Hey everyone 👋
Fast combat is at the absolute heart of Hexborn, but as I build out the procedural dungeon runs, I’ve been careful to avoid a common trap: making every room feel like another static arena where the only answer is “spawn more enemies.”
Lately, I’ve been experimenting with another source of pressure, making the dungeon itself just as dangerous as the creatures inside it.
More Than One Kind of Threat
One of the newer rooms features a narrow bridge lined with swinging axes.
There is still a smaller enemy encounter in the room, but enemy numbers aren’t the main challenge. You also have to watch the timing of the blades, move across the bridge, jump onto a narrow side platform to avoid the swing, and then return when the path opens again.
Timing your movement through one of Hexborn’s new environmental hazards.
Reducing the enemy count while adding environmental pressure gives the room a different rhythm from a conventional combat arena.
Instead of relying entirely on firepower, movement, positioning, awareness, and timing suddenly matter much more.
Risking the Reward
Another room combines a lighter combat encounter with a repeating fire trap.
A reward chest sits directly beneath the flames. You can see exactly what you want, but getting to it means dealing with the enemies nearby while also watching the fire pattern and choosing the right moment to move in.
A reward is waiting under the flames, assuming you can reach it.
For fellow Blood fans, the fire hazard is also a small nod to those pesky fire traps we all love to hate, haha. If you know, you know…
Blood has been one of the major inspirations behind Hexborn, particularly its gothic environments and the feeling that the level itself is sometimes just as hostile as the creatures inside it.
Making the Dungeon Part of the Danger
Environmental hazards give me another way to change the pacing of a run.
A large combat encounter can be followed by a smaller room where the layout itself becomes the main source of pressure. That helps individual spaces develop more identity and makes the dungeon feel less like a collection of neutral combat boxes.
It also opens up more possibilities for future rooms, from different environmental hazards to encounters where enemies and the layout create pressure together.
The goal isn’t to turn Hexborn into a platformer or fill every room with traps. Combat and build progression remain the core of the game. These hazards are another tool for making the journey between the biggest fights more varied, memorable, and dangerous.
Hexborn’s danger doesn’t come from enemies alone, the world itself is becoming part of the threat.
There’s plenty more taking shape inside Hexborn, and I’ll keep sharing pieces of the game as development continues.
Thanks for following along and until next time, keep your shotgun loaded and mind your step. 🩸🤘
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— Sohrab
