You thought the gates of purgatory closed on you? Remember, we break chains - not promises. We are so back, and as announced earlier this month, we're running a Closed Beta Test next week!

This Closed Beta Test will let you experience our version of purgatory deeper than what the Soul Chained demo had to offer. The goal of the playtest is to gather as much essential feedback as possible to help us take Soul Chained closer to the experience you're expecting at launch.

Check out the Closed Beta Test schedule below!

As mentioned, the Closed Beta Test's mission is to gather as much essential feedback as possible, with the goal of enhancing the Soul Chained experience for everyone.

For you to secure your spot, follow the steps below:

1. Fill out the Soul Chained Closed Beta Test Invitation Form[forms.gle].

2. If you haven't already, be sure to join our Discord by clicking the link here - Soul Chained Discord Server[discord.gg]

3. Once you've been selected for the playtest, you should receive a notification closer to the start of the playtest on the Discord server from an announcement meant for all Closed Beta testers.

NOTE: Keep in mind that we're selecting our Closed Beta testers depending on the answers to the invitation form. Selection is not guaranteed.

During the Closed Beta, we'll let you experience the game beyond what the demo has already shown, including additional content, changes, and further optimizations.

Do note that the features listed below are not yet final and may or may not be removed, changed or tweaked depending on your feedback.

New Hubs and Bosses - those coming off from playing the Demo version of Soul Chained will find an expanded experience during the Closed Beta. With two (2) new expansive hubs opening after the first enemy boss, and an additional two (2) bosses to cap each area off, gametime should significantly increase for everyone.

Reworked & Improved Weapons - while the weapons are still what they were from the demo version, you should see dramatic improvements to your arsenal. Specifically, the Great Sword has been reworked, along with improvements to the other weapons.

More Polished Combat - improvements to the combat system should let you experience more fluid movements and actions.

Better Chain Physics - the improved Soul Chain physics should provide you with a more intuitive gameplay and approach to chain actions like tripping and coiling enemies.

Reworked Chain Magic & Progression - those who have played the Demo version, where we introduced Chain Magic, should see dramatic improvements from its rework, together with a revamped progression system. This might come as a new feature to those who haven't played the Demo for a few months now.

And that's that! Get ready for a deeper dive with the purgatorial chain gang! We're looking forward to seeing you experience our vision for the game, and we're super excited to work with all your feedback!

The journey through purgatory is much easier when you're not alone. Catch the latest tips, updates and announcements by becoming part of Soul Chained's community!

Soul Chained @ Discord[discord.gg]

Soul Chained @ Reddit[www.reddit.com]

Don't miss out on all official purgatorial scoop by following us on our official social pages!

Soul Chained on X[x.com]

Soul Chained on TikTok[www.tiktok.com]

Soul Chained on Instagram[www.instagram.com]

Soul Chained on Facebook[www.facebook.com]

Soul Chained on BlueSky[bsky.app]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3544130/Soul_Chained/

Hi guys,

I've updated the demo, and with that, there are some serious improvements to the fluidity of combat. I've gone back to the drawing board to more closely match the "feel" of Elden Ring's combat. With that in mind, there's still some jank, but the changes are as follows:

• Faster stamina re-gen with less delay after performing actions.

• Speed increase on all weapons.

• Re-animation and retiming of short sword attacks.

• Re-animation and retiming of great sword attacks.

• Complete overhaul of strong attacks, now allowing you to charge them for additional impact.

• Less delay when pressing roll and quicker exit of attack animations.

• Greater level of rotation between attacks, allowing for more fluid and less clunky combat.

• Better hitstop effect keeps gameplay feeling heavy without being jarring.

• New jump attacks for both fast and strong attack presses.

• Plunging attacks when falling at a sufficient speed (very satisfying to land).

With this in mind, there will need to be additional balancing, as with the more fluid combat, the game does now feel a little easier - especially in Havoc mode.

Additionally, Chain magic has been improved, providing better balance and 2 skills that can be used in the demo:

• Fire Chain: Allows you to instantly kill wrapped enemies and deal fire damage to other enemies that come into contact with the chain.

• Whirlwind: Spin your partner around using the analogue stick or movement keys to damage and trip all enemies that get caught in their path. Very chaotic but funny when it works (and also when it doesn't).

Finally, I've brought havoc mode (both 3 and 4 player) mostly up to speed with the standard 2 player mode. With that in mind, due to the extra chains that need to be simulated, performance is a little worse. There are also a few bugs which appear to be worse in havoc mode - notably the chain getting stuck on geometry. So nearly there, but still some work to do.

Just as a final disclaimer, I have noticed a slight decrease in performance on this latest build, which I will be investigating soon to bring performance to better-than-ever levels. Expect updates to the demo itself to be less frequent, as I am shifting development to finalise the remaining content of the full game.

New Streamer Gameplay Trailer on Steam page - check it out!