Ocean Drive Studio has announced Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch, a standalone expansion headed to Steam sometime soon.
The original Lost Eidolons was a tactical RPG that gunned for Fire Emblem‘s throne, but attracted somewhat mixed reviews.
Now, Ocean Drive is intending to examine what went right with Lost Eidolons and fix what players didn’t like about the game for the new expansion.
In a dev log accompanying the game’s announcement, Ocean Drive says the gameplay and presentation of Veil of the Witch will be a “major departure” from the base game.
Rather than being a linear narrative-focused RPG, Veil of the Witch is a “turn-based tactical RPG with roguelite elements” that will be “tighter [and] more focused” than Lost Eidolons.
Each character in Veil of the Witch will have one class and predetermined gear, which Ocean Drive says is intended to prevent the game taking “30 hours to get to the cool stuff”, as the first game apparently did.
Games like Hades and Slay the Spire have also had a big influence on Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch, although Ocean Drive is holding off on going into detail just yet.
Although the gameplay will be “leaner [and] meaner with more excitement”, the narrative in Veil of the Witch will still be important.
Ocean Drive says it’s taking a “less is more” approach to the story, with a tight character cast, a new “sparse” approach to story presentation, and new art direction.
Unlike the original Lost Eidolons, Veil of the Witch will launch in Early Access, and Ocean Drive is targeting 2024 for that launch.
By the time of the full release, Ocean Drive is aiming to have the expansion available “on all consoles”, including Switch, although a simultaneous launch might be impossible.
Before that launch happens, though, beta tests are “likely”, so keep an eye out on Ocean Drive’s socials for any beta opportunities that may arise if you’re interested.
