This latest demo is filled with an array of new items and weaponry, making each run unique. Blast through armies of enemies during the levels and encounter new bosses, Luna and Sol, who will certainly put your mettle to the test!
Along with these updated features, Elsie has a fresh look and updated sprite, as well as the world around her having a significant glow-up.
Re MIX & live stream hosted by The Completionist
During the Re MIX later today, we'll showcase the latest Guardian trailer where we see Elsie embarking on a quest to clean up the world she calls home, uncover the mystery behind the attack and save planet Ekis. Traverse through a multitude of environments from luscious forests, to a volcanic grotto and more to find out why the Guardians have gone missing and save them from the corruption that's taken over.
But that's not all! A special post-event live stream hosted by Jirard (The Completionist) will take place shortly after, where he'll showcase the new demo and chat with the developers, Knight Shift Games.
Tune in to the Re MIX on Twitch or YouTube from 10am PT / 6pm BST.
Elsie: Guardians Trailer & Summer Gaming Events
Elsie is back with a brand new trailer featured in the Indie 3: Best Indie Games Summer Showcase earlier in the week and IGN's Summer of Gaming earlier today. Let's take a look at some all-new mechanics and story details.
You play as the android Elsie, embarking on a quest to clean up the world she calls home. Uncover the mystery behind the attack and save planet Ekis in this rogue-like neon platformer. Start your journey in Sapir Wharf, a haven for all survivors of the attacks on Dr Grey’s city. Traverse through a multitude of environments from luscious forests, a volcanic grotto and more to find out why the Guardians have gone missing and save them from the corruption that's taken over.
Get Parrying!
One of the core mechanics that makes Elsie stand out is how the playable characters parry. Both Elsie and Andru can parry just about any attack. Whether an enemy is blasting bullets or dealing melee swings, the player can parry into it, using it both as a defensive ability as well as an offensive manoeuvre. Get parrying to return much-needed stamina and perform lightning-fast counterattacks destroying your enemies and projectiles.
Choose your playstyle, rock out to a pumping soundtrack and dive into a vibrant world when Elsie launches later this year! Can’t wait to dive into the action? Be sure to check the game out on Steam and give the demo a blast!
Elsie: Biomes and Bosses Trailer
Elsie has been making huge strides in the development as of late, so much so that with the help of our wonderful narrator Jirard (The Completionist), we’ve pulled together a fresh look at some of what’s to come!
Take on the world!
You play as the android Elsie, embarking on a quest to clean up the world she calls home in this roguelike neon platformer. Start your journey in Sapir Wharf, a haven for all survivors of the attacks on Dr Grey’s city.
From here, players will take the lighthouse teleporter and set out to the staple first location, the Eclipse Skyport, where you’ll encounter your first Guardian: Celestia. Fight through a challenging hoard of enemies, defeat the boss at the end of the biome and you’ll be rewarded with a selection of places to explore. Every playthrough will feature a selection of three biomes to explore, each differing greatly in art style and level design.
The two that we’re sharing with you today are The Forgemaster’s Caldero, a volcanic grotto home to Ash, and the Jardin, the lush nature-coated kingdom that the Queen of Thorns Rosalyn calls home. Both of these areas will end with an intense guardian battle, and are but a few of the stopping places you’ll come to expect.
Jump, Dash, and Blast. YOUR Way.
Elsie emphasises playing the way YOU want to play, leaving progression through this dynamic roguelike platformer firmly in the hands of the player. With a wide assortment of items, augments, and destinations to choose from, no two experiences will truly be the same. This is only a small taste of what is to come in Elsie, and we are very excited to share this amazing experience with you all.
Choose your playstyle, rock out to a pumping soundtrack and dive into a vibrant world when Elsie launches on Steam! Can’t wait to dive into the action? Be sure to add the game to your Wishlist and give the demo a blast!
We've been hard at work on Elsie but we wanted to check in to share some awesome news. We’re super excited to announce a second playable character for Elsie!
Joining the battle is Andru, a melee-based character with a bespoke suite of bladed weapons and power augments. Whilst he has a similar base movement kit to Elsie, such as dash attack, dive and bounce, his gameplay really diverges when it comes to his weapons and augments.
For the moment, Andru’s suite of weapons include a variety of elemental swords, claws, and ghost blades, all with different play styles, abilities, and effects. His starter weapon, the base katana sword, is the first weapon available to him, much like Elsie’s starter pistol and lets Andru perform a neutral 3 attack combo. Every class of weapon has a base weapon, and 3 elemental weapons similar to Elsie. Each type of elemental weapon has a different play style and feel, including different types of combos, different attack speeds, and distinct effects that open up a slew of gameplay possibilities.
Being a melee character, we have created a new set of augments specific to Andru. We wanted to highlight his particular abilities, and give him some unique powers, such as shadow stepping, kunai power ups, to compliment his melee arsenal. His augment kit is still deep in the works, but we’re excited to see how everyone builds their Andru in runs.
A bit of story on Andru. While we are still developing his backstory, he is meant to be sort of a proto-guardian in the wharf. Build before the other guardians, and Elsie. He was build with different technology, towards the beginning of the Wharf’s existence, which would explain why he did not get taken over by the same issue that plagued the later guardians. Early in the game, Elsie does not know of Andru’s existence, and will run into him through the runs, until we unlock him as a playable character. Andru has been out on a long mission investigating the destabilization of the planet Ekis, even before the other guardians were created.
Be sure to let us know what you think of Andru and our brand new key art too!
Developer Diary #1 Character Spotlight: Elsie
Hi everyone!
We're hard at work with development at the moment, but we wanted to invite you to see how our development has and is going through developer diaries. Over the coming months, we will be giving you insights into Elsie, from mechanics to animation to enviroments and of course, characters.
Today we'd like to give a spotlight to our protagonist and namesake of the game, Elsie. But first, let's introduce ourselves.
We are Knight Shift Games A small indie game development team from Miami, FL established in 2016 by Alejandro Remior. The team is composed primarily of Hispanic immigrants or first Hispanic American team members, and we try to sprinkle some of our cultures across our projects. Early on, the team began working on small scale games and game jam projects, trying to learn the tools well enough to develop something commercially viable. After a couple of years, KSG began working on the first iteration of Elsie. After showcasing Elsie for the first time at PAX South 2018, the team took a small hiatus to handle some personal issues.
After the hiatus, the team came together and reached out to some developer friends from the Miami game dev scene to join the team and help with reviving Elsie. Once these new team members joined the project, it was decided that the Elsie project would require almost a total rework of look and feel. This led to the project being transformed into its current incarnation: a neon-drench, hyperkinetic, roguelike action platformer.
Character Spotlight: Elsie; Art & Animation development
One thing everyone always asks us is, “Where did the name Elsie come from?” A small bit of trivia: two of the first robots ever created were named Elsie and Elmer and we were not going to name our game Elmer. Elsie has gone through some radical transformations over the years. What started off as a week-long project has turned into almost 8 years. Elsie began as a side scroller action platformer with a very different style and gameplay loop.
At the root of the gameplay was always the run-and-gun action. Ever so stylish, the first version of Elsie sported a blue trench coat, short black hair, some scientist-looking gloves and a small green gun. Originally designed by Matthew Martinez back in 2016. Over his tenure as the main artist on Elsie, the design of the character changed a little bit. Mainly touch up on certain details like her gun, and updating some animations. After the project went on hiatus, Elsie did not make a revival until late 2018.
It was October of 2018 that the team decided to pick up Elsie once again. This time, the team was joined by two new members that were part of the local game development community. Pedro Guerra joined up first, initially as someone to help us gain more online presence and help market the game. His main stipulation was that we changed how the entire game looked, as to him, it needed something more, something extra to give it that flare. Once agreed upon, the second member, Bryant Chavarriaga joined the team as art director.
The first thing that Bryant created for the project was a complete overhaul of Elsie. From head to toe, she was reimagined with the style and attitude that we felt really embodied our character, as well as our team's new groove. We reimagined what her color scheme would be, gave each detail on her a sort of backstory, redid her weapons, and abilities. It really was like a brand new character, only the same in name.
Starting from the top, she was given a hat with a blue visor because let's face it, everybody likes hats, but her signature look is given by her horns, which channel her power and light up or generate lightning during different animations.
Her jacket has a small backstory: it was given to her by some of her more revered group of heroes (which you’ll eventually meet in the game)!
You can’t have a badass-looking character without some hot pink fingerless gloves. Her animations also show her different quirks of character. Such as her super cool lightning gate digital dash, or her fiery dive attack.
Overall, we are quite happy with this design, and it really directed the rest of the game’s style. Now, almost 4 years later, we have some final touches to Elsie’s look. Here is a sneak peek!
We hope you enjoyed this deep-dive into who we are and our protagonist Elsie. If you haven't already, try out our demo and don't forget you can wishlist Elsie!
We'll be back with another Developer Diary in the coming weeks, but in the meantime if there's anything you might like us to cover in a future diary, please drop a suggestion in the Community Hub.
Until next time!
- Knight Shift Games & Playtonic Friends
Gameplay from The Completionist with Developer commentary.
Join us for an introduction to Elsie from Jirard 'The Completionist' followed by a playthrough of the demo with commentary for the developers.
We have a brand NEW demo in the Steam Next Fest! Try it out and let us know what you think and don't forget to wishlist whilst you're checking out the Elsie store page.
Gameplay from The Completionist with Developer commentary.
Join us for an introduction to Elsie from Jirard 'The Completionist' followed by a playthrough of the demo with commentary for the developers.
We have a brand NEW demo in the Steam Next Fest! Try it out and let us know what you think and don't forget to wishlist whilst you're checking out the Elsie store page.
Special Announcement & Steam Next Fest
Hey everyone!
We have a special announcement that we're stoked to share with you! Drum roll please...
We're super excited to be joining forces with the great folks at Knight Shift Games to bring out Elsie. The dev team have been working hard on a new trailer, so sit back and discover the world of Ekis.
And that's not all!
We have a brand NEW demo in the Steam Next Fest! Try it out and let us know what you think and don't forget to wishlist whilst you're checking out the Elsie store page.
In the meantime, we'll be in the forums along with the devs so be sure to stop by and say hi :)
