Rising Spire

A long overdue update
18 days ago – Tue, Aug 04, 2026 at 08:06:28 AM

Yeah, so. It's been a while.

There is no other acceptable way to start this update, but with a big apology. It's been over a year since our last Kickstarter update. We also walked away from Twitter and other public social media for just as long. We want to apologize for this silence.

Those of you in our Discord, those who emailed us, or otherwise contacted us directly know that we've still been here - however, this is definitely not good enough for us and our intention to not make anyone work for updates about the project; updates that we should have published and made readily available. We pledge to do better.

So what have we been up to?

The long, the short, the pretty, and the ugly - we've been working on Rising Spire. Despite the social media silence, we didn't stop development on the game, quite the contrary. Here's a very bird's eye view and, although the entries might seem jumbled, I can assure you this is very much in chronological order.

Mid 2025

• Created the bulk of the visuals for the end of the game (maps, bosses, miscellaneous visual assets), together with the narrative + dialogue for the critical path. In other words, we completed 90% of the main storyline in Rising Spire, and all locations and critical maps and bosses are built.
• Round one balancing and polish of all game systems - shops, alchemy, cooking, blacksmithing, character progression, weapon progression, some UI changes, and lots and lots of miscellaneous design work that does not have to do with the above mentioned visual and narrative departments.
• Started implementation and adding content for the mid and late parts of the game. New bosses, overworld abilities, new regular enemies, flavor dialogue, and so on.
• Started reworking the quest progression for mid game. Yes, I know. The order doesn't seem intuitive. We live and we learn.

Late 2025

• Panic, stress, anxiety.
• We have a new addition to the team! Kamil is our (no longer new) engineer, and he's taking over everything that has to do with programming. The man is an absolute beast when it comes to Unity as an engine, and game development as a whole. We love him. He scares us.
• Realized that our initial programming of the game systems will not properly support the new scope of the game, and that continuing with what we initially built would only lead to more delays in implementation, bugs, and headaches for everyone involved. So, Kamil took the wheel and started rebuilding all the systems one by one. We're talking combat, menus, shops, dialogue, cooking and eating, et cetera. 
• Kept polishing the narrative flow and story quests to make sure everything fits and that it's engaging.
• Kept visually developing both the mid and the end sections of the game.

Early 2026

• Continued working on rebuilding the game systems, with an emphasis on combat around this time, adding more and more enemies to the pool.
• Began the final narrative revisions, complete with remaking cutscenes, and cutting lots of dialogue from the main story.
• Kept adding miscellaneous visual assets not key to the story, but key to making the game pretty to look at.

Mid 2026 (aka now)

• We're in the middle of redesigning and reimplementing character progression, both from a programming point of view and a narrative one.
• We have new UI! New player menus, new battle UI, new interfaces, dear god that was painful!
• We're getting the first part of the game in a fully polished state, representative of what we are building for the entire game.

I kept this as concise as possible for over a year worth of daily work. There are many small things that we worked on and I did not name specifically - some proved to be successes, some proved to be lessons. 

Apologies once again for the silence, and thank you for being here. A heartfelt thank you as well for everyone who reached out - your support, feedback, friendship, and company mean the world to us!

I won't lay out any other plans in this post aside from talk to you all soon.

Don't forget that you can reach out and talk to us at any time on Discord, in DMs over here on Kickstarter, or by sending us an email at [email protected]. We're always here.

Thank you once again.

All the love,

the LFB Studios team

Rising Spire Devlog #1 – The Journey So Far
over 1 year ago – Mon, Mar 17, 2025 at 02:33:39 PM

Three years ago, I set out to create the JRPG of my dreams. A story-driven, turn-based adventure inspired by the classics - but with a few fresh twists. What I didn’t expect was just how much the journey would test me. From scope creep to burnout, from moving across the country to balancing a full-time job - all of it challenged Rising Spire’s development heavily. But today, I can confidently say: We’re almost there.
 

Hey everyone! Frank here. 🖐

Welcome to the first official devlog for Rising Spire! With the game’s full release on the horizon, I’ll be sharing regular updates covering development progress, behind-the-scenes insights, and sneak peeks at upcoming content. I want to start by recapping our journey so far, the challenges we overcame, and what’s coming next.

The Original Vision & How It Evolved

When Rising Spire first began, the goal was simple: create an old-school JRPG with the feel of classic Final Fantasy games, but with modern twists.

Originally, I planned mechanics like a day-night cycle and camping, but as development progressed, these became secondary to the core gameplay - combat, progression, and storytelling. One thing that never changed was the influence of Atlus games like Persona, particularly their approach to making all characters feel important, not just the protagonist.

 This led to the Side Arc system, allowing deeper character-driven moments. However, as the scope grew to exponential heights, we had to shift focus to ensure the core game was polished and complete first.

🔹 What’s stayed: The engaging combat, meaningful character progression, and story-driven gameplay.
🔹 What’s changed: We streamlined mechanics that were overcomplicating the experience to focus on delivering a strong, well-paced adventure.

Development Struggles & Regaining Momentum

Kickstarter gave us the funding to push forward, but scope creep hit hard. We wanted to make something truly worth backing, but that also extended development another 2-3 years. 💀

At the same time, I personally funded the project for two years before Kickstarter. Now that the timeline had increased, I had to return to full-time work to keep everything afloat. Moving across cities, changing jobs, and personal struggles all slowed development down.

To be completely honest, for a while, progress felt stuck. The game was still moving forward, but without a clear guiding force.
That all changed when I moved to Los Angeles. The shift in environment reignited my creativity and focus. I was able to reel in the scope, refocus the team, and push forward with a clear vision.

Where We Stand Today

As of now, Rising Spire is feature-complete for 80% of the game (Acts 1 & 2).

• Shops, side arcs, and boss fights
• Alchemy, weapon upgrades, and character progression
• The full story, cutscenes, and worldbuilding

What’s Left?

• The biggest missing piece is Act 3 - the game’s finale.
• Act 3 Hub Town & The Spire (final location)
• Final enemies, bosses, and cutscenes
• Closing out all major story beats

After Act 3 is done, we move into polishing and final features, including:

• Bug fixes & system balance tweaks
• Cloud saves, multiple save slots & controller support
• Achievements, error tracking & final UI cleanup

The Road Ahead

We’re approaching the finish line, but game dev is unpredictable. Here’s a rough timeline of what’s next:

🔹Act 2 final polish & release: 1-3 months
🔹Act 3 development: 2-4 months
🔹Final polish & testing: 2-4 months

It’s all in the air in terms of exact dates, but this is the final stretch.

Sneak Peek: What’s Coming in the Next Devlogs? 👀

This past month has been a huge step forward, and the next few devlogs will dive into specific features we’ve been working on:

🔹The Hunting Board System – a combat-driven way to earn rewards and challenge yourself!
🔹Fast Travel & Exploration Refinements – making world traversal more seamless.
🔹The (painful) UI Overhaul – small but impactful changes to make menus smoother.

Stay Involved & Support the Game! ✨

The best way to help right now? Wishlisting and spreading the word!

✔ Wishlist Rising Spire on Steam (every wishlist boosts visibility!)
✔ Join our Discord to chat, give feedback, and follow development
✔ Tell a friend - indie games thrive on community support!

This has been a long journey, but we’re finally closing in on the finish line. Thanks for sticking with us - see you in the next devlog! 💙

- Frank

Rising Spire 2024 in review + a special invitation
over 1 year ago – Tue, Dec 24, 2024 at 12:25:21 PM

Happy holidays, everyone!

As 2024 is about to be nicely wrapped in a pretty bow and thrown into the void of the past, we wanted to take a look at what it meant for Rising Spire. 2024 as a whole had its ups and downs for sure, but we continued to work on the game all throughout and, dare I say, managed to make some solid progress.

Biggest milestone reached - we released the first part of Act 2!

We have initially planned to have Act 2 released in its base form and then follow up with a content patch that will wrap it up. Unfortunately (but not unexpectedly), we had to pivot and plan for a partial release, as we broadened the scope.

Of course, continuing the story means that the world of Rising Spire is getting richer and more alive.

We added more maps, more characters, party members, enemies, boss fights, overworld abilities, side quests, new weapons, combat abilities, and so on. Some of this are not even released yet, so here's a sneak peek! ✨

There's a Blacksmith in town, and an Alchemy Store as well. There are people walking around ready to tell you a bit more about what is going on. There's stuff to gather, gear to upgrade, a world to save!

I know that Kickstarter not only drops the image quality below sea level, but it also makes the post load insaaaanely slow, so I'm trying my best not to upload too many of them. But showing things is just so exciting! 😍

Okay, look. Another thing worth mentioning because it took an unexpected amount of time and effort is the whole UI revamp. This was the bit that we received the most initial feedback on and, by the gods, we went ahead and changed it!

To be fair, the whole game received a glow up this year. New overworld assets, we reworked Atlas' entire suite of combat animations, new battle backgrounds, and, of course, plenty of amazing new tracks courtesy of our favorite bard, Richi. We even added an easter egg to honor his musical skills, let us know if you find it. ;)

Before I conclude this post, there's one last thing I want to mention.

Saturday, December 28th, 3pm EST, we're hosting a very Rising Spire End of Year Party over on Discord! We'll talk about the game and the development process, we have some party games planned, and, of course, The LFB Community Awards! We'd be delighted to have you there! ❤️
 

Thank you for your support in 2024, and for your continued interest and excitement for Rising Spire! We'll keep working hard in the next year to bring the game to completion and put it in your hands.

All the best wishes and lots of love from (the) Lonely Final Boss! May 2025 prove to be your best year yet!

Happy Holidays! ✨

Rising Spire Act 2 available now on Steam! 🎉
almost 2 years ago – Mon, Sep 30, 2024 at 10:33:11 AM

Hello again, friends!

The time has come, and Act 2 of Rising Spire is now available on Steam!

Here is what you can expect to find in this update:

The story continues

Atlas and the party keep on keeping on. They’re leaving the Dohan area and find their way towards more danger.

New characters

Naturally, the evolving plot includes new characters and fresh faces. Let’s see whom we can trust. The party gets another member as well.

New maps and locations

As the party leaves the forest they’ve gotten to know so well, the vast plains of Paelondia open for them. And the city of Zendalia. And the coastline. And more forest. And farmlands. Make sure to take your time exploring, and find all the chests sprinkled in the world. They have helpful goodies!

New enemies

Get ready to face new creatures in battle and make sure you’re prepared. These enemies are definitely stronger than the wolves and cute jackalopes encountered so far.

Boss battles

Yes, that’s a plural. This update will see Atlas and his friends face off against some powerful enemies looking to stop the party from uncovering the dark secrets of the Corruption.

New weapon upgrades and abilities

The Blacksmith is in town, and so are weapon upgrades. Gain enough experience and resources and you will be able to upgrade the party members’ weapons. As each character levels up, they will also gain new combat abilities to help them decimate their enemies.

Combat balancing

Numbers and formulas - we have adjusted the overall combat balance, as well as individual enemies, and party members. With new mechanics introduced (healing abilities, overshield, status effects), we made sure we offer fair, but still challenging encounters.

Maps

We created maps for each individual area, and highlighted all exit points, to make things easier to follow and to help you not get so lost. We also have signposts in the overworld to help you out!

Journal

Reworked Atlas’ journey entries to be very clear on what the next goal is and where you have to go. The introspection and Atlas’ edginess are still there, though.

Soundtrack

Enjoy some new tracks to go with the new areas. Some more cheery, some more haunting, all of them absolute bangers!

__________

This is the bread and butter of the Act 2 start! The next big update will include more content and world population for the story so far, we'll be back with news as soon as possible. Before that though, we will make sure to release smaller bug fixing patches to address any issues currently present.

In the meantime, we Let us know what you think once you've played through the new content, we're looking forward to hearing from you! You can always find us here, on Steam or on Discord, the latter which also happens to be the best place to report any bugs you might encounter, or to let us know what you would like to see in the game. ;)

Enjoy!
- The LFB Team

Rising Spire Early Access content patch set to release by the end of September!
almost 2 years ago – Sat, Sep 14, 2024 at 12:10:54 PM

Hi, friends!

It has been a while since we last posted a Kickstarter update, we must apologize for that. We have working hard on the next big content patch, and those of you who are part of our Discord community have already gotten some sneak peeks into what's coming. 

We will be the first ones to admit that the past couple of months have not been optimal and that our time estimates for development on Act 2 of Rising Spire have been off. We have learned from it and are now better prepared than ever when it comes to adding content, developing new features and creating timelines.

All that to say, we are beyond thrilled to announce that the next big content patch for Rising Spire is going to be released by the end of the month! As we mentioned in a previous update, each big content patch is to be followed by a smaller content patch, as well as bug fixing ones. And, while we will be back here with a full list of new content and features once the update is live, here is a sneak peek into what to expect.

• The story continues

Act 2 sees the party move forward in their quest to eradicate the corruption threatening the land of Malus and trying to push the forces of evil away from their homes.

• Combat updates and changes

This part took the longest development time, as we set to rebuild and improve the combat system in the game. Expect to find new enemies, use new abilities (ultimates are in!), see new battle backgrounds. Underneath all that we also have better code to give us more creative space and a more solid ground to do cool stuff with enemy and party behavior.

• New boss fights

There is no proper RPG story without the chance to fight some more...gods? Demons? Daemons? Act 2 will introduce some new and exciting boss encounters that will rattle Atlas and his party, and maybe even start shining some light on what exactly is going on in Malus.

• New maps, areas, characters, and space to explore

We have already showcased some of the new maps and we do want to keep some things secret until the update is live. Act 2 will introduce plenty of new areas to explore, characters to meet, and secrets to uncover. Keep an eye out!

As mentioned earlier, we will be back here with a full list of features and content bits for Act 2, once it is live on Steam. Until then, thank you once again for your patience and support and we will see you soon!

All the love,

The LFB Studios team