Aeternum Game Studios has announced Summum Aeterna, a new prequel to their first game, Aeterna Noctis.

Summum Aeterna is in development for Windows PC (via Steam), but has no release date set. An early access launch is planned though, and it will be developed in early access for a year and a half – with a full launch planned for early 2024.

Here’s a rundown on the game:

Summum Aeterna

Summum Aeterna is a roguelite game that combines dungeon crawler mechanics with fast-paced combat and a unique 2D art style.

Taking the role of the King of Darkness, a mighty, powerful, and, why not, attractive warlord condemned to eternal life, you’ll explore uncharted dungeons populated with treasures, traps, hordes of enemies, and powerful bosses.

Descend into the most dangerous depths of Aeterna and fight your way to the end of each dungeon… If you can!

Game features

• Roguelite vibes – The King of Darkness may be immortal… But he can still be defeated. You will start your adventure over and over again, that’s how this kind of games works, right? Don’t panic, even if you’re defeated, you still keep some of the stuff and upgrades you earned the last time you lived… Some of them, at least.
• Seed mechanic – Summum Aeterna includes an original feature never seen before in the genre, the seeds… Each one generates a unique dungeon with different enemy behavior, rewards, random encounters, and even a larger map size, depending on its attributes and rareness.
• Brutal fast-paced combat – The key to surviving in Summum Aeterna is killing every single living (or not, depending on the enemy) being you encounter. How to achieve that? Well, your play as a cursed monarch so your weapons were crafted for a king! Show no mercy, use your swords, shields, pistols, and scythes to make them beg for their miserable lives before they do the same with you…
• Rareness is a virtue – Every weapon, seed, and gem in Summum Aeterna has a rareness level: Common, Infrequent, Strange, Epic, Legendary, and Mythic. The higher the rarity of an item, the more benefits. More level means bigger dangers and challenges, but higher rareness too!
• Custom adventures – In Summum Aeterna you can define your own adventure. Each completed dungeon will give you lots of rewards, including seed genes. Thanks to the seed mechanic, you can personalize the world attributes, enemy stats, and conditions by combining different genes… Each dungeon will be different from the last!
• Beautiful art style – Each asset, enemy, NPC, and animation has been hand-drawn using traditional 2d techniques… Everything you see in Summum Aeterna, from the smallest chest to the most colossal boss, has countless hours of hard drawing work. The visuals speak for themselves, the game looks amazing!