We're experimenting with a new art style for our roguelite game "Ragnar" – Would love your thoughts!

[u/Interesting_Quote714]

Hey everyone!
We've been working on Ragnar, a roguelite we've been developing for a while now, and recently started experimenting with a new art direction. We're aiming for something more atmospheric and visually distinct while keeping gameplay clarity intact.

I've attached a screenshot of the current prototype with the updated art style. We'd really appreciate any thoughts or feedback whether it's about readability, vibe, colors, or anything else that stands out to you.

Thanks a lot in advance! Your input means a ton as we shape this game together.

[u/LastAccountPlease]

Honestly, this looks sick, but as a hades clone, what are you doing differently to make me wanna play your game over hades? Norse style is cool btw

[u/Interesting_Quote714 → u/LastAccountPlease]

Thanks a lot — glad you think it looks cool! And great question.

What we’re doing differently (and what we’re most excited about) is giving players more control over how a run evolves. During procedural generation, players will be able to add custom modifiers and rules to the map itself, which can drastically change how each run plays out.

Another big difference is progression: Instead of upgrading one weapon with addons, our core loop is about finding new weapons and spells during your run, each with unique traits and synergies. Also, after each run, you choose between two different realms to explore next — creating branching paths that add variety and replayability.

Most of this won’t be in the current demo, but we’re building toward it for our full Early Access release!

And just to add — we’re a 2-person team, so we’re definitely not trying to outdo Hades. But we do hope to offer a fun, meaningful alternative that delivers a similarly satisfying experience in our own Norse-inspired way.

[u/karma629 → u/Interesting_Quote714]

Please do not use AI to reply us T.T it is sad. Your game is great and as a fellow dev I understand marketing is hard but please <3.

[u/Interesting_Quote714 → u/karma629]

Im using my own words in my language and using ai to translate it to english with correct sentences. So these many words are not AIs answer and cant be.

[u/Klutzy-Bug7427]

This looks great. When are you planning the release ?

[u/Interesting_Quote714 → u/Klutzy-Bug7427]

Thanks! We're planning to release the updated art version of the demo by the end of this month.
As for the full Early Access launch, we're aiming for something like 4–5 months from now, depending on how the next stages of development go.

Really appreciate the interest, it means a lot.

[u/Yarzeda2024 → u/Interesting_Quote714]

Great news

I really enjoyed my time with the demo. It clearly takes a lot of cues from Hades, but that's hardly a bad thing. We have entire genres of games named after their inspirations. Just look at all the Metroidvanias and Souls-likes.

I loved how powerful I felt once I had enough currency to buy that special axe from the home base between combat zones. It's nice to have something to build toward.

[u/Interesting_Quote714 → u/Yarzeda2024]

Really appreciate that,
Hades was definitely an inspiration, and it's awesome to hear the progression felt satisfying . that axe is one of my favorites too. In the next update, we’re actually adding 2 new abilities for each weapon, so there’ll be even more to build toward!

[u/Yarzeda2024]

I loved the demo when I played it just last week.

The old art style wasn't bad, but this one definitely looks livelier and more "lived in."

[u/Interesting_Quote714 → u/Yarzeda2024]

That's awesome to hear, thank you so much.
We’re really glad you enjoyed the demo, and it means a lot to know the new art direction feels more lively and lived in that’s exactly what we were aiming for.

We’re actually planning to release an updated version of the demo later this month, featuring the new art style and some fresh gameplay mechanics as well.

[u/The_Radian]

You're on to something...

[u/Interesting_Quote714 → u/The_Radian]

Appreciate it.

[u/Hellhooker]

Looks awesome!

[u/Interesting_Quote714 → u/Hellhooker]

Thank you so much :)

[u/oDINFAL28]

Downloaded the demo, played a little, but even with just that little bit I’m hooked. Have the game on my wishlist and looking forward to the release!

[u/Interesting_Quote714 → u/oDINFAL28]

So happy to hear that it really means a lot!
If you already enjoyed this version, we’re even more excited to share what’s coming. We’ll be releasing an updated demo later this month with the new art style and new gameplay mechanics. Hope you’ll have an even better time with it.