Developer Games Farm has purchased the rights to Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms and plan Book Two of the series and improvements for Book One:

Commenting on the deal, Peter Nagy CEO of Games Farm said, “It was our intention from the beginning to bring only the best gaming experience to players. However, after our long-term partner bitComposer Entertainment AG filed for insolvency in late 2014, the future of our games was in severe jeopardy. However, the acquisition of the publishing and distribution rights now gives us the freedom to develop and enhance our games and ensures them a bright future, something which our fans deserve.”

Lead Programmer, Jan Turan added, “We are now committed to ensuring that the promises made to players are kept and that Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms will receive major updates and extensions in 2015 and 2016.

Games Farm are working on exciting major improvements to the existing Book 1 and the game world as a whole, further details for which will be revealed over the coming weeks and months. However, the first additional content for fans of the game is the new extended official soundtrack for Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms, written and composed by Dynamedion, which contains six brand new and additional tracks to the existing 21, and is available on Steam now.

To thank the community for their ongoing patience and continuing support, Games Farm has decided to release all existing DLC content (originally available exclusively in the Deluxe Edition featuring three quests - The Tholean Tablet, The Owl Amulet, and The Scorpion King) to all players of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms. Those who have purchased the Deluxe Edition will receive a prequel to Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms entitled Kult: Heretic Kingdoms (originally Heretic Kingdoms: The Inquisition in US)’.

Furthermore, as a token of gratitude to all Early Access players and the players who have bought Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms to date, Games Farm will give free access to ‘Kult: Heretic Kingdoms’ along with the original soundtrack from Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms, thus enhancing all existing copies to the Deluxe Edition.

As the Games Farm celebrate the acquisition of the rights to Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms, a 50% discount is offered to their entire gaming catalogue, including the games from the ‘Air Conflicts’ series for a limited period of time. The Standard Edition of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms is available on Steam and GOG for $9.99 / €9.99, the Deluxe Edition is available on Steam for $13.49 / €13.49. Do not miss this limited time opportunity!

Well after finding no more news about the release of the Book II of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms I found some new information on Steam , and it's not good news.

Just in-case everyone forgot their publisher bitComposer Games had financial trouble,and forced the developer to halt development because of the insolvency proceedings.

To be more correct, they are undergoing insolvency proceedings; one of the results is that they may end up in bankruptcy, or they may exist further; we unfortunately don't know how the situation is going to turn out in the end.

So as of now its permanently delayed, and might not be released.

BitComposer & Games Farm sent out information you can now buy the Digital Deluxe Edition of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms. As usual here is the full press release.

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms Digital Deluxe Edition

The edition contains the game along with the soundtrack and DLC

Eschborn, January 15th, 2015: Today, bitComposer and Games Farm release the Digital Deluxe Edition of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms on Steam. The digital special edition contains the game along with the soundtrack and additional game content in the form of a DLC with three additional quests (The Tholean Tablet, The Owl Amulet, The Scorpion King). The Digital Deluxe Edition of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms is available now at a price of $34.99 on Steam. Of course, the basic version is also still available in stores and on Steam for $29.99.

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms is the next chapter in the Heretic Kingdoms saga and takes place 20 years after the events of Kult: Heretic Kingdoms. It’s an epic adventure with challenging gameplay, a gripping storyline and enchanting graphics. In this isometric action RPG, the player takes on the role of the Devourer, a demon that swallows the souls of the dead and then brings them back into the mortal realm as his puppets. It's up to him to either thwart a major threat and save the world, or to plunge it into complete disaster…

Key Features of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms

      Switch between the shadow world and the human world
      Extensive freedom of choice, affecting the course of the game
      Dynamic day-night cycle and detailed location designs
      Gripping storyline in a world full of myths, destinies and legendary creatures
      Unique party system

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms is on Steam for Windows PCs at a price of €29.99.

More information at www.shadows-game.com, or directly from the Steam Shop page at:  http://store.steampowered.com/app/256030/

Softpedia gave Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms a 7/10 in a new review this week.

The first chapter of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms is pretty solid, offering a great mix of narrative and combat, but the following ones seem to favor combat over substance, which is a bit of a disappointment.

The combat system has a lot of potential, what with the synergies between all the characters you can switch on the fly and the ability to teleport to an alternate dimension, but unfortunately, at the mechanical level, the controls simply don't feel fluid enough.

For the most part, combat feels very static, you're healing and whittling down enemy health bars while standing in place, and the many skills at your disposal don't seem very balanced.

This, together with the many areas that feel simply incomplete, mars the overall experience, taking it down considerably. The fact that it's not very long to begin with further drives down its value.

Here are a few more reviews for Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms from  the last two months. I have to say I'm disappointed in the game, but the game still has potential.

Book two will be released next year for those still interested.

Digital Chumps - 9/10

Heretic Kingdoms is an interesting universe, and the multi-layered story approach in Shadows is very good. The ability to switch between the Shadow and Mortal realms instantly is one of the earliest features introduced and it stays intersting and useful from then on. The blending or overlap of these two realms adds a lot to the gameplay. Exploration, combat, and managing your party is engaging and offers the right mix of exploration and combat.

The Reticule -  No Score

At first I wasn’t sure about Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms slower pace but found myself sinking hours into unlocking new characters and completing challenging quests just so that I could see every area of the well designed and smart looking levels. Upon completion it now ranks among the top games in my steam list for play time and that’s only with part one of the game. Book two is planned for release in 2015.

NoobFeed - No Score

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms displays all that an RPG could be. The key word here is ‘could.’ The story is strong and has great depth, which is helped along by the detailed characters, who are excellently voice acted. Despite its linearity in most situations, Shadows shows the importance of story-telling in video games. The same cannot be said about the gameplay however. The awkwardness and cumbersomeness of it all makes this game a struggle to play at times, but is worth enduring if you are enjoying its story.

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms is now available on GOG, for those that would like to have it in their collection.  It's $23.99 for the first week.

More information.

Aubrielle discusses Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms, the refreshingly mature ARPG arriving next week. So lets say thank you to Aubrielle, and here is a small sample.

It's easy to be cautious on Steam.  In the inevitable "Should I Buy This" thread for Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms, I said the following:

"Remember Illusion of Gaia for SNES? Remember the mechanic that allowed you to capture and switch between heroes to accomplish different tasks? Remember its speed of gameplay and combat?

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms is an excellent spiritual descendant of that tradition.

It lacks the frenetic speed of Torchlight and the graceful combat of Grim Dawn, but it more than makes up with superior graphics, sound, and interface. The voice acting talent is incredible.

This is not a cash grab. This is a heavily inspired, from-the-heart ARPG. It's different than the games it gets compared to, but in many ways, it's far richer."

-Aubrielle"

You may have already seen that quote appear on RPGCodex (as well as a few other places), but it's what I believe.  I just wish I'd said more.

Frugal Gaming posted new preview of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms. Keep in mind the game will be officially released later this month on Steam.

My only gripe with S:HK so far is that currently, I think the combat lacks surety and solidity. Like the dice-rolling Neverwinter type RPGS you can miss an enemy standing next to you with an axe-swing which is always frustrating. Likewise, there doesn’t always appear to be accurate feedback for the player both on hitting and being hit, which detracts from the enjoyment in this combat heavy title.

I’m looking forward to seeing the final version of Shadows: Heretic Kingdom and playing through it further with different characters and seeing how the story changes. There is already a solid RPG here for the price of the entry fee which will hopefully only get better as time goes on.

BitComposer announced today the release of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms has been pushed back a week, The new release date is now November 20th.

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms – Release delayed by one week

Eschborn, November 06, 2014: As bitComposer Entertainment AG announced today, the release of the action RPG Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms will be delayed by one week until November 20th, 2014. The action RPG will be released on Steam for Windows PCs at a price of €29.99 (RRP).

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms is the next chapter in the Heretic Kingdoms saga and takes place 20 years after the events of Kult: Heretic Kingdoms. It’s an epic adventure with challenging gameplay, a gripping storyline and enchanting graphics. In this isometric action RPG, the player takes on the role of the Devourer, a demon that swallows the souls of the dead and then brings them back into the mortal realm as his puppets. It's up to him to either thwart a major threat and save the world, or to plunge it into complete disaster…

Key Features of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms

      Switch between the shadow world and the human world
      Extensive freedom of choice, affecting the course of the game
      Dynamic day-night cycle and detailed location designs
      Gripping storyline in a world full of myths, destinies and legendary creatures
      Unique party system

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms is currently in the "Early Access" phase on Steam and will be released for Windows PCs on 11/20/2014 at a price of € 29.99.
More information at www.shadows-game.com, or directly from the Steam Shop page at http://store.steampowered.com/app/256030/

BitComposer announces that Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms has received it's final update on Steam Early Access that completes the 2nd chapter, and released a new video.

Update 28 May, 2015: Video removed by request of the publisher

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms – Final Early Access update completes the 2nd chapter

Eschborn, October 30th, 2014: Today, bitComposer Games and Games Farm are releasing the final update to the Early Access version of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms. The highlight of the update is a new playable character: Sebekan Slaver. Additionally, there are new areas to explore, new enemies to battle and new quests to complete. The user interface has also been reworked and the crafting system has been expanded. Meaning that the 2^nd chapter of the action RPG can now be played in full!

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms will be released on November 13, 2014, together with the third and final chapter of Book I "Devourer of Souls".

The action RPG is available on Steam Early Access: http://store.steampowered.com/app/256030/

All the new features and changes at a glance:

      Chapter 2 is completed
      Sebekan Slaver, a new playable character
      New skills and effects
      New areas and enemies
      New quests
      Reworked user interface
      Reworked crafting system. All ingredients are now functional and useful
      Further performance and memory usage optimization
      Numerous small bug fixes and improvements

Further information is available on the official website: http://www.shadows-game.com

BitComposer announces that Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms has revived a massive patch that adds adds a new prologue and tutorial to the game. But first I have a new video.

Here is the press release with the patch infomation.

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms – Massive Update Adds Prologue and Tutorial

Eschborn -7 October, 2014 - bitComposer Games and Games Farm today are releasing an extensive update for the PC action RPG Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms, adding a prologue to the game, as well as numerous new features and improvements. Players of the Early Access version can now play through a tutorial, introducing the game's basic features, that reveals the back story.

Those familiar with Kult, the predecessor to Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms, will meet an old friend: Carissa, who is joining as a new playable character. Carissa Cantrecht is a former member of the secret society Penta Nera, and a skilled melee fighter, who finishes off enemies with her sword and shield.

The action RPG will be released on 13th November and now is available on Steam Early Access: http://store.steampowered.com/app/256030/

All new features and changes at a glance

• Introduction of prologue and tutorial  
• New playable character - Carissa Cantrecht
• New abilities and effects
• Improved, challenging combat
• Configurable controls
• Improved menus and user interface
• New recipes and a menu book for crafting added
• Enemies now respawn on most maps
• RPG system has been balanced
• Additional graphical effects
• Improved performance
• Numerous bug fixes and improvements

BitComposer announces that the first book of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms will be released on 13th November 2014 for PC, and the second book will be released later.

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms – New character, crafting and release date announcement

Eschborn, 4 September 2014 – bitComposer Games announces that the first book of the action role-playing game Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms will be released on 13th November 2014 for PC. All early access players can also enjoy new features today thanks to a major content update.

The update brings a new playable character to the world of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms: Evia, the Daughter of Fire. Evia is the last of the three primary main characters. She is the princess of a long-extinct kingdom and an extraordinarily mighty mage with the power to control the elements, which she uses as a weapon to destroy her enemies.

The crafting system is also now available, allowing players to craft their own weapons and armour, brew potions and create powerful rings. Additionally, due to feedback received during the early access phase, the developers have opened up the skill system, giving players more freedom when selecting their skills.

The new features at a glance:

• New playable character: Evia, Daughter of Fire
• Crafting system
• Improved skill system
• Many minor improvements and new options

The early access version of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms is available on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/256030/
More information at: www.shadows-game.com/en/

The website for Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms has been updated with a new character update for Urshak the Ishkai. Here are the details of the new character.

Urshak

The Ishkai are a race of small goblins, who for millennia have been oppressed and enslaved by their distant relatives, the Surakai and Sura tribes. As a consequence of the Accession Wars, the Ishkai were granted the opportunity to overthrow their oppressors. Reunited and strengthened the Ishkai now reside in their own territory north of Corwenth called the Ishkai Confederacy.

One of these Ishkai is a loner and outcast with a mysterious past whose skills and steely demeanor make him a formidable foe and a valuable ally. Using both his bow and his wits, Urshak dominates his enemies from a distance with skills far surpassing those of his fellow Ishkai.

Urshak has been dead for almost 30 years now.

Games Farm has sent us a new press release about the third Developer Diary video for Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms that was released on Youtube.

Update 28 May, 2015: video removed, by Request of Bitcomposer

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms – New developer diary gives detail about the Shadow Realm

Eschborn, 26 August 2014 – In the third installment of the developer diary series for Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms Games Farm presents the Shadow Realm . This parallel world constitutes one of the Action-RPG’s biggest features and is crucial for both story and gameplay mechanics. Players can travel to the Shadow Realm to find clues to solving puzzles or destroy demons, which keep reanimating their enemies in the human world.

The second focus of the newest developer diary is the Devourer, the protagonist of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms. The devourer is a powerful demon from the Shadow Realm, who has the unique ability to control several souls, thus giving the player a pool of characters to choose from to build his party.

The next big content update for Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms will be available on September 4th, along with the official launch date. The game is currently available on Steam Early Access http://store.steampowered.com/app/256030/

Key features of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms

·         Switch between the shadow world and human world
·         Considerable freedom of choice affects the game’s course
·         Dynamic day-and-night cycle, and highly detailed location designs
·         Gripping story set in a world of myths, destinies, and fabled creatures
·         Unique party system

Further information about Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms can be found at: http://www.shadows-game.com/en/

BitComposer & Games Farm sent a new press release with information about a huge update for the Early Access version of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms.

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms Gets the First Big Update

Eschborn, August 5, 2014 – bitComposer and Games Farm today released the first big update for the early access version of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms. Amongst other smaller fixes the update introduces Zaar, a new playable character and the Outlands, a brand new zone with several new areas. Additionally, the developers have implemented changes based on player feedback from the early access, including controller support for Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms and much more dynamic battles within the game. 

In the Outlands players face hordes of new enemies like the Nomads and the Bone Demons, as well as new and challenging quests. Players can also now customize their party and characters in the new “Devourer Lair”, where the Devourer holds his souls captive. Plus, a host of updates to the GUI, the physics system, and the drop- and loot system in addition to DirectX11 support improve the overall gaming experience.

Other Highlights of the Update include:

• New bossfights
• New equipment
• New enemies and NPCs
• Numerous bugfixes

Further information about Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms can be found at: www.shadows-game.com/de/

The game is now available on Steam Early Access: http://store.steampowered.com/app/256030/

BitComposer & Games Farm have decided to split Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms into two different episodes, and write it means more content at a reduced price.

Release of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms ensued in two steps.

More Content and reduced price.

The Early Access version of the action RPG Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms has already met with extremely positive feedback from players and the media alike. For this reason, the German publisher, bitComposer, and the developers at Games Farm have agreed to invest additional development time into this exceptional title. However, to prevent fans and supporters from having to wait for the extended edition with its new, increased scope, the game will be released in two books:

• Book I: Devourer of Souls (November 2014)
• Book II: Age of Demons (February 2015)

The two books will be sold together for the reduced price of €29.99, so all Early Access supporters and buyers of the first book will receive Book II in Spring 2015 for free. Further books to expand the Heretic Kingdoms universe are planned.

Peter Nagy, Head of Development at Games Farm:

“It was clear to us from the start that Shadows had the potential to be a great game. But at the beginning of development, we realized that Shadows was going to surpass even our expectations and would be the biggest and most ambitious project we’ve ever worked on to date. The hugely positive feedback from the players and the great previews of the Early Access build did the rest.

However, the increased scope of the game has also increased development requirements. We had to ask ourselves a difficult question and make a decision: How can we meet the fans expectations without taking away the features and the content that make the game so unique?

So we made the following decision: to leave Shadows as it is and at the same time meet the high expectations of our fans. We’ll split Shadows into two large segments/stories and call them ‘Books’.

To show our gratitude to the players who have supported us during the Early Access phase and who continue to support us, we have also decided to give them free access to the predecessor of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms - Kult: Heretic Kingdoms as soon as the Steam port is ready.”

The recent decision to split Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms into two Books and the afforded additional development time allow for increased scope and significantly increased playing time. Overall, the gameplay time with only single one of the three main characters exceeds estimated 20 hours. Each main character offers an own personal story which brings great replay value.

At a glance:

• Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms will be released in November 2014 for the price of €29.99, including Book I: Devourer of Souls. Players will be able to download Book II: Age of Demons for free as soon as it is available in Spring 2015.
• Anyone wanting to support the Early Access of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms now can get Books I & II at the reduced price of €27.99.
• All supporters will receive the predecessor Kult: Heretic Kingdoms as a thank-you gift from bitComposer Games and Games Farm as soon as it is available on Steam.

Further information on Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms can be found at www.shadows-game.com

Inc Gamers has a preview for this game.   A quote on the difference between this game and other ARPGs:

The early periods of the game are designed to drum into your head the concept that a level is not just a single level but actually two levels. The difference between Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms and other ARPGs is that each level can be viewed and played as both the Devourer and the Mortal hero, with the player able to switch between the two forms at the click of a key.

And a quote from the conclusion:

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms has so much potential to be a great ARPG thanks to the dual nature of the gameplay. There's no word on multiplayer right now, but we're guessing that if enough gamers join the Early Access it could be put firmly on the table. Having a co-operative game where there are actually two different versions of a level could be very interesting too. Players could hop between the two worlds together or tackle them individually at the same time as each other.

bitComposer & Games Farm released the second developer diary for Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms. Here is the new straight from the press release.

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms presents the second developer diary

Eschborn, July 24th 2014 – bitComposer and Games Farm present the second part of the developer diaries for Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms. In the first part of the video Peter Nagy, head of the studio, talks about the first chapter of the dark action RPG and introduces the main characters. Players also get some new insights into the backstory of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms.

To watch the video on YouTube, visit:  http://youtu.be/tW-nQFNitHc

The second part of the developer diary contains an interview with Chris Bateman, author of the Heretic Kingdoms universe. In the second travelogue, Tom Baker, former Doctor Who actor, presents another region from Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms: the Broken Spear Pass.

Key features of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms

• Switch between the shadow world and human world
• Considerable freedom of choice affects the game’s course
• Dynamic day-and-night cycle, and highly detailed location designs
• Gripping story set in a world of myths, destinies, and fabled creatures
• Unique party system

For more information on Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms visit www.shadows-game.com/en/ The game can be purchased on Steam Early Access: http://store.steampowered.com/app/256030/

Gamegrin posted a preview of the Early Access version of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms.

Despite the list of omissions being almost as long as the list of features, Shadows still manages to impress even in its infant build. The action is entertaining, the characters three-dimensional and the idea of multiple player characters and dual realms opens the door to a lot of exciting possibilities. All things considered, the final form of Shadows is looking pretty tantalising, and is something this writer is very much looking forward to playing.

Games Farm's posted a new update for Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms that talks about the Shadow Realm. So here is the information taken from the website.

The Shadow Realm

The space between dimensions has long been referred to by mages as ‘the Dreamworld’, since in this dimensional hinterland the dreams of the living and the souls of the dead bleed into mortal existence, bringing nightmares to those sensitive to these disturbances. Long before the death of the God of the Land and the shattering of the Godslayer sword, the Dreamworld was an ethereal place, connecting an endless number of dimensions into what the Taymurians call the Tree of Worlds. But when the Godslayer Sword was shattered, the dimensions shifted and the Dreamworld of the Heretic Kingdoms was severed from all dimensions except for the hellish Shattered Heaven.

Legions of demonic creatures from Shattered Heaven have now invaded the Dreamworld and shifted this dimension into darkness. Whereas before mages and other supernatural beings could shift between the Dreamworld and the mortal realms freely and safely, now all that remains is a dark fragment of what this dimension once was. Sages no longer dare call this a world of dreams: they call it Shadows. This shift in the dimensions has also made it far easier for demons to enter the realms of mortal souls. Whereas before, a mage would have to invoke a hell gate to summon a demon, now many demonic entities are being inexorably drawn into Shadows by the essence of the living souls that seeps out through death.

Invision Community has posted a new preview for Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms.

Shadows: Heretic Kingdom instantly falls into that oh-so-vague “action RPG” category, a net so broad it catches some of the biggest successes of the past decade (Mass Effect, Torchlight, Dragon Age) and some of the less impressive titles (Diablo III, we’re looking at you). This is a particularly difficult genre to purchase into – mainly because the gaming gold/absolute shite line runs particularly thin.

This particular developer has yet to make a real impact with the Shadows titles, a fact they acknowledge on the game’s Steam page and claim to be addressing. Bear in mind that the game is in Early Access and still a long, long way from being finished (still in pre-alpha at time of writing) so from here on out consider this all subject to change.

Is it worth buying in this early? Probably not – but Shadows has some alarmingly bright glimmers of promise and it could very well shape up to be a real contender, provided the combat improves over time and the so far capable design holds up. There’s not an awful lot to go on at this moment in time but if it keeps shaping up the way it is, we just might have a hit on our hands.

BitComposer & Games Farm posted a new press update on the official webpage for their ARPG game Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms.

Press Update

Things have been set in motion since our Early Access launch last week. Discussions have been started on the official Steam forums but also all around the web and we have just released our first patch!

Join the discussion on RockPaperShotgun or, for the German speaking fans, on gamona. Take a look at first impressions on Death by Beta and on HubPages in an amazing 5-part walkthrough by Matt Bird!

Read through the official patch notes on the Steam forum and tell us what you think. We have added support for multiple monitors, added support for higher and lower resolutions as well as a new crash-report system. Along with additional video options, we have implemented bugfixes and general improvements.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun's Alec Meer took a look at the Early Access version of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms, and like the other previews he found a few faults.

I’m still skipping through bland dialogue and griping at uninspired and drawn out back’n'forth’n'kill ten spiders quests, but I’m broadly enjoying myself, and for non-Baker-related reasons. As well as the novel and offbeat party system, Shadows is well presented, if a bit hackneyed in its visual themes, and while the Early Access version is crash-prone and only a fragment of the full thing, it seems pretty solid. What I ultimately want from it is to be agonising over which puppets to recruit and which to deploy in given situations. I also want Tom Baker to voice every single line of dialogue in the game, presuming that doing so wouldn’t make him want to kill himself.

VGU has posted a new preview of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms. The site is not impressed with the early access version due to bugs, and technical problems.

You have those rare moments in gaming where you instantly know how the rest of the game will go. Whether it’s the joy you feel on jumping out of the warp pipe into Peach’s Castle Grounds, or the suspense of infiltrating Shadow Moses Island, you know that the game you are about to play will be good. But when the game crashes if you try to run it in full screen mode and then does not let you change your resolution, you know you are in for something awful. These were my opening moments to Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms, as I tried to get the damn thing to work on my laptop.

There is no reason to buy Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms at the moment. It lags like hell, it refuses to work on a dual screen set up when I tried, the action is derivative, and it is just not that good. If you want an ARPG, play Path of Exile, which is free, or Diablo 3, which you can get for cheaper and is light years ahead of this game. Early Access is NOT an excuse for this. If the developers can get their act together, add essential features and lower the price, it maybe worth a look if you are in desperate need of an ARPG. Otherwise, steer clear.

BitComposer and Games Farm announced in a new press release that you can now buy, and play Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms on Steam Early Access.

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms now in Steam Early Access

Eschborn, 13 June 2014 – bitComposer and Games Farm announced today that action RPG Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms is now available in Steam Early Access. For the first week of Early Access, players have an additional discount off of the Early Access price of 27.99€ / 27.99$ / 22.99£, providing altogether a more than 30% discount off the normal retail price of 39.99€ / 39.99$ / 34.99£. Following the first week sale, Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms will be available for 27.99€ / 27.99$ / 22.99£ throughout Steam Early Access: http://store.steampowered.com/app/256030/

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms in Early Access offers the entire first chapter featuring hours of entertainment with more than 10 different maps and locations, two different playable main characters and the first boss fights. Throughout the course of the Early Access phase, more features like voiced dialogues and a crafting system will be added, as well as new quests, items and new playable characters.

Check out the second part of the interview with Peter Nagy, Head of Development, and Peter Hornak, Head of Script, for further background details about Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms.

Key features of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms

• Two parallel worlds – the spiritual Shadow Realm and the material Mortal Realm – offer an exciting gameplay experience with innovative storytelling.
• A selection of main characters offers different experiences, storylines, quests and overall direction.
• Every choice must be considered, as Karma plays an important role in the game.
• A deep storyline features a world emblazoned with ancient legends, heroic tales and dark corrupted societies.
• The unique personalities of the main characters test strategic planning and reaction time when challenging hordes of relentless enemies.
• The everlasting conflict between conquered souls and master continues, as the souls of mortal enemies and lovers can be consumed by The Devourer and come back to offer opinions, advice, or sometimes argue with each other.

 The action RPG Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms will be released for PC in the fourth quarter of 2014. Available on Steam, Greenmangaming, Uplay and Gamersgate.

BitComposer and Games Farm sent news they have started a new Developer Diary for their upcoming ARPG game Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms.

BitComposer and Games Farm announced in a press release that Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms will be released on Steam Early Access for beta testing on June 13th.

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms Launches Soon on Steam Early Access

Eschborn May 26th, 2014 – BitComposer and Games Farm today announced that action-RPG Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms will launch on Steam Early Access on June 13th. Offering many hours of gameplay with over 10 different maps, gamers can experience the whole first chapter of the game, including the first bossfights, as one of the game’s main protagonists. More features, such as voiced dialogues and a crafting system will be added throughout the course of Early Access.

A teaser trailer for Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms is available on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0LcYmD1JK4

Game Features

• Switching seamlessly between the shadow world and the human world provides depth in the storyline and gameplay
• Freedom of choice allows players to dictate the course of the game
• Dynamic day and night cycles in elaborately designed locations
• Gripping story in a world filled with myths, fates and legendary creatures
• Unique party system puts players’ strategic thinking abilities and reaction times to the test

BitComposer sent out a new press release with news the actor who played Dr. Who Tom Baker will be voicing a major NPC in Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms.

'Doctor Who' actor, Tom Baker, Lends Voice to Major Character in Recent Role-Play Convention Award Recipient, 'Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms'

Eschborn, 12th May 2014 - He is back! Tom Baker, who already gave us goosebumps as the narrator in Kult: Heretic Kingdoms, will take on a new role in Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms. This time he will use his distinctive voice to bring life to one of the main charactes in the game: „Krenze“ - The renegade High Sage of Penta Nera.

Longtime Dr. Who fans know Baker as the fourth Doctor, whom he played for seven years, and who has recently returned in a line of audio books by Big Finish. Baker has also starred in a number of films and television shows, including the film version of Dungeons & Dragons.

"I'm overjoyed that Tom is returning to participate in the new Heretic Kingdoms game!” said Chris Bateman, lead writer and co-creator of the franchise. “The recording sessions for Kult were amazing, and Tom took on the role of narrator and knocked it out of the park. I can't wait to hear his take on this new role, which is integral to the story of the new game."

Additonally Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms has received the award as “Most Promising Product” by the RPC in Cologne, the biggest European Role-Play-Convention. The Jury said: “The isometric Action-RPG Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms looks a little like other titles from the genre. But this title by the Slovakian studio Games Farm will offer more complexity due to its party-system and will feature a deep, complex story.”

Further information on Shadows: Heretic Kngdoms can be found on the official Website: www.shadows-game.com

BitComposer sent a press release for Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms with information on a character called Mage Evia. Here are the details straight from the press release.

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms: Behind-the-scenes peek shows new playable characters – Mage Evia

Eschborn, 08 April 2014 – bitComposer give players a behind-the-scenes look at the development of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms and show the creation of a new playable character: Mage Evia.

Evia is the daughter of the last God-Empress of the Garulian Empire. As a mage, she is a skilled long-distance fighter and a master of numerous fire spells. Detailed information about Evia, as well as two further characters, can already be found in the Characters section of the official website:
http://www.shadows-game.com/en/characters.php.

Information about further playable characters is coming soon. Follow the status of new playable characters, new environments, new features and new developments in the production of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms by visiting the developer blog: http://www.shadows-game.com/en/blog/BlogCharacterDesign-2014-04-08.php

Additionally, bitComposer has announced today that a Developer Diary series for Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms is in the works, with the first episode due out later this month. The series focuses on interesting facts about the different areas and creatures in the mythical world of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms, and this first episode introduces the development team and offers an in-depth look at the “Outlands”. Developer Diaries will be regularly launched and can be found at the official site: http://www.shadows-game.com/en/

Games Farm has a new update for Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms on the games website for a new compaion called Jasker who is also called "The Wild Boar" in the game.

Jasker

Jasker was known as „The Wild Boar“. He was the most famous son of the House of the Boar, as he fought in the Second Rebellion that overthrew the Theocrat. Despite intense pressure from his relatives, Jasker never accepted leadership of his house. He sought distance to the respectable legacy of his family and his estranged wife, Falon, and eventually departed from the city of Kyallisar.

Jasker was hiding from the world for many years after the rebellion. He only returned to join Darius, the Lion of Corwenth, in the Accession Wars. Corwenth‘s victory was tempered by the discovery of Jasker‘s death and the ominous circumstances under which his body disappeared.

Jasker has been dead for 14 years now.

Games Farm has a new update for Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms with more information on the province of Corwenth. It's on the locations you will visit in the game.

Once a vassal state to the Garulian Empire, the province of Corwenth was to become the center of Heretic Kingdoms politics after the Great Rebellion that would lead to the fall of the Empire. Because the city of Arken, the birthplace of the legendary hero Arkor who slew the God of the Land, lies within Corwenth’s borders, the Theocrat used Corwenth as the base of his power, and this influence has survived the fall of the Theocracy. The nation is bordered to the north and east by the great mountain range known as the Sundered Shield that since time immemorial served as a guard against the enemies of Corwenth.

Games Farm has a new lore update for Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms with more information on the games history that deals with The Fall of Theocracy.

New Content Update: Lore

This week, we present a new part of the rich lore behind the Heretic Kingdoms saga. Learn about the events of the predecessor of Shadows and dive into the rise and fall of Theocracy.

BitComposer sent out a new press release with information about a few lucky students who will be helping to make Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms. Here are the details.

Bolton Students Learn to Slay Dragons!

Final year students on the Game Design course at the University of Bolton already learn to use cutting-edge game development tools – but now they also learn how to slay dragons.

Thanks to a special arrangement with game industry consultancy International Hobo, games developer Games Farm, and games publisher bitComposer, third year students at the University of Bolton will get six weeks of work experience working on a forthcoming computer role-playing game entitled Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms, which will be published on the hugely popular PC platform Steam later this year. Students will work directly on the project, a game of dark fantasy featuring magic, undead monsters, and devastating dragons, and will learn about industry-standard Quality Assurance procedures, iterative game design practices, and practical narrative design techniques for videogames.

University of Bolton lecturer and researcher Dr. Chris Bateman, who also founded the International Hobo consultancy, is enthusiastic about what this opportunity means for both the students and the companies involved. Chris said: “The Games courses here at Bolton already provide an excellent balance of practical and theoretical skills, geared towards the commercial videogames industry. Allowing the students to work on actual game projects not only means they graduate with published game credits – invaluable in the eyes of employers – but it ensures that the games being developed will be of a superior quality.”

Daniel Krauss of the publisher bitComposer was also excited about the benefits of the University’s work experience programme: “The British game development scene has been an inspiration to the world for its creative inventiveness and amazing game series like Tomb Raider and Grand Theft Auto, which I have been playing and enjoying ever since those franchises started. We're very pleased to have the talented game design students at University of Bolton working with us on this title.”

As promised the development blog for Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms has posted the third part of Chris Batemans post-mortem for Kult: Heretic Kingdoms.

Previously I told the story of the origin of the Heretic Kingdoms setting and of Kult: Heretic Kingdom’s hybrid design, which shared elements of both Western and Japanese RPGs. In this final part, I talk about one of the most fun parts of the production of this game: working with voice actor Tom Baker.

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms has a new Development Blog update with Chris Bateman. They have the first two parts of his post-mortem for Kult: Heretic Kingdoms.

Chris is best known for his work as lead game designer and writer on the games Discworld Noir and Ghost Master, as well as his books and blogs on game design and the aesthetics of play. He was co-creator of the Heretic Kingdoms setting, and the writer and narrative designer on the first game - a role that now continues with Shadows.

The third part of Chris' post-mortem for Kult: Heretic Kingdoms will be up tomorrow, but while you wait you can read the first two parts:

Kult Post-mortem (1): Dead Gods and No Dwarves

Kult Post-mortem (2): An RPG Between East and West

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms is the sequel to the ARPG Kult: Heretic Kingdoms. It is being developed by Games Farm, and published by bitComposer Games.

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms -The demon age has begun

Eschborn, February 27, 2014: bitComposer and Games Farm today announced Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms, a new action RPG to be released on PC in late 2014. In Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms, the mortal realm is on the brink of destruction, with humanity's only hope resting in the hands of a soul-devouring demon.
 
Following the events of hack 'n' slash RPG Kult: Heretic Kingdoms, a dark shadow has once again fallen over the world. The core element of Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms is its internally conflicted main character and the associated unique party system. Players must assume the role of the Devourer, a mighty demon who can travel back and forth between the human and shadow world, devouring the souls of his enemies. Seamlessly switching between the Devourer and up to three party members, each with their own special abilities, provides strategic depth in battle, while switching between worlds also allows players to outwit their opponents in battle, avoiding traps and solving puzzles along the way.
 
A shadow lies across the world, and the Devourer is the only one who can defeat this rising threat. It is now up to players to decide whether they save the world from this dark threat or leave it to its fate.