Fatal Claw - Dev Notes #07

Hello, everyone!

Before we begin, thank you everyone who played the demo, joined us for Steam Next Fest, and supported our Kickstarter. Your feedback has been invaluable.

In today’s Dev Notes, we’d like to share the heartfelt effort behind the recently released demo build.

If this look behind the scenes helps you feel the team’s intent and care, that alone makes us happy.

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[How the Current Demo Came to Be]

Although this is the first time the Fatal Claw demo has been released online, we previously showcased an offline build at TGS 2024 and several expos.

As we prepared the online release, we took another hard look at the demo. We found many areas to improve, and we couldn’t ignore them.

We moved back and forth across the intro, completed sections, and later areas—testing, fixing, and re-testing.

The result of that process is the demo you’re playing now.

◈ Strengthening the Opening: Better Immersion into the World

In the previous demo, gameplay began immediately after the opening cinematic as Kisha with just one HP in Origin Laboratory.

Many players took this as a simple start signal, and it didn’t spark enough curiosity about the world.

So we added direction right after the opening to naturally draw you in and raise questions.

“What is that number?”

“Whose voice was that?”

You won’t grasp the entire world at a glance, and that’s okay.

As you follow Kisha’s story, those early questions resolve and immersion grows.

◈ Feel the Controls Early: Demo-Exclusive Speedrun & Boss Challenge

The demo covers the early game, where only the basic Mutant Abilities are available.

That made it hard to showcase the late-game, Mutant Ability-driven thrill.

To address this and to preview the game's core thrills, we added demo-exclusive modes.

• **Speedrun: **Grants Mutant Abilities normally obtained later, so you can sample dynamic action and exploration ahead of time.

• Boss: Introduces a “teaser” boss you wouldn’t meet early in the main game, letting you experience the direction and pattern concepts of future boss fights.

◈ Easier Navigation: Landmarks on the Minimap

As we’ve shared before, Fatal Claw reduces path-finding stress using region-specific colors and landmarks.

However, the minimap still made orientation tough at times.

We improved the minimap by adding **key landmark images **as signposts.

Now, when you glance at the minimap, it naturally recalls the corresponding environmental features.

This change may feel subtle at first.

But as you keep playing, the icons and the real spaces click together, and navigation becomes much easier.

◈ Natural Combat Learning: Animation Hint from Kisha’s Downward Attack Against Mirkam

This is a tiny detail, but** it carries our intent to provide an early boss hint.**

You don’t have to use downward attack to beat Mirkam.

But if you employ it well, the fight gets much easier.

Small hints like this stack up and help you enjoy in richer ways.

◈ “I Changed the World”: Power Restoration in Aurora Village

This improvement came directly from offline demo feedback.

In the earliest demo, only the drilling site visibly restarted.

Many players missed that the entire village had brightened.

So we added a sequence where power spreads back through the village.

Through Kisha, you feel the world changing, and sense what Aurora Village is meant to be.

We’re also developing more scenes with NPCs to sustain immersion as your journey continues.

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◈ Wrapping Up: The Power of Small Details

Beyond the points above, we added and refined many other elements.

If you’re playing the demo for the first time, some changes may not stand out.

But no detail is too small if it makes the game more fun, so we’ll keep working on it.

**Early Access and full release **still have many milestones ahead.

We’ll keep communicating openly so can become a welcoming, beginner-friendly Metroidvania game for everyone.

Even brief impressions are welcome. Please share them on Steam Discussions or Discord.

👉 [Discord]

👉 [Steam Discussions]

One more thing—we’ve uploaded a Developer Q&A video on the official YouTube channel.

It’s packed with insights: controls, art, supported languages, and plans for release. Check it out! 👐

Thanks for reading today’s Dev Notes.

See you in the next update. 🙏