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Burning Sword: Death Sun Early Access Begins November 17
Nomadic Games and Rising Tide Publishing have confirmed that Burning Sword: Death Sun will enter Steam Early Access on November 17, opening the first part of its wuxia revenge story with five handcrafted stages and seven boss encounters.
Developed in Bangkok, Burning Sword: Death Sun follows Zhang Yixian, leader of the Crimson Dust Demon Sect, as he hunts Gao Tianqi, master of the deadly Death Sun poison. Every martial arts master between them becomes another obstacle to overcome through fast swordplay, palm strikes, and Qi-powered abilities.
The game’s free demo will remain available through launch on Steam, letting players sample its combat before Early Access begins.
Five Stages and Seven Bosses Open the Road to Gao Tianqi
Early Access launches with five distinct stages, five main bosses and two secret bosses hidden away for players willing to explore. Nomadic Games deliberately keeps every stage handcrafted rather than using procedural layouts, with secrets, upgrades, and unlockables designed to encourage repeat runs. This approach differs noticeably from a traditional roguelite structure, putting mastery of fixed encounters at the centre of progression.
Combat revolves around several interconnected systems. Landing attacks fills the Power Gauge, eventually letting players Ignite the Burning Sword for stronger strikes, while Qi Drain can steal energy from enemies marked with red meridian lines. Players can carry three skills and switch between them during combos, while Charms provide passive bonuses that can become permanent after being selected three times. Defeating bosses also opens new skill branches.
It arrives during a particularly strong period for martial arts action games, with our recent hands-on with Phantom Blade Zero showing how boss encounters and wuxia worldbuilding can feed naturally into one another. Burning Sword: Death Sun is working on a smaller scale, but its focus on learning fights rather than simply overpowering them taps into a similar appeal.
Arena Mode Puts Combat Mastery to the Test
Players who want to focus purely on fighting can also jump into Arena Mode, an endless arcade-style challenge built around chasing high scores. Founder Nook describes combat as the heart of the game, aiming for that point where an encounter that initially felt impossible becomes manageable because the player has improved.
The full game is planned to expand across five chapters and 12 handcrafted stages, with nine named bosses, two secret bosses and additional elite enemies.
New Chapters Will Arrive Every Eight Weeks
Nomadic Games plans to expand Early Access on a regular schedule, with new chapters targeted every eight weeks. Those updates are expected to add stages, bosses, story progression, skills, and Arena challenges, while smaller gameplay refinements may arrive more frequently.
A full roadmap will be published after Early Access begins. Burning Sword: Death Sun enters Steam Early Access on November 17 for PC, with its free demo available now.
