Hello everyone,

Just a quick update to address a bug you reported after the last patch:

• Fixed the price of the "Leader Staff" at the merchant, which was incorrectly set to 0.

Thanks for your continued support!

The latest exclusive announcement from the seventh edition of AG French Direct, HellSlave II: Judgment of the Archon is simply the sequel to the dungeon crawler created by Baptiste Miny via his micro studio Ars Goetia. The professional illustrator has therefore put on the solo developer hat again to offer a new entry into his merciless universe, drawing on the experience he gained from the first, highly acclaimed episode. In an interview, Baptiste Miny talks to us about this newly announced project.

A short trailer announcing its arrival in 2026, HellSlave 2: Judgment of the Archon also raises a whole host of questions that we would like to ask its creator, Baptiste Miny. The lessons learned and retained from the first Hellslave, the work of an art director and a universe as superb as ever, the life of a solo developer; these are some of the topics we discuss with the French creator.
Summary:

1. A Return to Hell

2. Freedom at the Heart of an Improved Recipe

3. The Care of an Artistic Direction Rich in Inspiration

4. Portages, Hellslave Comics, and the Importance of Communication

ActuGaming: Hello and thank you for agreeing to this interview. Can you introduce yourself? Who are you and what is your role in the game?

• Baptiste Miny: Hello, my name is Baptiste Miny, and I am the solo developer of HellSlave II. I manage graphics, coding, writing, and design. The music is mainly handled by Jeff Lawhead in Tennessee, with some additional tracks and SFXs from the Norwegian French studio Arkensound.

For those who may not be familiar with the first Hellslave, could you briefly describe what the experience was like? And what is the context for this sequel?

• Hellslave is a franchise that catapults us into a ruthless world where we must save a world threatened by demons. In terms of gameplay, the emphasis is on the freedom to build your character and choose your playing style. Everything is set up so that players can find their own chemistry and express their creativity with the system provided.

What did you want to explore or develop further in this sequel? Expand the lore, refine it, or introduce new mechanics? Were there any elements that you wanted to “fix” from the first game?

• All of this at the same time. I learned a lot while working on Hellslave, and HellSlave II is the culmination of all that experience. A recurring comment on Steam is “a flawed gem.” HellSlave II notably fixes the loot in HS1, which was too limited, as well as some original mechanics that lacked maturity in terms of design. Every feature in HS2 is being worked on more deeply to be truly relevant.

• Already in Hellslave 1, I wanted to let players run around and explore the world more freely, but there were some technical and graphical limitations that pushed me towards more restricted exploration options. With experience, I found solutions and took things to the next level. It requires more work, but it's worth it!
  
  The game is set in an antediluvian period where several civilizations clash, each quite different from the other. Having an open world where players can explore capitals, ruins, citadels, and all these different territories is much more exhilarating and exciting. In terms of gameplay, it also allows players to dodge monster packs and have more flexibility in their approach to combat.

• The players really liked the comic book-style storytelling, which is kind of unique, and I feel more comfortable with it, so I simply kept it. It allows for effective, flexible, and pretty immersive staging. The fact that you can move around freely doesn't really affect it that much in the end. You move to a point, open a dialogue, and the cutscene starts, just like in HS1. However, there will be many more NPCs, side quests, nooks, and crannies to explore, and lore notes to collect than in HS1.

• All these elements were much clearer in my mind from the start of development, whereas HS1 was really a leap into the unknown (I had never worked on an RPG before). The important thing is to know what difficulties you are going to encounter and to act accordingly in advance to make the task easier. This time, I'm collaborating with the Dear Villagers production team, who have their own QA and playtesting resources to help me work on balancing, among other things.
  
  In HS2, players can choose from six classes, each offering a unique talent tree that allows them to branch out in any direction. Combine that with the variety of equipment, crafting, and passive skills (which also have a similar talent tree), and the possibilities are endless. My job is to keep that freedom viable, interesting, balanced, and fun. It's a bit of a puzzle or brain teaser, but the resulting sense of freedom is precisely what makes HS2 so special.

You have previously stated that your inspiration for creating Hellslave came from, among other things, the first Diablo and Persona games. Has the creative process for Hellslave 2 been enriched by new sources of inspiration? Are there any works that have made an impression on you in the meantime and influenced this sequel?

• Between the two games, I indulged in a reading binge on ancient history (Egypt, Rome, Greece, Mesopotamia, Persia, etc.) up until the barbarian invasions, and this greatly inspired me for the world of HellSlave II, which takes place tens of thousands of years before HS1 and is steeped in this harsh and unforgiving atmosphere.
  
  In terms of gameplay, I mainly focused on refining and enhancing the HS1 formula based on player feedback, although there are a few new features.

• I’m fully aware that the visual aspect (and the overall atmosphere) is what attracts the audience, but it is the solidness of the gameplay that keeps players coming back. My tendency as an artist is to put a lot of effort into the artistic side (pretty backgrounds, lots of narrative images, elaborate staging), even though that's not necessarily the best approach in terms of project management or the most sensible way to deliver a solid experience.
  
  As a result, I've learned to constantly reestablish the right hierarchy of priorities in my mind: always put game design first. HellSlave II brought its share of difficulties given the size of the game and my desire to draw all the backgrounds by hand. Development took longer than HS1, but I think players will really appreciate this level of immersion.

• HellSlave II is less gothic and more tribal in its universe. It's also brighter, because we spend more time outside between dungeons, in natural light. Graphically, this forced me to work by “painting” a little more than usual, and to rely less on large areas of black. We travel a lot, discovering vastly different corners of the world, several civilizations, and biomes. The content is more varied than in the first game, although each location bears the symptoms of demonic corruption.
  
  As for mythology, I'm definitely moving away from Christian mythology to offer a new mythology with its own genesis and symbols. In the final hours of HellSlave 1, we get a glimpse of this door opening onto original content, and HellSlave II really develops it in depth.

Once again, from an illustrator's point of view, have you ever thought about expanding the Hellslave universe into a full-fledged comic book, for example? Is that something you would be interested in?

• Of course, and I think that would be the simplest option on many levels: no need to program, integrate, or debug anything, no need for music or sound design... It's tempting! But I have a lot of game ideas, very promising prototypes waiting their turn, and expertise to put to use. Making games has become second nature to me, and it's a remarkably interesting intellectual exercise. I think what would make me consider taking the time to make a comic book would be growing demand from the fanbase. And then it's a real profession that I would have to learn; it's not “just” about drawing well. Such a decision is not one to be taken lightly.

• The vast majority of bugs on HS1 have been fixed and require little follow-up. In terms of content, there will be no further additions to HS1; I am fully dedicated to HS2. Making the game available for free on Steam can only be a good thing, as all feedback will be considered, and if players like the first game, they will probably like the second.

• When I started developing HS1, I was not thinking about porting at all, either in terms of technology or in terms of design and usability. You can play the game with a controller, but it was a bit of a struggle to make it reasonably user-friendly. And at the time, I was almost a novice in terms of programming, I hadn't taken any computer science courses, I didn't realize what it was all about.
  
  HellSlave II was designed from the outset in terms of ergonomics to be ported and played with a controller. The engine I use, MMF 2.5, doesn't have native porting, so we'll have to invest money to port the game. I was able to port The Blind Prophet to Switch, and we hope to port HellSlave I and II to other platforms, but it's too early to guarantee that for sure.

• When HellSlave was in production, everyone on the publishing team was truly kind, supportive, and positive about the game and towards me. In reality, the game was riddled with flaws that we could have avoided if we had been more honest and clear-headed from the start. But we're a team, we know each other, like a little family (and we got along very well). It's difficult, under these conditions, to be 100% honest sometimes.
  
  When the game was released, I got hit with scathing comments on Steam, which quickly brought me back to reality. I spent two months fixing all the bugs and design errors (at least, the ones I could still fix) to offer a better version of HellSlave. In fact, that's exactly what was needed: unrestrained, sometimes bitter, cruel but fair comments to pinpoint all the game's flaws. But I should have read them several months before the release, not the day after! As a result, I briefed the entire new publishing team right at the start of our collaboration: we must be completely honest with each other, it’s crucial for the quality of the final game.

• Thanks to you for the interview, I’m working hard to make sure HS2 is the best it can be. See you in 2026!