Behind every indie game is a story of passion, grit, and tireless iteration. For the two-person team at Midnight Fantasy Games, the journey to creating their upcoming 2D cyberpunk pixel-art action title, Nightblood W: Cutthroat Wolf, has been paved with valuable lessons from past projects and a desire to make games they truly love. In this interview, the developers open up about their transition from outsourced puzzle games to high-octane action, the inspirations behind their striking pixel-art style, and how their own lightning-fast reaction speeds help shape a deeply satisfying combat experience.
Could you briefly introduce the Midnight Fantasy Games development team?
We’re a very small two-person team. One member mainly handles programming, in-game cinematic implementation based on the design plans, and provides gameplay adjustment suggestions. The other focuses on story writing, art direction, game design, concept art, business-related work, and essentially everything outside of programming.
What made the team want to enter the game industry?
Because we genuinely love games. We’ve always admired the game industry and wanted to go from being players to becoming creators ourselves. However, things didn’t start out ideally. Early on, we worked on several outsourced puzzle games released on Google Play. Although those projects launched successfully, the development process didn’t bring us much joy. Over time, we increasingly felt that we were making games we didn’t truly love.
Eventually, we realized that instead of continuing to make projects we “could make,” we should focus on making games we genuinely wanted to play. Compared to other genres, we’ve always loved action games the most, which ultimately led us to start developing our own action title.
What lessons did you learn from your earlier project, Night Blood: Avenger’s Tide?
Night Blood: Avenger’s Tide was created during a period when the team still had very limited experience and resources. The schedule was extremely tight, and we went through many trial-and-error adjustments during development.
Although we always preferred action games, we also had to think about market reception, development costs, and simply surviving as a small team. Because of that, we experimented with different gameplay directions in hopes of finding a safer entry point. Looking back, we definitely took some detours and made many adjustments along the way.
In the end, however, we realized that action games were still what truly kept our passion alive. While the previous game left behind some regrets due to time and experience limitations, it also helped us clarify our direction moving forward: focus on what we genuinely love and do it better.
In many ways, Nightblood W: Cutthroat Wolf was born from that reflection. We want to create a more polished game with a far more satisfying combat experience built upon the lessons of the previous project.
Why did you decide to make a 2D cyberpunk pixel-art action game like Nightblood W: Cutthroat Wolf?
The core creators have always loved action games and were heavily inspired by titles such as Bionic Commando, Ghostrunner, Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden, Katana ZERO, and Castlevania. From the beginning, we wanted to create a fast-paced action game that feels genuinely satisfying to play while still offering a reasonable level of challenge.
As for the pixel-art style, that mostly comes from personal preference. Growing up with many classic console games gave us a strong attachment to the unique texture and atmosphere of pixel visuals.
Are there any interesting stories from the development process of Nightblood W: Cutthroat Wolf?
During early development, the project actually went through many directional changes. The current version is quite different from the original concept.
At first, we planned to continue making a purely linear action game. However, after discussing with some experienced developers in the industry, we realized that this style could make players feel repetitive fatigue relatively quickly. We also considered adding roguelike elements, but randomized systems didn’t fit well with the kind of narrative experience we wanted to create.
After several rounds of experimentation, we ultimately chose a Metroidvania-inspired direction. We wanted to combine fast-paced combat with exploration and progression systems to create a more complete gameplay experience.
The developers have a faster reaction speed than 99.8% of players, is that true?
Yes, it’s true – we actually tested it during development of Night Blood: Avenger’s Tide. I guess spending years battling high-speed action games, while simultaneously “fighting” through real life on another difficulty setting, naturally trains your reaction speed quite a bit.
What do you think is the standout design feature of Nightblood W: Cutthroat Wolf within the side-scrolling action genre?
The biggest thing we want to emphasize is the sense of combat satisfaction and momentum. To achieve that, we designed systems such as 360° enemy targeting, high-speed movement, and seamless aerial combo mechanics, allowing players to chain attacks together more fluidly.
When playing other action games ourselves, we often felt that the combat feedback stopped just short of being fully satisfying — like the action ended before the “fun” truly peaked. With this project, we wanted to push that combo-driven exhilaration even further.
At the same time, we also don’t want the control barrier to feel too intimidating. We hope more players can quickly pick up the game and enjoy the action immediately.
Are there any future update plans for the game?
Right now, our main focus is continuing to polish and optimize the demo to deliver the best possible action experience for players. In the future, we also hope to develop additional DLC and content updates based on player feedback and market response. We truly appreciate everyone’s support.