Oh, are there even more? Yes, there are! You keep seeing us often because we always bring good news—specifically, Character Concepts for Mayhem Brawler II: Best of Both Worlds. As you can guess, two more heroes have just arrived as the final pair of the eight playable characters. Hold on! This is no goodbye to our exciting, impressive, and awesomely spectacular Character Concept Arts. They are just the final pair as of yet. You may view new playable characters once we launch the game, and you break it with your superhuman reflexes. Who knows? 🙈🙉🙊
Okay, let’s talk about our final pair. Who are these Weapon Masters!? Let’s find out. 👇
Perfect Fuse of Slicing and Punching!
Hack ‘n’ slash games are all about fast-paced, action-packed combat. They often have characters who use weapons; some may have unique abilities tied to certain weapons. Using weapons adds an engaging element to the gameplay, allowing players to feel the impact of their attacks (the satisfaction of landing powerful blows to the enemy’s head!) and experience the thrill of battles. Plus, the fluidity of combat movements, weapon animations, and the flashy FX contribute to the overall visual appeal of a game.
Well, Mayhem Brawler II: Best of Both Worlds is a hack n’ slash as much as it’s a beat ’em up. By adding weapon master heroes to the game, we aimed to introduce the classic hack n’ slash gameplay experience to a beat ’em up. So the two new characters you’re about to meet possess trusty weapons on their persons, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be able to use weapons dropped by the enemies!
Past Weapon Master: Madison “Mindbender” Roberts
Mindbender was the most requested boss in the first game to become a playable character. But as we wanted to save her for the sequel’s story, we brought you the little mischief “Alley Witch” in the Witchcraft Update instead.
Story-wise, Mindbender, and Stellar were both highly qualified, legendary Stronghold officers in their youth. They were patrol partners and close friends, so close that Mindbender gladly took care of Stellar’s daughter as her child after she was deceased. The rest of the story? You’ll have to wait for that.
In the concept, she wears Stronghold’s old model official uniform with a cape that carries a medal of honor granted by the queen. Even though she is a recycled character wearing a predesigned uniform, her concept design phase took as long as she went through several revisions.
Mindbender wields a tonfa in one hand, leaving her other hand free for unarmed fighting and, of course, for picking up weapons! She will perform artistic dual-wielding moves with her tonfa and dull old small melee weapons!
Present Weapon Master: Vladimir “Voivoda” Radeck
Voivoda is a cunning businessman who strategically aligns himself with the politically powerful She Wolf, whom he previously attempted to overthrow. In his new design, we changed our approach from the classical “edgy vampire lord” to “vintage chic businessman.” We added a long, veeery long ponytail for a distinctive silhouette and more dynamic animations! To match the game’s vibrant appearance, we transformed the pastel earth tones of vintage style into a more captivating and contrasting palette. The outcome, unintendedly resembling Halloween colors, was pleasing to all of us!
Voivoda uses a sword while fighting, as you remember from the previous game. However, we changed his longsword into a fancy rapier in the sequel. Because I, as his concept artist, find rapiers very cool. And a rapier suits his personality better. Because a sword is direct and brutal, but a rapier is quick and deadly, which suits his abilities more. 🤺
Just like Mindbender, he has the ability of dual-wielding —but with large melee weapons! That said, due to the range of his sword, he will be quite a challenge to balance. It’s not a challenge that we can’t overcome, though. 💪
What’s Next on the Schedule?
None of us are pureblood vampires, and we don’t have years to wait. Don’t worry. We are as excited as you are and almost done with our first demo! As we mentioned, we are joining two gaming events next month to showcase the first playable version of our game. One is Mobidictum, Sep 5-6; the other is GIST, Sep 22-23-24. Please keep your eyes open for our Steam page, which will be released soon. Since you have met all our heroes, you’ll also see our precious cover art soon. ✨
Check out our developer diaries #1, #5, and #6 to learn more about our other playable characters and more!
— Dilailah, Blog Writer Concept Artist