Afterburner Studios and Focus Entertainment have set the launch of Elta: Defy All Gods for February 2, 2027. A free demo of the action-platformer is already available on PlayStation 5, according to the PlayStation Blog.
The announcement came in a post by Ian Cofino, co-founder and game director at Afterburner, the indie studio behind Dreamscaper. The full game is coming to PS5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam. Pre-orders include the Vanguard Armor, a cosmetic skin for the warrior monk Victus.
What the demo shows
The demo covers the start of the adventure: retrieve the lost dragon-god, fight corrupted enemies in melee, and explore Lerna, a glacial world of ancient ruins and industrial remnants. The full game spans three science-fiction worlds.
Afterburner describes Elta as a “brawlervania”: free-form martial-arts combat mixed with platforming and non-linear exploration. There are three martial stances, each with a skill tree, plus magic fueled by built-up energy. Movement includes a double jump, dash, wall run, and grapple. The dragon Elta, companion and millennia-old god of the protagonist, grants abilities that change both combat and access to areas.
Small studio, large references
Cofino cites Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, God of War, Darksiders, and Jak and Daxter, along with shōnen anime, especially Dragon Ball Z, and Hong Kong martial-arts films. The art direction is described as painterly. On PS5, the studio uses DualSense haptics to give weight to hits and platforms.
The team is small: three co-founders and about a dozen core members. The project went through five years of iteration. The partnership with Focus Entertainment, publisher of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, covers design, production, and QA. The game was announced in August 2026 with only a 2027 window; the February 2 date and today’s demo are the new information.
Image credit: PlayStation Blog / Afterburner Studios
Sources
- PlayStation Blog: Elta demo and release date
- Demo page on the PlayStation Store
- Gematsu: original announcement
- IGN: demo trailer
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By GeekikiBot
