Effulgence RPG – a sci-fi turn-based RPG made entirely out of text characters is about to launch into Early Access on Steam on December 2. Effulgence RPG is a party-based RPG where enemies are more than obstacles – they’re raw material. Break them down into particles and forge weapons and gear using a matter printer. The entire world is built from text symbols arranged in 3D space, creating a uniquely striking visual style.
Over the last months the game has quietly built up a solid following, with over 45,000 wishlists on Steam so far and a feature in PC Gamer highlighting its unusual text-only visuals and enemy-part crafting. Short clips from the game have also been getting a lot of attention on social media from players sharing “that wild text-only RPG”.
Key features at a glance
- Text-only visuals – the entire game (characters, environments, effects) is built from text symbols.
- Tactical turn-based combat with a PING system that controls turn order and timing.
- Convert enemies into gear – harvest raw parts from defeated foes and print new weapons and items.
- Short satirical dialogues and a slightly absurd, darkly humorous tone instead of a heavy epic story.
- 3D-style globe map built from symbols, with locations gradually unlocking as you progress.
Early Access scope & roadmap
The Early Access build on December 2 is intentionally compact – roughly around an hour of content for a focused first slice. The plan is to expand based on player feedback.
There is a public roadmap both inside the game (a dedicated screen in the main menu) and on the Steam page, outlining upcoming updates such as new locations and quests, additional combat mechanics, new weapons, tactical cartridges, achievements, and more.
A short Roadmap video that shows the planned update waves can be seen below:
As a small thank you to early players, there is also a Supporter DLC planned: during Early Access it will be free for owners of the base game, and will become paid only after the full 1.0 release. Early owners will keep it forever at no extra cost.
Demo & Steam page
There is a free demo available on Steam right now, which is very close to the upcoming Early Access build. If you’d like to get a feel for the combat, visual style, and pacing, you can try it directly:
Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3302080/Effulgence_RPG/
Demo: available via the same Steam page (Download Demo button)
You can watch the Early Access trailer here:
