[8] The game features 2D hand drawn visuals, as well as gameplay mechanics similar to the Dark Souls series.

[1] The game implements RPG concepts such as origins, classes and stat development, as well as an extensive skill tree providing hundreds of combinations.

The game also provides a local multiplayer option for co-operative and versus play,[9] and asynchronous features such as messages that may be interchanged between players.

If the player kills all the marauders and escapes to the deck, they are then set upon by a giant "Kraekan" (a corruption of kraken) of the sea resembling Cthulhu.

The player places this icon in the first Sanctuary and then continues exploring the island, gathering salt in order to gain power, as in this universe, There are two types of human: Saltborn and Lightborn.

In the process of conversing with these NPCs throughout the journey, they come to realize that the island is made up of copies of dangerous locations from the various continents of the world, and that some kind of power "collected" them.

Alternatively, they can choose to pick up the Nameless God's helmet and gain his full power, but be trapped on the island.

[13] The Castlevania series, particularly Symphony of the Night and the later Nintendo DS installments (which are noted for their free-roaming exploration-based design), also served as inspiration for the gameplay.

[14] The tech demo received a large amount of positive feedback, so the developers decided to continue with that idea.

[13] The original game as designed was much more complex, but some cuts had to be made due to the small size of the development team.