K-Bullet Hell Shooter ‘Shikhondo: Blue Pieta’ Returns as Side-Scrolling to Release on Steam in First Half of This Year

The Meeting of an Eastern Grim Reaper and a Western Vampire Hunter
Change from vertical to horizontal scrolling… Steam release in the first half of 2026

Global game publisher CFK (CEO Koo Chang-sik) officially unveiled ‘Shikhondo ~Blue Pieta~’, a new title in the ‘ Shikhondo’ series of Eastern fantasy bullet hell shooters, together with domestic indie developer DeerFarm on March 17.

“Shikhondo: Blue Pieta,” scheduled for global release in the first half of 2026 via the Steam platform, is a sequel to “Shikhondo: Youkai Rampage,” which was released on Steam in 2024 and on Nintendo Switch in 2025. Following its release on Steam, there are plans to expand the platform to Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch II, and PlayStation 5.

An Eastern Grim Reaper and a Western Vampire Hunter Meet in a Foreign City

‘Shikkondo ~Blue Pieta~’ features a vampire hunter who has long fought the darkness alone in a foreign land, and a novice Grim Reaper from the East who has come across the sea to find her. The game deals with new events that unfold the moment these two people from different worlds meet.

While the previous work established an Eastern fantasy worldview centered on the encounter between a girl who fell into another world and a Grim Reaper, this work expands the worldview with a new narrative woven as dark warriors from the East and West meet in an unfamiliar city.

From vertical scrolling to horizontal scrolling… The series’ biggest challenge

The most significant feature of this new title is the transition to a side-scrolling format. Unlike its predecessor, *Shikikondo: Blue Pieta*, *Shikikondo: Hyakka Ryoran* adopts the side-scrolling shooting genre. This bold departure from the vertical-scrolling format of the previous series is expected to bring new changes to the overall gameplay, including the placement of enemies and bullet patterns, movement patterns, and boss battle presentation.

The lineage of Korean indie bullet hell shooters that began with ‘Sikhondo: Soul Eater’

The Shikhondo series is a game developed by the Korean indie game developer Dear Farm. Set in an East Asian-style world, the basic framework involves dodging bullet patterns from monsters that have escaped from hell, collecting souls, and defeating enemies with powerful attacks.

First introduced in 2017, ‘Shikkondo: Soul Eater’ has been reborn as the complete version ‘Shikkondo ~Hyakka Ryoran~’ with improved gameplay and added modes through collaboration with publisher CFK, and is characterized by increased accessibility tailored to a diverse range of users, from casual players to bullet hell shooting enthusiasts.

In particular, the Soul Collect mechanism, a core system from the previous game, garnered attention for its unique design that allows players to acquire more resources the closer they get to enemy bullet patterns and activate ‘Soul Absorption Mode,’ which absorbs the entire screen of bullets, upon meeting certain conditions.

In addition, in terms of visuals, it has established a distinctive atmosphere through the presentation of ink wash painting styles and monster designs inspired by Korean folktales and tales.

Details regarding the voice cast and game system are scheduled to be revealed sequentially.

Detailed information regarding ‘Shikkondo ~Blue Pieta~’, including the voice cast and game system, will be revealed sequentially in the future. Given that the previous title, ‘Shikkondo: Hyakka Ryoran’, received a positive response for introducing full voice acting in its Nintendo Switch version, expectations are high regarding the voice cast for the new title.

“CFK CEO Koo Chang-sik and Dearfarm CEO Ko Young-jin stated, ‘The Shikhondo series is the fruit of the hard work and passion Dearfarm has accumulated over a long period of time. As the new title ‘Shikhondo ~Blue Pieta~’ features new challenges for the series, including a side-scrolling screen, we hope fans around the world will look forward to it.'”

Information regarding Shikhondo ~Blue Pieta~