- Devlog #14: new playtests coming soon! - 2 October 2026
Hi! First of all, the Autumn Sale is now live - so if you haven't played Shardpunk yet, consider supporting me!The next playtest of Shardpunk 2 is just around the corner. I am busy doing some final polish.I will leave you with few gifs from my latest playthrough, and I am getting back to work!The first encounter on the map; I've decided to block the path to the north and use warhammer overwatch in the narrow gap.Using the movement waypoint system to get around fire.I stumbled upon this happy pod of two rat berserkers. Man, they are tough and armored.The fight with the berserkers was fierce. Here's a nice highlight: my character being knocked back into fire 0_oHere's a screenshot from the final turn: the supply crate has been looted, enemies are closing in - but they won't reach me in time. I'm planning to extract using the exit points on the eastern edge of the map. Mission accomplished…
- Devlog #13: New Playtests Coming Next Month - 20 September 2026
Hi! As I get ready for the next playtest, which I’m planning to release in October, here’s a quick development update.Outpost UIHere's a WIP screenshot of a mission selection screen. You select the area, mission type, difficulty, squad and you're ready to set up the loadout.I am planning to have four playable areas, with various mission types and rewards.Default weaponsEvery character has a default melee weapon: a knife. It means that you can have a character that fully specializes in non-weapon stuff (like being a very good leader) to a point of not having a ranged weapon type.(The “bigger knife” is actually a katana, in case that wasn’t obvious.)WaypointsI can't remember if I was writing about these, but you can set up waypoints in combat now.No more setting yourself on fire. On running into poison clouds.Gonna keep this one brief, as there's much stuff left to be done. Huge thanks to…
- Devlog #12: Building Momentum - 4 September 2026
Hi! The summer break is over, and it's time to show some more stuff. I've been working a lot with my pixel artist over the last month, so there's lots of new content available. That being said, not all of it has been added to the game yet.Rat shamansYou can meet them in more rat-infested areas of the Capitol ruins.A shaman is able to directly target character's Resolve Points (RPs). When a character’s RP is zero at the end of the turn, they panic.That being said, a shaman being able to drain 100 RPs in one turn is too much. I'll nerf it.If you get too close, they can use their nova attack - which will knock you back.I like the way the knockback mechanic is heading. Having the possibility to shuffle the enemies so that more of them are in range of, say, an AoE attack is always cool.Also, shamans have a way of mass debuffing player units - but I will leave out showcasing that animation fo…
- Devlog #11: More combat biomes - 1 August 2026
Hello everyone! First of all, I want to share something nice: I recently gave a talk at the GiC Sprint event in Katowice, Poland, about Shardpunk's postmortem.It was awesome. A few years ago, I never imagined that I would be able to enter the game development industry and create a game on my own. And none of that would have been possible without you guys - for taking an interest in the game and, ultimately, buying it.A huge thank you to all of you!Now, for the development update part: I've started adding more biome types. Here are two of them:The sewers. I mean these are a must-have in a game, especially if it's about rats.Capitol ruins. The closer to the Ground Zero - so the place of the explosion from part one - the more infected the area is with crystal shards.Now that I've posted this, I see that I do need to work on making sure that character texts do not cover the combat effect te…
- Devlog #10: The Warhammer and the Medic - 17 July 2026
Hello everyone! Game development is progressing, and here are two new major additions:WarhammerA new melee proficiency. While katanas rely on multiple strikes and bleed damage, warhammers are about armor shredding, stunning and knocking the enemies back.Warhammers will have bigger damage output than katanas.Knockback in action. I am considering adding some extra damage/stun when you bump into obstacles or other characters - but I am not sure about that. Any suggestions?Ground slam. The animation itself needs some refinement, as this skill damages all 8 tiles around the caster.Medic proficiencyNext to Professional, Maverick and Leader proficiencies, I've introduced a medical specialization. Its skill tree is, obviously, focused on keeping your characters alive.Mass heal is basically healing with AOE.The "Heal combo" skill allows to chain healing actions.I’m still getting a feel for the n…
- Devlog #9: progress update - 4 July 2026
Hello everyone.It's been quite a while since the last devlog.Although I haven't been posting updates, development itself never stopped. Most of my available time went into actually working on the game rather than documenting the process (which is not perfect - I do need to build up that wishlist!), so there's quite a bit to catch up on.Let's see what's changed.Sniper riflesAlong with shotguns and assault rifle proficiencies, there will be a skill tree for a sniper rifle proficiency. This gives us three ranged weapon proficiency types to pick from, and I am thinking of adding one more.Katana overwatchOverwatch is one of the coolest features that you mention about in your feedback - so I've added it to katanas as well. It's not directional - instead it covers all adjacent tiles.Movement waypoint systemThis is a good quality of life feature. No more walking right into a fire - you can now…
- The fourth alpha playtest is here! - 27 May 2026
We’re kicking off another round of playtests; first up, the instructions: Go to Shardpunk 2 Store Page on Steam Scroll down to "Join the Shardpunk 2 Playtest" section Press "Join the Playtest" You will automatically be granted access to the Steam Playtest of Shardpunk 2, and will be able to launch the Shardpunk 2 Playtest from your Steam Library. New major stuff in 0.4:More skills & skill changesI've reorganized some of the skills, added few new ones and changed the starting skills for the characters you are able to play with. I am seriously considering limiting the action cooldown to minimum and to rely even more on Resolve mechanics.New enemy type - rat commanderThis guy, aside from powerful ranged attacks, is able to buff allies.Weapon upgradesYou are now able to upgrade your weapons in the gunsmith. There are no fancy weapon visuals yet - worry not, they will come!Combat Momentum fe…
- The third alpha playtest is here! - 16 April 2026
A new round of playtests begins! As usual, let's start with instructions: Go to Shardpunk 2 Store Page on Steam Scroll down to "Join the Shardpunk 2 Playtest" section Press "Join the Playtest" You will automatically be granted access to the Steam Playtest of Shardpunk 2, and will be able to launch the Shardpunk 2 Playtest from your Steam Library. This version of playtests allow you to play with the new skill tree system. You will be able to play two missions and bring up to four characters to the second one.There are also more character models, new map layouts and a new enemy type present.As usual, I will be grateful for all the feedback. There's a survey link in the playtest version, and you can also join our Discord and post your thoughts there.Take care! Sławomir “bryqu” Bryk
- Devlog #8: next playtest version coming soon! - 10 April 2026
Hello again, fellow Shardpunk fans! Good news: I am finishing my work on the third version of playtests. It should be available next week.Also, April 13th next week marks the 3rd anniversary of Shardpunk's release! It's crazy how the time flies!The upcoming alpha will introduce new character visuals, a new enemy type, it will allow you to play with the new skill system, including a bunch of new skills, and take a brief look at the basics of the stress/wounds system. You will be able to play two missions. They will both be of the same type (getting to the supply crate). Fear not: I do plan adding more mission types to the game. It is just this version of playtests is not focused on that.I will leave you with a few gifs from my latest playthrough.Take care!Slawomir "bryqu" Bryk
- Devlog #7: the skill system, iteration #2 - 22 March 2026
First off - huge thanks to all of you sending feedback. Seriously, you guys are awesome. It makes a massive difference.Time for a quick update straight from the trenches of development.After going through your feedback (and, yeah, probably overthinking things a bit), I’ve decided to shift the skill system in a less random direction. Here’s the current plan, along with WIP screenshots:Each character will be able to choose a few specializations - one for ranged weapons, one for melee, and one for a combat role. There might be more types of specializations in the future.Every specialization unlocks its own skill tree. Skills can have requirements, level gates, and some will even be mutually exclusive - so your choices actually matter.This approach is definitely more grounded, but it solves a big issue from the current demo: the frustration of getting bad or useless skill rolls. On top of t…
- Devlog #6: the skill system - 6 March 2026
The second alpha playtest is in progress. Time to share my thoughts on the skill system.Here's what's present in the playtest: each character has two specializations to pick from: one for the main weapon (a ranged one), one for the secondary one (a melee/special one). Picking a specialization is optional. A character always has access to assault rifles, even if they do not pick a main specialization.List of main weapon specializations.After picking a specialization, the character is granted access to skills related to it.List of current specializations (assault rifles, shotguns, katanas) and some of their skills.Other than that, there are common skills that are pickable independently of any other specialization. They can be about reload bonuses, overwatch, combat tactics, etc. etc.Every time a character picks a skill for a specialization, or a common one, they are presented with up to t…
- The second alpha playtest is here! - 25 February 2026
It's time for another round of playtests! As usual, let's start with instructions: Go to Shardpunk 2 Store Page on Steam Scroll down to "Join the Shardpunk 2 Playtest" section Press "Join the Playtest" You will automatically be granted access to the Steam Playtest of Shardpunk 2, and will be able to launch the Shardpunk 2 Playtest from your Steam Library. This new version, along with a bunch of improvements to the combat phase, gives you a glimpse of what’s going on outside of combat.You start with pre-leveled characters with available skill points. You can spend them in any way you like. Then comes the combat phase, which contains a single mission.The main goal of this playtest is to get your feedback on the first iteration of the skill system. I have my own thoughts on how it plays so far, but an outside perspective is invaluable - so please consider filling out the survey linked in t…
- Devlog #5: first playtest feedback - 14 February 2026
Wow - the amount of feedback that I've received after the first playtest went live was huge. When planning my work on the second playtest version, I clearly underestimated the amount of time necessary to dig through all the information. Great stuff, and I thank you all for that!Also, the great friend of indie game developers, Splattercat himself, posted a vid of his playthrough of the first alpha - how awesome is that?!The upcoming second alpha will give access to a small set of features related to character leveling, so that you can see and give feedback on the first iteration of the character skills system.As for combat, there will be some changes to it yet, based on your feedback. I have implemented QoL improvements, like a working side scroll in all directions, or the ability to see enemy movement range. There will also be changes to movement/attack ranges: the issue with too little…
- Devlog #4: the resolve system - 23 January 2026
First of all many thanks for everyone who has already posted their feedback for the playtests! If you haven't playtested the first alpha yet, go to the game's Steam page - everyone's invited! This devlog entry will be about the Resolve gameplay mechanics. In first Shardpunk, characters had HPs and Stress Points. When the stress reached maximum, the character was panicking - meaning that the player would lose control over them for a couple of turns. One of playable characters was able to gain some benefits (free Action Points) by increasing their Stress Points, making Stress an interesting combat resource. I wanted to reiterate on this idea in the sequel - and that's when Resolve appeared. Every character has a number or Resolve Points (RPs) at their disposal. There are actions that cost RP - like the "Rush It!" action, available in the playtest. ("Rush it" action was present in the firs…
- Playtests are available! - 22 January 2026
Here we go - the first alpha version Shardpunk 2 is available for you to try out! Instructions: Go to Shardpunk 2 Store Page on Steam Scroll down to "Join the Shardpunk 2 Playtest" section Press "Join the Playtest" You will automatically be granted access to the Steam Playtest of Shardpunk 2, and will be able to launch the Shardpunk 2 Playtest from your Steam Library. I will be keeping a slow but steady tempo of content updates for these alphas. My goal is - same as with the first game - to gather feedback as soon as possible. This first version focuses on basics of combat, with all its new features like directional overwatch. It features a single mission. The game has a survey link - please use it to post your feedback. You can also join our Discord and share your thoughts there. Looking forward to your feedback! Take care! Sławomir “bryqu” Bryk
- Devlog #3: shotguns - 9 January 2026
Aaaah, 2026 is here! A year in which Shardpunk will have its third anniversary, and a year in which the very first demo of its sequel will be released! Expect the demo to be live in few weeks. That being said, I want to talk about weapons - and shotguns in particular, as I've decided to test a different approach to how they work. Regular ranged weapons require the player to pick a single target which then gets attacked. Here's how it looks for assault rifles: In first Shardpunk, shotguns were also single-target weapons. This will change in the sequel: shotguns are short-ranged AOE weapons: They pack quite a punch, but you need to come really close to make it worth spending the APs. Luckily, there will be ways of adding more Action Points to your characters - but I will talk about it in future devlogs. As I mentioned at the beginning, the first alpha demo is approaching. I am planning to…
- Devlog #2: directional overwatch + alpha demo release date update - 19 December 2025
Directional overwatch was a system that I wanted to add into my game, but I didn't have the means and time to actually implement it. I did decide to make it a part of systems present in the sequel, and here's how it looks in action: I wanted it to look good in all angles, not only on the right ones. So I've decided to add rotatable weapons - knowing that it will break the pixel-perfectness. What is more, having rotatable weapons made it easier to display projectiles, as they could be correctly spawned at the right angle (and yeah, they fly pretty fast and are barely noticeable at this gif's framerate). Obviously, this came with a price: the weapons are visualised along with character hands, so there's a slight tradeoff in how realistic they are. But hey, at least I am now able to change the weapon visuals for every character model - and this opens up new possibilities. So much for the v…
- Devlog #1: the visuals - 5 December 2025
Let's kick off the devlog series with this first entry! Creating a game (well, this is actually true to creating most of software) is all about iterating. You do something, then you ask the world if it is going in the right direction, then you draw conclusions and adjust the course if needed. Frankly, I never expected - and I was pretty amazed by it, in a positive way - that there would be such a response from Shardpunk fans about the art style. There are people out there who really care about the game, feel some connection to it, and do not hesitate to give an opinion about something they feel would be out of place for a sequel. This means that I've created a game which has a vocal fanbase. Now how cool is that?! (or at least it can sound cool until the fanbase gets crazy and toxic, but it is definitely not happening to us here. We're all people of culture here... ) And based on the fe…
- Shardpunk 2 Begins - 19 November 2025
Shardpunk was the first commercial game I ever created and released - and wow, what an experience it was. Building it was a blast, but seeing how players responded was even better. The joy the game has brought you (94% positive reviews!) has fueled me every step of the way. And here I am again. Thanks to the support of the Polish Creative Industries Institute program, along with both old and new friends, I’ve been hard at work on the sequel - and I’m thrilled to finally show its Steam page. The game is deep in development, and there’s still plenty of work ahead. Just like with the first Shardpunk, I’ll be sharing regular dev updates that dive into the game’s features, systems, and design decisions. And of course, proper alpha demos will be coming - hopefully sooner rather than later. Community feedback played a huge role in shaping the original Shardpunk, and I fully intend to continue…
