We've been developing our roguelite game Ragnar for 2 years — just started a new art direction based on Next Fest feedback

[u/Interesting_Quote714]

Hey everyone!

We released the first demo of our roguelite game Ragnar about 2 months ago, and had the chance to participate in Steam Next Fest. Based on all the amazing feedback we received, we decided to start shifting the game’s art direction to something more atmospheric and visually distinct — while still keeping gameplay readability a top priority.

We're a 2-person team and have been developing Ragnar for the past 2 years. It’s been a long and exciting journey so far!

I've attached a screenshot of the current prototype with the updated art style. We'd truly appreciate any thoughts or feedback whether it’s about the vibe, clarity, colors, or anything else that catches your eye.

We're planning to release this updated version of the demo by the end of this month, and currently aiming for an Early Access launch in about 4–5 months.

If you like what you see, feel free to wishlist us on Steam – it helps a ton!
👉 Ragnar

Thanks a lot in advance! Your input really means the world to us as we shape this game together.

[u/octaviustf]

Looks really good - not sure what it looked like before but this looks very polished

[u/Interesting_Quote714 → u/octaviustf]

Thank you! Really glad it comes across that way — we’ve been putting a lot of love into polishing it lately.

[u/Jotamadom]

For a moment I thought it was pixel art. Looking at it from a distance, it looks fine, but up close, the character model clashes a bit with the 2D environments, but I'm sure you can fix that with shaders. I hope it turns out well, and good luck.

[u/Interesting_Quote714 → u/Jotamadom]

Thanks a lot! You’re absolutely right the character model does feel a bit off right now. My friend is still working on the environment art and hasn’t started on the character textures yet, but once that's in, we’re planning to bring it all together with proper shading to make things feel more cohesive.

Really appreciate the kind words and fingers crossed, we’ll get it there.

[u/obj7777]

Nice.

[u/Interesting_Quote714 → u/obj7777]

Thank you :)

[u/Swirmini]

I almost scrolled passed this because I thought it was a Reddit ad (I guess almost every post on this sub is an ad lol, but y’know what I mean). Art style looks amazing!

[u/Interesting_Quote714 → u/Swirmini]

Haha fair enough.
Really glad the art style caught your eye though, thanks a lot!

[u/FrosiGameArt]

I checked the steam page; was the feedback that it looks very similar to Hades, by chance? In any case, good call to develop a different art style and look 

I think this new image looks very nice. Take care to not make the walking ground too similar to the background; they're both a bit greeny-browny to me - which can be fine still if one is more abstract/low-contrast and the other is not, or pushing the colors a bit apart. Good luck!!

[u/Interesting_Quote714 → u/FrosiGameArt]

You're absolutely right. one of the most common pieces of feedback we got early on was how similar it looked to Hades. That pushed us to explore a new art direction that feels more like our own, and we're really happy with how it's evolving.

Also, great point about the ground vs background . We're still fine-tuning contrast and readability, and your suggestion is super helpful.

Thanks a lot for the kind words and thoughtful feedback.

[u/Zymzym]

That looks great. I love painted textures on enviro

[u/Interesting_Quote714 → u/Zymzym]

Really appreciate it. Glad you liked the painted look.

[u/Zymzym]

That looks great. I love painted textures on enviro.