- The next title from the developer of Devil Within: The Hat… A world where school and the afterlife intertwine draws attention.
- The meeting of the Korean afterlife and urban occult… Roguelite action with thousands of builds
Nucore Games, the developer of the K-indie game ‘The Devil Within: Satgat’, officially announced its new top-down hack-and-slash action roguelite ‘7Trials’ on the 23rd.
Seven Trials is a work that combines traditional Korean folklore about the afterlife with an urban occult sensibility dealing with supernatural phenomena in a modern city. It is set in a world where ‘Seocheon Academy,’ known as South Korea’s top prestigious college preparatory school, has transformed into the Intermediate Realm—neither the living world nor the afterlife.
The game is being developed based on Unreal Engine 5.4, and the release date has not yet been announced. It is currently available for wishlisting on Steam.
A familiar school, an unfamiliar afterlife… A Korean urban occult worldview
The world of Seven Trials is a space where familiarity and strangeness coexist. Ghosts in school uniforms roam the hallways, and an ordinary school gradually transforms into a place where the boundary between reality and unreality becomes blurred.
The game blends the mystery of traditional Korean afterlife folklore with the uneasy atmosphere of a modern city, creating unique visuals and the tension characteristic of the urban occult genre. In particular, based on the aesthetics of the traditional Korean afterlife, it has established a distinctive visual identity rarely seen in the global market.
The visual implementation utilizing Unreal Engine 5.4 is also eye-catching. Building on the experience of stylish action direction showcased in the previous title, ‘The Devil Within’, it is expected to present even more dense combat and world depictions.
Sorcery, Sacrifice, Fate Cards… Battles created by thousands of builds
The core of the game is a 3-layer build system consisting of ‘Spell’, ‘Offering’, and ‘Fate’ cards.
Spells are active skills that determine the basic framework of combat, including combos, special moves, mobility skills, counterattacks, and ultimate skills. Sacrifices are enhancement elements that change the attributes and forms of spells; even the same skill can evolve into a completely different attack style depending on which sacrifice is combined with it.
According to the development team, the number of build possibilities created by combining the three elements amounts to thousands. Additionally, it plans to support online cooperative play for up to four players, enabling team play and synergistic battles utilizing different builds.
The potential confirmed in the previous work, “Capturing the charm of the Korean afterlife more deeply”
“Through ‘The Devil Within: Satgat,’ we confirmed the potential for Korean themes to be sufficiently appealing to global users,” explained Lee Man-jae, CEO of Newcore Games. “This project deeply infuses the Korean worldview of the afterlife into the action genre, which is our strongest area of expertise.”
He added, “I hope the process of perfecting one’s own combat style by repeating the 49-day trial will bring new fun to players around the world.”
Newcore Games, growing into a leading Korean indie game developer
Since its establishment in 2020, Nucore Games has been recognized for its development capabilities both domestically and internationally by releasing ‘I Am Zombie’ and ‘The Devil Within: The God of Destruction’.
It has garnered attention for achieving various accomplishments, including winning the Indie Game Award at the Korea Game Awards, winning the Bandai Namco GYAAR Contest in Japan, and being selected for the Epic MegaGrants in the U.S. Currently, ‘Seven Trials’ is being developed with support from the Korea Content Creative Agency’s Game Production Support Program (Console Type).
Attention is focused on whether ‘7 Trials,’ which combines the traditional Korean afterlife with urban occult and roguelike action, can once again capture the interest of global gamers following its predecessor.
Information regarding ‘7Trials’
| item | detail |
|---|---|
| Developer / Publisher | Newcore Games (Gyeonggi-do, established in 2020 / CEO Lee Man-jae) |
| Genre | Top-down hack-and-slash action roguelite |
| Release platform | PC (Steam) + Console (Undisclosed) |
| Scheduled for release | Undecided (Currently adding to Steam Wishlist) |
| engine | Unreal Engine 5.4 |
| background | South Korea’s top entrance exam academy, ‘Seocheon Academy,’ transformed into a middle scale |
| hero | Yeoubi (A temporary Grim Reaper contracted with the underworld enterprise Yeomra Solutions Co., Ltd.) |
| core system | 3-Layer Build System with Sorcery, Sacrifice, and Fate Cards / Up to 4-Player Co-op |
| Developer’s previous work | I Am Zombie (2020) / The Devil Within (2024) |
| Awards | Korea Game Awards Indie Game Award / Bandai Namco GYAAR Contest / Epic MegaGrants |
| Support Program | Selected for the Korea Content Creative Agency Game Production Support Project (Console Type) |
| worldview | Korean Traditional Afterlife Folktales × Urban Occult |
| Main Keywords | Korean afterlife, urban occult, Chasa, roguelike, top-down, build, cooperative, meso-tone realm |
| Official Channel | X · YouTube · Discord |
| Steam Page | Go to Wishlist |
