Over this past weekend, Embers Studio announced that they officially opened pre-orders for their upcoming color-filled action game Strayed Lights. With players still having a chance to have a first impression on the game from their free demo on Steam and the launch date approaching, I wanted to dive a little deeper into what might be interesting to know about this game. So, I reached out to the developers and requested a quick interview with them in order to get some more insight into Strayed Lights.
Check out my interview with Embers Studio’s CEO Damien Dessagne below:
What is the main inspiration behind the game's design?
“Our game design drew inspiration from titles such as Sekiro, where gameplay involves a mix of reactive and proactive actions. We believe that this approach demands attentiveness and mindfulness, allowing for a state of flow. To achieve this, we developed a combat system centered around the parry mechanic, supplemented by dodges to counter unparryable attacks, and proactive actions such as attacks and abilities.
Furthermore, we incorporated a color-matching mechanism that was influenced by Ikaruga. This feature adds an extra layer of engagement to the parry mechanic and necessitates careful observation of enemy movements, including their colors, attacks, and windups, enabling players to react accordingly.”
The preview showed off three color options in the combat. Can players expect a wider variety of colors?
“The combat does revolve on the three colors shown. The two main colors, blue and orange, that you have to switch between to match the color of the enemies to parry and then purple that is added to the mix for attacks that need to be dodged. It stays true during the entire game and serves as a premise on which we build interesting encounters, but there might be an additional one for a specific section of the game.”
Will the players be able to use different weapons or is the combat variety based on the abilities?
“There are no “weapons” in Strayed Lights, all characters use their bodies to fight, either in physical combat or by using the energy they are composed of. With this energy comes an array of abilities that differ depending on the character that uses it. The abilities and gimmicks of the bosses you meet are unique for each one and different from yours.”
Are there any well-hidden Easter Eggs planned that players can find?
“All I will say is that, we hid a few easter eggs in the game that are related to the production of the game and its team.”
How important is the story to the overall experience?
“The story is an integral part of our gameplay and is an ode to resilience, human emotions and finding balance. As we tell it without words nor dialogues, we show it through immersion into the world of Strayed Lights, through its dark oneiric world, its characters that embody emotions gone rogue, its music composed by Austin Wintory and its gameplay mechanics based around colors and parry.”
The art style is really quite intriguing on its own. How did your team come to decide to use this style?
“The art direction of Strayed Lights was built keeping in mind that it must serve the gameplay as well as being a major component of the game on its own. It is the main driving force behind the immersion and poetry of its universe.
In order to make the gameplay as readable as possible, we decided to create bold contrasts in colors, scales and levels of detail. Thus, the characters had to stand out from the environment, which encouraged us to create strong lighting effects in often foggy environments.”
It’s always good to know a little more about the games we look forward to playing and I can always appreciate a team that is willing to be open with the information surrounding their game. If you haven’t tried the free demo yet, then hopefully you will because this isn’t a game to let go overlooked!
Strayed Lights is set to launch on April 25th on PC via Steam, GOG, and Epic Games Store, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.
