Break the 4th Wall: Just A Shadow Game Playtest Now Live on Steam

Vietnam-based IndieLab revealed that the playtest for its hotly-anticipated dark fantasy roguelike ritual-builder Just A Shadow Game is now live.

The game is published by leading video games publisher, Soft Source Publishing. The Just A Shadow Game playtest starts on May 13 and ends on May 25.

A darling on the indie circuit, Just A Shadow Game is a dark fantasy deckbuilding roguelike that blends strategic ritual building, spell casting and monster summoning with a meta-narrative about (the horrors of) game development.

All of this while being tormented by the sinister entity Shadow. The playtest gives players early access to the game’s core systems, narrative progression, a series of new gameplay features, and cards to experiment with.
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Just a Shadow Game Playtest Features

  • The Protagonist’s Room and Computer Interface: a central hub where players can navigate chapters, select clans, view unlocked cards, and uncover deeper lore about the game’s meta-narrative.

  • Meta Progression System: players earn Inspiration Points after each run, which help the in-game developer unlock new cards.

  • Multiple Clans: the playtest includes the first clan (available at launch) and the implementation of a second clan with new buildings, cards, troops, and relics.

  • New Spell Cards: Scaphism, Cadew (duplicate every field in a ritual), Incubation (reduce mana costs when fields are destroyed), Sunny-Side Up (generates mana for exhausted cards), and Dreamfall (converts temporary pagans into real pagans).

  • New Buildings: The Well (absorbs all troops on the battlefield and attacks all enemies in the lane), Pain Altar (shoot two projectiles but -1 damage), and Mechrow Assembly (spawn a Mechcrow that does x2 damage on sacrifice).

  • Roguelite Systems: Relic system and Relic Shop Room, adding replayability and build variety.

Just A Shadow Game System Requirements

MINIMUM:

  • OS: Windows 10, Windows 11

  • PROCESSOR: Dual Core 2 GHz

  • MEMORY: 4 GB RAM

  • GRAPHICS: Graphic Card with VRAM 2 GB or higher

  • DIRECTX: Version 11

  • STORAGE: 2 GB available space

RECOMMENDED:

  • OS: Windows 10, Windows 11

  • PROCESSOR: Dual Core 2 GHz

  • MEMORY: 6 GB RAM

  • GRAPHICS: Graphic Card with VRAM 4 GB or higher

  • DIRECTX: Version 11

  • STORAGE: 2 GB available space

Please note: system specs may change as the game is still in development.

How to play Just A Shadow Game Playtest

13. Mai 2026, von Thore Varga