The developer of 2022's The Outbound Ghost, Conradical Games (now working under the Radhood Games label), has revealed the release date for its next project, a survival roguelike billed as 'Vampire Survivors meets Slay the Spire'.
Soul Stalker lands on the Switch eShop on 24th October, and while we can certainly see hints of the two aforementioned titles in its bullet heaven gameplay and roguelike progression, it's nice to see that the developer's Paper Mario-inspired visuals also make a return — albeit in a slightly more stabby way.
This one sees you play as the Steward of Ghosts, bound to eternal life on Earth and fated to fend off a never-ending stream of enemies. Like Poncle's vampire-busting shenanigans, you'll have a healthy arsenal of upgradeable weapons to craft your ideal build, and there's a cute overworld where you can talk to ghostly pals and upgrade your stats between runs.
Here's the game's official description and a handful of screenshots:
Soul Stalker is a bullet heaven roguelike where you assume the role of the steward of ghosts bound to eternal life on earth. Wield 4 to 6 weapons simultaneously to fend off waves of apparitions determined to defeat your spirited friends. Choose from a diverse pool of 21 characters, 35 weapons, 84 trinkets, and 21 pets to craft your ultimate build!
Slay spooky souls, evolve your weapons, and progress through the Soul Stalker Society's hub to become an unstoppable force of nature.
Soul Stalker will launch on the Switch eShop on 24th October for £6.49 / $7.49.
This will mark Redhood's first self-published game on consoles as many members of the dev team (those who formally worked under the Conradical banner) continue to be locked in a legal dispute with The Outbound Ghost publisher Digerati.
In December 2022, Conradical Games claimed that the development team had not approved the Switch version of The Outbound Ghost before publishing and the game was suffering from performance issues because of it. The game's Steam page was briefly renamed "This game is no longer authorized by the developer," with all screenshots and trailers removed.
Digerati would go on to formally open a lawsuit against the developer, with Conradical Games issuing a copyright strike on its own title and countersuing the publisher in March 2023.
Earlier this month, when asked on Twitter whether the legal dispute was ever resolved, @ConradicalGames responded, "Come back in about 2 weeks!" At the time of writing, the dispute appears to be ongoing.