Twilight Bastion

A PS1-Style 3D Metroidvania

UPDATE: Demo will release May 3rd, 2024.

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Twilight Bastion is said to be an abyss situated between illusion and reality. Popularly believed to serve as purgatory for the condemned, a mysterious boy wakes up in this very place, unaware of who he is, or why he's been sent to this winding, ominous castle to suffer its torture.

I'm aware that in this day and age, souls-like mechanics are often intertwined with traditional Metroid-like mechanics, so I just want to provide clarity on what my gameplay philosophy is for Twilight Bastion.

You will explore a cursed, shadowy castle that holds a trove of secrets and twisted passageways. 

You won't buy your upgrades and abilities from a merchant. You'll find new abilities and powers simply by searching corridors, uncovering secret areas, solving puzzles or finding a way to get to hard-to-reach areas. Consequently, when exactly you get new powers and abilities is dependent upon your thoroughness when exploring.

Combat isn't ocean deep, but there is some strategy involved. I wanted to be careful to not make it mandatory to always progress. For example, locking required/must-have abilities, or currency, behind killing enemies. With the exception of some bosses, it will be an optional endeavor for you. There can be a benefit to engaging in combat to increase certain stats, or obtain optional powers. It depends on how thorough you want to be with collecting every single power or upgrading to max stats, even if it isn't necessary to beat the game.

I wanted exploration and discovery to be one of the main gameplay priorities. Therefore, levels are separated into two categories: Exploratory and Adventure. Exploratory levels are devoid of enemies and exclusively feature puzzles and platforming, while Adventure levels are more combat-oriented, with a higher emphasis on fighting for survival. These levels intertwine in a cohesive nature and tie into the narrative of the castle's mysteriousness.

I enjoy the thought of the player being left alone with their thoughts, pondering on what the best path forward is, without having to constantly look over their shoulder. That's the purpose of Exploratory. Meanwhile, I also want them to sweat at times and really concentrate on staying alive, thus Adventure. 

Twilight Bastion was developed with the PlayStation controller as the primary method of control. It is  required  that you use a PS/Xbox/PC gamepad.  This is necessary to  get the most optimal and comprehensive experience from the game.  PlayStation would be the suggested gamepad if you own all three, as icons are presented using its control scheme, but any gamepad will do.

>> Keyboard is NOT supported <<

The demo is tentatively scheduled to be released in 2024. I originally made this for the MVM Jam, but I wanted to see it become much more, and I just didn't have enough time to do everything I wanted within the game jam's time constraints.  So I left the game jam behind and committed to making this game the best it could be.

If you enjoy the game (what little there is right now) and would like to keep up with its development, as well as my other games, you can follow me here:

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/sunamii_games

discord: https://discord.com/invite/b9PtscVHJf