Godfall generated quite a bit of buzz in the gaming industry when it was revealed at The Game Awards in 2019. Boasting eye-catching visuals and heavy-hitting combat, Godfall was one of the very first PlayStation 5 console exclusive games ever shown to the public, and so its reveal trailer turned plenty of heads. It's now just two months shy of a full year since Godfall's original release on PC and PS5, with the looter-slasher game set to get its biggest update yet.
Developer Counterplay Games recently announced the Godfall Lightbringer update, which will address fan feedback by making some important changes to the game. This includes a Godfall PS4 port that will allow more gamers than ever before to see what all the fuss is about, in addition to a matchmaking beta, addressing one of the main criticisms levied at the game at its launch. The Lightbringer update is coming to Godfall on August 10, but it's just the tip of the iceberg.
Besides the Lightbringer update, Godfall fans can also look forward to the launch of the game's first major post-launch expansion, Fire & Darkness. The Fire & Darkness expansion for Godfall will add a brand new area to explore in the form of the Fire Realm, new Valorplate skins to unlock, and plenty of enemies to knock around. With August 10 right around the corner, Counterplay Games has revealed more of what cans can expect from both the Fire & Darkness expansion and the Lightbringer update.
Game Rant recently spoke with Senior Technical Producer Dick Heyne, CEO Keith Lee, and Game Director Daniel Nordlander of Counterplay Games about Godfall's new Fire & Darkness expansion, the game's eye-catching Valorplates, and much more.
Q: The Valorplates are such an iconic part of the design of Godfall. How much time went into designing each? Were there any that didn't make it into the shipped game?
Dick Heyne: The time we spent designing each piece varied depending on complexity, the order in which it was produced, and some other variables. For example, the first Valorplate we ever designed was actually Greyhawk. Once the team had a vision we were excited to chase, we'd spend several weeks iterating on concepts - getting a feel for color, personality, and slowly work our way into more nuanced details. We iterated on Greyhawk for well over a year before landing on what ultimately shipped. And this is just 2D design, not accounting for the tremendous effort that goes into bringing these ideas to life in 3D space.
Part of the creative process was knowing when to pause on an idea if it wasn't clicking. There were for sure some Valorplates left on the cutting room floor in favor of the pieces we ultimately shipped with.
Q: Were there ever considerations about mixing and matching pieces of the Valorplates?
Dick Heyne: Yes, but very minor. We knew from the beginning that we wanted Valorplates to be eloquently crafted pieces that were meant to be appreciated as a whole, not as parts. This really unlocked us to design one-of-a-kind suits of armor. Once a few Valorplates were realized in the 3D space, we did some light experimentation with what mixing and matching could look like. But ultimately, those tests just validated that keeping Valorplates as single piece sets was the right call.
Q: Which Godfall Valorplates have stood out as community favorites? Development team favorites? Anything about Valorplate choices that surprised you?
Dick Heyne: Aegishorn made by far the largest splash as a community favorite. A close second would be between Armistice and Hinterclaw. For a lot of the development team, I'd say Greyhawk is one of the favorites simply because it was our first Valorplate and really set the tone for the 11 that would come after. I can still remember seeing the early concepts back in 2016 - they blew everyone away. I believe Vertigo was the most "surprising" of the 12 Valorplates. The wings, the eyes, the antennas...I remember how "different" that piece felt from everything else. We really enjoyed figuring out that piece in particular.
Q: Why the Zodiac inspiration for Godfall Valorplates? Did the team explore any other options?
Keith Lee: We chose a universally accessible theme in the Zodiac signs - as long as humanity has looked up at the stars in the night sky, the Zodiac has been a timeless concept spanning across human cultures and timelines from the Babylonian era all the way to the modern age. The Zodiac signs, moreover, were conducive to combining the concept of Spirit Animal representations and characteristic traits into the 12 Valorplates.
Q: Why did the team decide to go with Valorplate skins rather than new Valorplates?
Daniel Nordlander: With 12 unique Valorplates already in Godfall, players have a lot of choice in how they shape their playstyle and visual identity. As we looked toward future improvements to the game, we felt it's really important that players feel invested and care about their Valorplates as much as possible. We asked ourselves how we could create depth in the existing Valorplates rather than how we can go even wider with new Valorplate types. This resulted in us adding the Valorplate cosmetics to provide that layer of visual customization we didn't have before, allowing you to really make your Valorplates your own.
We also looked at how we could make our Valorplates more distinct in their gameplay and decided to revamp our ailment system. Many of our Valorplates are themed around an ailment like Ignite, Chill, Shock, and so on. These effects weren't that different from each other, which made the Valorplates feel similar. With the launch of Fire & Darkness our ailments all have unique effects e.g., Chill slows enemies while Bleed increases the damage they take.
We feel these changes really make your Valorplate choice matter in a way it never has before and are super excited to see how it allows our players to create exciting new builds as well as visually customize their Valorplates to really make them their own!
Q: Which Godfall Valorplate skins do you think are the standouts?
The cool thing about our Valorplate cosmetics is that we really wanted to learn into the looter-slasher aspect of Godfall, so we've made them unlock by completing interesting challenges. Each cosmetic has a rarity tied to it and the higher the rarity, the more difficult the challenge will generally be.
What I love about this is it gives you bragging rights - not only can you make yourself look awesome, but you've earned the right to do so. This pairs really well with our new matchmaking feature introduced to our more popular activities, as you'll come across other players who will know how hard you had to fight to earn that cosmetic, really making it feel like it means something beyond just looking stylish.
To give you a better idea, I'll mention some of my favorite cosmetics and the challenges tied to them:
Silvermane - Stargazer (Epic Rarity): Reach floor 30 of the Ascended Tower of Trials with Silvermane. This cosmetic has a beautiful purple animated shader that puts Silvermane in a new light.
Aegishorn - Inferno Beetle (Epic Rarity): Defeat Kragani the Unstable. This makes Aegishorn look made of glowing lava which looks great combined with its beetle exoskeleton style design.
Hinterclaw - Pride of Anadole (Legendary): Complete a round of Lightbringer with a Light Level of at least 40. The character team did a great job with this one - it has a slight glitter disco vibe while still somehow feeling at home in the world of Godfall.
Phoenix - Treacherous Sister (Epic): Complete a level 60+ Solaris in a Dreamstone while you have 3 Banes. This cosmetic gives Phoenix a spooky turquoise color, reminding me of the aesthetic of Minas Morgul from the Lord of the Rings movies.
Q: What do you think is the biggest reason why Godfall players should return for the new expansion?
Daniel Nordlander: Fire & Darkness unlocks a new realm brimming with new threats to extinguish and extravagant loot to claim. An all-consuming darkness threatens to spread throughout Aperion and choke the world of all light, giving Orin and his companions an even more daunting challenge than Macros to face. The Fire Realm is the largest in the game and enables players to explore obsidian peaks and azure magma rivers.
Q: Does the Fire & Darkness expansion story take place after the events of the base game's story?
Daniel Nordlander: Yes. No sooner than Macros' fall, a new foe enters the world of Aperion with the objective of realizing Kosmera's prophecies of old.
Q: Did the response to Godfall influence design decisions on Fire & Darkness or was it already in development?
Daniel Nordlander: We are always listening closely to players and working hard to make Godfall the best game it can be. We have implemented a number of community-requested features and will continue to keep an open line of communication with our fans.
Godfall is out now for PC and PS5, with a PS4 version launching August 10.