Wrack News

[p]When can we finally declare that Wrack is back?! We finally have an answer for you: in one month![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]That's right! Wrack Remake will release on Saturday, November 22nd, 2025![/p][p][/p][p]Why a Saturday, though? That's kind of weird, isn't it? The reason is because we were lucky enough to make it into the Winter OTK Games Expo - which was no easy feat. We're very fortunate! It's going to be a fun time, where we'll get showcased alongside many other fantastic indie games. So, be sure to check it out one month from today![/p][p][/p][p]See you then![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Of course, that's not all we have to share! To properly begin the countdown, we've updated the demo which now includes the countdown to the true release date. Of course, that's not all, so here's what it includes:[/p][p][/p][h3]New/Changed[/h3]

• [p]The Bravestar now has a functioning hyperblast! It deals damaged based on how much energy it has, and then consumes all of it at the end of the swing.[/p]
• [p]The title screen now contains the proper full release countdown.[/p]
• [p]Enemies now spawn in alerted.[/p]
• [p]After depleting the sword in the tutorial, it now stays depleted until the cutscene explaining its "ammo" finishes (then begins recharging normally).[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Quality of Life[/h3]

• [p]Energy is no longer depleted when striking non-enemies with the Bravestar (barrels, crates, etc.).[/p]
• [p]Gloogun grenades no longer come out of the gun at an angle.[/p]
• [p]Crusher bodies no longer block grenades/rockets.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Fixes[/h3]

• [p]Fixed glowing on textures not working at all if settings were turned down to "low".[/p]
• [p]Fixed aim not lining up with the crosshair while sliding.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug causing you to become a zombie.[/p]

[p][/p][p]If for whatever reason you haven't wishlisted the game yet (you know you want to feed the algorithm!), you can do so here:[/p][p][/p][p]See you in one month!![/p]

[p]Maybe you played the original Wrack. Maybe you noticed it had some sort of streak/combo/chain/whatever system - it's all pretty interchangeable (but maybe don't call it a "whatever system"). Chances are, you were able to ignore it for the most part, because well... it wasn't well-integrated into the game. It didn't matter.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Considering that was supposed to be one of the main selling points of the game... that wasn't good! A lot of the fun of Wrack is supposed to be about fast-paced combat, with a touch of strategy when it comes to how to take down the next thing before time runs out. In Wrack, kills are oxygen.[/p][p][/p][p]So, ever since the original, we've been enhancing the kill streak system to make it as good as it possibly could be. We started this process off in Wrack: Exoverse (that's right, I'm mentioning it), and have continued into Wrack Remake. Here are a few highlights from what we did in Exoverse:[/p][p][/p][p][/p]

• [p]More Time: First off, the timer in Wrack was way too harsh! Trying to get a single kill with the pistol would usually drop your streak. Starting in Exoverse, you now have not only more time overall, but your timer ticks much more slowly earlier in the streak - so you can at least build some momentum before it gets more difficult.[/p]
• [p]Overkills: Starting in Exoverse, it's not just about killing something - it's about how hard you kill them. We added the idea of doing more damage than what it takes to kill an enemy - an overkill. In this game, overkills would cause the enemies to gib into a nice, bloody mess of giblets - and (the kicker!) give you 50% more time to complete the next kill in your streak![/p]
• [p]Timer Freezing: Exoverse introduced some ways to pause the streak timer - including freezing or stunning enemies. Wrack Remake has kept this going by pausing the timer when you deflect a missile, stun an enemy (pistol hyperblast, parry a melee, etc.), and keeping your streak paused while any hyperblasted missiles do their business.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Of course, we didn't stop there! We've also made a bunch of changes in Wrack Remake as well:[/p][p][/p]

• [p]Speed: Everything gets more frenetic when your streak increases! Once your streak reaches 8, your movement speed increases by 20% (this affects your slide as well!); and once it reaches 16, your weapon speed increases by 25% as well - affecting firing, reloading, and more![/p]
• [p]Power: In the original, there was a finisher system that was only usable while your streak was active (and only when above a certain level). We felt that was too limiting, and now you're able to use your hyperblast at any time. However, now it gets stronger as your streak gets longer - powering up when your streak reaches 8 and 16.[/p]
• [p]Ultrakills: Here, we decided that mere overkills aren't enough! Now, doing a little bit more damage than it takes to kill an enemy results in an overkill: the enemy becomes a ragdoll and goes flying; but, if you do a lot more damage, the result is an ultrakill, which causes the enemy to blow apart into giblets. Overkills still give 50% more streak time, but ultrakills give you a whopping 125% more time. Fun, and strategic![/p]
• [p]Resets: The ability to kill corpses a second time is critical! You can kill enemies, and then kill their body a second time to reset your streak timer. Resets go hand-in-hand with your melee attack, which does a fantastic job of carving your enemies up again, and giving you lots of time to reload, get your next kill... whatever you'd like to do![/p]

[p][/p][p]That should about cover it! All in all, all these changes have made Wrack Remake the best possible Wrack experience so far. Don't believe us? Give the demo a play for yourself![/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]One final thing I didn't mention - these have changes have led to the true way to play: Balderdash! The highest (selectable) difficulty uses the settings of Medium - however, dropping a streak will result in death! This forces you to play Wrack Remake the intended way - without being too overwhelming. I would heavily encourage you to give it a try![/p][p][/p][p]Until next time![/p]

[p]So why exactly are we remaking Wrack? I mean... the game was fine, right? Sure, it might not have been the best-selling, most popular game of all time, but it had some good things going for it. Would you be here reading this if it was all bad?[/p][p][/p][h2]Well...[/h2][p][/p][p]While it wasn't all bad, the bottom line is this: Wrack didn't live up to its potential. It was plagued with all sorts of issues, from a lousy checkpoint system, to a shoehorned in combo system, and everything in between. Just about everything needed to be re-imagined and rebuilt from the ground up. It needed a reclamation project; and so, we began working on... a game we're not going to talk about right now.[/p][p][/p][p]But, while working on that game, we were approached by our current publisher (Red Deer Games) about doing a console port of the original Wrack. Because the original game was made using a custom-made engine (for reasons unknown), a simple port wasn't going to be that feasible. The game was going to have to be re-created in something like Unreal Engine (which we opted to use).[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]I pitched them the idea of simply publishing the new Wrack game we were working on - rather than subject a new audience to the unrelenting bag of nightmares that was the original game (wait a second - I thought it wasn't all bad!). Although they weren't interested in that, we reached a compromise: remake the content of the original Wrack game, but with all the improvements of the next Wrack game. The result? You'll never guess![/p][p]... okay, you probably did guess that.[/p][p][/p][p]And you know what? It's been great for everyone involved! First, you are getting a new game with all new mechanics, audio, artwork... the whole nine yards, which I'll dive into in a future post. Plus, you don't even have to wait that long (it should be out this year!). It's been great for us too, because it's given us a project with a more limited scope where we can polish more effectively, and learn as we go. Finally, it's great for Red Deer because it'll let them test to see if this series is right for them without a massive commitment.[/p][p][/p][h2]The Demo[/h2][p][/p][p]But hey, don't take my word for it! Try it for yourself... well, maybe not right now, but on Friday when the Wrack Remake Demo comes out! You'll be able to play the first couple of levels and see how far the game has come.[/p][p][/p][p]Want to check it out as soon as it comes out? Then be sure to add it to your wishlist![/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

[p]We could have had Kain's sword, the Bravestar, just be a normal sword - you swing it, and things die. Ho hum, nothing special.[/p][p][/p][p]In fact, it started off that way! Early on in Wrack Remake, you'd just swing it, and it'd pretty much gib everything - so much to the point where it was overpowered... and started to be boring. Yikes![/p][p][/p][p]I was ready to simply reduce the damage on it and call it a day. But, thankfully our audio guy Michael Markie stepped in and pointed out how satisfying the sword is to use, and how making it not blow up everything in sight would be a mistake. So, together we found a solution - energy![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The sword would remain OP, but only for a short time. With each attack, it'd consume some energy, and eventually become depleted - unable to do the full amount of damage. While it does slowly recharge on its own, waiting around is boring, and we want the game to be beatable using just the sword. The solution?[/p][p][/p][p]Enter alternate fire! All weapons in Wrack Remake have an alternate fire; and, in the case of the Bravestar, it works together with the primary fire. Using the alt. fire causes you to block with the sword - allowing you to parry melee attacks, and deflect missiles. If you can pull this off, your sword recharges instantly, and you can go back to rampaging like a boss![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Sound interesting, but a tad complicated? That's part of why we introduced the brand new tutorial! Rather than shy away from mechanics that make the game better and more interesting, but not immediately intuitive... we thought we'd just do a better job of communicating the inner workings of Wrack to you, so you have a much better time with the game, and way less confusion.[/p][p][/p][h2]Want to Try It?[/h2][p][/p][p]If you'd like to see how the tutorial, and all these design decisions are working out... there's good news: We're going to have a demo, and it's coming soon! So, you'll want to stay tuned for when that happens (to do so, might we recommend our Discord?). But, there's even better news: We've launched a limited beta of the game! If you're interested, just click the "Request Access" button on the Wrack Remake store page.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Limited slots are available as we prepare for the demo, so be sure reserve a spot quickly. (In fact, all spots already filled up at the time of writing this, but we'll open up more spots soon.) We're looking to make this game as great as it possibly can be, and your feedback will help a ton with that. So, it's much appreciated![/p][p][/p][p]If you made it all the way down here, why not join our Discord? We'd love to hear from you![/p]

Last year, we announced that we're working on two new Wrack projects - including a remake of the original Wrack. Today, we're thrilled to officially announce: Wrack Remake!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

It will be launching on Steam later this year, along with the Nintendo Switch. Before that, we'll have a demo available, and will getting as much feedback as we can to make the original Wrack experience as good as we possibly can.

IMPORTANT: This remake will still be available for free in the Wrack: Reclamation demo, but that probably won't be until 2026 at the earliest.

Store Page/Wishlist:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3709080/Wrack_Remake/
If you have any questions, or would like to stay in contact, hit up our Discord.

Thank you, and Wrack is back!