Description

An arcade full of secrets, a sentient virtual pet in the prize cabinet, a stealth shooter roguelite arcade machine and one way to escape: win tickets.

History

Unshine Arcade combines isometric action-roguelite stealth-shooter gameplay with psychological horror. The more tickets you win, the more of the Unshine Arcade’s dark secrets you uncover. It originated from a frustration with lack of good meta-progression in (action) roguelites. I love roguelites but I always struggle to find motivation to infinitely keep replaying them if I don't feel like I am actively progressing towards something greater. A big inspiration is Inscryption, a highly successful title that creates a unique sense of progression and immersion by blending roguelike gameplay with an overarching psychological horror narrative. Together, this turned into an idea to combine my 3 favorite things to create the ideal immersive genre combination. An action-roguelite arcade machine that allows you to earn tickets you can then use in a first-person psychological horror arcade. That way you have satisfying roguelite gameplay and exciting meta progression while you work towards discovering the dark secrets of the arcade. All with a grudgy retro art-style to bring this fantasy to live. To me, creating plug-and-play arcade games has always seemed at odds with worldbuilding and storytelling. A narrative distracts from the fast-paced, thrilling interaction of an arcade game, while that very speed and those arbitrary rules shatter the immersion of a coherent world and story. Until I had the idea to combine both by literally creating a game in which you play an arcade title inside an arcade hall, wrapped within an overarching sci-fi psychological horror mystery. And thus, Unshine Arcade was born.

Features

• A top-down roguelite stealth-shooter arcade game
• Dungeon-like procedurally generated levels
• An upgrade system based on colored gacha balls you can find throughout the levels
• A mysterious abandoned arcade where you can walk around in first person
• A claw machine!
• A virtual pet in the prize cabinet that wants you to win it free
• An overarching psychological horror story