Jotunnslayer: Hordes Of Hel pits you against waves of horrific creatures to earn the divine blessings of ancient Norse Gods in epic battles deep in hostile realms. Grindstone is excited to announce that a playable demo for Jötunnslayer: Hordes of Hel will be coming to Steam in May. 

Embark on a hazardous quest through the dark realms of Norse mythology in this gripping roguelike horde arena survival game, boasting cutting-edge graphics and an immersive story arc. Select a fallen soul condemned to suffer in Helheim and wield your blade against legions of foes in a relentless quest for redemption. In this desolate domain, divine blessings are scarce, earned only through the spilling of rivers of blood. Navigate through the hostile realms of the Norse underworld, invoking mighty bosses through ancient rituals only to sever their heads in pursuit of salvation. 

Master your skills for the final exhilarating massacre of all enemies that stand before you!

Will you emerge as the chosen one, favoured by the Gods, and ascend to the legendary Halls of Valhalla? 

Games Farm, ARTillery and Grindstone are thrilled to announce the December 4th launch of The Fall of Alfheim, a massive free content update for Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hel on all platforms! In addition, the game is today getting a new weapon for each character and two extra community requested difficulty modes!

The update will introduce a ruined new realm to conquer, the powerful Earthmother God Nerthus to aid players, a new spell-slinging Archmage class, and numerous new exciting ways to challenge Hel’s forces.

A New Battlefield: The Ruin of Alfheim

Discover Alfheim, the former glorious realm of the Light Elves, now tragically infested and corrupted by endless tides of arachnids. This new environment demands entirely new strategies as ancient Elven magic is drained and beautiful sanctuaries fade into shadow.

In Alfheim, players will face:

• New Modifiers and Objectives: Dynamic new challenges tied to the spider plague.
• The Arachnid Jotunn (New Boss): The colossal matriarch of the swarm, this new boss commands her brood, unleashing large-scale web attacks and poison waves that can ensnare and overwhelm unprepared Jotunnslayers.

The Earthmother and the Archmage Join the Fight

Two major additions drastically expand the game’s combat and customization options:

Nerthus: The Terrible Earthmother

The goddess of the earth, Nerthus, arrives as a new playable deity. Wielding the primal strength of nature, she channels the fury of earthquakes, famines, floods, and storms. Players can now command living forests and summon powerful beasts to combat Hel’s machinations across the Nine Realms.

New Class: The Archmage

A powerful Elven magister, the Archmage survived the invasion of his homeland and channeled mastery over arcane and elemental magic. This new class starts with two unique innate traits:

1. Magic Orbs: Conjured orbs of energy that constantly rotate and wound enemies.
2. Power of Knowledge: Archmage begins with a 15% bonus chance for Double Cast.
3. Teleport: Replaces the standard dash with a quick, damage-avoiding blink, balanced by a higher cooldown.

The Archmage specializes into four powerful subclasses:

• Pyromancer: Enhances skills to inflict Burn and improves Teleportation with additional Dash and Dash Distance.
• Stormbringer: Magical Orbs cast Chain Lightning, and all skills inflict Shock.
• Venomancer: Attacks now explode, and skills inflict debilitating Poison.
• Cryomancer: A defensive specialist; standing still generates an Icy Shield, and skills inflict Freeze.

New Challenges and Gear for Every Slayer accessible right now!

Celebrating this upcoming free content with features requested by the community as vital expansions to difficulty and weaponry have now been added to the game. Curious slayers can find more detailed information in the blog post [here]!

Expanded Difficulties:

• Relax Endless Mode: A new, more sandbox-friendly experience that removes modifiers and boss intervals, offering a low-stakes way to experiment with builds (though with reduced resource gain).
• Nightmare Difficulty: A customizable difficulty setting that allows veteran players to scale the challenge far beyond Insane difficulty.

The Sixth Weapon: 

Every existing class receives a powerful 6th Weapon choice, each introducing new skills and providing unique passive boosts:

• Berserker: The Dwarven axes gain Blade Barrier and a +40 Health increase.
• Seeress: The Staff of wonders unlocks Dark Slime bombs and receives a 10% chance for a bonus skill/reward choice.
• Revenant: Wields the new Cursed bow that scatters Cursed Caltrops with a chance to Curse, alongside a 5% damage reduction.
• Flame Sister: Gains the Shade Dagger skill Impale and a 14% increase in Class Skill damage.
• Warden: The Clan hammer gives access to the Call of the Ancestors, increasing his experience gain by 13%.
• Kinslayer: The Heroic halberd unlocks Warcry, temporarily boosting defense and offense, with the halberd providing 1.5 Health regeneration per second.

Key Features: 

• Fast-Paced Battles Against Hordes of Enemies: Engage in adrenaline-fueled battles, fighting off endless waves of enemies as you strive to survive. Complete various objectives, defeat the final boss, and earn the ultimate prizes.
• In-Game Challenges: Take on challenging missions during each run to test your skills and enrich your journey through the Nine Worlds.These quests may involve completing specific objectives or overcoming additional obstacles as you battle relentless enemies on your way to the final challenge.
• Character Progression: Improve your abilities with meta-progression systems that offer unlockable perks, in-game skills, or upgrades. As you progress further, you'll gain access to new abilities, weapons, and bonuses that allow you to customize your playstyle and improve your chances of survival.
• Customise Your Run: Select from a roster of diverse characters, each equipped with unique skills, abilities, and weapons. Mix and match combinations to refine your builds and overcome the many challenges posed by the Hordes of Hel.
• Escalating Boss Battles: Face a variety of increasingly challenging Boss enemies as you progress through the game. Outmaneuver and defeat these formidable foes using the environment, your skills, and abilities to gain the advantage and achieve victory.

Jotunnslayer: Hordes Of Hel is available for PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC (Steam).