“We understand the heightened expectations of what we are being asked to deliver upon here,” said Pannell. “What I personally really love about this is somehow the zombie trope is so powerful that it’s such an all- encompassing thing that we just have to deliver on those expectations to the best of our ability. And that’s really our goal every day, is to try and reach that benchmark to work towards those goals. And yeah, it absolutely is a big responsibility for us to do that. But one of the things that we have as a result of this, is that we have a community with us, and we have a group of people who are on this journey with us. We’re not alone here. It wasn’t just comments from three years ago. And even now, we are doing small scale play tests with members of the community, with the team, to really try and fulfill those expectations and make sure that we deliver on the game that A, they thought it was going to be, and B, that we believe that it can be at the same time.”

“So we’re on a journey together. We may have not been loud to the world, but we’ve been very active with our community, talking to our community, making sure that we get their feedback whenever we can. And like I said, even through actual small scale playtesting already, which we’re doing regularly.”

As for how development has been going in light of the project having gotten wishlisted by more than 1.5 million Steam users, Pannell spoke about how there has also been a fair bit of scepticism surrounding the title, with some calling it “too good to be true”. He acknowledged that “people have been burned by things that have been released.” However, the studio’s ultimate goal is to “prove that we are making a real game, that it is awesome. We’re focusing on the fun, we’re focusing on the things that really matter to making a good quality, fun game that fulfills these expectations.”

Pannell then went on to speak about what sets Blight: Survival apart from other co-op games. While he doesn’t directly bring up “any obvious genres”, he noted that the title thrives on offering players risks and rewards for every combat encounter. This aspect of risk-and-reward, he noted, is a “key element of the overall driving part of many features in the game.” Generally speaking, Blight: Survival takes ideas from a variety of different genres, but action horror is where Pannell believes it lands closest.

“It is a combat driven game with elements of exploration, with extraction light elements that are in there, and other elements also from games of that genre that help us drive the internal tension and the risk the players take whenever they’re in a given space,” he explained.

While Blight: Survival will also feature extraction game elements, Pannell noted that the studio isn’t simply working on a clone of what we’ve seen in ARC Raiders, for example. “We have extraction elements,” he explained, “but it’s not driven exclusively as the extraction genre. And we’re also taking extraction influence from other types of games, like for example, Helldivers or Deep Rock Galactic, that have extraction components as a core part of the phase of the game.”

“Again, not a direct analog, but we have both elements of what we normally consider a round-based game with extraction, plus a pure extraction game too. We have both those elements in our game, and they work in harmony with each other over the course of your playtime.”

“The core game loop is you go in, you try and amass what you can, and you can always push for more, but you could always back out when you feel like you’ve got something that is meaningful.”

Blight: Survival is being developed for PC. However, there is still no release date, at least for now.

So it’s no surprise that the AA and indie game scene has exploded in popularity in recent times, and we love to give a spotlight on such games. We have previously covered games including but not limited to Project: The Perceiver, Faith of Danschant: Hereafter, Black Myth: Wukong among others. And today, we have yet another promising game that looks absolutely amazing, so let’s dig deep into Blight: Survival and discuss many of its gameplay aspects and why it could be one of the biggest surprises of the near future.

Blight: Survival is currently in development at Haenir Studio, and this is the studio’s debut title. Blight: Survival is set against the backdrop of medieval history, a time where wars and conflicts raged in full force all while art and literature took huge strides in shaping civilization as we know it today. The game takes place in an alternate history 14th century where a mysterious blight is turning dead soldiers into monsters, and because a never-ending war of factions is going on in full force – the Blight is producing an army of undead.

The unique setting gives way to this interesting premise, which looks like a neat spin on the tried-and-tested zombie narrative that we have come to know and love. Sure, it might be treading familiar ground in many ways – but it could certainly branch off and develop a narrative that doesn’t hinge too closely on stereotypical zombie tropes.

While the setting itself looks novel and well-realized for the most part, there’s perhaps no argument that most players would be jumping in for the gameplay – and suffice to say, it has us salivating for the final release. Blight: Survival is a co-op game with procedurally generated levels, so players will be jumping into this world with up to 3 other friends as they try to survive the undead onslaught and get to the bottom of it all. The trailer opens up with a brutal finisher by our player character, and that sets the perfect tone for what’s to come. Haenir Studio seems to have paid a lot of attention to the feel of the combat, and it really shows in the final product.

The combat in Blight: Survival is absolutely brutal, and every swing of your weapon has a certain weight to it, and character movements are hefty enough to feel realistic but not too heavy that they end up feeling slow and unresponsive. It’s a very careful balance that even some AAA developers fail to nail down, so it’s rather surprising that Haenir has managed to get it right the first time around.

And when it comes to the act of going through combat encounters, Blight: Survival offers plenty of choices to the player. You could try to master the careful dance of swerves and strikes and take on enemies one by one, or you could try to get creative with your strategy for an easier way through levels. You see, this game also features stealth elements – so you could take cover against tall grass and stab your enemies at the back with your trusty knife, which also looks slick thanks to superb takedown animations. Or you could snipe them from afar by using your handy bow. To be honest, this mix of action and stealth elements reminds us of Asobo’s A Plague Tale: Requiem, and that comparison is by no means a criticism of what Haenir Studio is trying to do.

Player progression will also play a huge part in the gameplay proceedings of Blight: Survival as well. Once you defeat enemies, you can loot their corpses for resources and currency that you can use to upgrade your character. Resources will also have a rarity level associated with them, so it might be best to be on the lookout for supplies during your time on the battlefield to make the most of your visit to the blacksmith for armor and weapon upgrades.

And that brings us neatly over to the weapons, and Blight: Survival will feature different kinds of weapons ranging from straight swords to daggers and bows, just to name a few. Each weapon will have different attachments such as sword hilts and bow material which will contribute to the power level of the weapon, and this is strong evidence for the fact that player stats will play as much of a role in Blight: Survival as your mastery with the mechanics itself – so be sure to put your best foot forward.

Sure, some may feel that the reliance on number-crunching combat isn’t the best, but when implemented with careful attention to detail – it can create an engaging gameplay loop of looting and fighting which can be pretty enjoyable in its own right. And Haenir studio has stated that it will also allow for build options in combat, so there’s that to consider as well.

Of course, this feature would be incomplete if we didn’t mention the visuals, which obviously look absolutely gorgeous. There’s great attention to detail everywhere ranging from the conscious decision to use a gloomy color palette to period accurate engravings on the player armor to even the cloth materials that sway with your movements and the wind. And on top of that, a technically competent visual make-up consisting of high-quality assets, alpha particles, and dense foliage also breathe so much life into this world, which isn’t too surprising considering that the game is being made using the Unreal Engine 5.

Finally, we have the topic of release date and platforms. Unsurprisingly, Haenir Studio hasn’t mentioned anything on that matter as of yet, but we do know that it will be releasing for PC only as of now. A release date in the ballpark of 2024 seems like a fair guess at this point, though it’s important to keep expectations in check since delays can be frequent when a smaller studio attempts to create such an ambitious project.

Those wanting to experience the game on current-gen consoles might get the chance if Blight: Survival ends up being a smash hit upon its debut, but as it stands now – it’s going to be a long wait at the very least. There’s plenty of potential in Blight: Survival, thanks to its ambitious production values and brutal combat – and we really hope that Haenir Studio does it justice and succeeds in its design goals with this game.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

It’s pre-alpha and doesn’t necessarily reflect the final game’s quality. The zombies are fueled by a blight strain which spreads through blood. As a soldier, you must seemingly destroy the blight with up to three friends capable of joining you. Other humans, potentially from the opposing side, are also present in the area, but can be mostly avoided with stealth.

Along with various secrets, the no man’s land is teeming with loot and coin. Exploration yields new weapons and armor that can provide an edge. The rogue-lite nature means you can lose everything upon dying, but the discoveries made could carry over between attempts. We’ll have to wait and see.

Blight: Survival is coming to PC with no release window announced. Stay tuned for more information in the meantime.