Description

ENCHAIN links snappy platforming and hack + slash juggling with fast-paced retro FPS gunplay. Inspired by the competitive fighting genre and Quake, combo and smash the undead into pieces with your lantern hook and punchy arsenal of guns. And, with progression and verticality influenced by Metroidvanias and Dark Souls, tackle a single interconnected world chunk by chunk, retreading old paths and secrets. You are the last corpse that will ever rise from the stone depths, dooming all creation to a ceaseless death. This underworld does not welcome you. Unlock the secrets of the crypt, take back life from your fleshless brethren, and fight your own way out of humanity's tomb.

History

2017 Jam Entry

ENCHAIN began in late 2017 as a Ludum Dare 40 entry, created in 72 hours. Theme: "The more you have, the worse it is." The concept in this first rough prototype was a simple, retro inspired FPS with a main grapple hook mechanic and a "burden" mechanic that treated enemies as the keys to doors.

2018-2020 Early Development

After about three months of making small updates on this jam game, developer mattlawrdev (Matthew) decided to rework the game as their next big project. This period saw tons of iteration and shifts in development, drawing from soulslikes and collectathons, expanding ENCHAIN into something completely unique. Starting in 2019, Matthew began a Computer Science university program. This put a major halt on development as they focused on their studies. Once the pandemic occurred, free-time was at hand, and by the end of 2020 a demo of ENCHAIN was released on Steam.

2020-2021 Demo Development

Gathering feedback on this free demo was extremely successful, and a patch quickly addressed some of the targeting grapple hook issues players were facing, as well as extra polish. Soon after this patch, two larger updates were developed in 2021. Early Access was even originally announced with a September 2021 release date, which had to soon be delayed after it received a volume of critical feedback and issues that needed to be addressed in patches.

2021-2023 Work on Initial Release

It was time to build the larger sections of the game now that the Demo had received much gameplay polish. With the developer's university studies becoming more involved, this period saw development time become increasingly limited. Early Access was a potential goal but there was a focus in not rushing out the release. Finishing university strong was prioritized over the game. A 2023 status update blog post went out to all those waiting for the game, to explain the situation clearly, with no release date promised.

2023-2025

ENCHAIN development continues, with Early Access planned as the next release. Throughout development, Matthew had strictly determined to avoid funding ENCHAIN with a third party such as a publisher. ENCHAIN had already gotten so far without funding, and financial pressures did not appear like something the project needed. As a result, Matthew's choice after graduating university was to work as a game programmer full-time in order to immediately support themselves. There was some value in keeping ENCHAIN as a limited personal project for free-time when in need of a creative outlet. Development has significantly slowed during this period, but it nevertheless continues for a future release as soon as ENCHAIN is ready.

January 2026

Finally, an Early Access release date is announced for February 12th 2026.

Features

• Grapple, swing, and impale enemies with the Lantern Hook
• Shoot, kick, and dive between platforming and combat
• Break open and harvest the bones of the undead
• Explore an intertwined, non-linear underworld
• Listen to atmospheric, groovy music by Oliver Trinidad