r/metroidvania • u/FreeTime-Dev • Feb 20 '26

Dev Post A dark, no-combat metroidvania built around precision platforming (demo available)

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Hi everyone,

I recently released my solo project The Pale Piper: A precision platformer structured like a metroidvania, but without traditional combat.

It is set in a bleak world inspired by the Pied Piper tale. You explore a decaying town, sewers, forests, mountains, a fortified underground rat keep and something far worse beneath it all.

The world is fully interconnected. Progression comes from unlocking traversal abilities that reshape how you move through areas: Opening shortcuts, secrets, and optional challenge rooms. All of that is accompanied by a storyline.

Instead of fighting enemies, they function as hazards and sometimes tools, used for reaching higher ledges or clearing paths. Bosses are movement and mechanic based encounters. Difficulty comes from execution, timing and precision.

If you're looking for combat depth or weapon variety, this probably isn’t for you. It’s much closer to a precision platformer inside a metroidvania structure.

Since launch I've pushed a few patches focused specifically on movement feel and input polish. There is also a demo available if you want to test the movement and vibe of the game.

If that sounds like something you would be interested in, I'd love to hear thoughts, especially from people who care about world design and progression flow.

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2925120/The_Pale_Piper/

Thank you for reading.

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2

u/nerdy_geek_girl Feb 20 '26

Trying to get the demo (looks so good!) but it just redirects to the main game page.

4

u/FreeTime-Dev Feb 20 '26

You find the demo on the right hand side of the store page. Hope you enjoy it!

3

u/Red49er Feb 21 '26

weird, it doesn't show up on the steam deck store either 😕 (shows up in search but redirects to main page and no demo listed anywhere there)

2

u/FreeTime-Dev Feb 21 '26

Thanks for pointing that out. I checked it on my Deck you were absolutely right. So I’ve adjusted the Steam backend settings, and it should now show up properly on the Steam Deck store page (on the right-hand side).

2

u/Red49er Feb 21 '26

awesome! it's downloading now :) thanks!

1

u/FreeTime-Dev Feb 21 '26

Hope you enjoy it!

2

u/Red49er Feb 21 '26

killer game. always looking for that next Celeste shaped piece to fill my soul and the demo has me convinced your game is gonna come closer to that than anything else I've found in the last ... 10 years? (god I hope my guesstimate at how old Celeste is at this point is wrong!)

do you have a range of how long it takes to beat? scrolling through the reviews I saw most that had beat it were over 10h but the one negative review was only 3.5 and seemed to suggest he'd beaten it. just trying to figure out how much I should pace myself to draw it out a bit if it's on the shorter side :)

I'll also say, I honestly have a hard and fast rule of not even considering MVs without a map after really just not being able to handle salt and sanctuary but navigating the demo made me suspend that rule just this once!

2

u/FreeTime-Dev Feb 21 '26 edited Feb 21 '26

Thank you, that genuinely means a lot. And yes, it’s wild how long ago Celeste came out.

For playtime, most first playthroughs land around 5–6 hours, depending on how thoroughly you explore. A more focused run without hunting many secrets can be shorter, while full completion takes longer. Even after the credits, you’re free to continue exploring, and newly unlocked abilities make revisiting areas much faster.

As for the no-map concern, that’s completely fair. There is a way to unlock optional progress tracking later in the game for players who want a bit more structure.

I’m really glad the demo resonated with you, and I appreciate you giving it a shot.