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Showing posts with label Spiral Up Games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spiral Up Games. Show all posts

Pay Off Your Debts By Starting the Dungeon Inn Today!

14 November 2024, Singapore – Spiral Up Games is thrilled to announce that Dungeon Inn, a cozy turn-based inn management game, released today on Steam Early Access at a retail price of 12.99 EUR|USD. In celebration, gamers can take advantage of a special 10% launch discount for the first two weeks after launch. With 4 charming and fun chapters packed full of engaging puzzles and quirky narrative, this game offers at least 5 hours of enthralling cozy strategy management.


Aldric Chang, CEO of Spiral Up Games, shares: "We are stoked for the launch of Dungeon Inn and eagerly anticipate its reception. This game introduces a unique blend of cozy resource management and turn-based strategy while managing an inn amidst the rivalry of two guilds. We believe the game's charming art, playful tale and puzzle elements promises an engaging and adorable experience for players."

About Dungeon Inn

Dungeon Inn invites players to step into the role of Sara, an innkeeper who strikes a deal with a dragon to open an inn at the entrance of a busy dungeon. Players must manage the rivalry between two adventurers’ guilds, ensuring they don’t uncover Sara’s secret double dealings. With cozy, strategic gameplay, players will have to cater to customer demands, upgrade their inn to attract more guests, and craft the perfect strategy to thrive in a charming yet challenging setting.


Main Features

Turn-Based Inn Strategy Management: Using various tools at your disposal, deploy turn-based strategies to draw in adventurers, or slow them down to keep rival guilds apart. Perfect your timing to prevent clashes, boost profits, and watch your inn flourish!

Master the Art of Covert Inn Operations: While clashes between guilds may be unavoidable, strategic intervention is key. Send in covert armored fighters to tip the scales in one guild's favor to reduce suspicion on your double-dealing.

Strategize & Keep Guests Happy: Your response to events and requests will impact your inn's reputation and income—and could either quell or raise suspicions.

Upgrade and Transform Your Inn: Invest your hard-earned coins in exciting new facilities, like training rooms and restaurants, that attract more guests and unlock new events.



Useful Links:


ABOUT CAT SOCIETY

Cat Society is a small South Korean studio of three passionate developers focused on crafting visually beautiful and emotionally resonant games. They explore innovative gameplay and storytelling, aiming to create memorable experiences that leave a lasting impact on players.

ABOUT SPIRAL UP GAMES

Cat Society is a small South Korean studio of three passionate developers focused on crafting visually beautiful and emotionally resonant games. They explore innovative gameplay and storytelling, aiming to create memorable experiences that leave a lasting impact on players.
Article by: Susan N.
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Dungeon Inn - PC (Steam) Review

Dungeon Inn by developer Cat Society and publisher Spiral Up GamesPC(Steam) review written by Susan N. with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes


Introduction

Dungeon Inn is a cozy strategy management game that has an amusing story. The premise? Sara and her crew end up trifling with a scary dragon who catches them red-handed stealing from him. As they now owe him a great debt, he requires a weekly tribute. Or else they perish. After panicking for a short amount of time Sara comes up with a plan to open up an inn just outside of the dungeon. The problem is the two guilds that regularly go on adventures in the dungeon hate each other. Your job is to keep the two guilds out of eyesight of each other while making as much money as possible from them. It's risky, but we are certainly up for the task, yeah?

Gameplay

The first thing to notice is that there are two modes to choose from. You can either play the campaign mode or you can go for the gusto in hard mode. Naturally, I went with the normal mode to get a feel for the game. It is a top down turn-based game which is a game type that I've seen less frequently. When you first start a week, you have to complete a number of different objectives that get progressively harder. Depending on how many you succeed at, you'll get closer to your goal of paying off the dragon.

In order to make it through the week, you will need to place signs on either side of the level to entice adventurers to rest at the inn or to earn some money. You have a prize wheel, an inn promotion, a speed boost, and a treat stand. The prize wheel will stop the adventurers for a couple of turns because they hope to win something. If you place down the inn promotion sign, any adventurer passing it will be convinced to rest for the night. The speed boost will increase the movement speed of adventurers which can be handy during rainfall where movement speed is hindered. Finally, the treat stand will entice the adventurers to buy something as they pass by. Each of these tools are instrumental to the success of your goals. Remember, the two guilds can't be entering the inn at the same time because if they do, they will fight. 


So let's talk about the combat. Unlike other strategy games where you direct the fight, in Dungeon Inn, you cannot choose what the characters do. Instead, you send a helper to boost the odds in favor of one side, but even if you don't, the winning side will be suspicious of the inn. When the suspicion level gets too high for either group, it's curtains for you and your cushy money making gig. Thankfully, if you find your suspicion level to be higher than you'd like, the game has a couple events that will reduce it. They aren't particularly frequent though, so be careful!  

As you progress through the weeks, the game becomes harder as there are random events that can change your reputation with the guilds. The adventurers that visit the inn become more frequent. Finally, the objectives will become more challenging by requiring more profit, more visitors, or less fights between the two guilds. When you reach a certain point, there will be a surprise visitor who adds another layer of challenge. One of the challenges you face will put a dent in your plans to earn money and pay off your debt to the dragon.

After each week completes, you will get a progress report and this is when you give the dragon his tribute. After that, you have a certain number of tokens that you spend on each side of the inn to add more rooms and accommodations for your guests. All of the upgrades have a couple of levels which increases the benefits you gain in terms of your reputation with the guilds, the money you can earn, and the suspicion level you can lower. Each room will give you a different set of benefits, so be sure to choose wisely.


Graphics and Audio

Dungeon Inn has charming graphics that feel hand-drawn which suits the cozy strategy game quite well. It's a 2D game and as a result, everything is a bit cartoony, which is not a bad thing as I love the graphics style it has. 

In terms of the UI, Dungeon Inn is a simple game to navigate. The story is told through snapshot cutscenes and short dialogue instances. The levels are not cluttered and the pictures on the signboards are easy to understand. Even upgrading the various rooms when you are managing your inn between weeks or having conversations with your crew is intuitive. In fact, every interaction in the game is based on a simple point and click system, making Dungeon Inn a breeze to get into.


As for the audio, I found it to be a little underwhelming. When you're managing your inn or talking with your crew, you will hear the soothing sounds of calming background music. The issue lies in the level music specifically. In no way is it bad, but there is only one song that you hear every single week. At first, I found it to be quite nice, but over time - particularly if you have to repeat a level in order to succeed - the music gets repetitive. I can only hope that as the developers work through the early access stages, that they add more music!

That said, I did appreciate the distinct sounds of tea or beer being poured for the adventurers. Each sound bite is quite short, but it gives the sense that you're actually in the inn. And when certain random events occur, you get to hear a glass breaking or someone punching the bags too hard in the gym. When combat occurs outside the inn, you will hear a comical batch of sound effects which remind me of the old Batman cartoon (The one with Adam West, specifically.) It felt like I was watching something from a comic book. Basically, the audio adds to the charming aspects of the game, despite the repetitive music found in the levels.


Overall Thoughts

Even though Dungeon Inn is in the early access stages, they have included a roadmap on their Steam page which gives an estimate on new features and levels to be added. The first of those planned updates is the inclusion of syncing game files over the cloud. They will be improving the user experience and are making changes based on player feedback. Later in 2025, Spiral Up Games will add Steam Deck support and will add additional challenges like flooding and heatwaves. By the time 2025 is coming to a close, they will be adding more features and adding to the story, so buckle up!


I had a fantastic time playing Dungeon Inn. It's a cute little strategy game that doesn't drown you in abilities or tons of sub menus. The story is simple to follow and gets to be more challenging as you continue to play. At this time, it doesn't have much replayability as the spawning of adventurers appeared to be static (A fact that is only apparent if you had to redo parts of a week in order to complete the objectives.) I also really love the variety of the characters. Each one has a different skill level and will sometimes have their own events that may or may not get you more money and/or levels!

Overall, Dungeon Inn has a lot of potential to be a great strategy game for players who are interested in something a little less intense than what is offered by the big dogs in the genre. It's an indie game that is fun to play and has an entertaining premise behind it. While the game can certainly use a little polish, it has a solid foundation that I found myself smiling all the way through! Suffice it to say, I can't wait to see how it evolves with player feedback and additional challenges to tackle. I highly recommend Dungeon Inn to anyone that enjoys strategy games.


Score: 8.5 out of 10

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Build Your Business in Cozy Management Game 'Dungeon Inn' Releasing November 14th!

October 25, 2024, Singapore – Spiral Up Games is thrilled to announce the early access release of Dungeon Inn, a cozy turn-based inn management game, on November 14. With 4 charming and fun chapters packed full of engaging puzzles and quirky narrative, and offering more than 5 hours of enthralling cozy strategy management.


Dungeon Inn is also releasing a prologue today on Steam, October 25, that players can check out and get a taste of its strategy and management coziness!

Be sure to wishlist Dungeon Inn on Steam to stay up to date with all the latest news and updates.

Aldric Chang, CEO of Spiral Up Games, shares: "We are stoked to announce the official release date of Dungeon Inn. This game introduces a unique blend of cozy resource management and turn-based strategy while managing an inn amidst the rivalry of two guilds. We believe the game's charming art, playful tale and puzzle elements promises an engaging and delightful experience for players."

Main Features


  • Turn-Based Inn Strategy Management: Using various tools at your disposal, deploy turn-based strategies to draw in adventurers, or slow them down to keep rival guilds apart. Perfect your timing to prevent clashes, boost profits, and watch your inn flourish!
  • Master the Art of Covert Inn Operations: While clashes between guilds may be unavoidable, strategic intervention is key. Send in covert armored fighters to tip the scales in one guild's favor to reduce suspicion on your double-dealing.
  • Strategize & Keep Guests Happy: Your response to events and requests will impact your inn's reputation and income—and could either quell or raise suspicions.
  • Upgrade and Transform Your Inn: Invest your hard-earned coins in exciting new facilities, like training rooms and restaurants, that attract more guests and unlock new events.



Useful Links:


ABOUT CAT SOCIETY


Cat Society is a small South Korean studio of three passionate developers focused on crafting visually beautiful and emotionally resonant games. They explore innovative gameplay and storytelling, aiming to create memorable experiences that leave a lasting impact on players.

ABOUT SPIRAL UP GAMES


Cat Society is a small South Korean studio of three passionate developers focused on crafting visually beautiful and emotionally resonant games. They explore innovative gameplay and storytelling, aiming to create memorable experiences that leave a lasting impact on players.
Article by: Susan N.
Share:

Become an AI Detective on May 10th in Cyber ManHunt 2: New World

April 25, 2024 – Spiral Up Games is thrilled to announce the upcoming Steam Early Access release of their latest title, the hacking adventure Cyber Manhunt 2: New World this May 10. Developed by the creative team at Aluba Studios. With a sprawling narrative across 4 chapters and 18 unique characters, this game offers more than 8 hours of immersive gameplay filled with intricate puzzles and engrossing social engineering challenges.


In Cyber Manhunt 2: New World, players step into the role of an AI detective plunged into a realm filled with digital mysteries and hidden truths. Employ real-world social engineering techniques and AI-powered investigation tools to crack intriguing puzzles and uncover a thrilling interconnected storyline. Each revelation not only provides startling insights but also weaves into a larger, meticulously crafted conspiracy that resonates with digital challenges.
Aldric Chang, CEO of Spiral Up Games, expressed his enthusiasm about the Early Access launch, “We are incredibly excited to announce the Early Access release date of Cyber Manhunt 2: New World. This game introduces a new approach to narrative-driven puzzle games, combining elements of real-world hacking with strategic aspects of cyber investigations. We believe it will offer an unmatched, engaging experience for fans of deep storytelling and puzzle solving.”

KEY FEATURES

Intricate Puzzle Investigations: Step into the digital realm as an AI sleuth and explore a series of deep mysteries, each drawn from real incidents. Enjoy the excitement of untangling complex puzzles that demand sharp intellect and tactical foresight.

Become A Master Detective: Start with basic skills such as password breaking and deceptive phishing, then advance to more complex methods like voice alteration and server infiltration. Engage with realistic hacking tactics that deepen as you navigate through the intricate narratives.

Captivating, Interconnected Storyline: Immerse yourself in a story inspired by actual events, where each chapter intricately ties into a larger, complex plot. Feel the depth of each character's emotions and psyche as you navigate through a tangled conspiracy.

A Diversity of Characters: Interact with a wide range of unique characters, each reflecting distinct societal roles, drives, and backgrounds. In this era dominated by advanced AI, peel back the layers of their hidden lives, uncovering the deep and multifaceted aspects of their digital presences, where not everything is as it seems.



ABOUT ALUBA STUDIO

Based in Qingdao, Shandong, China, Aluba Studio stands as a pillar of independent game development. Founded in 2019, the studio launched its first title, Cyber Manhunt, to critical acclaim on Steam in 2020. This game quickly garnered a "Very Positive" rating and multiple awards, celebrated for its innovative narrative and design. Aluba Studio is committed to creating immersive, story-driven games that not only captivate but also challenge their players.

ABOUT SPIRAL UP GAMES

Spiral Up Games is an international game publisher for high quality PC indie games, headquartered in Singapore. Its team members comprise experienced game veterans with decades of combined experience in indie game development and marketing. Notable games on their portfolio include Wandering Sword and Back to the Dawn. Visit http://www.spiralupgames.com for more information.
Article by: Susan N.
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Back to the Dawn - PC(Steam) Review


Back to the Dawn by developer Metal Head Games and publisher Spiral Up GamesPC(Steam) review written by Natasha with a copy provided by the publisher.
 
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

YOU'VE GOT THE WRONG PERSON! I'M TELLING YOU I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT STUFF GOT IN MY CAR, YOU'VE GOTTA BELIEVE ME!


[Gets cuffed and shoved into a cop car]


THIS IS A SET UP! I'VE BEEN FRAMED!


[Cop gets in the car and starts to drive]

 

Hey, Bud, hear me out! I'm just a reviewer. I'm doing a piece about an anthropomorphic world where these animals live as regular humans--- DON'T YOU ROLL YOUR EYES AT ME--- anyways, these individuals are framed (wiggles my hand and gestures towards myself) and sent to jail by "accident". They have so many days to prove themselves innocent or get their hands dirty and try to escape before a certain deadline.


[Cop turns his head towards his rear-view mirror and raises an eyebrow at me]


Ah! Now I've peaked your interest. Shall I continue?

~


Jail Time

You can probably guess, but Back to the Dawn is a pixel graphic, daily life simulator with a big emphasis on detective role playing. Our story centers around individuals who have been wronged and are thrown into prison. You're forced to live among these law breakers and try to survive 30 days before your deadline. It's up to you, as the player, to be a good inmate or get dragged into the life of a gang member within the iron walls of your confinement.

This game is chock full of things to do, which was quite impressive. On the surface I believed I'd be playing through a story where I talked to a couple of people and would use my sleuthing skills to gain me brownie points in order to solve a couple of mysteries. Mysteries that seem to be crawling around within the pipe work of this concrete base camp. Boy, was I off. There are a handful of extra skeletons in everyone's closet. Allow me to explain...


The Inmates

In order to survive this dreary misunderstanding, you're going to have to make some friends. You'll find that there are all types of characters (and animals) that are living as your cellmates. Some individuals are there for minor offences and have a pretty good attitude to hang around. Others will range between crazy and outright bad. But maybe it's a good idea to have a couple of tough friends just in case things become a little dicey.

Not everyone will be so willing to be your pal. Others need certain requirements before they even acknowledge your existence. Your reputation is everything and without enough rep you'll find yourself nothing more than an annoying insect for those to shoo away or squash.

Once you have a few buddies you'll be able to build trust. With enough trust you'll be open to making certain trades or asking for a few favors. Keeping up on the gossip and giving them gifts will increase their bond with you. Who knows, maybe they'll even protect you when the time is right.

Maybe it's not such a bad idea to befriend your enemies, either!?


Vital Vitality

You are still a living, breathing creature and that means you'll also have to look after yourself. Prison life can impact your body and soul and it's up to you to make sure you don't become too weak and sick, otherwise you'll have a permanent bed in the infirmary.

You'll have your physical and mental health to keep up. Having proper meals and keeping up on your hygiene are big factors to keep in play. On the other hand you'll have to enrich your mind with things like praying, crafting and/or watching movies to boost your sanity. There are other things that can re-charge your essential needs, but if you let it get too low, you'll have a harder time moving about the compound. Run out of strength and you might be jumped. Loose your mind and you might be plagued with nightmares.

Another thing to look out for is your Focus Points and Energy Points. Without enough focus you may not have enough nerve to talk to certain people. Lose all your energy and you'll be too lazy to perform your daily tasks. Everything plays into making your daily life in prison go smoothly. You'll have to sacrifice certain points in order to gain other aspects at a time, so you'll have to tactically figure out what your end goal is.

Things are ever changing behind those concrete and boarded walls and it's up to you to come up with a good strategy to live among the other criminals.

Follow Your Schedules

Prison life isn't all about sleep, eat and repeat. The guards and warden make sure to keep everyone active by giving them chores, jobs, and free-time. Everything is timed exactly the same every day, but it's up to you what you'd like to do during each period.

Taking on jobs is one of a few ways to gain money in jail. You'll start off with basic chores. Once you've progressed through the story, other jobs will become available. You'll have to gain Good Behavior points in order to unlock extra jobs. Depending on the day of the week you may also get bonus pay, so it's best to keep an eye out for the day.

After lunch time you'll be able to enjoy some time to yourself out in the the yard. This area has a multitude of activities to keep oneself busy or work on your prison credits. You can choose to work on your physique, give prayer to the lord, work on quests or work up on reading those dusty books in the library. What you do with your time is up to you, but remember that it's limited each day.


No Time to Waste

Even though you have free reign of how you wish to live your life in prison, you do have to remember your main objective. Waste too much time surviving and you may be stuck in prison for the rest of your life, doing time that isn't yours in the first place.

Time is key and you'll have to balance when certain things need to be done. From main story quests to side quests, each event will give you a time limit. Can't hold on to that promise forever and taking on a quest and failing to finish it on time will lose you respect and decrease your reputation in prison.


Surviving the Prison Life

There are a lot of tough dudes waiting to prey on you and are just itching to push you around. This will happen from time to time and it's your job on how to go about it. Will you choose fight or flight? Choose to be a suck-up and you might be taken advantage of, but you'll be safe from getting jumped. Or choose to fight back and show off your dominance. However, the latter isn't that easy.

If you're choosing to chase off your attackers you'll have to fight them in combat. Fighting in game is turn base style and will have a couple of options available to toggle from. I'd recommend walking around with some type of weapon to aid you or you can boost your skill by working out. Pumping iron during free time is a great way to beef yourself up, at the cost of a small fee, but if you win a couple of battles you might gain the respect of the gang that has control over the gym area.

You can also have abilities to increase your chances in tough situations. Whether it be a fight or some type of event, you can gain points in certain aspects of your character. Things like Agility, Charm, Strength and Mind can be upgraded by spending points in the menu to unlock further feats. These additional power ups may just save your life.


Gaining a Reputation

You won't get anywhere if you don't make a name for yourself. Your rep means everything if you wanna move forward in this thunder dome. Doing odd quests around your cell block will earn you some street cred... or would it be prison cred, either way you gotta do favors in order to get your name out there. Sometimes those favors are spying on other gang meetings or selling someone out. There is no reward without consequences, your actions could get you into hot water with the wrong group of people if you're not careful. But hey, at least you won't be “That Person who got Beat up in Prison After Being Wrongly Convicted---” oh wait...

Concluding on Curfew

Oh, man, who would have thought that living a life behind bars was going to be challenging. Back to the Dawn did an amazing job at keeping me engaged and on my toes. The fact that I need to concentrate on keeping my mind and body in good health, while juggling my main quests is difficult, yet rewarding. I've always been a fan of pixel graphic worlds and this game shows its charm by revealing what one can do with a classic-to-modern twist. If you're looking for something with a good pace to fantasy simulation, strategy and puzzle solving then this animal kingdom prison sentence might be right up your alley. I'm pleased to give this game a 8.5 out of 10.

 

[Gets thrown into a cell]


“HEY! Haven't you seen me? I'm not even furry!” 


[Pulls back sleeve to reveal skin]


“Ma'am, we have you listed as a naked mole rat...” Slams his ball pointed pen on his clipboard to show that he's done with my bullshit.


[I turn to look at my cellmate and point to my very obvious hair on my head]



Score: 8.5 / 10
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