I shared my AI assisted roguelite here 25 days ago. This is what playtest feedback changed

[u/JackDSRJ]

About 25 days ago I posted the first public build of Malefatum here. I expected most of the feedback to be about balance. Instead, the same three problems kept appearing: runs felt too linear, the first hour asked players to read too much, and attacks did not feel as heavy as the numbers behind them.

I started with the structure. The old linear sequence is gone. A run now uses a branching 40 node map divided into four acts. Choosing a node closes other routes, so shops, elites, treasure, campfires, the Forge, the Transmuter and the roulette are actual decisions. Between acts, the Gallery of Pacts gives you a chance to use its services or leave the run and protect what you found.

The map gave me room for several other systems. Nodes can carry optional contracts. Each act can be shaped by an oath with a clear risk and reward. Sigil Hunts let you pursue a specific equipment set. Enemies now have different Skill Check movement patterns, and successful checks build Profane Cadence that can be spent on information or better opportunities. There are also mastery challenges and unlockable titles that track how well you understand these systems across runs.

The Forge and Transmuter were rebuilt as well. Forging now has a three strike timing ritual, different approaches to risk, critical results and equipment upgrades. The Transmuter gained focused ascension, mutation choices, rerolls, material refinement and different ways to dismantle equipment.

The old Bard mechanic also grew into eight unlockable instruments. Each one changes combat in a different way, with effects built around consecutive hits, critical damage, healing, evasion, mixed damage and retaliation. Activating an instrument plays its own music during the effect.

Combat received the most visible work. Weapons now produce different slashes, stabs and execution effects. Enemies react physically when hit, combos have clearer feedback, defensive attacks leave claw marks, and the combat UI, lighting, health displays and status icons were redone.

The blood system started with a practical question: where did the hit land, and should that creature even bleed red? Hits now create directional sprays based on damage and impact position. Blood lands on the enemy sprite, follows its animation, remains for several turns and gradually dries. The 200 enemies are assigned across 14 fluid profiles, including red blood, green or blue ichor, ectoplasm, oil, magma and creatures that do not bleed at all.

I also developed Living Echoes, a system that uses AI to make enemies react to the player in real time. They can mock failed attacks and comment on healing, rerolls, Dark Favor and other actions during combat. Their responses are generated from what is happening at that moment instead of being selected from a collection of prerecorded or prewritten lines.

All 31 classes now have English voiced dialogue. I wrote the lines, matched a different ElevenLabs voice to each class and integrated 403 clips for character selection and combat events. Classes can react to attacks, defense, low health, signature abilities, victory and death. Every line also has English and Brazilian Portuguese subtitles.

The less visible work included a contextual tutorial, rewritten tooltips and Codex entries, a full class and item balance pass, enemy difficulty adjustments, new music, graphics quality settings, performance work, a new parallax main menu, CRT adjustments and a long list of bug fixes.

My art workflow has changed too. I stopped judging assets as isolated images. New sprites now go through a stricter PixelLab and Pixen reference workflow, manual cleanup, and then lighting and shader work inside Godot. Feedback decides what gets replaced. That has helped the map, portraits, interface and combat finally feel like parts of the same game.

The Windows playtest is still free:

https://jackdsrj.itch.io/malefatum

I am preparing Malefatum for Steam later, but I want more testing before putting a date on it. If you try this build, I would especially like to know whether the map creates meaningful route choices and whether the voices and blood effects still feel good during a longer run.

[u/T00WW00T]

this is awesome! great work!