#deckbuilder

After nearly 3 years of working on this almost every day, my story-rich turn-based tactics game is out in 1.0 now. Thanks for following along the journey! I hope you enjoy the full release.

You can get it on Steam here, or on Itch here. If you'd like, you can try the demo on Steam here, or on Itch here. Saves are compatible between the demo and full version, as well as between Steam and Itch.

There’s a sickness in the feeds: plastic tourist cyberdecks. Raspberry Pi bricks with tiny keyboards, bolted into 3D-printed cases, paraded on Instagram like trophies from a war they never fought. They’re not tools. They’re cosplay.

Let’s be clear: a real cockpit doesn’t start with aesthetics. It starts with pain. Problem → solution → function.

No media keys? You build a pause bar.

Net keeps cutting? You wire in a pulse and watch your LEDs blink the truth.

Need signals streaming in real time? You spin up a ticker.

Every fragment is earned. Every organ of the cockpit exists because without it, the pilot bleeds time.

Now look at the tourist decks.

Four-inch LCDs that scorch your eyes.

Chiclet keyboards designed for toddlers, not operators.

Tethered to a smartphone that could do every task better, faster, cleaner. It’s all form before function. Fake nostalgia. A cargo cult of movie props.

And the irony? Those movies — Hackers, The Net, every 90s cyber-thriller — got tech wrong in the first place. Neon GUIs, floppy disks with nuclear payloads, hackers typing like pianists on meth. Pure fantasy. The tourist deck isn’t just pretending to be a tool — it’s pretending to be a prop that pretended to be a tool. A Xerox of a Xerox. Dead on arrival.

Meanwhile, the cockpit grows like coral. Black boxes stitched together over years. Hardware knobs, kill switches, LED ghosts, fragments of code that live on because they work. It looks rough because it is rough. It looks alive because it is alive.

The tourist deck is a selfie. The cockpit is a survival rig. One is a weekend project for clout. The other is a control panel for your life.

Stop building props. Start building cockpits.

Hell Maiden - Virgil

MOOOORE SIARO

Hell Maiden, AstralShift‘s horde survival deckbuilder set in the world of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, will launch in Early Access for PC via Steam on July 16, the developer announced.

Here is an overview of the game, via AstralShift:

About

Hell Maiden is an action horde survival deckbuilding game inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy. Follow Dante on a new adventure through Hell in search of a second chance at salvation. Harness great power by strategically building and organizing your deck of unique weapons and abilities, and prove your divine worth by facing off against hordes of blood-thirsty demons and climbing your way to Heaven!

Fight Your Way Through Hell

Overcome the challenges of the afterlife and wreak havoc in all nine Circles of Hell by creating unique deck builds and wielding mythical weapons to tackle endless waves of enemies and defeat Hell’s toughest fiends. Better yet, you get to keep and use your opponents’ signature abilities in your own deck!

Horde Survivor Meets Deckbuilding

Pick your favorite Spirit Cards and combine them with a myriad of different abilities, bonuses and status effects to create powerful builds and decimate your opponents. Equip Mod Cards to enhance and modify your Weapon Cards—edit, experiment, adapt, and reformulate your hand and card combinations as you go and refine your personal playstyle!

Befriend the Poets of Antiquity

Accompanied by the Roman poet Virgil and protected by the sanctified Beatrice, you must rescue and befriend the Poets of Limbo to unlock new abilities and perks, ultimate attacks and signature weapons! Meet all the legendary poets of antiquity including but not limited to Homer, Ovid, Horace and Lucan, and help them find their own way to salvation.

A Story-Driven Adventure

Hell Maiden picks up from the ending of the original Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. Dante is now inexplicably back in Hell after having reached Paradiso—and she’s lost all her memories to boot! Unable to remember anything about her past life or her first journey through Hell, Dante is determined to climb her way back to Heaven and once again come face to face with Paradiso’s higher powers in search for answers. A compelling story about passion, justice and love, Hell Maiden is more than a reimagining of the classic poem—it is the exciting continuation of its events!

Early Access Features

Two unique levels themed around the Circles of Hell—each with new enemies to beat, quests and challenges to complete, Poets of Limbo to rescue and tough Boss Battles to overcome!

Over 40 abilities to mix, match and experiment with.

Five new abilities per rescued Poet of Limbo.

Two new abilities per defeated Boss.

A compelling, all-encompassing narrative to drive your adventure.

Four Poets of Limbo to rescue and befriend across the two Circles of Hell.

And more!

Watch a new trailer below.

Early Access Release Date Trailer