{"rewrite":{"id":"r_ae8b7b81feec43c8473f3934","clusterId":"c_84b4cb6aef045d36a748c77c","slug":"starless-umbra-pixel-art-action-rpg-debuts-at-bitsummit-punch","model":"deepseek-v4-flash","headline":"Starless Umbra Pixel Art Action RPG Debuts at BitSummit Punch","summary":"The pixel-art action RPG Starless Umbra was playable at BitSummit PUNCH in Kyoto. Developer Andrew, a solo US-based creator, showed a demo featuring protagonist Amalia and co-op partner Ilari. The game uses a small color palette and SNES-era pixel art. Local co-op is planned; online play uses Steam Remote Play Together. A full release date was not announced.","whyItMatters":"The hands-on report and developer interview give the first concrete look at Starless Umbra's combat, co-op, and art direction, positioning it as a solo-developed homage to classic 16-bit RPGs with a personal story.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eBitSummit PUNCH, Japan's largest indie game festival, ran May 22-24 at Kyoto's Miyako Messe. Among the show floor titles was Starless Umbra, a pixel-art action RPG from solo US developer Andrew. The demo showed protagonist Amalia and a second playable character, Ilari, who can be swapped in or played cooperatively on the same device. Combat uses two skills: Stab, a close-range attack that restores SP, and Leap, a jumping attack that consumes SP. Enemies drop materials for equipment upgrades, and HP refills after battle.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAndrew told Game Spark the pixel art combines his own work with edited purchased assets, using the limited rosy42 palette to keep the canvas small. He cited Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, and the Final Fantasy series as influences, but said the story-centered on loyalty and past experiences-comes from his own life rather than those games. Local co-op will be the standard mode; the PC version can use Steam Remote Play Together for online play. The Switch version targets one-Joy-Con controls. No release date was given.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Starless Umbra uses an SNES-era color palette and local co-op. The solo US developer showed a demo at BitSummit but did not announce a release date.","twitterPost":"Starless Umbra uses SNES-era pixel art and local co-op. No release date yet from its solo US developer.","threadsPost":"Starless Umbra is a pixel-art action RPG from a solo US developer, shown at BitSummit Punch. The game uses a small SNES-era color palette and supports local co-op. A full release date was not announced.","newsletterBlurb":"At BitSummit PUNCH, solo developer Andrew showed Starless Umbra, a pixel-art action RPG with local co-op and SNES-inspired visuals. The demo featured protagonist Amalia and partner Ilari, with skills that combo for advantage. Andrew cited Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana as influences but emphasized the story is personal. No release date was announced.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Game Spark\",\"url\":\"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/06/01/167194.html\",\"title\":\"Full of Nostalgic Vibes! Action RPG 'Starless Umbra' Shines with Captivating Pixel Art [BitSummit PUNCH]\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4149,"outputTokens":687,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1780268297,"createdAt":"2026-05-31T22:48:27.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-05-31T22:53:14.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-31T22:53:14.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_84b4cb6aef045d36a748c77c","canonicalTitle":"“懐かしのあの頃”の雰囲気が満載！ド魅力的なドット絵が輝くアクションRPG『Starless Umbra』【BitSummit PUNCH】","representativeArticleId":"a_36680832a6e81dd9ae8539b0","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"Starless Umbra\"],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-05-31T22:15:03.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-05-31T22:15:03.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-31T22:53:14.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Game Spark","url":"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/06/01/167194.html","title":"“懐かしのあの頃”の雰囲気が満載！ド魅力的なドット絵が輝くアクションRPG『Starless Umbra』【BitSummit PUNCH】"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["Starless Umbra"],"studios":[],"people":[],"type":"news","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["Starless Umbra was playable at BitSummit PUNCH in Kyoto from May 22-24.","The demo features protagonist Amalia and co-op partner Ilari, who can be swapped or played cooperatively on the same device.","Combat uses two skills: Stab, a close-range attack that restores SP, and Leap, a jumping attack that consumes SP.","Developer Andrew cited Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, and Final Fantasy as influences, but said the story comes from his own life.","Local co-op is the standard mode; the PC version uses Steam Remote Play Together for online play, and the Switch version targets one-Joy-Con controls."]}