Blade & Sorcery, the hit physics-based combat sandbox, is in its “final stretch” towards releasing its 1.0 update, which is coming with its ‘Crystal Hunt’ story-based mode.

Update (May 8th, 2024): The studio says in a Steam news update that its in “full polish and bugfix mode,” calling it “the final stretch” to releasing what amounts to a huge update to the game.

“After this, the next time you hear from me should be with a trailer drop and release date,” says ‘The Baron’, the game’s Community Lead.

Furthermore, the studio says 1.0 won’t be the last update, but it will be the last major content drop for the game:

“I should also state, I have read some comments of anxiety from players thinking 1.0 marks the final time we would touch the game. Be assured that 1.0 only marks our final major content update and the end of Early Access. There will be further patches for bugfixing, stabilization and QOL things. I certainly wish the 1.0 release was so perfect that it would need no improvements haha, but that is never the reality of things.”

To learn more about Crystal Hunt, check out the news update, which take you through things like factions, the Dalgarian dungeons, and Crystal Cores, which are used to unlock specific powers on the skill tree.

The original article announcing the 1.0 update follows below:

Original Article (October 5th, 2023): In development by indie studio WarpFrog for almost five years now, Blade & Sorcery has basically been the go-to fantasy combat simulator for PC VR headset users, letting you live out all of the sword and sorcery dreams with suitably malleable enemies at the ready.

WarpFrog is nearly ready to bring the game out of Early Access too, detailing on Steam the game’s massive 1.0 update, known as “Crystal Hunt”, which will feature a host of new content, including a bona fide storyline, a new dungeon biome, and new game mode. It’s also said to be the game’s final update.

Revolving around an ancient and mysterious race called the Dalgarians, the game’s storyline will be presented through environmental storytelling, written text, and ciphers—something that the studio says will offer players “deep lore” exploration for the first time.

The Crystal Hunt also involves character progression, loot gathering, and a unique skill tree—no small feats. Loot gathered in dungeons can be sold to purchase weapons and armor from a physical shop in the game. Then there are the much sought after Crystals Core themselves.

The titular crystals are “the very rare resource found in the Dalgarian ruins and what you and everyone else is chasing,” the studio explains. “Crystal Cores can be siphoned of their magical power to make a sorcerer more powerful. In game terms, this is the currency you will use to unlock new skills branches, which you can then invest your shards.”

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The update also introduces new armors and weapons, including tiered weapons with functional benefits.

The release date for the update is estimated to be in Q1 2024, Warpfrog says, but it’s subject to change due to development challenges, and also the team’s anti-crunch culture—now counting 21 full-time and six part-time members.

Exactly when 1.0 arrives, we aren’t sure. The final release date will be confirmed when the 1.0 trailer drops, so stay tuned to The Baron’s YouTube channel, who is producer and community lead for the game—and of course, check back here for all of the latest news.

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Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • shadow9d9

    A game with no content, offers a token amount so it could declare it is done and move on to selling something else.

    • ViRGiN

      Players will be no wiser. They love games of single mechanics.
      I smell a rhythm game coming, but you’re marching forward like in pistol whip, fighting of bns enemies.

      • NotMikeD

        You know what game I’D like to play? A rhythm action game where you play as a lone hopeful PCVR dev trying to blaze a path forward to the future of gaming, but bns of negative and derisive ViRGiN comments assail you from all sides, and you’ve got to stave them off with blasts of VR positivity and hope for the medium. Now that I’d play.

        • Charles U. Farley

          HAHAHA I’d give you MONEY for that game!!!

  • Cl

    Games final update? So you’re telling me he had it in early access for 5 years just to finally release it and that will be the final update? That doesn’t even make sense.

    I mean games used to be like that so I guess it’s not that strange… just now games are expected to have additional content later. Oh well.

    • ViRGiN

      Steam legalized this behavior.

      • dextrovix

        That customers endorsed.

    • Charles U. Farley

      He literally says it’s just the last pre-release update. He specifically addresses your concerns in the post. Maybe read the thing before going all “REEEE WHERE’S MAH PTCHFORK!!?!!”

      • Cl

        You mean the post he made 7 months after I made the post you’re commenting on?

        Either way he says “There will be further patches for bugfixing, stabilization and QOL things.” I was specifically talking about content updates.

        Talk about not reading.

      • shadow9d9

        Literally nothing has been done in years. Talk is cheap. Their actions are zero.

    • shadow9d9

      It makes sense. The whole thing is a scam. It isn’t even alpha state. They’ve done nothing for years. Were able to push out a barebones quest version of their prealpha though REAL quick! Not a problem since money was to be made. But now? There is no reason to develop an actual game. The money was made.

  • Paul Bellino

    If Blade & Sorcery does not get a full-fledged Story Mode, then it will be just more of the same. A nice Tech Demo and nothing more.

    • ViRGiN

      It sold to pretty much everyone possible at the moment. Working on a story doesn’t make a business sense anymore.

    • CrusaderCaracal

      Not every game needs a story mode

    • Charles U. Farley

      Yeah totally! Same with Beat Saber, Puzzling Places, Gorilla Tag, Blaston, Contractors, SynthRiders, Drunkn Bar Fight, Gorn, Hyper Dash, Pavlov, PokerVR, Ragnarok, Robloks and Townscaper!!

  • Rudl Za Vedno

    B&C came out in 11 Dec, 2018 and VR community is still talking about it. Nothing wrong with the game, but it says a lot about the dryland of quality VR software we have experieced in the last 6 years. I get a feeling that us VR nuts live is some kind of a bubble, when the gaming industry as a whole has bypassed us big time and we just don’t want to admit that.

    • Charles U. Farley

      Or maybe that they’ve just created something fun and constantly growing that the community has been able to grow with and appreciate at it evolves.

    • XRC

      There are a number of standout titles from the PCVR era that we still regularly play because good software is good software, and great PCVR is still very compelling.

      Mods to these popular titles provide further interest, whilst the f2vr modding scene is building momentum by providing a wealth of new experiences.

      There’s enough value in these standout titles (including simulators) for me to regularly upgrade graphics card and headsets. The bubble is very alive…

  • shadow9d9

    A game with zero content, after many years of milking it, they will push out something generic and move on to the next cash in attempt!

  • BananaBreadBoy

    So from following WarpFrog/Baron for a while, it seems like they hit a wall with their custom physics engine, Thunder Road, which resulted in new features and code changes leading to more and more bugs. A lot of spaghetti code and tech debt come about from being a bunch of new game devs. From what it sounds like, their next project would be using their experience in a new iteration of their physics engine.

    Frankly, I think it’s uncharitable as hell to paint B&S as a grift or cash-in considering they’re a small team that’s been chugging away at it for years in a very precarious niche.

    • shadow9d9

      They had no problem rushing out a quest port cash in in almost no time flat. The whole thing is an outright scam. Zero content in many, many years. A non game sold as a full game. It is not even alpha state after many years. This practice of selling products masquerading as games needs to stop and these devs should be absolutely ashamed of what they’ve done.

      • RedcoatTrooper

        What a bunch of nonsense
        “They had no problem rushing out a quest port cash in in almost no time flat.” You have no idea how long it was worked on.

        “Zero content in many, many years.”
        Last year was the mod manager update something other bigger teams like Bonelab have failed to implement.

        “A non game sold as a full game”
        Its price is £15.49 and £14.99 on Quest neither are full price for VR games.

        “This practice of selling products masquerading as games needs to stop and these devs should be absolutely ashamed of what they’ve done.”
        A single developer invested in a new industry, made a simple physics sandbox that proves super popular.
        They slowly add more features and plan out a full game.
        They try putting a proper team together just as Covid hits.
        They keep everyone informed every step of the way and make no promises.
        They reject crunch culture to make people work crazy hours to meet deadlines and are clear to the community about this.
        As a result they still have a loyal community to this day and have not turned toxic like so many.

        I don’t think they should be ashamed.

      • BananaBreadBoy

        B&S released in late 2018, Quest 2 released in late 2020, B&S Nomad released late 2021. Hardly rushed when there was active demand for Blade and Sorcery on Quest and they took their time on it.

        And as Redcoat mentioned, it’s being sold for 15-20 dollars. Hardly grifting price.

        And despite being a thrown together team of modders and new game devs, they have consistently kept the community in the loop and notified of delays and development. I’m pretty sure Baron drops dev news every few days on Reddit lol.

  • Ardra Diva

    pretty cool game but i underestimated the feelings later of getting killed or beaten down in VR. it hits you different than flatscreen gaming. I sat and sipped my coffee feeling like Dennis Hopper. I seen things, man. and stuff, too.