Developer James Wragg, aka Lovely Hellplace, has released the latest content update for his old-school RPG Dread Delusion.
Image Source: Lovely Hellplace
With the release of The Final Update, another large island appeared – Creature Island. According to the history of the world, it was built by the Wikkans inside the shell of the giant squid Cephalok. Having reached the island by airship, users will be able to explore the insides of the ancient mollusk and uncover the mystery of its appearance on the Oneiric Isles. In addition, they will fight new enemies, including Dredgers, and find rare materials and items, including for the later stages of the game. Spells, components for the airship, magical weapons and ore such as Shroomweave and a pickaxe that speeds up the extraction of minerals are mentioned.
In addition, the update added a high level of difficulty (Hard Mode), which will be “a special challenge for veterans.” In this mode, enemies have 50% more health and deal 50% more damage, respawn faster, and group together more often. Items and ingredients are more difficult to obtain (potions no longer remain on the ground of defeated enemies, and the drop rate of other loot has been halved), and attacks, strikes, and spells require more resources, stamina, and mana.
The author also fixed dozens of bugs, including those that prevented the completion of quests, and adjusted the balance at the normal difficulty level.
In June, a patch was released that reduced the load on the CPU and eliminated frame rate drops when entering new regions. On average, according to the creator, productivity increased by 30%.
The events of Dread Delusion take place on floating islands, where people moved due to a curse that destroyed the surface of the Earth. The hero must determine the future of these places, for which he will have to explore locations, fight, develop skills, trade and communicate with residents. The gameplay is inspired by the role-playing classics of the early 2000s, and the visual component is inspired by projects for the PlayStation 1. Buyers draw parallels with The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, Deus Ex, Arx Fatalis, Gothic II, King’s Field and early The Legend of Zelda, and note the successful combination of nostalgic atmosphere and modern elements.
«Morrowind with a dash of Deus Ex and a 90’s aesthetic,” Getsugar described the game. However, some do not agree with any comparisons and consider the psychedelic world of Dread Delusion to be unique.
Dread Delusion was released on Steam Early Access in June 2022. With the release of update 1.0 (May 14, 2024), the game received the completion of the storyline, new cities, dungeons, quests, mechanics, enemies and much other content. Only English language available.
Over the entire period, users have left more than 2.2 thousand reviews, based on which the rating is 89%.