From demo to Early Access: community, combat, and crafting monsters. Talking Aethermancer with the founder of Moi Rai Games

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If you’re like many people on social media – meaning your feed is full of video game content – you might have seen the beautiful pixel art monsters from Moi Rai Games’ Aethermancer. The developers of this monster-collecting roguelike frequently share how they create and update their creatures, including the fiery Cherufe, the icy Jotunn, and even Grimoire, a creature that looks like a walking book. Aethermancer recently launched into Early Access on Steam, but a demo has been available since Steam Next Fest last February.

Even now, after it’s been released, Aethermancer offers a free demo on Steam that you can check out. Being a roguelike means you’ll restart often, which might seem strange for a game where you usually form connections with your team. But in this game, you don’t catch monsters individually; you capture their essence, letting you bring them back later.

Battles are turn-based and pit teams of three monsters against each other in tactical fights. You gather power by using basic attacks, which then allows you to unleash more powerful ones. It’s important to combine the effects of attacks and the special abilities of your monsters to work well as a team. However, you’re not just an observer-you can actively participate in battle to heal your monsters or even capture an opponent.

Growing up with Pokémon, I’m really thrilled to see the monster-collecting genre grow and blend gameplay in interesting new ways. When the team at Moi Rai Games and the publisher of Aethermancer, Offbrand Games, got back to me after I emailed them about the game, I was eager to find out more.

My interview with Dennis Sinner, the founder of Moi Rai Games

Matt Buckley, Gamepressure: Hello everyone! Would you mind telling us a little about yourself? Could you share your name and explain what you do on the team?

Denis Sinner, Moi Rai Games: Hi everyone, I’m Denis Sinner – I started moi rai games. When we made Aethermancer, I was the tech lead and did most of the programming.

MB: Before the game officially came out, a demo was available for quite a while – almost all year. It felt a lot like a very early version of Early Access, especially because I noticed it was being updated regularly. Do you think releasing a free demo before launch was a good move? And did it help people get ready for when the Early Access period started?

DS: Absolutely, we prefer to share playable demos before launching our games. We did the same with our last title, Monster Sanctuary, and it was very successful. There are several benefits to this approach. It allows our players to experience the new game early, and their feedback is incredibly valuable for improving it, plus it generates buzz and helps us collect Steam wishlists, which are crucial for a successful launch.

MB: In what ways has an engaged player community assisted with game updates? Was there a specific feature or issue that the community strongly supported or highlighted, ultimately impacting the game’s development?

DS: Honestly, it was super helpful. We ran a closed beta with our community for over six months *before* the public demo even came out – and during that time, we changed or completely reworked a lot of the game. Exploration was a big one we tweaked a lot. But also, combat balance – our community was really good at finding combos that were way too easy and basically broke the game.

MB: I often see players online talking about the Mythic difficulty and arguing about which monsters perform best at different stages of a run. How do you go about ensuring all monsters are valuable, particularly when considering the different difficulty levels?

DS: We definitely wanted to ensure that every monster felt useful and could contribute in some way, and we spent a lot of time achieving that. This is also why we didn’t include a huge number of different monsters – we really focused on making each one feel well-designed and valuable. While some monsters or combinations will be more effective than others in Mythic difficulty, the game provides enough variety and strategic depth that you can find a way to make any monster work.

MB: Hey, it might be a bit soon to ask, but I’m super curious – what’s on the horizon for future updates while the game is still in Early Access? Basically, what can we players expect before the full 1.0 version drops? I’m really excited to see what you’re planning!

DS: Yes, we’re planning a series of updates during Early Access. Initially, we’ll concentrate on fixing the most common complaints from the launch and improving the overall player experience. After that, we’ll add more content to the game. We’ll share a detailed roadmap very soon.

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2025-10-05 18:03