If you found yourself bopping along in admiration to 2023’s Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical, you might be interested to hear Dragon Age creator David Gaider’s Summerfall Studios has announced its follow-up game. It’s a “demonic roguelite deckbuilder” called Malys, and a Kickstarter campaign is coming soon.
Malys casts players a Noah, a former-priest-turned-demon-hunter, who’s on a mission of vengeance to exorcise the infernal forces running rampant in a festering night-time city. “Expose, endure, and expel evil from the innocent possessed,” teases Summerfall. “Confront your past, forge precarious alliances, and uncover the truth.”
At the centre of all this demonic mayhem is the titular Malys, a being of “extraordinary cunning and power” and Noah’s primary target. As players hunt the demon down, they’ll deploy their deck of arcane tricks, finding unique combinations and strategies to withstand the city’s horrors and expose the rot within. And if death wins out, they can always try, and try again.
Malys is written by Gaider – perhaps best known as the lead writer on BioWare’s original Dragon Age trilogy – and it’s promising to deliver a “unique take on a familiar genre, pushing the boundaries of roguelite storytelling and delivering a satisfyingly moody experience”.
And that’s pretty much all we know so far. Malys’ crowdfunding campaign starts later this month, and Summerfall says the Kickstarter will enable it to “work closely” with backers to “ensure Malys is the best game it can be”. The game itself is planned to release on PC this year.
Eurogamer’s Ed Nightingale called Summerfall’s Stray Gods “fascinating but flawed” in his three star review, but it was interesting enough that Malys should be worth keeping an eye on.