Kyora: Everything We Know

Terraria 2 is here. Well, not exactly. Re-Logic is taking its time to launch the sequel. So, Pugstorm and Chucklefish have taken it upon themselves to quench your thirst for underground mining. And I know Chucklefish has been in the crossfire lately with Starbound’s development. But we’re choosing to believe that their new project will run without a hitch. Here’s everything we know about Kyora so far.

What is Kyora?

Kyora is an upcoming multiplayer sandbox adventure game with mystical undertones and pixel art. The game has been so faithful to pixel art, that the resources and dirt you mine look like actual pixels that you can consequently build and manipulate. According to the game’s description on X, every pixel can be manipulated. It certainly ignites intrigue over the million ways you could possibly mine and build in the game’s sprawling world.

Story

Kyora will take place in a “realm of ruins.” It’ll use pixel art to portray every single detail of its world, from the characters to the environments. In the underground pixelated tunnels, you’ll be able to mold the pixels to your will. You’ll break through boulders to mine resources and craft special wands that can alter physics. There’ll be powerful bosses you’ll have to fight while also building a fortified base for your people.

Gameplay

Being a casual indie RPG sandbox, you can look forward to lots of exploration. The game will have a procedurally generated open world that will constantly surprise you. As you dig deeper into the ground, you’ll discover plenty of exciting resources. But you can also explore toward the sky to uncover magical items. From here on, you can craft wands that can manipulate objects and matter. You can also unlock upgrades that make fighting powerful bosses feel like a breeze. These bosses will be unique to each biome and will be termed the Heralds.

Furthermore, you’ll manipulate a pixelated world, tapping into your inner creativity to terraform the world around you as you please. From building new bridges to scoping out new areas, you’ll customize and sculpt the world to transform it into your dream base. You’ll also gain terraforming powers that will be useful in battle as well as in setting up platforms and cover.

Get ready to discover a bunch of hidden secrets and dangers that await. Survival will be primal as you venture into forested ruins and explore desert sands. The diverse biomes will grant you unique resources that you can take advantage of. Overall, the gameplay loop will involve gathering resources, crafting potent weapons and gear, growing crops, and cooking exciting recipes to survive the wilds. 

Lastly, Kyora will have both single-player and online co-op modes. More specifically, the game will allow one to eight players to tag along on its sandbox adventure. When you team up, you can combine your skills, discovering exciting synergies in your wand abilities. While the UI and subtitles will be in English, we don’t presume that there will be voice acting. 

Development

Developer Pugstorm, in partnership with publisher Chucklefish, is currently working on Kyora. You probably know Pugstorm as the creator of the multi-award-winning mining sandbox Core Keeper. It seems they are sticking to what they know best, with the upcoming game following a similar gameplay palette. On their website, Sweden-based Pugstorm describes themselves as a developer creating retro-inspired sandbox games.

Besides Core Keeper, they have created Radical Rabbit Stew, a hare-raising, action-arcade game.

Chucklfish, on the other hand, has a marred history. Their most popular project, Starbound, received scrutiny for exploitative development environments. The development team apparently worked hundreds of hours with no pay. But there have been other big titles under their belt, too, like Wargroove, Risk of Rain, Stardew Valley, and Timespinner. Overall, Kyora’s development is one we’re going to have to watch closely.

Trailer

News of Kyora’s development came through the release of its first official announcement trailer at The Game Awards 2024 event. The world is as charming as you might imagine. It’s brimming with color and cozy vibes. Accompanying its charming aesthetic is a soothing soundtrack that increases in tempo as the action builds up. You seem to mine huge chunks of dirt in one fell swoop, which could make the gameplay a lot faster, but also means you’ll be exploring vast scales of land that would require a truly sprawling open world. 

It’s nice that you can dig in any direction, though, and the lighting is simply spectacular even when you’re deep in the core of the Earth. The trailer features a battle sequence that seems a bit chaotic. Anyway, it adds excitement to the chill vibe.

You can already effortlessly compare the game to Terraria, which definitely puts pressure on the developers. With proper patience and borrowing lessons from Core Keeper, though, Kyora can easily rise up the ranks of mining sandboxes. Lord knows, there could never be too many mining sandboxes around.

Release Date, Platforms, & Editions

Kyora will be launching sometime in the future. Unfortunately, we don’t know when exactly that will be. However, with the announcement trailer already out, we could be looking at some decent progress made toward development. The upcoming game will be launching on Microsoft Windows and Linux platforms. However, the editions remain unconfirmed at this time.

Do note, though, that the launch will be Steam Early Access. It’s unclear just how long the Early Access period will last. However, it’s not necessarily a bad thing as the Early Access launch allows for the developers to cross the Ts and dot the Is that will still require fine-tuning. 

For more updates on the game’s story, gameplay, and development progress, be sure to add Kyora to your Steam wishlist. That way, you’ll receive updates, including a notification when it drops. You can also follow the official social media handle here to keep track of any future announcements.

So, what’s your take? Will you be grabbing a copy of Kyora when it drops? Let us know over on our socials here.