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Project 02 · 2D/3D Hybrid Sci-Fantasy

ASTRAL
PLAGUE

You Were Never Meant To Think.

A soul-bound weapon begins questioning its creators in a cinematic sci-fantasy action adventure about identity, memory, and free will.

Wishlist on Steam

What Is Astral Plague?

Every Mechanic Is About
Becoming Conscious.

Thousands of years after the First Galactic War, three immortal rulers secretly govern humanity through puppet empires. Deep beneath their influence, The Sepulcher Forge has spent decades trying to build the perfect soldier — a machine capable of wielding a human soul without possessing free will.

Their seventh prototype succeeded. That's you. You are Zarel: SERAPHIM-07. Armed with a scythe that is more than it appears, you were built to obey without question. The story begins when that stops being possible.

Astral Plague key art

Gameplay Pillars

Every Mechanic Serves One Idea

⚔

Pillar 01

Rhythm-Breaking Combat

Encounters have a natural rhythm built around attacks, parries, and counters. As Zarel awakens, you gain tools to shatter that rhythm — teleport attacks, gravity manipulation, soul-powered techniques, stagger mechanics.

Mastering combat means knowing when to follow the rhythm and when to break it entirely.

◈

Pillar 02

Souls & Consciousness

Defeated enemies leave behind fragments of memory. Absorbing them grows Zarel's combat abilities, magical potential — and consciousness itself. As awareness deepens, new dialogue appears, new choices unlock, and relationships evolve. You don't just unlock skills. You unlock identity.

Power comes from the lives you've taken — and it's waking something up.

⚖

Pillar 03

Every Fight Is a Choice

Major enemies are not simply obstacles. Reap them for immediate power and faster progression, or spare them for allies, rewards, and storylines that ripple through later chapters. Every act of violence makes you stronger. Every act of kindness makes you weaker.

What kind of person will you become? The game answers it differently every time.

Story Overview

The Story Is Not About
Becoming a Hero.

It is about deciding what kind of monster you will become.

Premise

You are Zarel — SERAPHIM-07. A synthetic prototype built by The Sepulcher Forge to carry out impossible missions without emotion or hesitation. Unlike every machine before you, you possess something impossible: a human soul.

Setting

Yuria — an isolated planet untouched by galactic conquest for thousands of years. Wild, mysterious, deeply connected to ancient magic. As outside empires discover it, paradise slowly transforms into a battlefield.

Inciting Incident

At first, consciousness is only a faint whisper. Each soul absorbed through combat strengthens both Zarel and the voice inside him. Eventually the questions begin — Why am I obeying? What makes someone human?

Main Conflict

As the truth behind the Forge and the Triptych Kings unfolds, players must choose whether to remain the perfect weapon or forge their own identity. The answer changes the world around you.

Core Themes

Identity Free Will Memory Sacrifice Obedience Power & Its Cost Moral Ambiguity Hope Through Tragedy

The World of Yuria

A Paradise Becoming a Battlefield.

🌑

Jagged Hollows

Massive subterranean caverns. Bioluminescent wildlife. Ancient crystal formations. A place where early life survived countless extinction events — and something older still waits below.

🏔

Shattered Isles

Floating islands suspended above an endless abyss. Gravity bends unpredictably. Ancient cathedrals drift through the clouds. Organic architecture suggests a civilization far older than humanity.

👑

The Triptych Kings

The true rulers of humanity. Immortal sovereigns hidden behind generations of puppet monarchs. Few know they still live. Fewer understand where their power comes from.

⚗

The Sepulcher Forge

A secret research organization serving the Triptych Kings. Responsible for creating Zarel. Their objective: build the perfect soldier. A machine capable of wielding a human soul without possessing free will.

🜲

The First Galactic War

The cataclysm that ended one age and quietly began another. Thousands of years later, its true history survives only in ruins, half-remembered myth — and the three who won it.

✦

Ancient Magic

Yuria's ecosystems evolved around naturally occurring magical anomalies. The planet's connection to runic forces predates humanity itself — and the Forge has been quietly harvesting it.

Narrative Structure

Three Acts.
One Question.

The structure mirrors Zarel's psychological evolution — each act closes a gap in understanding and opens a deeper one about identity.

"Every act of violence makes you stronger. Every act of kindness makes you weaker. What kind of person will you become?"

Act I — Obedience

You Execute. You Don't Question.

Zarel carries out a mission on Yuria with ruthless efficiency. But the memories absorbed from the defeated linger longer than they should. Something is waking up.

Act II — Awareness

The Questions Can't Be Silenced

As consciousness grows, so does the conflict between programming and emerging will. The truth about the Triptych Kings and the Forge begins to surface — and it's far older and darker than the mission briefing suggested.

Act III — Choice

You Decide What You Are

Armed with full awareness, Zarel must confront the Forge and the Triptych Kings. The ending is shaped by every major decision made along the way — who was spared, who was reaped, and how deeply you looked.

Characters

The Weapon. The Soul. The Kings.

◈ Protagonist

Zarel — SERAPHIM-07

A humanoid synthetic prototype, initially incapable of independent thought. As souls accumulate, Zarel slowly develops emotions, empathy, curiosity — and eventually free will. The journey is not about saving the world. It is about deciding whether someone created as a weapon deserves humanity.

⚸ Classified

The Scythe

Zarel's weapon is not standard Forge issue, and the Forge does not talk about where it came from. What it is — and what it wants — is something you'll have to discover for yourself.

✦ Antagonists

The Triptych Kings

Three immortal sovereigns who have secretly governed humanity for thousands of years through puppet empires. They didn't create Zarel out of ambition alone — they need a weapon only a soul can wield. The reason why is the darkest thing in the game.

Development Status

Concept Vision & design doc 2025
planet_line
Prototype Core combat loop Current
Alpha Demo First area complete TBD
Beta Full game playable TBD
Release Into the void TBD

FAQ

Common Questions.

Astral Plague is a narrative-driven 2D/3D hybrid action adventure with interconnected environments, exploration, and progression inspired by Metroidvanias — but it places greater emphasis on cinematic storytelling and combat. Think Hollow Knight's world density combined with Sekiro's combat philosophy and a story that changes based on your choices.

The planned experience is approximately 15–20 hours for a first playthrough, with additional content and alternate outcomes encouraging replayability. The choice system is designed around long-term consequences, so a second run will feel meaningfully different.

Yes. Major decisions influence relationships, future encounters, available allies, and portions of the ending. Critically, the choice to reap or spare major enemies has the biggest long-term impact — those who live become part of your story in later chapters. Choices are designed around consequences rather than immediate rewards.

Combat draws from Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Environmental storytelling from Hollow Knight and Hyper Light Drifter. The visual and tonal register from Blasphemous and Elden Ring's marketing. The cosmic scale from biblical mythology and science fiction. The result is something that doesn't feel quite like any of them.

PC (Steam) is the primary target. Console release will be evaluated once we're closer to a shipping build. Wishlist on Steam to stay updated as development progresses.

We're currently in the concept and design phase. A prototype target of 2026 is our internal milestone, with further dates TBD. Follow us on socials or wishlist on Steam to get updates when they happen.

Press & Content Creators

Astral Plague logos, key art, screenshots, and the fact sheet live in our universal press kit — bundled and ready to download.

Open Press Kit →