Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness Released
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Following about half a year of early access, GrapeOcean Technologies' Baldur's Gate-inspired CRPG Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness is now live on Steam and GOG, priced at $29.99 or your regional equivalent. Check out the official release trailer:
And the game's description:
An Old-School Isometric Fantasy RPG
Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness. Explore a land plagued by war, pestilence and mysterious abductions, and uncover the hidden legacy of your birth. Recruit powerful allies to your cause; achieve your goals through sorcery, stealth, a silver tongue or brute force; and discover the truth of the Black Geyser.
Developed by a small indie team and inspired by cRPG classics like Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale, Black Geyser features challenging real time tactical combat with pause, deep lore and memorable companions, all set in a sprawling, unique fantasy world.
A World Rich In History
Black Geyser is set in Yerengal, a world where dark gods have brought nothing but venality and greed. For centuries, the Devil-god Rothgor has spread fear and terror, waging war upon the mortal races. Eventually banished, the nation of Isilmerald has enjoyed a time of peace and prosperity. Yet discontent has begun to fester once more, and a bloody civil war is brewing between the capital Isilbright and the wealthy mining town of Deron-Guld.
Recruit Key Allies
Encounter and recruit a team of unique characters to join your adventure. Each has their own story, motivations and abilities: who will aid your party?
Explore an Open World
Travel to Isilbright and the shadowed mines of Deron-Guld or uncover pavillions of the Rillow. Black Geyser invites you to explore a rich world filled with unique enemies, strange creatures and even stranger characters.
Create Your Own Hero
Choose from 5 playable races (Human, Dwarf, Elf, Feldegug and Rillow) and 13 unique classes, from 4 unique class groups (Priest, Outlaw, Warrior, and Wizard). Customize your attributes, portrait, skills and abilities.
Tactical Combat With Pause
Watch combat play out in real time with the option to pause the action and issue new orders when needed. Control the battlefield using dozens of spells and skills, all while customising your party with a wide range of weapons, armors and items.
Will Greed Overcome You?
Black Geyser features a unique Greed mechanic. The choices you make will either advance the cause of the Goddess of Greed, or maintain the flickering flame of hope to impact directly on the game world.
Then, there's also this Kickstarter update listing a number of early access improvements:
Ho there, adventurers!
After years of development, a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign, and over 6 months of Early Access, Black Geyser officially launched into 1.0 today. In that time, we've worked incredibly hard to implement your feedback and improve on the things that matter to you.
We will soon be back with more information on the schedule regarding the delivery of Kickstarter-specific rewards (both digital and physical). In the meantime, here are some improvements that happened during the Early Access period:
What We've Improved
Improved Load Times
Black Geyser's most requested improvement.
We've vastly improved load times to significantly improve the speed at which you can enter and exit buildings and zones. We continue to work hard on improving these even further.
All New Tutorial
You suggested, we delivered.
Our tutorial wasn't perfect, and Black Geyser was difficult to start out in. We've overhauled the tutorial, cleaned up our signposting and given players much more help through its opening hours.
Caster Overhaul
Magic lacked spark.
You right highlighted that casters were far too weak compared to other classes in Black Geyser, so we completely reworked their abilities and balance to significantly improve their potency.
All New Quests
You wanted even more content and we were happy to oblige.
Black Geyser was already a large game, but when it comes to old-school CRPG's, we agree you can never have enough. We've implemented all new quests, Chapter 3 of the core story and made significant improvements to plenty of others.
Combat Scaling
Hitting like a wet noodle is never fun.
Many players raised concerns that their characters and their abilities weren't scaling properly, leaving them feeling far too weak against ever tougher enemies. We've fixed this, so you'll feel much stronger as you explore the wilds of Yerengal.
Mac & Linux Support
Everyone should be able to play Black Geyser.
Mac & Linux support were important for us and our community, and never more so than with the Steam Deck having arrived (we have hopes!). We're pleased to say Black Geyser is now available on both.
New Boss Mechanics
We want our encounters to be tactical and challenging.
We've added all new boss mechanics and unique encounters to Black Geyser. These are designed to make fights much more tactical, while ensuring greater difficulty for those who choose to seek out these enemies.
Extra Locations
Wrap up warm for these cold spots.
You can now explore the northern frozen harbour of Freynagar, separated from the city by a huge ice dome, or take a trip to Amanuel's Hoard, the seaside fort owned by the greediest man in history. These new zones come with a cold warning.
Crafting Refinements
Love to make potions? Its got much better
Our crafting wasn't as intuitive as it could be, and it was too time consuming. We've streamlined the process, implemented automated recipes (have the items in your inventory? You'll be able to craft at the press of a button) and refined the process by making it much more accessible.
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Thank You
Thank you to everyone who has been on this journey with us and don't worry, we're not finished yet. We've plenty of updates on the horizon. For all those diving in for the first time, be sure to stop by our Discord and chat by the fire.
The Black Geyser Team
