RALA:/:ephemera

RALAephemera is a turn-based tactical action RPG for Playdate, in the spirit of Into the Breach meets Superhot and Elden Ring. Every enemy attack is marked on the ground a turn before it lands, and you always move first: step off the marks, shove your attackers into walls, dash through bullets and strike back. Rest at Nodes to heal and level up, knowing everything you killed comes back. Fall, and your Shells stay where you died until you go back for them.

This demo covers the opening: a guided tutorial, the caves of the Marrow, and the Concordat Sentinel and it's keepers who guard the way out. 

FEATURES

• Turn-based fights that play like an action game: nothing hits you without warning.
• Fists, blades and a gun on one button. The gun holds three rounds, and a swing that lands wins one back.
• Shove enemies into walls and into each other, and dash through gunfire.
• Packs of enemies that sleep until they see you, then hunt you together.
• Nodes to rest, level up and fast travel between.
• Five attributes to level, and weapons to find and upgrade.
• Heavy weapons that land a turn late, on whoever is still standing there.
• Imprints you earn by how you fight, worn for their power.
• A three-phase boss who calls in help.
• A map that charts only what you’ve seen, with markers and a compass to follow.
• Original soundtrack by yours truly

This is an early demo, and feedback would be GREATLY appreciated. The leveling system and weapons upgrade system is pretty barebones, but the gameplay is pretty solid. See if you can beat the boss and escape the tunnels!

If you'd like to get a small taste of what the combat in the game feels like, I released a Game Boy Advance roguelike version of this game and you can try it out in your browser (or PS Vita) here:
https://solmare.itch.io/ralasutura-advance

No generative AI was used during this game's development

A Playdate game by @solmare