About This Game

Summary

A brutal medieval turn-based RPG where scars, survival, and choices define your story. Face bloody duels, shifting factions, and moral dilemmas in a dying world where every decision leaves a mark.

Core Concept

Scarred Steel is a story-rich, tactical RPG with grounded medieval combat and a heavy focus on consequences. Inspired by Heads Will Roll and classic dark RPGs, it blends brutal 1v1 duels, strategic preparation, and narrative choice into a journey of survival and betrayal.

Randomized Characters (Every Run Feels New)

Each new run starts with a draft of three randomized characters. Every choice comes with different weapons, armor, traits, and starting stats, forcing you to adapt from the first fight.
Build around what you’ve been dealt, exploit synergies, and suffer the scars that follow.

Adapt to different weapon types, armour weights and life-long traits to fight back the corruption of the Kingdom.

Decisions Shape Your Path

A Living, Reactive World - Your decisions matter. Mercy, cruelty, honor, or deceit changes how factions, NPCs, and storylines unfold.
Friends can become rivals, allies can betray, and towns will remember.

Branching, Replayable Narratives - Each run unfolds differently through dynamic encounters, rival NPCs, and moral choices. No two journeys are the same.

Story Rich Experience

Discover the story of the Kingdom, it's ruin & corruption. Your choices will shape the endings you can achieve in this game.

Strive for glory? Loyal to the crown? Or drawn to corruption yourself? The story unfolds with each step.

⚔ Tactical Duels With Weight

Combat is immediate and lethal.
Stamina, weapon reach, and balance all matter.
Target body parts to break guards, cripple limbs, and exploit armor gaps.

Combat is realistic, you can't keep attacking otherwise you'll catch yourself off balance making you vulnerable. Use your combat actions to your advance to put your opponent off balance and finish them while they are weak.

The weight, length and type of a weapon all play a part in their ability to stagger an opponent, damage armour and cause injuries.

The weight, coverage and protection of armour influences your balance, ability to get hit and to attack.

Discover what set of weapons and armour suits your playstyle and outperform your opponents!

⚖ A Town Hub Between Battles

With 5 days until you find a lead on the Baron... You must prepare yourself.
Fight in the arena, train with the soldiers, gear up and take on greater challenges.

Sooner or later, you'll take revenge, but poor preparation will leave you stuck at the first fight. Prepare, level up stats and equip yourself for the worst.

Key Features (At a Glance)

• Tactical, immediate-resolution duels with stamina, reach, balance, and limb targeting
  
• Persistent injuries and scars that change how you play
  
• A living world that remembers mercy, cruelty, honor, and deceit
  
• Branching runs driven by dynamic encounters and rival NPCs
  
• A deliberate town loop for recovery, training, and preparation
  
• Gritty medieval atmosphere with brutal consequences

Roadmap

These are targets, not promises or dates. Tell me what matters most in Discussions.

• [Planned] Perk system — character perks with synergies that shape builds and playstyle.
  
• [Planned] Multiple endings — finales driven by your ethos, factions, and key decisions.
  
• [Planned] Open map — freer travel between locations with route choices and risk.
  
• [Planned] Random encounters — travel events with tactical and narrative outcomes.
  
• [Planned] Expanded injury system — more injury types, severities, and interactions.
  
• [Exploring] Permanent injuries — lasting impairments and scar mechanics that truly stick.
  
• [Exploring] More realistic healing — time, treatment resources, and long-term recovery tradeoffs.

🗒️ Note From Ethan, the Developer

All the game's code, images, and videos were made with AI-assisted tools, this project was built solo from the ground up. If you’re interested in the journey, check out my devlogs on YouTube.

AI Generated Content Disclosure

The developers describe how their game uses AI Generated Content like this:

Scarred Steel uses AI‑generated content extensively in its development and marketing materials, but no AI runs live during gameplay.

Art, UI, & Animation: All visual assets including icons, user interface elements, character visuals, backgrounds, and animations were generated using AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT & Runway) and then reviewed and integrated by the developer.

Video Assets: All trailer footage, cinematic backdrops, and promotional videos were generated or enhanced using AI tools (e.g. Runway).

Audio / Voiceovers: All voiceovers, character speech, narration, and other vocal elements were generated using AI voice synthesis (e.g. ElevenLabs).

Code: All gameplay systems, scripts, and runtime code are manually made by the developer (with the help of AI). No AI generates code or content dynamically during play.

In summary:

Every visual, audio, and video asset in Scarred Steel was produced with AI tools and then manually curated and integrated by the developer. The game does not use any AI to generate content or code live during gameplay.

Mature Content Description

The developers describe the content like this:

This game includes graphic medieval violence, blood, and injury. Players will experience intense combat, death, and survival scenarios in a dark, plague-ridden world.

Mature themes include:

- Realistic injury and blood effects in combat
- Descriptions of disease, suffering, and societal collapse
- Grim tone and survivalist narrative elements

There is no sexual content, no drug use, no self-harm, and no depictions of sexual assault.

These mature elements appear in both gameplay and narrative sequences from early in the game and continue throughout.