The sequel to Valfaris has arrived! Pilot a behemoth suit forged of metal and vanquish the evil that has unleashed chaos upon the cosmos. Become the machine's beating heart and its venegeful rage.
SUIT-UP AND UNLEASH MECHA HELL!
Valfaris: Mecha Therion has launched and is available to purchase now for $19.99 USD. There's a 10% discount for a limited time. Also, the two previous games from developer Steel Mantis are both heavily discounted right now and you can pick up the complete trilogy in the following bundle:
Slain: Back From Hell, Valfaris, Mecha Therion Bundle
A 2.5D side-scrolling shooter, here's just some of what Valfaris: Mecha Therion has to offer:
A formidable selection of Destroyer, Melee, and Auxiliary weapons to choose from
Endless waves of enemies to annihilate, and powerful bosses to pulverise
Module add-ons to further enhance and upgrade the suit's capabilities
A colourful alien world brought to life by the stunning and unmistakable art of Andrew Gilmour
Awesome and uncompromising metal soundtrack from series composer Curt Victor Bryant
Three difficulty modes to accommodate most skill levels
12 language options (and Polish coming soon!)
TRAILER
REVIEWS
“A fantastic follow up that still nails the feeling of the original regardless of the genre change” 9/10 – WayTooManyGames
“Never takes its foot off the pedal” 9/10 – GodisaGeek
“A blood-pumping, head-banging, monster-bashing sequel... Steel Mantis has graciously transformed Valfaris into a brutal 2.5D Shmup while keeping the identity of the original intact” 80/100 – Gameffine
“One of the most accomplished shooters that I’ve played in a long time” 9/10 – GameGrin
“It's metal, it's ridiculous... An awesome shoot-'em-up” 8.5/10 – Worthplaying
The sequel to Valfaris is almost here! Valfaris: Mecha Therion is launching 21st November on Steam! Be sure to add it to your Wishlist and you'll be notified as soon as it's available.
To get ready for launch, the Valfaris: Mecha Therion store page has been updated with new art, new screenshots, and this new trailer:
Valfaris developer Steel Mantis is looking for playtesters to put the upcoming Valfaris: Mecha Therion through its paces and provide feedback. If you're interested, click the following link and complete the playtest application form: https://forms.gle/ZBSm5QihJP46vjop6
They're looking for a wide range of players, so it doesn't matter if you've never played any of Steel Mantis' previous games, or if shoot 'em ups aren't usually your thing.
If you're invited to participate, you'll be sent a Steam key giving you access to a full build of Valfaris: Mecha Therion ahead of the playtest start date on Tuesday, 5th September. The playtest will take place between 5th and 12th September.
The channel will be the devs' first destination for sharing art and info about their games, as well as shooting the breeze about what they're playing, what they're listening to etc. And, in the very near future, they're going to be putting out a call for playtesters to provide feedback for Valfaris: Mecha Therion, so if that sounds like something you'd want to be involved with, go ahead and join the Discord.
The very first demo for Valfaris: Mecha Therion – the sequel to Valfaris – is live now and available to download from the game's Steam page!
Demo content:
Tutorial level
1x full stage: 'Ruins of Anvin'
3x Destroyer class weapons: Hellwraith, Hellhammer, Bringer of Mayhem
2x Melee class weapons: Bathoryn, Therion's Fist
3x Auxiliary class weapons: Homing Swords, Electroburst, Bunker-Buster
2x Module unit suit power-ups: Reaper, Crash-Burst
It's also worth mentioning that weapons can be upgraded — simply land at a checkpoint and select the 'Upgrade' option. If you have enough resources, you'll be able to increase the rank of the selected weapon. You start the demo with a stash of 30 Blood Metals, which will allow you to upgrade one of your weapons at the very first checkpoint if you want to.
On the first attempt, a single playthrough of the demo will take most players between 15 and 30 minutes. However, it's very much designed with multiple playthroughs in mind, so you can try the different weapon loadouts (and also find a couple of small secret areas).
If you play the demo and have any feedback, please go ahead and drop it here: Demo Feedback
You can now wishlist the new Valfaris: Mecha Therion directly from the title screen.
Unleash an new scale of carnage with Therion in a 2.5d sidescrolling mech game!
VALFARIS SEQUEL REVEALED – FIRST TRAILER AND DETAILS!
Valfaris sequel news coming in hot – we've just officially announced Valfaris: Mecha Therion. It's coming to Steam (and consoles) late 2022. Check out the announcement trailer:
[previewyoutube="cKxyAJM7g-0;full"] Yes, it's a shmup, and – YES! – developer Steel Mantis is behind it, so you can expect another explosive, action-packed outing for Therion, who this time pilots a metal colossus as he continues his pursuit of Lord Vroll.
Wanted to share the news that we have a new game joining the Big Sugar family – we've just announced Trifox! A colourful and cartoonish action-adventure inspired by the golden age of 3D platformers, Trifox is coming to Steam (and consoles) early next year.
Hey there! It’s been a while. Hope everyone’s doing OK. Been meaning to put this post together for ages, and finally got around to it. So here you go – these are a few (but not all) of the hidden references we snuck into Valfaris that you probably never even noticed:
SLAIN: BACK FROM HELL During the Valfaris intro sequence, Hekate says: “Time to wake up, Therion.” This is a reference to Valfaris’ spiritual predecessor, Slain: Back From Hell, in which that game's intro sequence also shows its hero being woken.
CONTRA III: THE ALIEN WARS In the Landing Pad level, Therion is tasked with obtaining a fuel crystal to provide power to an old spaceship. Just before the lock-in fight where the fuel crystal can be acquired, Therion says: “Leave it with me. I will attack aggressively.” Anyone who spotted that this is a reference to the intro of Contra III: The Alien Wars most definitely deserves their super-nerd stripes.
FUTURAMA [previewyoutube="8kZsmdn7fDM;rightthumb"] After he defeats the Hive Sentinel, Hekate comments to Therion: “You're covered in... toad mucus,” to which Therion replies “This stuff is as sticky as glue. Ergh. I hate this hive.”
Futurama fans may have felt a faint tickle of familiarity when they heard this – that’s because it’s a reference to ‘The Why of Fry’ episode in which Fry discovers that the sticky stuff on the back of stamps is made of toad mucus.
ALIENS [previewyoutube="qrjFuTbl_SA;rightthumb"] We included two Aliens references. The first is just before the Bloodfang boss fight at the end of the Eco Dome. Therion says “A bug hunt? No problem.” This is a nod to the moment in Aliens when Bill Paxton’s character, Pvt. Hudson, asks “Is this going to be a stand-up fight, sir, or another bug hunt?”
Because Steam can't handle YouTube links with time codes, manually skip to 0:37 to hear the quote. Or just watch the whole thing and enjoy 6 mins of Hudson :)
[previewyoutube="VsuSpei9cf8;rightthumb"] The second Aliens reference comes during the Hive level.
After Therion takes control of a badass Exterminator Mech, he shouts “Let’s rock!”, which is exactly the roar that Jenette Goldstein’s character, Pvt. Vasquez, lets out before disobeying orders and opening fire from her M56 Smart Gun when she and her colonial marine squadmates are smack-bang in the middle of a xenomorph hive.
WITHNAIL AND I [previewyoutube="_MwOOY2qPlo;rightthumb"] And, finally, a quote from one of my personal all-time favourite movies, ‘Withnail and I’. When Therion encounters the Bloodroot Demon in the Dead Eco Dome, the demented boss shouts “I must have some blood! I DEMAND TO HAVE SOME BLOOD!”
This is a reference to a line from the 1987 British film in which Richard E. Grant’s habitually debauched character, Withnail, declares “I must have some booze! I DEMAND TO HAVE SOME BOOZE!”
There are a few other references hidden away in Valfaris, but I wouldn’t want to spoil things by revealing them all. Where’s the fun in that?
And if you like insider stuff like this, go ahead and spin your eyes over our 'Valfaris Deleted Scenes' post.
'Deleted Scenes' – see what didn’t make the finished game!
Thought it would be cool to share some of the bosses, enemies, and scenes that didn’t quite make it into the final version of Valfaris for one reason or another. Enjoy!
VALFARIS SCHEMATICS
I’m not 100% sure if this scene of Therion studying a plan of Valfaris on board the Wolfship was created for one of the game’s trailers or as part of an ending cinematic. Either way, it didn’t make the cut.
DRONE MASTER
This pincer-fisted menace was one of the first of Valfaris' enemies ever shown – we used this teaser GIF in 2017 before Valfaris had been announced. Given the title of ‘Drone Master’ by the team, this was its one and only public appearance as it was snipped before it shipped!
UNUSED INTRO SCENE
This cinematic scene was going to be Therion’s dramatic entrance as part of the E3 2017 announcement trailer. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and had to go with a scaled back version of the promo vid. It wasn’t, erm, very good.
FIRE PRIEST
With its trident and mysterious glowing hump, this unused Fire Keeper enemy – seen here guarding a jelly spawning tank – looks a lot like a slimline version of the corpulent Tomb Keepers.
POWER CHAMBERS BOSS
Known as the ‘Biomech Jelly Boss’, this drooling flesh machine with its blood-tipped tendrils was intended to be embedded somewhere deep in the Power Chambers.
If you enjoyed these 'deleted scenes', feel free to hit the 'Rate Up' button below. If it gets a decent amount of thumb-ups I'll have another snoop through the Valfaris vaults and see what else I can find that didn't make the cut.
And if you're after more of a behind-the-scenes look and deeper dive into Valfaris, the Digital Art Book could be right up your street:
Oh, and some news for any console players who happen to be hanging about in these here parts – Full Metal Mode is now available for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One versions of Valfaris!
