Couchpotato spotted a new demo of Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch for the Turn-based RPG Fest:

Improving Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch

Hello,

This is Jin Sang Kim, the creative director of Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch. I am very excited to present a demo of our game just in time for the Turn-based RPG Fest, as we get ready to launch into Early Access.

After showcasing a prototype of the game at PAX West last September we conducted two internal company-wide tests, a Friends and Family test, first official closed beta test in July, and a demo just last August. With each test we ran a survey and gathered valuable feedback from the testers, and implemented various improvements, ranging from quality-of-life updates to significant changes in game balance, music, and art style. All based on the feedback.

The feedback from everyone has been incredibly helpful in refining and improving the game, and we’ve worked to reflect as much of your thoughts as possible for this demo, now open to turn-based RPG fans.

Let me briefly explain the history of our development, the improvements we made for this demo, and the ongoing work that has yet to be implemented.

[...]

The Gamer checked out Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch:

I Love Lost Eidolons: Veil Of The Witch So Much That I Can Get Over It Being A Roguelite

I knew nothing about Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch going into my Gamescom preview last month, but after just 30 minutes, I was hooked. Through its tactical combat and focus on party building, this Fire Emblem-esque RPG felt so warmly familiar, it was like coming home. Yet as I played more, it became clear that it could stand on its own two feet.

Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch starts with a pretty cliched premise, as you find out you’re an amnesiac who’s washed ashore on an unknown island. You make some pretty basic character creator choices - choosing to play as a man or woman, and having some say in how they look - before you’re thrust into a battle you know little about.

On the face of it, the combat is derivative of other tactical RPGs - again, Fire Emblem - but that’s only at a foundational level. From here, it builds its own classes and abilities, and just minutes into my first battle, the similarities became easy to ignore.

[...]

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Couchpotato spotted a gameplay trailer for Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch:

Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch Gameplay Trailer - Future Games Show Gamescom 2024

The Turn Based Lovers checked out Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch:

Tactics RPG Lost Eidolons: Veil Of The Witch Hands-On

We tried the closed beta Of the rogue-lite Spinoff of the saga, and that’s what we found.

Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch is a turn-based tactical grid-based RPG from Ocean Drive Studio, the developers behind the acclaimed Lost Eidolons. The Veil of the Witch is a rogue-lite in which your character is stranded on a mysterious island. Memories are lost, and the only way to survive is to fight. Throughout your journey, you will have to recruit allies, undertake quests, and battle to reclaim all that you’ve lost, no matter how many times it takes.

The closed beta featured the full first act and portions of the second act. This allowed us to get a feel for the game’s mechanics and combat systems and also gave us a taste of boss fights.

Story
The story begins with the player’s character waking up on a beach on a remote island that has been taken over by the undead. With your memories lost, the only one to guide you is a mysterious witch who might not have the best intentions. The player is left with no choice but to be her champion, trying to piece together the memories after each death and the life you once had.

As you journey through the island, you will begin to meet different companions who are each fighting something within themselves. Each character can develop and tell you their story.

Not everything is as it seems, though. The closed beta did not unveil many secrets, but throughout the story and combat events, you will face off against other humans who have control over the undead. This subtle notion leaves the player to question not only the witch’s endeavors but also the islands.

The dialogue is not great and closer to being childish at times. During profound moments, the main character might say something that is not from this fantasy land but from a real-world perspective, basically a teen’s response to fighting the undead and their masters.

[...]

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Couchpotato spotted the Highlight Video of the Closed Beta:

Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch - Highlight Video of the Closed Beta

The closed beta for Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch has started:

Veil of the Witch Closed Beta Now OPEN

Welcome, Tacticians, to Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch Closed Beta!

We have sent out invites to the first group of players who signed up to participate in our beta.
The signup will remain open during the beta, and we will add more testers on a rolling basis so don’t fret if you do not yet have access.

The test schedule is as follows:
PDT: From 2 PM, July 26 to 2 PM, August 1
EDT: From 5 PM, July 26 to 5 PM, August 1
CEST: From 11 PM, July 26 to 11 PM, August 1
KST: From 6 AM, July 27 to 6 AM, August 2

If you have already signed up, you should be able to install and play our Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch Playtest app.

[...]

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Mortismal Gaming checked out Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch:

Check Out - Lost Eidolons: Veil Of The Witch

The Closed Beta for Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch starts on July 26:

Closed Beta Coming Soon

Tacticians,

It's finally happening! Closed beta testing for Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch is from July 26 to Aug 1, and we couldn’t be more excited to share this with you.

We’re seeking player feedback to assess the game’s fun factor and gauge your enjoyment of its direction. This is a closed beta, so please note that you will be asked to agree to our Non-disclosure agreement (NDA) if you are selected to participate, prohibiting streaming or discussing the game outside of our surveys and our Discord channel.

How to sign up:

1. Go to Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch page
2. Click on the green “Request Access” button.

Thank you for your interest, and we can't wait to hear your thoughts!
Follow any social sites below or wishlist on Steam to be notified of more updates.

- ODS Team

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Some changes are planned for Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch:

Upcoming Changes Coming to Veil of the Witch

Dear Tacticians,

In the most recent Veil of the Witch stream, we shared some of the changes we made since our first build and even some information on what we plan to change in the upcoming months.

If you happened to miss it, here’s a highlight of the stream! You’ll watch ODS Kangaroo try to get through an expedition as she shares some of the changes made to the game, including UI changes.

Stay tuned to the end of the video where future plans are discussed. Make sure you don’t miss out on that!

[...]

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RPG Site checked out Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch:

PAX East 2024 - Lost Eidolons: Veil of The Witch delivers more of the best parts from the original

Back in September 2022, I stumbled on a strategy RPG at PAX West that was such a pleasant surprise that I instantly became a fan - that game was Lost Eidolons from Ocean Drive Studio. Now, almost two years later, and with Lost Eidolons having released (you can check out my review), I knew I had to check out the new spinoff game, Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch, while I was in Boston for PAX East. 

Veil of the Witch returns players to the land of Benerio, picking up after the events of the original Lost Eidolons. Veil of the Witch opts for a different structural approach, which, according to the developers, "highlights and focuses on the parts that players seem to have liked the most" from the original title - its tactical combat. Whereas Lost Edilon saw your time split between its tactical combat and running around exploring (akin to something like Dragon Age), Veil of The Witch shifts all of its focus to the combat side of the equation.

Combat will instantly feel familiar to everyone who played Lost Eidolons - a wonderful blend of challenge and rich strategy that requires you to utilize the mechanics efficiently. As far as I could tell (in an hour or so I've played), every system from the original release returns, including the environmental interactions, characters carrying two weapon types, and the weak point + combo mechanic - my personal favorite of Lost Eidolon's offerings.

Horrific beasts and other monstrosities once again feature weapon-specific weak points that can be broken, allowing for ever-increasing damaging combos that turn these fearsome adversaries into toothless pups. Successfully using my party's skills to pull off those combos remains a great little serotonin hit - just as in the original.  

Veil of The Witch has adopted a roguelike system where you will form a party from a pool of characters to embark on a multi-act quest with branching paths to choose from - each with different challenges and rewards - testing you along the way. As you progress down the paths through Veil of the Witch's Acts, you must ensure your party is up to the task ahead of them. To survive to the end and grasp victory, as you tackle various tactical encounters, your characters will gain levels with certain levels rewarding you with a selection of new abilities or benefits to pick from - with various rarities of each.

[...]

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Ocean Drive Studio joined the PAX East this year:

Expedition Complete: PAX East 2024

Tacticians,

Our team trekked over to Boston once again to join PAX East and show off more of Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch. This time, we shared with you all a glimpse of what the closed beta would look like.

We were so elated to see so many of you stop by our booth, whether you were Lost Eidolons fans or just attracted by the key art. Some of you were tactician geniuses, while others were trying a turn-based tactics game for the first time. Either way, we are always amazed at the diversity of players PAX brings together.

Our Creative Director, Jinsang, flew in all the way from South Korea to meet you guys in person and talk about his vision for the new spin-off. We were so happy to see old and new faces throughout the four days of PAX.

Of course we brought some sweet swag with us to share with you all: a foam sword for all you battle monsters and a tote bag to hold all your other PAX goodies. We even had some of you look specifically for our booth, because you wanted a foam sword! Oh how word of mouth works wonders.

Not only did we demo off Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch, but also showed off Blackout Protocol and Dropkick Navvy. We even had some of you demo all three games!

PAX is always such an eye-opening experience, getting to meet our players in person and talk to you all face-to-face. We can't wait until the next in-person event. But until then, we'll keep you all updated on what we have planned for Veil of the Witch, so make sure to follow our Steam page, as well as the studio on social media!

Also, make sure to sign up for the beta so that you will be notified when it's available to test out! We would really love to hear your feedback regarding the game.

Thanks Couchpotato!

You can sign up for a closed beta via the Steam page - the beta will include the first of the three acts:

Sign Up for Closed Beta

Tacticians,

The battle against the mysterious evil befalling the island of Anareios inches closer.
Sign up now for Closed Beta and be among the first to brave the winding road riddled with the Fallen and the choices you must make to survive.

How to sign up:
1. Go to Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch page
2. Click on the green “Request Access” button.

Closed Beta schedule is coming soon, follow or wishlist on Steam or any of the social sites below to be notified when the announcement is made.

- ODS Team

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Farflame spotted a new dev-log for Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch:

Dev Log #7: Between Battles

Hello, Tacticians! This is Minyoung Lee AKA Mocha, one of the developers on the Lost Eidolons team. As I mentioned in my last post, today I’d like talk about overall game flow in Veil of the Witch, and what you’ll be doing between battles.

When we first started developing Lost Eidolons, we gave a lot of thought to what kind of space the player might return to between battles. Initially, we envisioned a world akin to Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales or Battle Chasers: Nightwar, where players could explore a vast map, encountering various allies, foes, and events.

However, once our structure solidified into a story-driven game with a linear plot, we realized that integrating that kind of free exploration into the narrative was a lot more challenging than we’d imagined. Even if it were feasible, it would demand an exorbitant amount of time and resources, blowing up our budget and release schedule.

Subsequently, our attention turned to approaches like Monster Hunter: World's Astera or Fire Emblem: Three Houses' Garreg Mach Monastery, where players engage in conversations with companions, progress quests, and embark on battles from a fixed location. This naturally evolved into the camp system that shipped in the final version of Lost Eidolons.

[...]

Jin Sang Kim, Creative Director of Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch answers some questions:

Dev Log: If At First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again

Hello Tacticians,

This is Jin Sang Kim, Creative Director of Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch. Today I’d like to answer some common questions about the game, specifically relating to character customization, game structure, and language support.

Character Customization
One unfortunate drawback of how the first Lost Eidolons approached its story was the inability to customize the protagonist, Eden.

While Veil of the Witch won’t offer full character customization, I can confirm players will be able to choose between male and female character models, as well as lighter or darker skin-tones.

Looking ahead to the franchise’s future, I can say that full character customization is a major wish-list item for us, on future projects in the series.

Game Structure
In Lost Eidolons, chapters followed a simple pattern: pre-battle cutscenes, battle, post-battle cutscenes, camp section, repeat. Veil of the Witch makes significant changes to that basic play-loop, bringing in elements of the roguelite genre.

In Veil of the Witch, the player embarks on expeditions from their Base Camp, and undertakes heavily randomized battles and events, punctuated by repeatable story-driven bossfights.

When they’re defeated in battle, the player is returned to their Base Camp, where they can undertake a variety of activities, including promoting characters’ classes, engaging in dialogue between party members, exploring unlockable story content, and unlocking new upgrades at the Altar of Fire.

In terms of character growth, players can expect a mix of temporary and persistent elements. During expeditions, players will come across various items, skills, etc that improve their party’s abilities and stats. When they die, these single-run upgrades are lost. However, they’ll also be gathering various currencies they can spend in camp to unlock persistent upgrades, steadily improving their party’s strength over time.

We look forward to players getting to try out these systems for themselves during Early Access.

Language Support
In terms of language support, we’ve seen various questions and requests for specific languages, so I’d like to clarify where our plans stand at the moment.

During Early Access, we plan to focus on English and Korean. Other languages will be added once the game is a little closer to release, as we believe that’s more efficient and leads to higher-quality localization.

With regards to which specific languages we plan to support, that question is unfortunately still up in the air. Players can expect more information on that at some point down the road, during Early Access.

Jin Sang Kim, Creative Director

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Combat will be faster in Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch:

The Fast-Paced Combat in Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch

When we started designing the gameplay experience for Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch, one of the very first things we knew we wanted was a faster pace to combat. If you play Lost Eidolons on harder difficulties or with permadeath on , some battles can take almost an hour. To create a turn-based SRPG with a lot of replayability, while providing a new experience each time, I felt shorter battles must be treated as a core pillar.

Today we’ll be taking a look at several new ways we’re speeding things up in Veil of the Witch, including:

1. Reducing the party size.
2. Shortening the prep time between battles.
3. Shortening combat animations.
4. Scaling down the size of combat maps.

Reducing the Party Size
Lost Eidolons has a massive cast of party members to choose from: you can recruit 25+ characters, and deploy up to 10 of them at a time (or 20, if you include those you set as Aides). That offers its own sort of fun, but comes at a cost: it tends to make battles quite time-consuming.
So for Veil of the Witch, we wanted to try something different. Initially, we set out with the idea of a party size ranging between 3 and 6 characters. Eventually, we settled on 5.

[...]

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Couchpotato spotted a new devlog from Ocean Drive Studio, Inc.:

How Veil of the Witch Came to Be

Hello everyone!

In this dev log, I’d like to discuss the story behind how Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch came to be.

(Please note, this post will contain some spoilers for the first game.)

Fans of Lost Eidolons may recall a mission about halfway through the game. Eden and his friends are nearing the end of their fight against the Empire, and attack the capital city, Leroyaure. But when they arrive, they’re attacked by a strange undead knight, Gustave, under the command of the Prime Minister, Maurin – who later reveals to Eden that the Emperor is deathly ill, and secretly searching for a way to achieve immortality. But we don’t really come back to that in the first game, and there’s a reason why.

Before we began development of the first game, we put together a pretty ambitious history of the entire continent where the story takes place. This included everything from ancient lore, to what’s happening around the time of the game, to what might happen in the future, with lots of little plot-hooks for other games to explore.

One of those stories was about the Emperor’s true fate, and a secret research facility on an island off the coast.

While development on Lost Eidolons was going on, we actually had another project set in the same world. Internally, we called it Project UR: a crafting/survival game set on a zombie-infested island, which would pick up where some of these threads in Lost Eidolons left off.

Project UR was ultimately canceled to focus our resources on the main game, but the concept for the setting stuck around, as did a lot of big questions about the world that we knew we wanted to explore in some way. Questions like: What happened to the Emperor? What’s going on with all the zombie stuff? And even more broadly, what exactly are the Eidolons, and how are they shaping the fate of this world?

[...]

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Couchpotato spotted a Lost Eidolons spin-off called Veil of the Witch:

Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch - Official Reveal Trailer

Hello everyone!

It's been a while since our last major Lost Eidolons update, when we added New Game+ mode to the PC edition.

Since the game's release, we've spent a lot of time collecting feedback and having internal discussions about the game's future. As promised, we delivered LE on Xbox and Playstation this month, with the help of our porting partner, PID Games.

Now it's time to decide where the world of Artemesia goes next.
There were a lot of paths available to us in making this decision. Should we do DLC? Big or small? Or should we just jump straight into Lost Eidolons 2?

In the end, we've decided to take a different path, and try something a bit unexpected.

Today I'm happy to share what we've been working on: an exciting new spin-off game, titled
"LOST EIDOLONS: VEIL OF THE WITCH"!

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