Our first game is a run-and-gun 2D platformer for mobile, and there are two things we want to say about it before anything else: it will be free, and it will have no ads.

Free, and genuinely free

Free mobile games usually come with a catch. Interstitials between lives. A banner across the bottom of the screen. A timer that runs down unless you watch thirty seconds of something. We are not doing any of that. No ads, no interruptions, no waiting to play.

For Contra enjoyers

Run right, jump, shoot everything, do not stop moving. That is the lineage. Tight controls, readable enemies, and levels built so that dying teaches you something rather than just punishing you.

There are eight stages. Not eight variations on one stage with the colours swapped — eight hand-built levels, each with its own layout and its own idea of how to kill you.

What we are not saying yet

No title, and no release date. Both are coming, and we will announce them when they’re ready, which will be very soon. The art is still moving too — the sprite above is current, not final.

If you want to know when it lands, the studio is on X, YouTube and Reddit as @DarkmancerGames, and this devlog will carry the longer updates.