Hades-Like Midautumn Coming to Kickstarter This Year

I’ve commented a lot recently that Hades is the new golden standard for how Roguelike narratives should be. The idea of more story details and large progression systems opening up as you play in an organic way is brilliant. It seems that more people are taking notice of that too, as a new Hades-like is on the horizon.

Sisi Jiang, the creator of the IGF nominated game Lionkiller, has just revealed their next project. They are working with a team of award-winning developers to create a new dungeon-crawling experience called Midautumn. According to the press release, Midautumn is “a supernatural dungeon crawler about blasting evil spirits, saving your hometown from gentrification, and Asian diaspora culture.”

While there is no date for the Kickstarter launch just yet, the trailer provided insinuates that it will be close to the real-world Mid-autumn Festival. Traditionally, the festival has taken place in September, and this year it will be on September 21^st. Here is what the press release says about Midautumn thus far.

“Midautumn has you play as Robin Lam, a recent college grad with no clear direction who has resorted to crashing with their Grandmother in the fictional town of Nambo Quay, California. In exchange, Robin’s Grandma reveals to Robin that the Spirit World is real, its entrance is in the basement, and Robin is strong-armed into being its latest protector.

Midautumn’s gameplay is Hades meets Butterfly Soup. As the newest guardian of the Spirit World, you will absorb the lunar powers of your enemies and reflect it back upon them in order to save your town, and uncover more of the story each time you visit the Spirit World.

When you’re not blasting spirits, the town of Nambo Quay is filled with a cast of colorful, larger-than-life characters for you to forge bonds with. You’ll have hundreds of unique story events to learn about what’s really going on in this cozy, mysterious town.

The ever-shifting Spirit World is different with each visit, but its strongest inhabitants will remember you. You’ll learn new abilities between runs to grow permanently stronger, and surpass the town’s previous guardians and the evil magic practitioner’s vying for the town’s soul.”

As someone who loves games that break the mold and showcase different cultures, I’m excited for Midautumn. One of my favorite games from 2020 was Raji: An Ancient Epic, and though they aren’t remotely the same in terms of content, I can see a similar vibe here. Moreso in the way that it seems like Sisi Jiang and their team are attempting to showcase a culture not often represented in gaming.

You can sign up now to be notified when the Kickstarter campaign goes live and wishlist Midautumn on Steam as well. I’m very excited about this, and though it has big shoes to fill positioning itself as a Hades-like, I am confident this team has what it takes.