know, that’s eaten up another chunk of time. BUT, the month got off to a great start and progress has still been good all the way through. With the turn order bug for battle fixed in February, I finally was able to move forward in my testing. The first hostile area of the World Map was properly tested (a set number of enemies randomly spawn in different locations and chase you down if you get to close), and I also had to test what happens if the player attempts to backtrack to areas that you’d never normally bother to return to. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/799421b0b4d837e1e5a5d76d141ff91801c4f518.png The really fun part about this was that it’s where the game starts to feel like a fully fledged classic JRPG; when the player can temporarily go off the rails and poke around in places for no other reason than because they can. I loved doing that as a kid, because it made the world feel more real and tangible – even though I wasted a lot of time haha XD Anyway, moving on from there, you might’ve seen me talk about completing testing for the 5th dungeon on March 9th via Twitter. There are no standard enemy encounters in this one - instead it features a mix of light puzzle solving sprinkled between two boss battles. I tried to find lots of little ways to vary up the dungeons in 8-Bit Adventures 2 and particularly to make sure that no dungeon overstays its welcome (Sylph Cave in FFIV, I’m looking at you 0_0). The next town-style location and 6th dungeon have also been tested; however what I’ve spent most of the month doing is implementing and testing new bug fixes! Sufyan (the programmer) has done a lot of work this past month, and some really important features and fixes have been implemented. For example, we now have a proper battle transition! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/37b219b3b5428bd416f502b49b7624eb95561130.gif Most of them aren’t very visual, or at least not very exciting to talk about, but they make the game a whole lot better. It feels so much more solid and final to play now than ever before! And that’s been really helpful for me, because it makes balancing the game a lot easier. Now that the characters are gaining more Abilities in my playthrough, it’s been really fun to experiment with them. For example, I can put Charlie into a Parry Stance (which lets his block most forms of damage for 3 turns) and then use Warrior’s Decoy ability to make all single-target attacks focus on him. Or swapping slower party members in on faster characters’ turns when I need a quick heal or to use some other ability (e.g. swapping out Thief to bring in Robot so that I can use his Heal Ray to keep the party alive). It feels really satisfying to run rings around normal enemies like this - fun stuff if you love turn-based battle systems! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/e667145e12b61829ca7881020b9ab1ee82ba0d68.gif One of the other cool things that’s been added this month is a Palette Shader effect for battles and fade transitions. Essentially, this removes opacity and transparency effects from the game, and instead uses specially made palettes to fade to white and black, or flash the screen. It probably doesn’t sound like much, but it makes a big difference visually and brings us a lot closer to the enhanced, faux 8-bit aesthetic we’ve been aiming for. That’s how fades and other effects were done on the NES – in simple terms, they’d alternate between palettes; for example, swapping a lighter colour for a darker colour on the NES palette and stepping down, colour by colour, until they reached black, for a fade out. There’s still a lot of fixes and tweaks for Sufyan to make, but there’s one from March that I do have to mention… Simply put, the humping glitch is finally fixed! Long live the humping glitch! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/88ca065f919d05d29464c6c6c55f6b51fda0f480.gif ...I might've spent more time doing this than I'd care to admit haha.

Going Forward

So what’s next in April? Hopefully a lot more fixes (it’d be ideal if we could have all of the fixes/tweaks I need from Sufyan done by the end of April – but we’ll see what happens), and a lot more in-game progress! Next up for my testing is a city under siege which concludes Act 1 of the story, followed by two big towns, a court sequence where you’re your own lawyer, and a very familiar optional dungeon for players of 8-Bit Adventures 1 to revisit. So it should be fun! …Assuming the game doesn’t decide to break every five minutes =P Ah, the joys of game dev! As much as I know I’ve let you all down with constant delays and the speed of production, I am glad in some ways to not be releasing just yet - given the current situation. A game like Final Fantasy VII Remake will be fine because it has such a big fan-base, but a smaller title like mine really relies on word of mouth and being featured in the media. While I’d really love to have it out for you all to play right now, I think it’d be very difficult to have a successful launch in the current climate. Of course, it’s a moot point anyway because the game isn’t ready haha, but I just wanted to comment about that. I’m thinking about release every day, and I’m aware that all of you who’ve stuck by me – some since even 2015! – are all waiting for this. I know how hard it is to wait for a game you’re excited to play, and it means the world to me that people feel that way (this is the first game I’ve ever made where that’s been the case!). So when I finally figure out what that right time is, you’ll be the first to know =)

That’s All Folks!

To make sure you don’t miss any news in future, I recommend following @CriticalGamesAU on Twitter, as that’s the best way I’ve found to keep up-to-date! You can also check out the 8-Bit Adventures 2 Website for more info and screenshots, or check Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/CriticalGamesDev And don't forget to visit the Critical Games Creator Page: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33038547 Follow that page or wishlist the game to be notified when 8-Bit Adventures 2 is finally released! I hope this update lets you know how things are going; and I truly hope things are well with all of you too! At least, as well as they can be =) Now if you'll excuse me, Final Fantasy VII Remake has just been released early in Australia, and I've been losing my mind over that while writing this! XD Honestly, it's surreal getting something first here (almost 2 weeks early) because when I was a kid, we were always the last! Not to brag about it though (sorry international people) =P I'm crossing my fingers that everyone else will get the game this week too! I'll probably tweet some spoiler-free thoughts once I get to start playing, if anyone's interested. All the best, and please stay safe and healthy! =) ~Josh

Hi everyone, You might be wondering where the February Update post is, so I just wanted to let you all know what's going on. Last weekend, a dearly beloved member of my family passed away - my Aunty Carol. It's been a very difficult time for my family and I - both in the lead-up, and now that it's happened - and consequently I haven't prepared my usual monthly update. I haven't had much time this week to rectify that either, as I've been helping to prepare for my Aunt's memorial service. Honestly, in my downtime, I've just been turning off and collecting Pokemon haha - it's funny what we go back to when we're dealing with something like this =P She and my Uncle have given me money every birthday to help fund 8-Bit Adventures 2 - even when I told them not to worry. My Aunt always gave me her love and support and believed in me. My deepest regret is that she won't be here to see the release of my work after all this time, but I'm going to do all that I can to live up to the faith that she placed in me. She was already going to be included in the Special Thanks section of 8-Bit Adventures 2, but the end of the game will also now feature a dedication to her. One of the themes of our story is about what it means to live a full life - and she was a woman who exemplified exactly that; a life filled with family, friends, and love. On the brighter side of things, in case you missed it on social media, after 3 long months, the 8-Bit Adventures 2 battle system is finally working again! When Sufyan (the programmer) sent this fix to me, I let out the biggest sigh of relief you can imagine haha. There are still plenty more bugs to fix, but we've been back on track for testing again - and things are feeling really solid =D Anyway, I just wanted to write this quick update to let you all know what's going on. I'll be alright, and the game is moving along - I just wanted to clarify why there's no proper February update. I sincerely apologise for that and hope to speak to you all again soon =) ~Josh

A late Happy New Year to everyone! I know 2020’s gotten off to a rough start (certainly here in Australia), but the generosity and solidarity I’ve seen from ordinary people around the world to help combat every new challenge has been really inspiring. I know we’re all working to help each other and make this the best year we possibly can! And for me, part of that means releasing 8-Bit Adventures 2 and hopefully making a lot of people happy – even if only for a few hours =) So let’s kick off this release year with the January update for 8-Bit Adventures 2!

Progress Report

Okay, so let’s start with the good news – Sufyan (the programmer) is finally back home and working on 8-Bit Adventures 2 again! He’s sent me a couple of requested tweaks so far and is working on fixing the major issue which has left the battle system broken these past few months. We’re not quite there yet, but we’re in a much better position than we were when I last spoke to you. Hopefully in February everything will finally be fixed and I can start zooming along again with testing. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/80c21376191bcde19fa9c42ecfa030451a750bb8.gif For anyone who’s been following this whole saga, I really can’t apologise enough for the delays here (this completely caught me by surprise too), and hopefully I’ve been open enough in communicating what’s going on. Unfortunately, this has been one of those things that’s just completely out of my control, and so all I’ve been able to do is wait - and keep working on other things. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/26dcceca6975578b6947a0e3141af7d55584c351.gif Thankfully, I’ve been getting a lot of things done! Including a few extra odds and ends that I wasn’t sure were going to make the cut – such as a hidden Black Market for enterprising adventurers to discover (an Airship might be required to find it, though!). I’ve also been doing final mapping and detail passes on some of the optional dungeons, a couple of which needed some expansion. I mentioned in December that we’d just passed 800 individual maps that make up the world of 8-Bit Adventures 2. Now we’re nearly at 850 maps – which should be the final tally (there are just a couple more optional areas I want to add, seeing as I have the opportunity while waiting for the battle system fixes). {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/25c05979da08312c7cce06d7935d2d7209ccc6d3.gif So things are definitely looking up! …Buuuuut it’s still not an ideal situation. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/6b601b6e9e1afea81c9de2550923fa1ad1a6a633.gif

Making a Monster

Last month, I showed off some of the concept art made by Jerram (the artist). This time, I thought I’d include some more – but with a little extra context. So let’s take a brief, simplified look at the process of making monsters for 8-Bit Adventures 2! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/eacad1060d2d050684291fd0db48596be2588ec6.jpg In general, I like to introduce two or three new enemy types per unique environment, as I think this helps to keep battles feeling fresh and varied; as well as maintaining a sense of mystique (as the player has no idea what any new foe might do). So there are really two factors that went into my monster concepts. Either I’d consider the environment I wanted them to inhabit and think up a design which fit, or I’d come up with some ability or unusual quirk/mechanic for an enemy and imagine it from that basis. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/b28da43ceeaf4014c204e27468e2f60d517286c0.jpg As you can probably tell, a lot of my monster concepts are a little quirky and strange. Part of that is the influence of the Mother/Earthbound series, but in general it’s JRPG tradition to skew towards the weird and wonderful when it comes to common enemies. I personally like this approach – not only because I think it adds to the world’s personality, but because it keeps the game feeling more unique and surprising when your next foe can range from utterly bizarre to deadly badass. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/ae067d6ed9c0bf0fb07dad801d95d500ae7db44b.jpg Of course, this only works when you have a unifying visual style that can make these two extremes feel coherent, and that’s where Jerram came in. I’d describe my vague ideas for the enemy, providing the most relevant references I could find, and then he would take that information, filter it through his own imagination, and turn it into something dynamic and vibrant! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/f3de8d8ac38846bf3887efe67c9bcd716b3cb4fc.jpg Generally no revisions or debate were required; it just took one pass and we’d both be in total agreement about the design. Occasionally I’d make a tweak or comment (or Jerram would make a change himself), but generally it was a seamless flow from idea, to concept art, to enemy sprite – which all turned out far better than I could’ve ever imagined! Jerram did an amazing job creating a cast of fiends that are both memorable and filled with personality; many of their battle animations also really helping to express that. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/3500810a589352621d42362f4a90a7dc24b1990b.jpg The Grinning Ember – one of the few enemies to get a re-design (and an attitude change!). I'm pretty sure Jerram was the one behind these alterations =) The last thing our monsters needed was a name; and when you play 8-Bit Adventures 2, you’ll quickly learn that I have an affinity for alliteration, puns, and silly jokes – some of which might only make sense to me XD But sometimes these quirky names generated ideas too! For example, in the City of Sounds dungeon, I was trying to come up with enemy designs and thought of the name ‘Electric Guitarist’, which immediately struck a chord with me. As this is a high-tech area, the idea of an electrical enemy was perfect, along with the musical connection and name pun. This then lead to the idea of a whole band of enemies who are stronger when they fight as a team - and this really gave the area an extra dose of character - and a more distinct identity. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/3c500acf020e297d4fd031b8fb6eaf76dc35a236.gif Obviously this is a pretty simple breakdown of the process (especially for Jerram - there's a whole lot of amazing design work on his side of things!), but I hope you enjoyed this quick look at some more concept art from 8-Bit Adventures 2 =)

I’ve Written a Game/Story Design Essay!

I’m not sure if this is of interest to anyone here, but in my spare time over the past 9 months, I’ve written a six-part essay - titled Kingdom Hearts III: A Conclusion without a Story - which analyses Kingdom Hearts III’s approach to storytelling; viewed both from the perspective of a player, and a writer/game designer. Click here to check it out! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/30941067/3940716f3e8b7769b7a5ce1a78a2ba29c188a7f3.png My intention was to examine the game’s structure, ideas, and mistakes, and draw out numerous lessons that could be applicable to the reader’s own game – all centred around a main hypothesis. The hope is that anyone can read and enjoy it, but that developers can gain a lot more from the topics explored. But the reason I bring this up is because, in this essay, I analyse Kingdom Hearts III through the same kind of lens that I apply to 8-Bit Adventures 2. So if anyone is curious about my perspective or approach to game design, story telling, or character building – especially in the context of a JRPG – you might find it interesting! Or at least get a sense of where I’m coming from with my own work =)

That’s All Folks!

To make sure you don’t miss any news in future, I recommend following @CriticalGamesAU on Twitter, as that’s the best way I’ve found to keep up-to-date! You can also check out the 8-Bit Adventures 2 Website for more info and screenshots, or check Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/CriticalGamesDev And don't forget to visit the Critical Games Creator Page: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33038547 Follow that page or wishlist the game to be notified when 8-Bit Adventures 2 is finally released! I’m sorry for the lacklustre update to kick off the year, but I hope the news that Sufyan is back on the job and working on those fixes as we speak adds a tinge of optimism to the post! Believe me, I’m biting my fingernails and counting the hours in anticipation of that – I can’t overstate how big of a challenge this issue has been over the last few months. So let's cross our fingers and look forward to a February filled with progress and success! And I mean that for every single one of us, to be clear =) I hope you all have a wonderful month and I'll see you in the next update! ~Josh