Steam/itch describe a magical 2D projectile fighter with up to 4 local/online players, single-stick control, pixel art, and explosive short rounds.
June 8 Early Access mage-knight roguelite: spells + ability-transforming runes suggest modular spell loadouts that change reads without bloating inputs.
Messhof's Nidhogg lineage returns with 2D platforming auto-shooter energy; a reminder that narrow silhouettes, motion, and music can sell chaos.
June 15-22 demos and livestreams emphasize building feedback loops now: a tiny polished PvP slice can be the marketing asset.
Recent NES homebrew chatter highlights resilient netcode even for tiny teams/hardware: communicate online feel early, not as an afterthought.
Mage: Left stick move/fly, right stick aim, R shoot, L blink. Fighter: Left stick move, A jump, X slash, B guard/parry, R dash-cut.
RulesProjectiles can be parried during a 10-frame shimmer. A parried bolt becomes a slow neutral orb; either player can strike it to redirect. Fighter loses guard pips on mistimed parries; mage loses mana on spam.
Best of 5, 20-second rounds. Ring-out or HP knockout. Sudden death: center cover sinks and neutral orb spawns.
What to testCan the fighter advance through fire without feeling helpless? Can the mage zone without becoming a runaway? Measure round length, parry success rate, and spectators' ability to read who owns each projectile.