Northanda Chronicles: Public Playtest Announcement
Northanda Chronicles is due to bring its party-based roguelike deckbuilder game to Linux and Windows. Thanks to the steady creative spark at Hyperfocus Interactive, which is getting more exciting with each new update. Which is giving you a chance to try it on Steam. Northanda Chronicles is stepping into the wild with a public playtest that feels made for PC sessions. This party-based roguelike deckbuilder sends three heroes into danger with one shared deck, and its next stop is a ruined city full of teeth, ghosts, and hard choices.
A New Run Begins On Steam
Hyperfocus Interactive has announced the first public playtest for Northanda Chronicles. It starts July 8 at 7:00 PM AEST and ends July 15 at 10:30 PM AEST on Steam. That gives players one full week to dig in, break builds, test strange party plans, and send feedback before Early Access arrives later this year. The playtest opens a big new slice of the game. Players begin in Act I: The Whispering Wildwoods. From there, the road leads into Act II, where the fallen city of Valmire waits. A forest is one thing. A broken city full of risen dead is another. That is where party builds start to sweat.
Why We Should Watch Northanda Chronicles
Northanda Chronicles is coming to Steam with sights on Linux and Windows. That note matters. The source does not confirm native support yet. It also does not confirm Steam Deck verification, Proton status, Vulkan support, or controller support. But...
...I absolutely hope to get a native Linux build up as soon as we can
Hyperfocus Interactive has not had time to fully lock in Linux compatibility yet. That said, the team absolutely wants to get a native build running as soon as possible. The early signs are good too. Some preliminary Linux testing was done today, and so far, everything looks promising. Final QA still needs to happen before anything is treated as confirmed. The goal is to make Northanda Chronicles as cross-platform as possible once that testing is complete. Since the game is being built in Unity, there is a clear path toward wider platform support, but the team is taking the right approach by testing first and promising later. Still, for Steam Deck players, this is worth tracking now. Deckbuilders can be a great fit for handheld play when the interface works well. A steady frame-rate counter and clean text on a small screen can make or break the whole thing. We do not have those details yet. But the playtest is the right place to start via Proton.
Three Heroes, One Shared Deck
The hook is simple and smart. Since Northanda Chronicles is not about one hero snowballing into a monster. It is about three heroes sharing a single deck. That also makes the classic RPG “holy trinity” the heart of each run. You command a Defender, a Slayer, and a Support. The Defender pulls heat away from the party. While the Slayer turns small openings into brutal kills. The Support ties the whole turn together. Each hero has their own mana. Since they all draw from one shared deck. That means every hand becomes a party puzzle. So you are not just asking, “What card is strongest?” You are asking, “Who needs to move first?” That is a much better question.
Valmire Sounds Like The Real Test
The Fallen City Playtest gives players access to two full acts: The Whispering Wildwoods and Valmire, the Fallen City. Act II brings new enemies, events, and encounters. These are built to test the party’s bonds as players face the forces of Varoth. That sounds like where the party-based roguelike deckbuilder game starts showing its teeth. Early deckbuilders often live or die by enemy design. If fights only ask for bigger numbers, they get stale fast. Northanda Chronicles seems focused on role pressure, timing, and party order. That could make each turn feel tense without becoming messy.
Northanda Chronicles – Official Gameplay Trailer
Six Heroes Means Real Build Trouble
The playtest includes six heroes: Boltrik, Zorya, Flint, Haldor, Kaelin, and newcomer Dorian. That lineup should give players room to test party mixes and deck ideas. It also opens the door to failed experiments, which is half the fun in a roguelike deckbuilder. There are four difficulties too. Players start on Explorer. Completing runs on Adventurer unlocks Master. After that comes Voidwalker, the brutal top challenge. That kind of climb should appeal to players who love clean systems. Not just PC performance, but player performance. Better choices. Tighter turns. Fewer wasted cards.
Dorian Brings Teeth And Gunfire
Dorian, the Duality, is the new hero for this playtest. His backstory has bite. He was cast out from Valmire after the spirit of a dying guardian wolf fused with him. That changed him into something monstrous. Now he returns to those corrupted streets to hunt the risen dead and grant them mercy. Dorian is both Slayer and Defender. He shifts between two forms in battle. In Gunslinger Form, he builds power and spends it with sharp, heavy gunfire. In Werewolf Form, he draws focus, wears enemies down over time, and leans on endurance to protect the party. That is a strong idea for a shared-deck game. He is not just another damage hero. He can change the shape of a turn.
How To Join The Playtest
Players can join through the Northanda Chronicles Steam page. Open the Steam page and look for the Steam Playtest section. Click Request Access. Once access is granted, install Northanda Chronicles Playtest from your Steam Library. The playtest runs for one week, from July 8th to July 15th in AEST time. Feedback is being gathered through the Northanda Chronicles Discord. That part matters too. Since this is a public test, not just a demo sitting in a corner.
Northanda Chronicles Is One To Track
Northanda Chronicles party-based roguelike deckbuilder game has a strong pitch for PC fans. A shared deck across three heroes sounds risky in the best way. Since it could create messy hands, clever saves, and those beautiful turns where every card lands exactly where it should. For gamers, the key details are still not fully locked down. Linux and Windows are in sight for Steam, but native Linux support and Steam Deck status have not been confirmed in the source.
