Hello everyone, it's been a while since I wrote a devlog here! Though this is less of a devlog and more of a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: Anode Heart 2 is coming.

>>> Steam Page & Wishlist here <<<

Though I can't tell you yet how soon "soon" is. Ideally, it'll take 2 years (or rather, I'll scope the project to be doable in that time), but we all know how dev deadlines work. (They are a mythical, elusive creature.) A card game spin-off called Anode Heart: Layer Null is also currently out in Early Access and I'm working on it in parallel with this sequel.

[!] Note that I'll be focusing mostly on Layer Null until it's completed and then I'll descend deep into the Sequel.

Now normally I would've done all of this announcing after Layer Null was done, but I wanted to get the Steam page and announcement out early because of an upcoming Creature Collector Fest. My wish is to have a demo by the time of the fest, but I cannot say if that will happen for sure.

WHAT'S IT ABOUT

We are now in the future, ~300 years (or so it is said) after the events of the first game. A terrible thing happened sometime after Seek saved the world and banished the Virtuals. No one really knows exactly what caused the Cataclysm, as history has been buried underneath the digital rubble of the Old Systems. The remaining Sentients now live in the emergency domes on the surface of the planet, built a long time ago by the First Settlers.

The battle system will be a complete rework of the first one from AH. I'll also attempt to mix elements of tactics-based combat and classic monster taming RPGs like Digimon World 2. In the first game the battles were always 1v1s. Here we'll have a maximum of 4v4 battlers on the field at the same time (maybe more than that on the opposing side? who knows). Things like Strength/Magic/Mixed split, techs, statuses will be similar in mechanics to the first game, but they will be expanded and improved upon.

[Tama will have 8 base stats + trainable elemental resistances/weaknesses]

MEET CODE

In this game you'll play as a Sentient named Code, a new member of the Pacifiers, whose missions take place in the remnants of the Old Systems. The Systems that used to contain the Ten Layers are now in a fractured, decaying state, too dangerous for anyone to inhabit. But, the surface where the remaining Sentients live still depends on it. The life-sustaining machines on the Surface are connected to a still functioning computing and energy network of the Systems.

[You'll be able to pick between 2  characters this time. Dual Code.]

Though the Systems have fractured, and have become uninhabitable for Sentients, the Tama that have remained there are thriving. However, there are problems. Similar to the Compression, the new environment is making some of the Tama go haywire and segfault. System DIVEing soldiers - Pacifiers, undertake missions to seek and debug segfaulted Tama to ensure the safety of the machinery on the Surface.

DUNGEON DIVE

Enter the Egg and descend into the Process. Sentients can no longer physically enter the Systems, but they can connect their minds to its underlying network through the ME interface (the kind that old Shishi used to debug things with). You'll traverse procedurally generated dungeons with a wide variety of Tama creatures, traps, treasures and strange flora. However, even with this "remote connection" approach, the Systems are still dangerous. If you die in the Systems you die in real life.

...AND SOME FINAL WORDS

I'm super hyped about the sequel and there are millions of cool ideas in my brain that want to get out, but I won't be rushing it. I hope you'll be able to wait a bit to see this new world unfold. Until then, I've got some card games for you ;)

-Sto